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The UEFA Champions League is considered to be the biggest and most important tournament in club football. Top clubs from the top leagues of Europe participate in this tournament in a bid to win the most coveted trophy in the world of club competition.
Juventus has been one of the most consistent teams in Europe over the past decade. Along with Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, they should be considered as Europe's big four in recent times, but Juventus are the only team out of those four to not win the trophy in the last decade.
While Juventus has regularly made deep runs into the competition, reaching the final in 2015 and 2017, they have not been able to translate it into a title win. This year looks like a different story though, Juve got the competition's best player ever in Cristiano Ronaldo and are aiming for European glory.
Here we take a look at 5 reasons why Juventus look destined to win the UEFA Champions League this season.
5) Domestic success
Since the start of this decade, The Bianconeri have dominated the Serie A. Such has been their domestic dominance that they have won a record seven consecutive Serie A titles and four consecutive Serie A and Coppa Italia Doubles.
In the 2011-12 season, they went unbeaten throughout the season becoming the first team to do so in the new 38 game format. In the current 2018/19 Serie A campaign, Juventus have once again made a storming start, raking in 34 points from a possible 36 and are already 6 points clear of the second-placed Napoli.
With the league almost already secured, Juve will be able to concentrate on the Champions League during the knockout stages, which will be a huge boost for them, physically and mentally. They will have the cushion of resting key players during that time to save them from injuries and fatigue which will play a key role if they are to win the Champions League this season.
4) Options in the bench
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and all the teams that have won the Champions League in the recent years had one thing in common, a strong squad with a good bench strength.
It's not always about just eleven players, because of factors such as injuries and suspensions, which are beyond anyone's control. Liverpool lost their talisman Mohamed Salah in the all-important UCL final last year, and the difference in their performance was evident.
Juve had a very strong summer transfer window this year and now they have backup options all over the park. In defence, they have top quality players like Andrea Barzagli, Medhi Benatia and Daniele Rugani, whereas in the midfield and the final third they have Emre Can, Federico Bernardeschi, Rodrigo Bentancur and Juan Cuadrado.
The Old Lady have strengthened their backup options, which could well make the difference this time in the European competition.
3) Mastermind Allegri at the helm
Massimiliano Allegri over the years has proven his brilliance with sides such as Sassuolo, Cagliari, AC Milan and currently at Juventus.
Allegri has won the Serie A coach of the year award 5 times since the 2008-09 season, which is a testament to the tactical brilliance of this man. The Juve boss has fired them to four consecutive domestic doubles and a couple of Champions League finals in the last four seasons but was unlucky on both occasions, as they faced better teams.
Allegri's abilities as a manager cannot be doubted, he has consistently proven himself at the top level. Allegri has been with Juventus for over four years now and he knows each and every player of squad better than anyone else, he knows the strengths and weaknesses of each player and knows when to use whom.
With years of experience with this Juventus team and his tactical intelligence as sharp as ever, this can finally be his year.
2) Weak performances from other big clubs
Over the past four years, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona are three teams that have stopped Juventus in Europe. Real and Bayern have both experienced horrible starts to their campaigns, Real are sixth in LaLiga whereas Bayern is placed fifth.
Barcelona performed well without Messi but also looks a far cry from the team that beat Juventus in the 2015 UCL final. Real, Bayern and Barca all have dropped their game a bit this season.
Real have struggled in the post-Ronaldo era, whereas Bayern is trying to cope up with an ageing squad and a new coach in Niko Kovac, whilst Juventus have looked unstoppable this season.
Their new signings Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Cancelo and Leonardo Bonucci have predictably strengthened their already solid squad. With most of their top rivals struggling in their domestic leagues, Juventus might have the perfect chance to conquer Europe.
However, the three teams mentioned here will probably improve their situations and teams in the Premier League might have something to say about Juve's European quest.
1) The Ronaldo Effect
It has to be him, the Champions League's most prolific goal scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, is now a Juventus player.
Ronaldo has won 5 UEFA Champions Leagues in his glittery career, including three consecutive title wins with Real Madrid in the past three years, and four of the last five.
Ronaldo is one of the most consistent goalscorers in the history of football and the Champions League is his favourite competition. He has won the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award a record 4 times along with topping the goalscorer of the season chart 7 times.
Cristiano has broken Juve's Champions League dream twice in the last two years, hence they knew exactly what Ronaldo could provide them. And now just four months into this season, Ronaldo already looks settled at Juventus and he could provide the Old Lady with that cutting edge that they were missing for years now.
