Juventus’ Spanish forward Alvaro Morata takes part in a training session at the Juventus Stadium in Turin.

DPA/Turin

Juventus Spaniards Alvaro Morata and Fernando Llorente can be crucial for the Bianconeri with their will to defeat and the knowledge of compatriot rivals Barcelona in Saturday’s Berlin-hosted final of the Champions League.
“I cannot deny that this game is not doubly important for me, because I grew up at the youth team of Real Madrid and played there many years,” striker Morata said yesterday at a meeting with the media that UEFA organised at the Juventus Stadium.
“We will do all we can to win it. We are meeting the first or second strongest team in the world, but if we win we can say we are world beaters too.”
The 22-year-old arrived last year from Real and has often replaced Llorente as striking mate of Argentina ace Carlos Tevez.
He said he would not know who to name as Barcelona’s best striker but added that he tries “to learn something from Luis Suarez, who plays more or less in my role, but it also good to look at the other two (strikers Lionel Messi and Neymar).”

SOLID DEFENCE
Morata praised Juve’s defence as being “if not the best, one of the most solid in Europe. And it is me saying this as I train daily with them. It is very difficult to deal with them. It is difficult to score against this team and I think this will be our strong point.”
Llorente, at Juve since 2013, played often against Barcelona in his eight seasons with Athletic Bilbao.
“Barcelona’s problem is that they suffer when they are not in possession,” he said. “But the problem is managing to dispossess them. They have lots of qualities and a fast pace.
“They are used to handling the ball under pressure, but this is one of the things we must do. There will be moments when we have to defend and do it in the best possible way. If we all defend together they can have problems.”
Asked about how to mark Argentine star Lionel Messi, Llorente said that he saw him lose his nerve in some games.
“But often he still manages to score with his quality. We must always be close to him and not make him feel at ease.”
Barca’s rear package is likewise redoubtable for Llorente, who said that “it made up of great players, but all teams have their weak spots. When you attack them you can hurt them, possibly on dead balls. We hope that against us they will suffer.”