Barça-Juve: Five battles in three cities - Champions League
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Barcelona and Juventus have contested five ties in four competitions in three cities. Ahead of their sixth showdown, FIFA.com recaps their head-to-head history.
Juventus 2-4 Barcelona
1952 Latin Cup, semi-final
The Latin Cup was an annual four-team tournament featuring the champions of France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Paris staged its fourth instalment. Juventus made the trip north-west just four days after winning in Veneto to clinch the Scudetto by a sizeable seven-point margin. Barcelona, by contrast, headed north having played just once in ten weeks, recovering a two-goal deficit to beat Valencia in a thrilling Copa del Rey decider. The Catalans were two up in their semi-final, thanks to the invention of Ladislao Kubala and goals from pocket-sized pair Eduardo Manchon and Estanislau Basora. Giampiero Boniperti pulled one back just before half-time, but Kubala and Basora effectively sealed the outcome within ten minutes of the restart. Boniperti made the scoreline respectable late on. “We were undone by the best player in the world,” said Juve coach Gyorgy Sarosi afterwards of his fellow Budapest native Kubala, who duly went on to inspire Barça to victory over Nice in the final.
Barcelona 2-4 Juventus (aggregate)
1970/71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Round of 16
How those 180 minutes produced ‘only’ six goals remains a mystery. Helmut Haller and Roberto Bettega fired Juventus into a 2-0 lead at Camp Nou, and some magnificent saves from Roberto Tancredi preserved that cushion until Marcial’s 74th-minute goal gave Barcelona hope. The boys in black and white nevertheless monopolised the return leg at the Stadio Comunale. Bettega towered over his marker to head Juventus ahead, and a delightful lob from Fabio Capello made it 4-1 on aggregate after 24 minutes. Capello, Adriano Novellini, Gianpietro Marchetti and Bettega produced some breathtaking football thereafter, but Salvador Sadurni – only playing because first-choice goalkeeper Miguel Reina, the father of Bayern Munich goalkeeper Pepe, was injured – somehow stymied them. And though Juve emerged comfortable victors, Barça did claim a memorable consolation, with Lluis Pujol’s handsome chip even prompting the man who conceded it, Tancredi, to clap.
Barcelona 2-1 Juventus (aggregate)
1985/86 UEFA Champions League, quarter-final
The Turin titans were the favourites, but they left Catalonia at a one-goal deficit thanks to Julio Alberto’s 30-yard piledriver. Massimo Mauro, Michael Laudrup and Michel Platini went for it from the outset in part two, but they were hit on the counter-attack on the half-hour. There appeared no angle for Steve Archibald to score when a high, hanging cross found him at the back post, but the Scot headed it against Stefano Tacconi’s arm and in. The Juve No9 looked as flabbergasted as the Barça No10 appeared ecstatic. It left the Italian champions requiring three goals, and they got one when Platini stylishly finished off a passing move just before the break. The second half was all Juventus, but despite a couple of classy volleys from Platini they couldn’t find a way past Señor Urruti. Barcelona went on to lost the final on penalties to Steaua.
Barcelona 3-2 Juventus (aggregate)
1990/91 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, semi-final
“A magnificent game of football,” was how Johan Cruyff described 90 minutes at Camp Nou. Long-range efforts from Laudrup, playing against his old club, and Ronald Koeman had come close to giving Barcelona the lead before Juventus snatched it due to a defensive gaffe a fresh-faced Pierluigi Casiraghi pounded upon. Hristo Stoichkov required every centimetre of his 5ft 10ins frame to head home a 55th-minute equaliser, and the fiery Bulgarian somehow kept his balance to put the hosts in front five minutes later. It that was impressive, Barça’s third was exceptional. Andoni Goikoetxea recvied possession on the halfway line, galloped forward, played a one-first with Julio Salinas, and lobbed Tacconi with a first-time curler from 25 yards. A sublime Roberto Baggio free-kick gave Juventus a 1-0 lead in the return, but, aided by Koeman’s impeccable sliding tackle on Thomas Hassler, Barcelona help on to reach the Rotterdam final, which they lost to Manchester United.
Juventus 3-2 Barcelona (aggregate)
2002/03 UEFA Champions League, quarter-final
Paolo Montero smashed the ball home from a corner to put the Italians ahead at the Stadio delle Alpi. Thereafter, Gianluigi Buffon saved a Xavi volley and Roberto Bonano tipped away an improvised half-bicycle-kick, before Javier Saviola’s deflected strike grabbed the Spaniards an equaliser. That left Barcelona as the favourites to progress, but their cathedral was silenced just after half-time when Pavel Nedved coolly slotted the visitors ahead. Luis Enrique set up Xavi to equalise on 66 minutes, and the blance tipped in Barcelona’s favour when Edgar Davids was sent off ten minutes from the end of normal time. Barça bossed extra time, but two breathtaking saves from Buffon kept Juve in it and, against all odds, a marvellous cross from Alessandro Birindelli was turned home by Marcelo Zalayeta to send Marcello Lippi’s men into the semis. Juventus ultimately lost to AC Milan in the decider.