Gianluigi Buffon accepts Real Madrid ‘are a better team’ than Juventus but insists luck was not with his side in last season’s Champions League Final.
Juve were comprehensively beaten 4-1 by Madrid in the Cardiff showpiece last May, but the Bianconeri will begin their quest for revenge against the holders in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg.
“Why Juve can beat Madrid in knockouts but not Finals? There’s no explanation,” the goalkeeper told Marca.
Gianluigi Buffon accepts Real Madrid ‘are a better team’ than Juventus but insists luck was not with his side in last season’s Champions League Final.
Juve were comprehensively beaten 4-1 by Madrid in the Cardiff showpiece last May, but the Bianconeri will begin their quest for revenge against the holders in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg.
“Why Juve can beat Madrid in knockouts but not Finals? There’s no explanation,” the goalkeeper told Marca.
“We’ve won matches that are 180 minutes long, yet we’ve lost in 90. We’ll have to play Finals in 180 minutes!
“It’s difficult to find an explanation, but it shows that we know how to play against teams of this level, although it’s not the same when the game is 90 minutes long and not 180.
“Why Madrid won so convincingly last year? What we have to do this time around is apply our qualities and way of playing in order to strike a balance.
“The best team won, but we didn’t play so badly to be stuffed like we did. There are times in games when fortune smiles at you or not, and it didn’t help us that day.
“How to beat Madrid? By applying our best characteristics on the pitch, that’s what the Coach will try to do.
“Real Madrid are a better team than Juve. I don’t say it, history says it. Their track record, numbers…
“I believe that winning the Champions League is still a dream, although it’ll be very difficult for it to come true.
“We can compete with Real Madrid, but they’ve always shown that they have something special, different.
“What makes them different? Well, they’re the best team in the world by far. Does anyone doubt it? Winning three Champions Leagues in the last four years says it all.
“They’re No 1 and no-one can argue with that. Are this Real Madrid invincible in Europe? No. No team are invincible. They’re a very complicated team to beat.
“Real Madrid may be favourites, but the tie is now at 50 percent. We have to be ambitious. There’s history and the present, but Juve are also a great team, who know how to win trophies.
“Each game is different. I wouldn’t like it to be like it was in Cardiff. We’re playing well, but we’re not favourites.
“We know the we’re facing, and our objective is to still be battling until the final minutes of game at the Bernabeu.”