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Why Carlos Bacca vs. Andrea Barzagli Will Be Key Juventus vs. AC Milan Battle
- Updated: May 20, 2016
The last game of Italy’s 2015-16 program is set to be played on Saturday as AC Milan and Juventus square off in the final of the Coppa Italia.
It’s a meeting of Serie A giants, but the position of the clubs couldn’t be more different.
Juventus has just completed one of the most incredible seasons in Serie A’s history. They started their fourth consecutive title defense in the worst way possible. After 10 games, they only had 12 points and sat in 12th place. No team had ever won the Scudetto after such a start.
But the Bianconeri tapped into the winning spirit that had been instilled in them by former coach Antonio Conte and began an epic run. Starting with a last-second 2-1 win in the Derby della Mole on Halloween night, they won 15 straight games, the last of which was a first-against-second battle against Napoli that vaulted them into a familiar place—top of the table.
They finished the season with 16 wins, one draw and one loss, winning the title with three games to spare.
Milan, on the other hand, have endured another difficult season. Former coach Sinisa Mihajlovic lost four of his first seven games, including an embarrassing 4-0 hammering at the hands of Napoli at the beginning of October.
But things slowly improved. In the 20 games after Napoli, the Rossoneri only lost twice—once at Juventus and once in the first game after the winter break against Bologna. After that loss, they went 11 games unbeaten. That included their best performance of the season, a 3-0 win over crosstown rivals Inter Milan.
But March brought disaster. They only won twice in the league after the beginning of that month, allowing tiny upstarts Sassuolo to creep up and pip them for sixth place. Now, they must defeat Juve to have any chance of qualifying for European competition next season.
In order for them to do that, they need a big day from Carlos Bacca.
The Colombian joined the Rossoneri this summer from Sevilla for a €30 million fee, and he was an instant hit. By the beginning of …
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