#3 Tactical expertise on display
Zinedine Zidane may be new to the managerial game but he has enjoyed a remarkable record since taking over the Madrid squad in 2016. He’s already won the Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup in his 18-month reign. He also added the La Liga trophy recently after a barren five-year run.
The Frenchman had represented Juventus in the early days of his career and parted ways with the club to join Real Madrid for a then world record fee in 2001. His side possesses the capability to press the opposition and carry out defence-to-attack transitions at a lightning pace. Juventus will have to be wary of Real’s counter-attacking prowess if they want to keep them at bay.
Allegri is in his third season at Juventus and has managed to guide his side to three Serie A titles. He’s also guided his team to the Coppa Italia final apart from the Champions League final. The Bianconeri boss famously said this before facing Barcelona in the quarter-finals, “Football is very simple, you have attacking and defending. You need both and there’s no shame in being good at defending, in fact it’s just as beautiful as a great attacking move.”
It is evident that he takes pride in having heroic defenders at his disposal but one simply cannot overlook the attacking side he has crafted since taking over at the helm of affairs. The Juve attack boasts of Gonzalo Higuain, Paolo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic and Juan Cuadrado and one should only take their attack lightly at one’s own peril.
