Juventus vs. Tottenham: "The passion of Giorgio Chiellini," by Arturo León

Final moments of Tottenham vs. Juventus

The English team is trying to find a way to score. They need a goal. A ball inside Buffon's goal to make it 2-2 and force extra time. They want to advance in the Champions League. To show that their growth in the Premier League is not a coincidence. They try it with Eriksen –the wonderful Danish player–, with Harry Kane –one of the best '9' in the world–, with the speed of Son Heung-min and the breakthrough of Douglas Costa. A cross from the Korean inside the area promises. Kane waits, but he doesn't succeed. Giorgio Chiellini, one of the three Italians who started (Barzagli was the other and Sturaro came in the second half) for Juventus on Wednesday, jumps to clear the pass with his right leg.

The defender who provoked Suárez's bite at Brazil 2014 celebrated like a goal

The defender who provoked Suárez's bite at Brazil 2014 celebrated the play as if it was a goal in their favor. He looked at Buffon and shouted as if he were in a war. His eyes reflected that courage so typical of Italians. The legendary goalkeeper grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. They clashed head to head and continued. But they were not only celebrating stopping Kane from scoring the 2-2. They were sending a message of strength to their rivals. A message of hierarchy, of superiority. It becomes clear after hearing Chiellini's statements after the match. "We knew that Tottenham was a team with defensive problems and mentally weak, speaking of experience."

Tottenham needed to get rid of Giorgio before Gianluigi

It's not that he defended alone, but he surpasses the other three defenders lined up by Massimiliano Allegri in most items. The left-footed center-back made the most tackles (4), cleared the ball the most times (13), and blocked the most shots from Pochettino's team (3). He won four aerial duels and intercepted two passes. On top of that, he won the mental duel against Tottenham.

With Chiellini, Juventus has that dose of grit that an Italian team needs

With Chiellini, Juventus has that dose of grit that an Italian team needs. They have more foreign players (Morocco, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, Bosnia, etc.) than natives of the country. Up top, there's Higuaín and Dybala to finish. They are two stars who haven't fully shown their best form this season, but yesterday they finished off Tottenham, who had earned the favorite status and deserved to be ahead on the scoreboard.

A good combination, although I'm not sure if it's enough to reach another final of the most competitive club championship in history. What will never be lacking, though, is the passion of Giorgio Chiellini, the defender who yesterday embodied the style of Italian football.