World star Cristiano Ronaldo goes back to his roots with Juventus Turin in the first leg of the Champions League.
At Sporting Lisbon, the 36-year-old matured to become a national player as a teenager, and even then duels between the capital’s clubs against FC Porto were marked by great rivalries.
On Wednesday evening there will be a showdown of the national champions Juve and FC Porto in Portugal’s second largest city.
Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo said of his key scorer: “Ronaldo is returning to his home country Portugal and wants to score more often than usual. He gets that adrenaline rush, especially in knockout games, like most recently in the Italian Cup and actually always in the Champions League. Coming back home makes him proud. He wants to show who he still is. “
The dress rehearsal went unevenly for both teams. Juventus lost at SSC Napoli and FC Porto came in second in the city derby with a 2-2 draw against relegation candidate Boavista.
BVB opponents in top form
The troubled Borussia from Dortmund does not expect a walk at Sevilla FC. The Andalusians have won nine competitive games in a row and have not conceded a goal seven times in a row.
BVB is only sixth in the Bundesliga, six points behind the Champions League table ranks.
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