The 60th European Cup Final in Berlin?
I’m expecting Barcelona to outplay Juventus by outrunning and overwhelming them.
If the little master doesn’t score early, he’ll score late.
Lionel Messi is the greatest dribble-and-shoot genius of 21st century football – and maybe of all time.
After 20 minutes of last weekend’s King’s Cup Final, the first goal came when he destroyed the Athletic Bilbao defence from a standing start just inside their half.
Messi cut inside from the right wing and waltzed past one!two!three!four! defenders in superhuman style and buried his left-foot shot inside the near post.
Luis Enrique has adapted Barcelona, making them more direct, more dynamic. Less keep-ball, more penetration.
Recognising that they could no longer dictate games by playing Xavi-Iniesta-Messi possession football, as his friend Guardiola did for four phenomenal seasons, Luis Enrique, a combative player himself, changed the emphasis, so that Barca now play the ball earlier and use some longer passes.
Since he made the team more pragmatic we have seen unprecedented deluge of goals from the front three, who have scored 120 between them this season.
Suarez has 24 from 40 matches, Neymar has 38 in 48 appearances, and, amazingly, Messi has scored 58 goals in 55 games.
The fierce passion of Luis Suarez is evident from the first minute of every game and is sustained into the last seconds of injury time. When Suarez can’t reach a cross or a rebound, or when he nods a header a foot wide, the scale of his disappointment is operatic.
Both clubs are going for a treble, as you know.
Centreback Chiellini is out after pulling a calf muscle in training on Wednesday.
Although I expect Barcelona to dominate, I have a funny feeling that both teams will score.
Broadly, though, I envisage three possible scenarios.
Either Juventus will edge a very tight game, or Barcelona will nick it after a close battle, or Messi will lead a romptastic 4-1 rout.