Barcelona became kings of Europe for a fifth time Saturday with a deserved 3-1 Champions League final victory over Juventus in Berlin.
Ivan Rakitic opened the scoring early on for the Catalans before Alvaro Morata drew Juve level at the start of the second half. But parity didn’t last long as Luis Suarez restored Barcelona’s lead a little over 10 minutes later.
Neymar then added a third in injury time to ensure European football’s biggest prize would return to Spain for a second year running.
The triumph followed Spanish league and cup wins and marked a dramatic turnaround in fortunes for Barca coach Luis Enrique whose job was on the line as recently as January until an inauspicious run of results was righted.
It was a change in form that had much to do with the irrepressible attacking trident of Neymar, Suarez and Lionel Messi.
And as the European season reached its climax Saturday, their fluidity and potency was just too much for an experienced Juve side appearing in its first final since losing to AC Milan in 2003.
Needless to say, much has changed for Juventus since that night in Manchester 12 years ago.
The Old Lady of Italian football has suffered humiliation, enforced relegation and the stripping of Italian league titles as punishment for its involvement in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
Only goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has remained from the 2003 final and through the club’s battle back to Europe’s top table.
More potently, however, Saturday’s match was taking place 30 years after Juve claimed its first European Cup, a title won under the shadow of tragedy at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.
That night in 1985 Michel Platini – who attended Saturday’s fixture in his current role as the head of European football’s governing body UEFA – scored the only goal of the game as the Bianconeri defeated Liverpool 1-0.
But tragedy was unfolding in the stands as 39 fans died in a stampede compounded by a dilapidated stadium, poor ticketing arrangements and “negligent policing.”
Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci spoke before the game of wanting to win to honor the victims of Heysel.
And perhaps spurred on by this desire, the Italians started the more aggressive of the two sides. Patrice Evra snapped into Dani Alves within seconds of kick off. Moments later, Carlos Tevez fired over from the edge of the area with Barca looking uncharacteristically tense.
The nerves didn’t last long.
Within minutes Barca was ahead. Neymar fed Andres Iniesta, who was bursting into the Juve area from deep. He then squared the ball to Ivan Rakitic to perform the simple task of knocking the ball beyond the diving Buffon.
Arriving as it did just three minutes in, it was the fourth fastest goal in Champions League final history. And against one of the meanest defenses in Europe.
Juventus had conceded just 35 goals in 55 games this season prior to kick-off. By comparison, Barcelona’s front three had bagged 120 goals between them – a stat all the more remarkable given Suarez missed the start of the season as punishment for his infamous bite on Juventus and Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.
A calf injury sustained by Chiellini meant there would be no reunion with the Uruguayan Saturday. And the no-nonsense defender’s absence was readily apparent as Barca began piling the pressure on.
Hardly 10 minutes had passed when Neymar broke free on the edge of the Juve area but failed to keep his shot down. Suarez was then denied by a last ditch tackle from Andrea Barzagli before Buffon somehow clawed out a net-bound Dani Alves strike.
It would have pushed the boundaries of sports conditioning for the Catalan side to maintain this pace. And sure enough, Juve began to assert themselves as the half wore on without ever creating much of attacking significance.
The second half began much like the first. Juve forced an early corner but within moments were defending at the other end as Barca broke at pace. But Buffon again denied Suarez with a strong right hand.
When Messi came close moments later it looked like a matter of time before Barca doubled its advantage.
Yet it was Juventus that would strike next, thoroughly against the run of play, through Morata. The ex-Real Madrid striker had been quiet all night but was in the right place at the right time to knock beyond Marc-Andre Ter Stegen after the keeper could only parry Tevez’s initial strike.
The Italian side was now in confident mood. Tevez again fired over before Paul Pogba tested Ter Stegen from distance.
But this was a Barcelona team that hadn’t experienced a defeat of any significance since January.
And when Buffon couldn’t hold a Messi strike that skipped up off the surface, much like Morata at the other end, Suarez was on hand to blast high into the Juve net.
Moments later it looked like Neymar had made it three. The Brazilian reeled away in celebration after nodding home Jordi Alba’s cross. But an eagle-eyed official behind the goal spotted that Neymar had glanced the ball off his hand and correctly ruled out the goal.
Juve rolled the dice by bringing on another striker in the shape of Fernando Llorente.
But it was Neymar who would have the last word in the fifth minute of injury time.
As Juventus piled forward, the 39-goal striker exchanged passes with Pedro before drilling the ball low beyond Buffon to round off a joyous season for Barcelona.