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The stage is set for the quarterfinals of the Champions League and all teams are in full throttle with verve and class ready to prove their qualifications to the quarterfinals and their determinations to win and not being pushovers in the competition. One of the sleeping heroes of Europe is finally back.
Many may have forgotten the impact of Ajax in the Champions League until the reigning champion's humbling at their feet. They proved their mettle and pedigree against Bayern Munich in the group stage by holding them to a draw on both occasions and Real Madrid in the second leg like a real European powerhouse who have awoken from their slumber.
Their youthful exuberance and vigour showed against a much more experienced but tired Real Madrid side who were humiliated 4-1 at the Bernabeu in the second leg even though they defeated them 2-1 in the first leg at the Johan Cruyff Arena, inflicting their first loss of the competition on them this season.
Juventus are also one of the teams that qualified for the quarterfinals after a hard-fought victory against Atletico Madrid in the second leg. Just like their next opposition, they overturned a first-leg deficit to qualify for the quarterfinals.
After navigating past the group stage, facing Atletico in the second round was going to be a tough match but with Cristiano Ronaldo, the Serie A giants have the deadliest Champions League weapon. They were defeated 2-0 in the first leg of the competition and were already steering at elimination until the Portuguese' hat trick scaled them through in the return leg in Turin.
Ajax and Juventus have been paired in the quarterfinals of the UCL this season. One might be tempted to think that Juventus would have an easy ride against Ajax because of their absence at this stage since the 2002-2003 season.
However, Ajax is a successful side in the Champions League, winning the competition four times compared to Juventus's two and might be having an unfinished battle of supremacy between them after meeting twice in the finals of the tournament in 1973 and 1996 winning one apiece.
Since their last meeting though, Juventus have grown a lot; becoming the supreme power in Italy for the past seven seasons and are leading the pack in the Italian top flight once again this term as they charge towards their eighth successive scudetto.
They are obsessed with winning the Champions League after their domestic dominance over these years and their recruitment is geared towards that motive with many ambitious recruitments including Cristiano Ronaldo - an experienced and perennial winner with four champions league medals in five seasons with Real Madrid, whose obsession with winning matches with that of Juventus.
Despite the fact that Ajax are a historic side in the Champions League, Juventus are well poised to get the better of them when the sides meet in April and below are 3 reasons why.
#3. Experience
Experience is a luxury and a big recipe for success in the Champions League. It counts a great deal and that is one thing associated with big teams and players who have won it many times. Ajax and Juventus have a great deal of experience in the UCL since its inception.
Both have won the trophy a combined of six times with Ajax winning it four times and Juventus winning it two times. Juventus have made it to the final seven times thereby becoming the team with more final appearances.
Between these two giants, they have played 12 champions league games with Ajax winning two, losing 6 times and drawing four times.
However, recent statistics show that the current Juventus players are older and more experienced than the current crop of players at Ajax. Juventus have been performing consistently in the competition since the 2011-2012 season while the last time Ajax appeared in the second round was the 2002/2003 campaign.
The average age of the current Ajax team stands at 24.0 as compared to that of Juventus at 28.6. This shows the great difference in experience among the two teams and going by history, the brewing talent and confidence in the current Ajax team might not be enough to carry them through to the next stage of the competition.
#2. Cristiano Ronaldo's presence
With 124 goals, five trophies and still counting, who could be more threatening in the Champions League than Cristiano Ronaldo? He has proven time and again across different leagues and clubs how deadly and hungry he is when it comes to this tournament.
He has singlehandedly lifted his team against oppositions on numerous occasions. He holds the record for most goals in the competition (124) and most goals in a single season with 17 goals in 2014 when Real Madrid claimed their tenth European triumph.
As seen against Atletico Madrid in the second round recently, Ronaldo pops up whenever his team is in a precarious situation; when his team needs a saviour and that is what he has done countless times in his career.
He scores vital and spectacular goals, breaks records, qualifies his teams and makes great defenders look amateur in the profession. Looking at the statistics, Ronaldo has scored more goals in the knockout stages of the competition than any other player in history. He is noted for his progressive rates of goals as the competition progresses.
When Massimiliano Allegri was asked why Ronaldo was signed, he aptly said, ‘ Ronaldo is a guy who delivers on big occasions.’ In his mind, no occasion is bigger than when Ronaldo scored the goal that eliminated Juventus from the competition last season with a sumptuous bicycle kick voted the best goal of the season.
A night like Atletico's still awaits them in the UCL and in Ronaldo, they have a player who has seen it all. Ajax may pose a great threat to their ultimate goal of the season in the quarterfinals but they are already prepared to overcome any storm in the Champions League with the Portuguese on their side.
#1. Juve's ultimate desire this season
Juventus have secured seven Scudettos in seven successive seasons and are almost certain of the eighth one. However, according to their president Fabio Paratici, the main target for 2019 is to win the Champions League.
Even Massimiliano Allegri would see the European Cup as the icing on the cake of his Juventus career after winning the Scudetto for the fifth time at the end of the campaign.
He has delayed his contract talks until the end of the term even though the Bianconeri are ready to offer him a new contract mid-season. The players too are hungry for success after losing a record seven finals in the competition winning it just twice.
Recent recruitments of experienced players like Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo for record fees despite their domestic dominance further prove their hunger for the coveted trophy. The former has not performed well for the Old Lady but there are others such as Emre Can fighting for the team.
The determination in their games this season as proven in the group stage and in the Round Of 16 show that Juventus are ready to hunt down any team. Ajax needs to understand that the Bianconeri are a team on a mission and it will take much more than just talent and youthful vigour but determination, persistence, and courage to play against this Juventus team who would do anything to win the competition they last won in 1996.
