22 December 2016
Up for the cup
Juventus and Milan are the two clubs to have taken part in the most Italian Super Cup finals: 12 for the Bianconeri and 10 for the Rossoneri, lifting the title seven and six times in their respective histories.
Juve boast a fine recent record in the competition, winning it in three of the last four years (2012, 2013 and 2015), while Milan most recently tasted Super Cup success in 2011 with Massimiliano Allegri as manager.
The two sides famously faced one another in the 2003 final in front of a captive crowd at the Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Bianconeri would ultimately come out on top that afternoon, as David Trezeguet cancelled out Andrea Pirlo’s penalty in extra time before Marcello Lippi’s men eventually clinched the title on spot-kicks (5-3). The nail-biting win naturally forms one of five standout Super Cup stories told right here.
Current form
The Bianconeri lead the way in the league with 42 points from their first 17 games, nine above Milan (33), who sit fifth.
Since suffering a comprehensive 3-1 defeat at Genoa at the start of the month, Juve have enjoyed a fine December so far, winning their last four fixtures in all competitions: Atalanta, Torino and Roma in Serie A and Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
Milan have fared less well in recent weeks, losing away to Roma (1-0) and drawing at home to Atalanta (0-0) since victory over Crotone on 4 December.
Juve’s Super Cup specialists
With six Super Cup titles to his name (five with Juventus and one with Parma), Gianluigi Buffon shares the record for number of victories in the competition with former Inter and Lazio man Dejan Stankovic. A seventh triumph this Friday would see Gigi take first place in his own right.
No player has ever scored more than three goals in the Super Cup, but that is exactly what Gonzalo Higuain will look to do on Friday, Pipita currently sits on two strikes in the competition, having netted a brace against Juve in 2014.
Mario Mandzukic enjoys a strong Super Cup record across the continent, winning three in his last four seasons in Germany (with Bayern Munich in 2012), Spain (with Atletico Madrid in 2014) and Italy (with Juventus in 2015).
Both Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala have particularly fond memories of last year’s Super Cup, scoring on their Bianconeri debuts to secure a 2-0 victory over Lazio in Shanghai.
Milan’s main men
At the tender age of just 17, Gianluigi Donnarumma already has 48 first-team appearances to his name. The Italy international stopper has kept clean sheets in a third of these matches (16).
Carlos Bacca is Milan’s top scorer over the course of 2016. The Colombian striker has found the target 17 times during the calendar year in all competitions.
Suso, meanwhile, is the Rossoneri player to have actively contributed to the most amount of goals this season, netting five and providing a further six.
Giacomo Bonaventura sits top of the Serie A standings for completed dribbles this term (51), while Gianluca Lapadula stands out for his fine goal to game ratio: one every 123 minutes.
Duel from the dugout
Massimiliano Allegri has already won two Super Cup finals: in 2011 with Milan and 2015 with Juventus. Before him, only Fabio Capello had triumphed in the competition with two different clubs.
Vincenzo Montella, meanwhile, has experience of lifting the trophy as a player: in 2001 with Roma, even scoring a goal in that 3-0 victory over Fiorentina.
Looking at matters more generally, Montella has won just three of his 16 match-ups against Juventus as a coach.
