Leonardo Bonucci warned Barcelona “aren’t as strong as in 2015” and Juventus have matured, but he’s prepared for the “cunning” Luis Suarez.
The first leg of the Champions League quarter-final is in Turin on Tuesday and the defender sat down with Spanish paper El Pais. You can read the rest of the interview here.
Leonardo Bonucci warned Barcelona “aren’t as strong as in 2015” and Juventus have matured, but he’s prepared for the “cunning” Luis Suarez.
The first leg of the Champions League quarter-final is in Turin on Tuesday and the defender sat down with Spanish paper El Pais. You can read the rest of the interview here.
“I have had the fortune, or rather the misfortune, of facing Barcelona in the 2015 Champions League Final,” he said of that 3-1 defeat.
“We did well to contain them to a certain extent, but Leo Messi, Suarez and Neymar are among the 10 best players in the world – as are Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala.
“They are unpredictable and have so much talent. We have to cover the spaces well. Messi moves deeper now and it means he can surprise you at any time. As for Neymar, look at the 60 metre sprint he had for Brazil against Paraguay.”
Suarez famously bit Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder when Uruguay faced Italy in the 2014 World Cup.
“Suarez never stops fighting and will try to use everything to his advantage – cunning, physicality, sneakiness. But we have a lot of important and experienced players in defence.
“I think our defence is stronger than that of Barcelona. We’ve been together for many years and proved what we’re capable of both for Juventus and Italy.
“In a two-legged tie where away goals count, a strong defence is an advantage. In the end, it’s all about having courage with the ball and sacrificing yourself without it.”
Juventus lost the 2015 Final, but while the Blaugrana have remained relatively unchanged since then, the Bianconeri have completely revamped.
“Barcelona had the same Coach for three years and that helps. Neymar has really improved, while Javier Mascherano has two more years of experience playing in defence. Ivan Rakitic has also matured.
“Having said all that, I think now Barça are not as strong as they were in 2015. In my view, Bayern Munich is the strongest side in the Champions League and I’m sure they would never have allowed a comeback like the one against Paris Saint-Germain.
“Our midfield back then had Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba. They gave us so much in that Final, but we have different players now, we have matured in the way we control the ball and understand more when to defend or attack.”
As that Final was played on neutral turf in Germany, the second leg will be Bonucci’s first ever match at Camp Nou.
“The other day, talking to Marco Verratti, he told me you can’t press or even see the ball at times because the pitch is so huge. I know by heart how Barcelona play, as I’ve watched them so many times.
“Football is my life and sometimes my wife complains because if I have a day off, I’ll watch a game on TV. It was my dream as a child and I don’t know what I’d do without football… maybe become a Coach. If so, the more games I watch, the more I’ll learn.”