The Premier League and Bundesliga may return to action this weekend but in Italy and Spain there’s still a week to go which allows another high-profile club friendly encounter to take place across the globe.
This time the venue is the Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv.
Yes, it is a far cry from the last time Juventus and Atletico Madrid met in the Champions League group stage in 2019.
Then, in Spain, the match ended 2-2 after goals from Juan Cuadrado, Blaise Matuidi, Stefan Savic and Hector Herrera. The second match ended 1-0 in the Bianconeri’s favour thanks to a Paulo Dybala winner.
Indeed, historically matches between these two have been fairly rare.
Aside from meetings during the UEFA Cup in two successive seasons in the 1960s and the aforementioned games a few years ago, these clubs have only met twice.
Those encounters came in the 2014/15 group stages of the Champions League.
Atletico won 1-0 at home, thanks to an Arda Turan goal, while the tie in Turin ended goalless. Juventus went onto reach the final that season, losing 3-1 to Barcelona.
Now considering the pragmatic nature of both managers, Diego Simeone and Max Allegri, it’s hard to imagine this being the most electric pre-season friendly on offer this summer.
Yet with 2022-23 approaching, it is certainly an important warm-up and may provide a glimpse of what to expect from both outfits over the next nine months.
For the record, both teams begin their respective campaigns eight days later, with Juventus taking on Sassuolo in Serie A, whilst Atletico are visiting Getafe in La Liga.
One man who may get more attention than most in Israel is Alvaro Morata whom, of course, spent last season on loan at Juve from Atletico.
Allegri was counting on the club to bring him back at a lower fee, which Juventus thought they would be able to secure.
At the same time, with Joao Felix, Matheus Cunha, Angel Correa and Antoine Griezmann up front, Atletico are well-stocked up front.
With the Italian club considering a further loan, including another buy option and Los Rojiblancos looking to sell, it makes for a very interesting dynamic.
Interestingly, Atletico are adamant that, whatever the formula, it must add up to €30 million.
Morata is a proven marksman, of course, and his recent stint in Turin saw him contribute nine goals and seven assists in 35 league games.
Regardless of what happens in the rollercoaster career of Morata – since moving to Juventus in 2014, he has relocated to Real Madrid, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, and back to Juve in eight years – it seems the Italians are lining up a new face.
Personal terms are said to have been agreed with Filip Kostic, although Juventus will presumably have to match West Ham United’s offer to Eintracht Frankfurt to sign the winger.
The Serbia international has long been linked with a move to Turin and never lost hope of joining the Turin giants, stalling West Ham while he waited for Juve to come back in.
He was a key figure in their Europa League triumph last season and contributed seven goals and 15 assists in 43 competitive games.
While he won’t play in Israel should he be snapped up, we know some other definite absentees, including Juventus duo Paul Pogba and Weston McKennie – both missed last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Atletico’s city rivals Real.
For Simeone’s men, Yannick Carrasco, Savic and Cunha will all be doubts as they try to be ready for the start of La Liga.
Atletico impressed, incidentally, in seeing off Manchester United in Oslo last weekend when they again showed that, while they are not always the most entertaining team to watch, the manner in which they grind out results is extremely impressive.
To be fair to Simeone, the Argentine has helped Atletico overachieve during his stewardship, to such an extent that they are now considered major players at the top table both at home and aboard, despite having only a fraction of the resources of some of their rivals.
Sunday’s contest is being held as part of an initiative by Comtec Group to bring the world’s biggest sporting and entertainment events to Israel.
And with the likes of Dusan Vlahovic, Ángel Di María, Griezmann, Félix and Jan Oblak on show, it will be a special moment for the country’s footballing fraternity and, perhaps, somewhat of a guide towards the new season.
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