What’s the story?
Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio has claimed that the Barcelona superstar he admires the most is Andres Iniesta. The Old Lady are set to take on the Camp Nou outfit in the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League with the first leg taking place at the Turin outfit’s home ground – the Juventus Stadium.
The 31-year-old midfielder also insisted that the clash against Barcelona will not be an opportunity to avenge his side’s loss in the 2015 Champions League final, when Andres Iniesta inspired his side to a 3-1 win over the Turin giants.
Speaking in an interview with JTV (h/t goal), Marchisio said: “The Barcelona player I admire the most is Iniesta, as he has infinite talent and intelligence. He brings so much both with his ideas and passing."
In case you didn’t know...
Barcelona and Juventus faced each other in the final of the 2015 UEFA Champions League, when goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar helped the Blaugrana record a 3-1 win over the Old Lady, with Alvaro Morata scoring the consolation goal.
The two sides have once again been drawn together, this time in the knockout stage of the same tournament. Juventus brushed aside Porto en route to the quarter-final while Barcelona recorded one of the greatest comebacks in the history of football to beat PSG 6-5, after having suffered an almost unassailable 4-0 defeat in the first leg of the tie.
The heart of the matter
Barcelona star Andres Iniesta is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time and he has proved his mettle on the grandest of stages time and again. He was the Man of the Match in the 2010 World Cup final, followed by another Man of the Match performance in the 2012 Euro final and another one in the final of the 2015 UEFA Champions League.
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On two out of these 3 occasions, Claudio Marchisio was on the losing side and probably it is where his admiration for the 32-year-old stems from.
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Author’s Take
It is a common theme in the world of football for one player to reveal his admiration for another star and it is understandable from where Marchisio is coming from. Being a midfielder himself, Marchisio can relate to the Spaniard on a professional level.
The Spaniard is undeniably one of the best midfielders of all time and it is probably the reason why the Italian chose Iniesta over the likes of Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez.
