Fans betting on soccer might be surprised to know that sportsbook odds favor Real Madrid to beat Juventus and win the UEFA Champions League final on June 3rd . However, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to this matchup. For example, UEFA.com would have you believe that no team has won the trophy back-to-back. As it turns out, though, not has Real Madrid won the most tournaments (11) but won the first five editions consecutively. Granted, back then it was known as the European Cup – but the feat that remains unparalleled to this day, regardless of nomenclature.
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Of course, if we want to talk strictly about UEFA Champions League finals, then we’d have to mention that Madrid has won all five of their UCL finals – which is in and of itself a record –, while Juventus have lost the final game more than any other team in history; four times (six if we count the European Cup). One of those disappointments was precisely a 0-1 loss to Real Madrid on May 20th, 1998 at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Juve has won one European Cup and two UCLs, but the last time was so long ago that Gianluigi Buffon, who’s been the Old Lady’s goalie for 17 years, wasn’t even with the club back then. As a matter of fact, this is the only trophy Buffon has not won. Seriously, the guy has won pretty much everything else.
As sportsbook fans betting on soccer may remember, Buffon is the lone remnant of the Turinese squad that last reached the UCL Final in 2003 – though Stephan Lichtsteiner, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Claudio Marchisio all remained with the team long enough to lose to Barcelona in the 2015 final game. And speaking of that Juve squad, the most recent meeting between Spanish and Italians came in the 2014-15 UCL semi-finals, which Juventus won 3-2 on aggregate. Juve is undefeated in the last three encounters with Real Madrid (one win and two draws).
Win, lose, or draw, Cristiano Ronaldo can be relied on to score against Juventus. The Portuguese striker has five goals in his last four games versus the Zebras. While German midfielder Sami Khedira could become the 14th player to win the UEFA Champions League with two different teams, Real head coach Zinedine Zidane – who played for Juve before being transferred to Madrid – has the sportsbook odds in his favor to be the first coach to win the Champions League proper two years in a row (he already became the seventh man to win the European Cup/UCL both as a player and manager, as well as the second man to win the trophy with Real Madrid as both a player and manager). All things considered, Real Madrid is poised to make history as is their wont. And even if Juve pulled the upset, fans betting on soccer would be excused to think there was something fishy going on. After all, Juventus doesn’t have a spotless track record in that regard.