All too often matches that dreams are made of suffer rude awakenings, but it is hard to believe Juventus and Real Madrid will fail to produce a game to satisfy expectations when they meet in the Amsterdam Arena tonight.
The contestants are well cast, the plot well-nigh perfect. Juventus, the modern masters of European football, will be seeking to reassert that status following their surprising defeat by Borussia Dortmund in Munich in last season's final. Real, who wrote the original script, will hope to reawaken the spirit of their early triumphs in the European Cup, which they held for five years from its inauguration in the mid-Fifties.
The multi-national make-up of each team will make this a World Cup trailer, except that Frenchman will be against Frenchman, Italian against Italian and Dutchman against Dutchman. Brazil and Argentina, moreover, will be on the same side.
Alessandro Del Piero can win the final for Juventus and raise Italian hopes that he is about to come good. Or the left foot of Roberto Carlos could strike the sort of blows for Real that Brazil will be anticipating as they defend their title.
So much depends on the form and mood of Zinedine Zidane, as important a creative force for Juventus as he is for France. But Real will trust that Clarence Seedorf proves the equal of his fellow Dutchman Edgar Davids, whose arrival from Milan in midseason has done so much to kickstart Juventus after some indifferent displays in the group matches.
Juventus look a different proposition from the team beaten 3-2 by Manchester United at Old Trafford on October 1st. Not only has the inspired bustle of Davids been added to the midfield, but Filippo Inzaghi is no longer the wispy striker who bounced so easily off Gary Pallister.
At one point the combination of Inzaghi and Del Piero, which had succeeded the weightier partnership of Alen Boksic and Christian Vieri, did not appear to have the staying power to lead Juventus to their third successive Champions League final.
Now the Juventus pair may be about to upstage Raul, the 20year-old striker on whom the hopes of Real this evening and Spain next month will largely rest, especially if Fernando Morientes is kept out by a hamstring injury.
If Raul can break the barren spell which has seen him score only twice for his club since early January, then Real's chances of winning European club football's biggest prize for the first time since 1966 will be stronger in reality than they appear in prospect.
For, whereas Juventus are fresh from celebrating another Italian league championship, Real have to win tonight to re-enter the Champions League, as holders.
While Juventus' coach, Marcello Lippi, has moved from one success to another since he was appointed in the summer of 1994, Jupp Heynckes, his equivalent at the Bernabeu, is facing dismissal after Real's failure to occupy one of the top two places in the Spanish League.
What better city to witness a Real revival than Amsterdam, for it was here, in the Olympic Stadium, that they lost a European Cup final for the first time. The meeting of Real and Benfica in 1962 remains one of the great classics and is best remembered for Ferenc Puskas scoring a hattrick and still finishing on the losing side, at the Portuguese champions won 5-3.
The team of Heynckes cannot afford the approach of their illustrious predecessors, who cared little about conceding goals because they were usually blessed with the means to score more. Real know that should Juventus take an early lead, the game will probably be up.
A tactical stalemate would be disappointing, but the longer the final remains scoreless the more mutual caution may take over. Should there be extra-time, the first goal, if any, will be the winner.
Juventus (probable): Peruzzi; Torricelli, Montero, Juliano, Pessotto; Di Livio, Deschamps, Davids; Zidane; Inzaghi, Del Piero.
Real Madrid (probable): Illgner; Panucci, Hierro, Sanz, Roberto Carlos; Karembeu, Seedorf, Redondo, Amavisca; Raul, Morientes.
Referee: H Krug (Germany).
Juventus coach Lippi was in confident mood last night. "You don't reach four finals in four years and not pick up a lot of experience along the way," he said.
"We know what to expect and what we have to do. I respect Real Madrid and know they have some good players, but I am confident we will beat them."
