10 May 2017
Claudio Marchisio is relishing the opportunity to have another crack at the Champions League whip and expects the Cardiff showpiece to be very different to the Berlin final two years ago.
The midfielder played his part in helping Juve get there after replacing Sami Khedira early on in the first half of the Bianconeri's 2-1 second-leg triumph over Monaco.
“It wasn't easy to jump straight in today without even warming up,” Marchisio began, “but I think we started the game well and we had an excellent first half. We carved out some great chances and perhaps could have taken a few more.
“When you're 2-0 up – especially after winning the first leg the way we did – I think it's quite normal that you might look to sit on the lead a little."
The 31-year-old then reserved some special praise for Paulo Dybala and explained that they have now come full circle.
“I met him pretty much the day after Berlin and I said, “Get ready because we'll be starting again in a month's time and we have to get to the final again!
“Paulino is a fantastically talented player and he's got even better this season. He's not the only one, though: all of our young players and the team as a whole have grown loads over the last two years.
“We've produced one solid performance after another and that's what's got us into the final
“It will be a different final to the one in Berlin and we can't wait to play it.
“We've come a really long way. Last year we were knocked out by Bayern in a match we perhaps didn't deserve to lose, but games like that against the top sides are almost finals themselves – and they can turn on a single moment.
“We've improved from game to game and shown how strong we are mentally – all great teams need that.”
