Tuesday’s showdown between Barcelona and Milan has been labelled as the “Derby of the World” by Adriano Galliani.
The two teams meet in their opening match of Group H as the Champions League kicks off this evening.
“Barcelona are the best team in the world right now, but Milan are the club with the most titles,” the Rossoneri Vice-President noted.
“Therefore, this game can be called the Derby of the World.”
Former Barca ace Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be missing from this global tie though after he picked up an injury in training on Monday.
That initially led to the understanding that Antonio Cassano and Alexandre Pato would start in attack, but that may not be the case.
As boss Massimiliano Allegri is also without the injured Robinho and the unavailable Pippo Inzaghi, there are suggestions that he could just start with Pato up front on his own.
The suggestion made by the Gazzetta dello Sport is that the Brazilian will be backed up by Kevin Prince Boateng and Urby Emanuelson in a 4-3-2-1.
Juventus returned to their brand new stadium this afternoon for the first time since Thursday’s workout against Notts County.
Antonio Conte decided to hold the team’s final training session at Juventus Stadium, allowing his players to fully acclimatise to the new pitch and surroundings.
A stadium in silence before the rapturous welcome the Bianconeri will be afforded tomorrow. Conte used the opportunity to appeal to the supporters, reminding them of the vital role they can play in spurring the team on to victory. “We’ve chosen to train in the stadium in order to put the finishing touches on our preparations. I hope that from Sunday, and for all the other home games, the public’s contribution proves to be fundamental. I’d like the fans to create an electric atmosphere all around the ground and I’m certain that thanks to the new arena and their proximity, they’ll be our twelfth man on the pitch.”
At the end of the workout, the manager submitted 20-man selection for the game. Iaquinta is the only one to miss out due to injury, while Krasic and Vucinic have been passed fit.
1 Buffon
3 Chiellini
5 Pazienza
7 Pepe
8 Marchisio
10 Del Piero
11 De Ceglie
14 Vucinic
15 Barzagli
17 Elia
19 Bonucci
20 Toni
21 Pirlo
22 Vidal
24 Giaccherini
26 Lichtsteiner
27 Krasic
30 Storari
32 Matri
33 Sorensen
