Juventus hopes to spoil Xavi's party

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri says his side
are hoping to spoil iconic Barcelona midfielder
Xavi' s farewell when they meet in the Champions
League final.
Both sides are in with a chance of completing a
treble when they meet in Berlin in June 6, with
Juve already having two trophies under their belt
and Barca still to face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa
del Rey final before the European showpiece.
Xavi announced on Thursday that he will leave
Camp Nou this summer to join Qatari side Al Sadd,
meaning the final will be his last appearance in a
24-year period with the club.
Allegri insists his side will be out to make the
occasion a disappointing one for the Spain and
Barca legend.
"It will be the last game for Xavi, an extraordinary
player for Barcelona and the Spanish national
team, but we hope to spoil the party," he told
reporters.
Juve needed an extra-time goal from Alessandro
Matri to beat Lazio in the Coppa Italia final on
Wednesday and Allegri believes his side's
struggles against a team currently 17 points
behind them in Serie A proves the Bianconeri have
a chance against the highly favoured Catalans.
"Barca have three great players in attack in Lionel
Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez and they have
Andres Iniesta dictating the pace in midfield," he
said.
"Seeing the points difference in the league between
us and Lazio, the Italian Cup final would have
appeared to have been a foregone conclusion, but
that is not how it went. It will be the same thing in
Berlin.
"They are used to playing in finals, but we won't
be at a disadvantage because of our inexperience
and our positivity will be important.
"We will work on the mental and physical
aspects to get into optimal condition for the
game."
Allegri took the time to praise Gianluigi Buffon,
who he believes has already shown he is
deserving of the Ballon d'Or.
"I am always pleased to talk about Buffon," he
said. "He is an extraordinary player, a professional
with values. Considering his career, whatever the
outcome of this final, he deserves the Ballon d'Or."
The Serie A champions take on Napoli in their
penultimate league game on Saturday and the 47-
year-old says they must look for the three points
to keep their momentum going before they take on
Luis Enrique's men.
Allegri said: “It's an important game ahead of the
Champions League final. In order to keep the team
in good physical condition, we have to keep
training and playing.
“Against Lazio, we played without
Claudio Marchisio, Stefano Sturaro, Paul Pogba,
and Alvaro Morata, so some players will
be available to face Napoli.
"The game doesn't mean anything in terms of the
league title, but we can keep our undefeated run of
home games going."