'We will need to have a good day to get past a rival of this magnitude'
Juventus supporters coach Massimiliano Allegri has often been in his element when he is apparently on the back foot.
Spain and Italy have undergone managerial changes since Antonio Conte handed Vicente del Bosque a tactical masterclass at Euro 2016, but Spain go into Thursday's World Cup qualifier in Turin in better shape than their Group G rivals.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has mastered the art of the "double-edged compliment" and his praise for Juventus, after Tuesday's 1-0 defeat by the Italians, will have made uncomfortable listening for executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
Defender Diego Godin scored a dramatic goal nine minutes from time to send Uruguay through to the World Cup last 16 after a 1-0 win over Italy, on Tuesday, which sent the four-times champions home.
Juventus launched their bid for a sixth successive league title after their record signing Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to grab a trademark winner in a 2-1 success over Fiorentina on the opening day of the Serie A season.
Forget Italy's image of Catenaccio (or "door chain defence"). Antonio Conte's Italy showed in a 2-0 defeat of Spain at Euro 2016 on Monday that they can do unchained attacking football too. The Azzurri, who will take on world champions Germany in a fascinating quarter-final on Saturday, had promised they would not be afraid to go forward against Spain.
Midfielder Riccardo Montolivo missed out on his second straight major tournament due to injury on Tuesday while Daniele De Rossi was included in Italy's 23-man squad for next month's European Championship in France.
Italy beat England 3-2 on penalties after the Euro 2020 final ended 1-1 following extra time at Wembley
Italy's ability to get over the line in by far their biggest challenge of the Euros so far has made many people on the peninsula more convinced than ever of their ability to go on and win it on Sunday.
Didier Deschamps of France and Argentina's Lionel Scaloni should avoid the temptation to throw on a 'penalty specialist'
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Juventus slumped to another surprise defeat on Wednesday when the champions lost 1-0 at Sassuolo while AS Roma reclaimed top spot in Serie A with a 3-1 home victory over Udinese.
Their limp performance does not inspire confidence ahead of the visit of the all-powerful Serie A leaders and familiar foe Cristiano Ronaldo.
Spain ended European champions Italy's world record 37-match unbeaten run as Ferran Torres scored twice in a 2-1 win at the San Siro stadium in an entertaining Nations League semi-final on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain struck twice as the Italian side produced a masterful all-round display to beat Monaco 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
A restaurant in St Petersburg has struck a chord with the hordes of soccer fans in town for the World Cup by serving up pizzas featuring the faces of some of the tournament's biggest stars.
Pragmatic, difficult to beat, spearheaded by talismanic forwards and led by veteran, battle-hardened coaches -- few teams have as much in common with each other as Uruguay and Portugal who meet in a World Cup round of 16 tie on Saturday.
The Barcelona striker's clever, low free kick helped Uruguay to beat hosts Russia 3-0 on Monday and to clinch top spot in Group A with three straight wins.
Barcelona rarely looked capable of repeating their heroic comeback in the last 16 against Paris St Germain.
Luis Suarez struggled to get into his stride with new club Barcelona after his ban for biting an opponent expired in October and the Uruguay striker is determined to avoid the same fate when the new season starts next month.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is renowned for his wild touchline antics but a shrewd tactical move with a triple substitution swung Wednesday's Champions League game against Juventus firmly his side's way.
Stopping prolific Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in the Champions League final will be a formidable task, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said after his side clinched their place in next month's showpiece in Berlin.
Manchester City advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals despite suffering their first home loss in over a year, going through 5-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 defeat by Swiss champions Basel on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored with a bicycle kick which was outrageous even by his standards to lead Real Madrid to an emphatic 3-0 win away to Juventus in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday.
Italy's Daniele De Rossi scored a late penalty to earn a 1-1 draw against Spain in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday, sparing home goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's blushes after he gifted the visitors the lead. Buffon, making his 164th appearance, rushed out of his area as Vitolo broke clear but the 38-year-old completely mistimed his tackle, allowing the Spaniard to go round him and put the ball into an empty net in the 55th minute. Italy, who had been outplayed in the Group G clash, fought back and levelled in the 82nd when Eder was fouled by Sergio Ramos and De Rossi converted the spot kick, their only shot on target in the match.
Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the very best players from what has been an outstanding tournament.
Luis Suarez is starting to "feel like a footballer" once again after being allowed to train with new club Barcelona following his appeal against a FIFA ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup.
Luis Suarez ended his nine-match biting ban in fine style on Friday, grabbing the second-half equaliser that gave Uruguay a 2-2 draw in an enthralling battle with Brazil in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez was at a loss to explain how Luis Suarez missed three golden chances in his side's 1-0 win over Egypt in their opening World Cup Group A game but refused to blame his leading striker.
The Turin-based club have suffered in recent weeks with three of their players having tested positive for the virus -- forward Paulo Dybala, defender Daniele Rugani and midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, which took his league tally for the season to 21, meant that he joined Fabio Quagliarella and Gabriel Batistuta as the only players to have scored in 11 consecutive league appearances. He also reached yet another milestone with his 1,000th match for club and country in a remarkable career which has seen him play for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Portugal.
As another eventful year draws to a close, Rediff.com gives you a pictorial look back at the best and worst moments that shaped the sports stories this year.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Champions League debut for Juventus lasted only 29 minutes as he was red-carded but the Italians began their Group H campaign impressively with a 2-0 victory at Valencia on Wednesday. Penalties either side of halftime by Miralem Pjanic sealed the points for the visitors as Valencia's return to European competition after a two-year absence fell flat.
Italy coach Antonio Conte said he wants more of the team's supporters at Euro 2016 to show their pride by wearing blue shirts after they secured their place in the knockout stages with a 1-0 win over Sweden on Friday. As the Azzurri secured their second straight win with Eder's late goal, Conte was impressed by the vast number of Swedish supporters inside the stadium in Toulouse wearing their side's bright yellow shirts. Italy, in contrast, looked under-represented in the stadium.
Juventus won a second consecutive double when substitute Alvaro Morata's extra-time goal secured a 1-0 Italian Cup final win over AC Milan who missed out on Europe for a third successive season on Saturday.
Luis Suarez has progressed from his impressive debut La Liga campaign to produce the most prolific season of his career and fire Barcelona to a second straight title, free of the stigma of his ban for biting which accompanied him to Spain in 2014. It was fitting that the Uruguayan should score a hat-trick in the comfortable 3-0 victory at Granada on Saturday to clinch the title, taking his tally to 40 goals in 35 games. He is the first player other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to finish as La Liga top scorer since 2009 but his contribution to Barca's title triumph goes beyond his goals and 16 assists. For Suarez is the hardest working of the feted 'MSN' partnership he forms with Messi and Neymar, a trio who have delivered 90 of Barcelona's 112 league goals. He is also the most willing to close down opponents and run into space and, naturally, he has shown himself to be the player who is keenest to throw himself into any physical battle.
Rediff.com's Norma Godinho captures classic moments from the planet's greatest sports competition: The FIFA World Cup.
Barcelona's hopes of staging another sensational Champions League comeback fell flat against a hardened Juventus side who held the Catalans to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals 3-0 on aggregate.
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