Real Madrid And Juventus Meet In Miami In A Clash Of Titans

Juventus boss Igor Tudor knows he’s in for a tough test on Tuesday afternoon in Florida.

The Bianconeri face Real Madrid in the round of 16 at the FIFA World Club Cup, and these historic old rivals will square off in the dead of the Miami heat in very different shapes.

Xabi Alonso is in the first weeks in his new job, having taken over from the legendary Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti left after four highly successful years in the Spanish capital, and Alonso, a former student of Ancelotti’s, will have mighty shoes to fill.

Madrid have cruised through the opening rounds of the tournament. After a sticky start against Al-Hilal in its opening game, Los Blancos put Mexican outfit Pachua and Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg to the sword in Charlotte and Philadelphia respectively.

Juve, meanwhile, started the season brightly with wins over Al Ain and Wydad AC, scoring nine goals and conceding just one.

Yet the biggest test was always going to come in the final group stage game against Manchester City.

Tudor, perhaps foolishly, rested many of his starters for the game against pep Guardiola’s men, and was promptly punished.

The end result was a 5-2 walloping in which Juve saw little of the ball and was accused of playing like a ‘small team’ by former player Felipe Melo.

The defeat meant the Italians finished second in the group and therefore a daunting challenge against Madrid, while City face Al-Hilal.

Juve and Madrid, whose battles in the Champions League down the years have been iconic, haven’t met in a competitive setting since the 2018 Champions League quarter final.

Both clubs are now very different. Juve arguably haven’t reached the same level since the dying days of the first Max Allegri spell.

Seven years on and Juve haven’t made it past the quarter final in the Champions League. Madrid have won it three more times.

Madrid possesses one of the best squads in Europe. Juve, by contrast, don’t.

Tudor, who replaced the disappointing Thiago Motta, has brought some much needed energy, grit and determinism after the dourness of the Thiago Motta reign.

Yet the Croat, who played for Juve in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has a lot of work to do in order to bring Juve back to former levels.

Juve haven’t looked genuine title contenders in Italy for half a decade, and the current side is a mismatch of talented youth and odd signings.

Madrid, in contrast, are run in a much more streamlined and coherent way, despite the odd interjection from president Florentino Perez.

Often seen as a club making commercial signings ahead of playing ones in the 2000s and early 2010s, Perez shifted his approach to buying players, and Madrid is now seen as an example on how to run a colossal club, buy smart and yet still compete for the biggest trophies.

That used to be Juve’s calling card.

Juve will go into the game as severe underdogs, and will have to put in a much better performance than we seen against City on Friday.

A win for Madrid is expected by the majority, with Alonso having a far superior squad at his disposal. However Al-Hilal showed Madrid can be vulnerable at times, Juve just need to know when to pick their moment.

Either way, when these two giants of the European game collide, the US will be watching.