Barcelona, Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros: three clubs with plenty of history against Juventus.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
Juventus v Barcelona is a proper European tie with history by the bucketload. It all began in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in the 1970/71 season, with Juventus running out 2-1 winners in both games. There have been plenty of European Cup and Champions League matches between the two sides over the years, with some of the highlights – from a Juventus perspective – including the win at the Camp Nou back in 2003, when Marcelo Zalayeta scored the crucial goal in extra-time, and the 3-0 quarter-final win in Turin in 2017, featuring a brace from Paulo Dybala and a goal from Giorgio Chiellini. And of course, another match-up that instantly springs to mind is the Champions League final in Berlin in 2015: the last of the 164 appearances Andrea Pirlo made for us.
We’ve met Dinamo Kyiv on a number of occasions in the Champions League too. In our first meeting, back in 1998, the Ukrainians managed to take a point off us – but we more than made up for that in the second leg with a 4-1 win featuring a Pippo Inzaghi hat-trick and a goal from Alessandro Del Piero. The two clubs next faced off five years later, in the group stages, with Juventus running out 5-0 winners at the Delle Ali and getting a 2-1 win in Ukraine, with the Bianconeri already safely through to the knock-out stages.
Juventus have faced Ferencvaros on seven previous occasions – but all took place in competitions that no longer exist, between 1932 and 1965: two in the Central European Cup, two in the Mitropa Cup and one in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The Bianconeri haven’t faced a Hungarian side since the 1979/80 season, when they played ETO FC Gyor in the Cup Winners’ Cup – another competition that no longer exists.
KEY MEN
It’s been a summer of change at Barcelona after the Catalan outfit ended the 2019/20 season with no new silverware for the trophy cabinet. There’s a new coach in the shape of Ronald Koeman, who continues the club’s rich Dutch traditions. There are new tactics, with Barcelona adopting a new 4-2-3-1 formation rarely seen at the Camp Nou in the past (the jury is out on whether it will be adopted as the default system going forward). And there’s a new man in midfield – the familiar face of Miralem Pjanic. Norberto Neto is another former Juventus man in the Barcelona ranks. The draw also means that eternal rivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will resume hostilities, having already faced off in the Champions League on five previous occasions.
Dinamo Kyiv coach Mircea Lucescu will be familiar to many Italian football fans, with the Romanian having previously coached Pisa, Brescia (where he helped to develop a young Andrea Pirlo), Reggiana and Inter. Dinamo have a strong Ukrainian presence within their squad, with just six foreign players supplementing the home-grown talent.
Ferencavaros have won the Hungarian league in each of the last two seasons and enter this edition of the Champions League as Hungary’s most decorated side. Their coach is the Ukrainian Sergiy Rebrov, who leads a squad of mainly foreign players plus just five Hungarians.
CURRENT FORM
Barcelona have only played one game in La Liga so far, a convincing 4-0 home win over Villareal – with all four goals scored before the half-time whistle (Ansu Fati brace, Leo Messi and a Pau Torres own-goal).
Dinamo Kyiv qualified for the group stages of the 2020/21 Champions League after going through the preliminary rounds, where they beat Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and Belgian outfit Gent. In the Ukrainian league, Kyiv are joint top – alongside Vorskla Poltava – with three wins and one draw from their first four matches.
Ferencvaros sit fourth in the Hungarian league but have a game in hand on the two teams above them, having won two and drawn one of their first three matches. They also have the best defensive record in the league at this early stage.Ferencvaros certainly earned their spot in the group stages this year, having beaten Swedish side Djurgarden, Scottish giants Celtic and Norwegian team Molde in the preliminary rounds. A 3-3 away draw against Molde followed by a 0-0 draw at home was enough to seal Ferencvaros’ long-awaited return to Europe’s elite club competition.