THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

All the cameras in the ESPN studios focused on Josua Morales after he made his interjection.

Emilia Vasquez, the sports show host, smiled. She looked at the pundit and said, "Joshua! Can you tell us why you disagree with Alessandro's analysis?"

"Well," Joshua Morales replied. "I'm not getting why Alessandro would speculate that a team with the current top scorer of the Champions League will find it hard to score goals. Time and time again this season, we have seen Juventus penetrate the defenses of robust defensive-minded teams. They put five goals past a team as tenacious as Atlético Madrid over the two legs during the Champions League group stages. Aside from that, they have averaged about three or more goals while playing other tough teams in Italy, including AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Napoli. They are a team that can score goals, and I'm sure they will do the same against Real Madrid."

"I'm not denying that Real Madrid is a strong team," Morales continued. "As a team, they have all the skills and world-class talents to go out and give Juventus hell during the game, offensive-wise. But we can't just discount Juventus as they have very creative offensive-minded players, like Zachary, Tevez, and Llorente, who have proven time and time again that they can rise to the occasion and do what is needed to win the game. They will score against Real Madrid, especially when they welcome them to the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday. The question will now be whether Real Madrid can score more goals than them over the two quarter-final legs."

Emilia Vasquez smiled and glanced at her iPad. "I have just been looking at the past statistics of the two teams. Juventus has not lost a single game since the beginning of this football season. They have only dropped points twice, that is when they drew against Atalanta and AS Roma in the Serie A. They have also won all their Coppa Italia and the Champions League games. They are, for sure, a team on form. Real Madrid, on the other hand, has lost several games. They lost against Barcelona just a few weeks back. They also lost against FC Schalke 04, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, and Real Sociedad earlier in the season. And lastly, they have also suffered four defeats against Atlético Madrid this season. I have, of course, not mentioned the several times they drew against some of their opponents."

Joshua Morales laughed on hearing the statistics. "Going just by the recent performances, Real Madrid are undoubtedly the underdogs for these two legs of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. They will have to pray and hope that Juventus are not at the top of their game when they meet on the pitch."

"History doesn't determine everything," Alessandro chimed in. "With the star quality in their ranks, Real Madrid have a good chance of coming out on top after the two legs. In my honest opinion, I think they have a fifty percent chance of winning the quarter-finals."

"Gentlemen!" Charles Adams, the last pundit, chimed in. "Let's also not forget that Luka Modrić and Karim Benzema will likely miss the game due to knee problems. Aside from that, Gareth Bale is also just returning from injury. It isn't clear whether Ancelotti will ask him to go 90 minutes."

"This, indeed, could be a problem," Alessandro Costacurta said. "If both Benzema and Bale remain sidelined, then Real Madrid will find it difficult to finish off goal-scoring opportunities."

Joshua Morales also nodded.

"Charles!" Emilia Vasquez interjected to redirect the conversation. "What could be some key matchups to expect from this game?"

Charles Adams smiled. "We should expect to see plenty of wide battles during the game. Juventus' lack of wingers means they consistently shape up very narrow in attack, but that can leave them a little short-handed in the wing areas when they're out of possession. In this game, they'll have to work hard to ensure Stephan Lichtsteiner is given a helping hand when up against Cristiano Ronaldo. Midfield shuttlers Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio must also ensure that full-backs Marcelo and Dani Carvajal aren't able to venture forward completely unguarded."

"Aside from the wide battle," Charles Adams continued, "we can also expect to see a phenomenal matchup in the midfield. Zachary Bemba and Andrea Pirlo, who have played incredibly well for Juventus this season, will be battling against Isco and Toni Kroos. The Real Madrid midfielders will have to go all out to stop Zachary's breakthrough runs through the middle. They will also have to remain alert against the defense-splitting passes from both Zachary and Pirlo, which can do damage when you least expect it. It's a pity that Modric is out with a knee injury. Otherwise, we would have witnessed a more intensive battle between these midfielders."

"Don't forget to mention the matchup between Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus' center-backs," Alessandro Costacurta said. "Ronaldo always tends to cut into the pitch and make breakthrough runs into or behind the defensive line. Moreover, he has the skills to either take on the defenders and break into the box or shoot from a distance and do the damage. Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, the two center-backs, will have to go all out to keep the superstar quiet in the final third."

"Indeed, that's a good point," Joshua Morales said. "That also points to a very crucial question. Will Coach Max Allegri go with the 4-3-1-2 or a 3-5-2 formation? We have seen him alternate between the two throughout the season so far. The 3-5-2 is probably a more negative approach due to its tendency to invite pressure. And if you invite pressure from Real Madrid, you all know what can happen."

Charles Adams nodded. "I think Max Allegri will play it safe and go with a 4-3-1-2 formation. He can field Evra, Chiellini, Bonucci, and Stephan Lichtsteiner in defense. Then, he can play Claudio Marchisio, Vidal, and Pirlo as the three holding midfielders while allowing Zachary to remain as the attacking midfielder. Then, he could complete his 4-3-1-2 set-up with the two strikers - Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente, who have shown time and time again that they can score when it matters this season."

The other pundits nodded, and the show continued. Emilia Vasquez, the host, eventually steered the discussion towards the other quarter-final fixtures of the UEFA Champions League, and all the pundits gave their careful analyses about them. Towards the end, they focused on analyzing Wednesday night's fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona before saying their goodbyes to the viewers and ending the program.

The Juventus players only rested for a day after defeating Parma Calcio and winning the league early. Then, when Monday arrived, they returned to the Vinovo to prepare for Tuesday night's crucial quarter-final fixture against Real Madrid.

Coach Allegri was strict and meticulous that day. He personally took the players through the tactical drills and fitness conditioning routines during the morning hours. He ended the physical training at lunch to allow the players to rest their bodies, especially since the match was the following day.

The coach then let the players enjoy lunch and rest for about an hour before summoning them to the tactics room for a pre-game meeting. He immediately started explaining the tactics for the game against Real Madrid and eventually discussed all game aspects with his players. The coach clarified the opponent's weaknesses or strengths, the game plan, and individual roles for each field player before moving on to the squad and playing formations.

The line-up was pretty much what everyone expected. It comprised Juventus' best-performing players at the moment, including Gianluigi Buffon, Patrice Evra, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo, Zachary Bemba, Carlos Tevez, and Kingsley Coman. The only first-stringer out of the starting squad was the off-form - Fernando Llorente, who had struggled to perform during the match against Parma. He would instead be a substitute along with the others like Andrea Barzagli, Álvaro Morata, Simone Padoin, Roberto Pereyra, and Simone Pepe.

After reading the squad, the coach looked at his players and said, "Tomorrow is the big day. It's the day we face off against Real Madrid at the Juventus stadium. We'll have a light training session in the morning and rest in the afternoon. Then, at 6:30 in the evening, we'll all meet here again before heading to our home stadium to welcome Real Madrid to Turin."

"But let me also make a few things clear." The coach swept his gaze across all his players in the tactics room. "I don't want to see exhausted players before we play the game. So, eat healthy food and get ample rest tonight. Don't spend too much time getting intimate with your lovers to the point of failing to perform during the match."

The players laughed at that and whistled while a few others called out the names of their teammates.

"I guess I have said all I wanted to say," Coach Allegri continued. "Let's meet again tomorrow to make our final preparations for the game." The coach then added a few concluding remarks before sending the players to their homes for the day. He wanted them to rest early. That way, they would have the required energy levels to face off against the tricky Real Madrid side the following night.