The Champions League is back, and after a forced two-year absence Juventus are back in it, but I'm not sure it's such a good thing. For Juve, this is a jinxed competition. They reached the final seven times, and lost five of those finals. The first time they won the competition in 1985 more than 30 fans were killed by Liverpool hooligans. Rather than a victory, it was a great tragedy. Juve then won the trophy again in 1996, against Ajax on penalties.
I'm not sure it's such a good thing that Juve are back in the Champions League, because for us fans it's normally an occasion for much anxiety, and only occasionally do we have reason to celebrate. Somehow Juventus, who are so authoritative, almost arrogant in Italy, are transformed into an ordinary team when playing at European level. I often end up almost wishing they would be eliminated, to avoid undergoing further anxiety and stress!
But then, reason tells me that the same factor applies to most other teams. Only one team ends up winning the Champions League - all other contenders' efforts end up in heartbreak, and some of them are very ambitious indeed.
So let's welcome the fact that Juventus are back in the running, again aiming to achieve European glory. The final this year will take place in Rome, the venue of their last victory in 1996. My forecast for the final: Juventus - Inter 3-0.
(Two blogs on the same day - and this was supposed to be a "low blogging activity" day...)
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