By Anna Italia

    
           Benfica – Juventus 
 

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Juventus coach Antonio Conte continuing training with the players on Tuesday 22 April 2014 at the Juventus Center in Vinovo.  Juventus are preparing the Europa League Semifinal First Leg against Benfica on Thursday 24 April at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.   Conte havign the penultimate session before the departure. 

Juventus will return to training in Vinovo tomorrow Wednesday at 10.30
CET before leaving for Lisbon. The first 15 minutes of the session will
be open to the media.

As reported by Juventus official website, having touched down in Portugal, Coach Antonio Conte and Captain goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon
will meet journalists in a press conference at Benfica’s Estadio Da Luz
starting at 17.45.

Benfica will hold their own training session at the same time as
the Juventus (with the first 15 minutes also open to the media),
while the Benfica press conference with manager Jorge Jesus and one of
his players will take place at 18.30.

Photo: juventus.com

2013 – 2014 UEFA Europa League
Semifinal First Leg

Benfica – Juventus
Thursday 24 April 2014
Estadio da Luz (Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica), Lisbon, Portugal
21:05

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Angelo Ogbonna analyses the Bianconeri’s latest league victory over
Bologna before previewing their trip to Portugal to take on Benfica in
Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first leg

After a win over Bologna that he believes sent out a strong
statement of intent to Serie A chasers Roma, Angelo Ogbonna has said
that the Bianconeri’s minds are now firmly on achieving another victory
when they travel to Lisbon on Thursday.

Benfica await at the Estadio da Luz, but first Antonio Conte’s men
had to overcome a hurdle that was by no means easy at home to the
Rossoblu last night.

Speaking about the difficulty of negotiating yet another side who
did all in their power to close gaps at the back and block the
Bianconeri onslaught at Juventus Stadium, Ogbonna began: “Winning wasn’t
a simple task. It was difficult finding space, but Paul did well to
break the deadlock. Only right at the end was there an element of risk.  

“It’s never easy being just one goal ahead, but we successfully
held on to achieve our objective of sending out a message to Roma and
making clear that we never give up.”

The Giallorossi are not lying down either, chalking up another
victory last night away at Fiorentina, but Ogbonna went on to underline
that until Friday it’s the Europa League that’s at the forefront of Juve
minds.

“Now it’s time to concentrate on Europe. Benfica are a renowned
team who play good football, and we’re already looking ahead to
Thursday’s game.

“We’ll be facing a fiery atmosphere so we’ll look to prepare for the fixture as best we can.”

The 25-year-old defender concluded by expressing his satisfaction at being back to top physical fitness.

“I’ve recovered well after the injury, and I’m happy with the work myself and the fitness trainers did to help me bounce back.”

Source; Juventus.com

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Juventus.com takes a look at how the Eagles have fared in the
competition at the Estadio Da Luz, where the Bianconeri will be lining
up for Thursday’s semi-final first leg

Benfica entered the Europa League as Juventus also did at the Round
of 32 stage, and their first outing at the Estadio Da Luz was the second
leg of that tie against PAOK.

After a 1-0 away win in Greece augured well for their chances of
making the next round, the Eagles didn’t disappoint in Lisbon, running
out a comfortable 3-0 win thanks to a Nicolas Gaitan free-kick, a Lima
penalty and a neat finish from substitute Lazar Marković – all in the
space of 10 minutes.

Tottenham were a tricky proposition next in the Last 16, but having
picked up an excellent 3-1 win away at White Hart Lane, a 2-2 draw in
Portugal was enough to see them through.

Lima again converted from the spot after Ezequiel Garay’s headed
opener to cancel out two Nacer Chadli goals against the run of play in
Lisbon.

From there to the quarter-finals, and Jorge Jesus’ side kept up
their tradition of securing a positive away result to ensure they had a
good platform from which to take on AZ Alkmaar at home.

After the 1-0 win in Holland, 19-year-old striker Rodrigo struck
twice (set up both times by Eduardo Salvio) in a 2-0 home victory.

Overall, then, Benfica have reached their semi-final meeting with
Juventus undefeated at the Estadio Da Luz, conceding twice and keeping
clean sheets in two out of their three relatively comfortable outings
there.

Source: juventus.com

By Anna Italia
Follow me in Twitter  @ItalianSerieA

   

It’s time for Juventus Coach Antonio Conte to prepare the delicate match against Benfica valid for the UEFA Europa League Semifinal First Leg to be played on Thursday 24 April at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.  Juventus returning to training on Monday 21 April at Vinovo after the day of rest. 

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Easter Sunday is over, rest is over.  Now, it’s Easter Monday for Juventus with one clear objective:  To prepare the perfect game  and defeat Benfica. 

As reported by Juventus official website, after a day of relaxation yesterday, the squad were back on the
pitch at Juventus Center this morning to begin their build-up to the
Europa League semi-final first leg against the side crowned Portuguese
champions for the 33^rd time last night.

Juventus will continue training on Tuesday 22 April morning  still in Vinovo.  Traning will include athletic and tactics based session before the departure to Portugal the following day. 

Juventus also preparing the Serie A Week 35 match, Sassuoo vs Juventus to be played on Monday 28 April at the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia. 

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Previous Games Stats Benfica – Juventus

UEFA Cup

European Champions Clubs’ Cup

Photo: juventus.com

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This evening’s outing in the Europa League quarter-final takes the
club captain level with Bianconeri legend Bobby Gol on 482 appearances
in the black and white stripes

After reaching 700 club appearances with his outing in last week’s
Europa League first leg at the Stade de Gerland, Gigi Buffon has crossed
yet another prestigious appearance milestone in this evening’s return
tie with the French side.

His inclusion in the starting line-up for the Bianconeri’s crunch
European quarter-final return meeting sees him draw level with club
legend Roberto Bettega on 482 appearances in the black and white
stripes.

In a season characterised by great performances and influential
saves, Gigi has also added several noteworthy records to those already
amassed over the course of a glittering career: 500 Serie A appearances
(Livorno v Juventus), 700 club outings and, at the Marassi, 476 Juventus
games – the same number as his legendary predecessor Dino Zoff.

And with a record third successive Scudetto trophy in his sights,
Buffon will be hoping to crown what has been a sensational campaign with
what would be one of his most treasured achievements of all.

Photo juventus.com

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