The Champions Champion

By Sayo Jolayemi

The stage is set for the biggest soccer match of the year, Real Madrid and Juventus will face off June 3rd at the Principality Stadium in the United Kingdom.  The road for these two teams started back in September and as they fought through the round-robin (a style of tournament play when a competitor plays all other competitors) they proved their worth as the top two clubs in the world, and have earned the right to establish their dominance.

            Juventus who clinched the spot first has been lead by their fearless strikers Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala, an ever-confident keeper in Gianluigi Buffon, and their defensive anchor Dani Alves. When they defeated Monaco by an aggregate score of 4-1 they displayed their willingness to attack and confirmed their impeccable defense presence, a much-needed necessity if they hope to finish off Real Madrid in the final. Having gone a whopping 693 minutes without conceding a goal, these defenders have mastered their corner and header barricade and with a veteran in Alves who has already won three titles a win, this June looks promising. Seiba Rizik an enormous soccer fan relented to me, “If Alves can find his strikers like he’s done in the semi-finals, they [Juventus] will be tough to stop.”

            However, Real Madrid will not roll over easily. With arguably the best athlete in the soccer world right now in Cristiano Ronaldo, and with two other exceptionally composed strikers in Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, this team has no difficulty finding the back of the net. Coupled with a strong middle line captained by Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos this talented roster cruised to the finals on the back of a Ronald game one hat trick with an aggregate win of 4-2 against Atletico Madrid. AJ Banas recognizes the talent of Ronaldo, stating “... unless Juventus can shut down Ronaldo completely, it’s their [Real Madrid] game to lose, they fought too hard to give it up now.”
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            Even though only time will tell, this June we seem to be receiving an instant classic as these two team square off for the last time this year. Will Alves lead the veteran Juventus in order to walk away with a fourth Champions League trophy, or will Ballon D'Or winner Ronaldo squander their dreams and lift the award for his squad? Tune in June 3rd, at 2:45 Eastern to find out.