On Monaco’s sun-kissed shores, Juventus can prove Italian football isn’t on its deathbed.
Since Inter won in 2010, no Italian team has made the semifinals. The Italian league has slipped from third to fourth in European rankings, swapping places with Germany’s far better-attended Bundesliga.
So Italian football needs a fillip, and Juventus is poised to deliver it on Wednesday. Having scored the first leg’s only goal with an Arturo Vidal penalty, watertight defense from Juventus would be enough to finish off Monaco in their quarterfinal second leg.
SWEATING ON VIDAl
Vidal is in doubt to play after missing Monday’s training with tonsillitis. That could leave Juventus short in midfield, because Paul Pogba is still nursing a right-thigh muscle tear. But striker Carlos Tevez (in pic) is fully fit after scoring again at the weekend to take his Serie A-leading tally to 18 goals, 26 in all competitions.
“We have a great chance and we can’t let it escape,” said Tevez, a Champions league winner with Manchester United in 2008. “As I said as soon as we reached the quarterfinals, now anything can happen.”
JUVE ON THE BRINK
Juventus could be an especially formidable opponent in the May semifinals because, unlike some other teams, it will likely have won its domestic league by then. That would allow coach Massimiliano Allegri to rest players for the semis and focus the entire club on ending its 19-year wait for the European trophy. Pogba might also be back then — if not for the first leg then perhaps the second — allowing Europe to admire one of the continent’s most exciting young midfielders.
With Juventus 15 points clear, it is only a question of when, not if, Juventus will win its fourth successive Serie A title. Champagne corks could pop as early as this weekend in Turin if chasers lazio and Roma both lose and Juventus beats city rival Torino.
“We have to push hard until it’s mathematically secure,” said defender leonardo Bonucci.
GlASS HAlF-EMPTY
Wear and tear from a season that has gone far better than many expected is eating into Monaco coach leonardo Jardim’s squad, leaving the 2004 Champions league runner-up short of energy.
Monaco played out a third consecutive draw on Saturday at home. Players complained of fatigue, and the Portuguese coach was particularly critical of his substitutes.
OR HAlF-FUll
Juventus represents Monaco’s last best chance this season to keep defying expectations.
Monaco’s sale of James Rodriguez to Real Madrid in July and the loan of Colombian goal-scorer Radamel Falcao to United marked a sharp change in strategy at the now more parsimonious club bankrolled by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.
Domestically, dialed-back spending and ambition have exacted a price: last season’s runner-up to French champion PSG is losing touch. It also lost to PSG in the French Cup quarterfinals, and on penalties to modest Bastia in the French league Cup semifinals.
So for Monaco to still be in the fight for a Champions league semi-final is an achievement. Should this prove to be their ceiling, the players can look back with satisfaction on their progress.