Juventus wanted to go even further in the Champions League.
Standing in their way was Atlético Madrid.
And to deal with Atlético Madrid,
they first had to figure out how to deal with Shane Carter.
That was a problem many coaches had already been losing sleep over.
Now Conte had joined that group.
Shane Carter was so complete—how was he supposed to be neutralized?
Conte thought about it for a long time,
but he still couldn't come up with a truly good solution.
So he simply stopped obsessing over it.
The first-leg match between AC Milan and Atlético Madrid gave him some inspiration.
Milan had switched to three holding midfielders on the fly.
But Juventus' 3-5-2 system had been built around three holding midfielders all along.
And on top of that, they also had three center-backs.
In terms of central defensive density,
Juventus were even tighter.
What's more,
Juventus' system was more stable, and the players understood each other far better.
Both teams used Italian-style defending,
but Juventus could do it much better than Milan.
So in defense, Conte could not guarantee they would stop Atlético completely,
but he felt they could certainly go toe-to-toe.
The next question was to test the attacking strength of both sides.
On that front,
Conte believed that Juventus, with Pirlo as the hub,
might not be worse than Atlético Madrid in counterattack efficiency.
...
Juventus Stadium.
This was Juventus' new home ground,
though it had been built by remodeling the old stadium.
Backed by the Agnelli family, Juventus naturally had the strongest financial power in Serie A.
The Agnellis had loosened their grip on Juventus for a while because of the Calciopoli scandal.
But once the dust settled,
they returned to the boardroom and took control of the club again.
Under those circumstances,
the old Italian superclub was naturally going to return to its rightful place.
They would reclaim the Serie A title this season,
and they would continue their push in Europe as well.
As one of the clubs that had lost the most Champions League finals,
Juventus could not match AC Milan in total titles.
But they were still a team that had reached the final seven times.
In terms of Champions League heritage,
they were deeper than Atlético Madrid too.
When both teams filed out from the tunnel at Juventus Stadium,
the noise from more than forty thousand fans inside made everyone feel the passion of the Juventus support.
In the commentary box,
the broadcasters were busy reading out the starting lineups.
"Both teams are fielding their strongest possible sides. For the home team Juventus, Buffon is in goal. The three center-backs are Bonucci, Barzagli, and Chiellini. Asamoah starts at left wing-back, Padoin at right wing-back. The midfield trio is Pogba, Pirlo, and Marchisio. Up front, it's Quagliarella alongside Vučinić. Conte's side are once again using their most familiar 3-5-2 formation."
"And for Atlético Madrid, Simeone has also named his full-strength side. They line up in a 4-4-2. Courtois in goal, Godín and Miranda at center-back, Filipe at left-back, Juanfran at right-back, Shane Carter and Gabi in central midfield, Koke on the left, Raúl García on the right, and Griezmann partnering Diego Costa up front!"
....
The referee's team led both sides out of the tunnel and onto the pitch.
Juventus Stadium was completely full.
When the players appeared,
the Juventus fans immediately greeted the Atlético players with the sharpest possible boos.
That was the home crowd's way of giving the visitors a warning.
Inside the line,
Pogba kept looking toward Shane.
He had a fire burning inside him.
Over this period, the Italian media had been mocking him by saying he and Shane would stage a "battle of young genius midfielders."
It made it sound like he wasn't even qualified to be put on the same stage for comparison.
That irritated Pogba deeply, even though he knew that, in terms of standing in world football right now...
being mocked was not exactly surprising.
Fortunately, he had a chance to prove himself in the match.
"Look forward, Paul."
Pirlo, who had been squinting with his eyes half closed, opened them.
"Don't get caught up in comparisons. Be yourself."
Pirlo patted Pogba on the shoulder.
Pogba was lucky to be growing up next to Pirlo.
A Pogba with someone to keep him in line, a Pogba without going off the rails—
that Pogba really was world-class.
...
Atlético Madrid won the kickoff.
Using that advantage,
they quickly put together an attack.
Costa received the ball in the center, laid it back to Griezmann,
and Griezmann played it across to Shane Carter, who had surged up from deeper midfield and was ready to strike.
Shane took his run-up and hit it with fury!
Bang!
The ball smashed against the post and bounced out of play.
It sent a cold sweat through the Juventus fans in the stadium.
Buffon was drenched in sweat too.
At the European Championship, goals against Buffon's goal had often come from Shane Carter, so he remembered Shane's scoring ability very clearly.
When Buffon got back up from the turf, he stared nervously toward his goal and only relaxed once he saw there was no ball inside.
Fortunately, that one had not gone in.
After his sigh of relief,
Buffon signaled for the ball boy to give him the ball.
Juventus restarted play.
They passed the ball around the back for a while, but once they realized Atlético's high press was terrifying, Bonucci decisively launched a long pass forward.
Pogba, with his height and long frame, used his body to shield Gabi, brought the ball down with his chest, and turned.
"Pogba! Beautiful! He's through!"
Just as the commentators shouted and the Juventus fans erupted,
a figure flew in.
Shane Carter stepped in with force, using his body to shove Pogba away.
Pogba was stunned.
He had great confidence in his physicality.
He felt that even if he might be behind Shane in some areas,
he should at least have the advantage in strength, given his height and weight.
But that...
wasn't the case at all.
He couldn't get the upper hand either.
Pogba was bumped off balance, staggered, and fell to the ground.
The stadium filled with boos.
The referee hesitated for a moment, then blew for a foul against Shane.
Shane looked at him in surprise.
"I didn't even do anything?"
He spread his hands.
The referee explained directly:
"Your body position was not in your favor."
Shane pursed his lips.
"So he couldn't outmuscle me, and that's my fault?"
He shook his head.
Then he turned around, helped Pogba up, patted him on the shoulder, and walked away.
From the outside, that looked like the behavior of a mature older brother.
But in fact,
Pogba was a year older than him...
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