In a bygone era, Italy depended upon the Old Lady of Turin, otherwise known as Juventus, to lift the nation on European soccer nights. And in more recent times, Borussia Dortmund has been Germany’s darling.
But 18 years have passed since Dortmund beat Juventus, 3-1, in the Champions League final in Munich. That night included a goal from the legendary Alessandro Del Piero for Juventus and one from the prolific Karl-Heinz Riedle for Dortmund.
When the clubs met in Turin, Italy, on Tuesday for the first time since 1997, it was a close and decent enough contest, won by Juventus, 2-1, in front of a packed house of 41,000.
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And Munich has such a powerful roster, such a surfeit of talents, that it left Lewandowski on the bench for most of its Champions League game in Ukraine against Shakhtar Donetsk last week. Reus, for sure, misses him.
A version of this article appears in print on February 26, 2015, in The International New York Times. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
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