Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Edgar Davids believes Chelsea weren’t the best team when they won the Champions League in 2012, and that’s a spur for Juventus.
Speaking to TMW, Davids was asked about Juventus’ last two Champions League final defeats, in 2015 and 2017: “The last two finals… it’s a shame, because we played against the strongest teams in the world. We could also had won, but then you see differences. A team like Chelsea can win the Champions League, when they won they were not the best.”
Tomorrow Chelsea begin their Champions League campaign when they meet Qarabag FK at Stamford Bridge. However, the Premier League champions have found themselves in a tough group, despite being a top seed for the competition.
Chelsea will be expected to pick up maximum points in their games with Qarabeg, but they also have to face European heavyweights AS Roma and Atletico Madrid in the coming months.
Davids missed out on winning the Champions League with Juventus, and it’s not surprising as a former Tottenham player he’s had a little dig at Chelsea’s achievement five seasons ago.
With a team containing the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Antonio Conte and Davids himself, the Serie A side were one of the favouritess to win the competition in 1999, but they were knocked out at the semi final stage by eventual winners Manchester United.
Chelsea will be expected to pick up maximum points in their games with Qarabeg, but they also have to face European heavyweights AS Roma and Atletico Madrid in the coming months.
Tottenham also face an uphill task to make the knock stages of the competition, especially given their form at Wembley. Mauricio Pochettino’s men open their campaign against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, and it’s expected by many the North London side will be challenging BVB for second place, with title holders Real Madrid in the group.
Madrid’s recent struggles may make Tottenham a little more confident.
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