© EuroFootball.com
The strongest in the history of the European tournament is not on the Italian side.
Next Wednesday in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, Turin's Juventus team faces a very challenging task - to beat the powerful Bayern Munich by at least 2-0.
Such a result would guarantee extra time for the Italians, while in order to secure a direct ticket to the semifinals, Antonio Conte's players will have to defeat the Germans by at least a three-goal margin.
According to the pages of Juventus history, there have been three occasions in the most powerful European tournament when the Italians lost the first leg of the knockout stage by a score of 2-0. The Turin team narrowly missed defeating their opponents two times.
In October 1973, Juventus fell 2-0 to Dynamo Dresden.
The second leg in Turin started with a quick goal by Juventus defender Giuseppe Furino. Despite German player Horst Rau equalizing the score just before halftime, Juventus didn’t break and responded with two more goals from Jose Altafini and Antonello Cuccureddu to go into halftime leading 3-1.
Despite that, luck was on Dresden's side that day, as they secured a spot in the next stage with a goal scored by Rainer Sachse just 15 minutes before the end of the match.
Two years later, Juventus had to battle against a team from Germany once again. This time, the multiple-time Italian champions clashed with Borussia Moenchengladbach.
At that time, the German club had several top-class players, including Berti Vogts and Rainer Bonhof, who helped Germany win the World Cup in 1974. Their attacking line consisted of future Ballon d'Or winner Allan Simonsen and current Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes.
In the second leg, after goals from Roberto Bettega and Adolfo Gori, Juventus led 2-0, but in the second half Dietmar Danner and A. Simonsen crushed the Italians' hopes of progressing to the next stage, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
The last time Juventus lost in the knockout stages of the Champions League was 2-0 to Arsenal in London in 2006. The match in the capital of Piedmont ended in a goalless draw. Two witnesses of that match still defend the honor of the Italian team - goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and defender Giorgio Chiellini.
