It’s official: Juventus will face German side Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16.
The first leg will be played at home which will take place on February 17/18 or 24/25 while Dortmund will host the return leg at the Westfalenstadion on March 10/11 or 17/18.
Pavel Nedved spoke to Mediaset immediately after the draw and gave his view on the tie.
“It wasn’t the best possible scenario because they are a team that commands respect, but certainly it could have been worse. Let us not underestimate Borussia, because they are a different team in Europe than what we see in Germany, with many classy players of a European level. They play an excellent football and they run a lot. We can play at their same level because they are not invincible and we want to qualify for the next round.”
Following his comments earlier in the week regarding a possible match up against Juve, former Torino striker Ciro Immobile posted a message on his Facebook draw about the upcoming matches:
“Juventus is far away, we’ll think about it in February and we’ll prepare it the right away. In the meantime the focus is only on the league”
Champions League ambassador and former Dortmund striker Karl-Heinz Riedlegave believes each team has a 50% chance but can’t explin Dortmund’s poor league form this season.
“It is a match that is open to every result,” Riedle told Sky Sports. “If they played the way they did last year I’d say Borussia Dortmund, but today they both have a 50% probability of qualifying. Dortmund have speed, good organisation and strength. Going forward, though, they’re feeling the absence of Robert Lewandowski.”
“I don’t have an explanation for the difference between their performances in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League. In the league there are difficulties that nobody can explain, whereas in the Champions League they always play well. The injuries cannot be used as an excuse. It is a two-faced team.”
Juventus coach Max Allegri took a moment to share his thought on the draw via Twitter:
No #fiuuu this time. The #UCLdraw could have been better, but it could have been worse too. We’ll try to take revegne of 1997 Final!
— Massimiliano Allegri (@OfficialAllegri) December 15, 2014
Champions League Round of 16 draw in full:
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea
Manchester City vs. Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Atletico Madrid
Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund
Schalke vs. Real Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Bayern Munich
Arsenal vs. Monaco
Basel vs. Porto
First…… And first to say F*ck u Ciro!!!!!! Lol
What a draw, especially based on Immobiles recent comments, but more so on past history between the sides – Hell of a match up, not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination but we stand a good chance of progressing.
Nice. I expect Dortmund to get it together until February, so it won’t be easy. I hope the players will take it seriously aswell.
I imagine this will be a war on the pitch. Im so pumped and its months away. I cant wait to 3-0 them at home first.
A strong home performance so we can travel in relative calm and nick an away goal. won;t be easy but we should be playing well against these kinds of sides if we want to show we belong in the Champions League
Exciting match, not the easiest opponent, not the hardest, I think we can’t complain about this one Let’s hope we can have a good game and bring home the win!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1mlcByv_eQ
Reus really is one of my favorite players currently. He’s very loyal to Dortmund…
He’ll be leaving after this season too…
Will he though? It’s all rumors. I actually think if Dortmund get relegated this season he would stay with them and if he does he’ll gain all my respect.
Even if they don’t get relegated and he stays with them he will gain a lot of respect! Loyalty to teams like dortmund and juve is what make them so great. Obviously many players can be earning much more elsewhere, but it’s nice to see players stay with the team that provided them with the chance to be great
Great draw !! I believe we can push through !!