OLYMPIASTADION, Berlin—There may be little love lost between Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez when they cross paths once again on Saturday evening, but on the sidelines at least relations should be altogether more convivial.

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri and his Barcelona counterpart Luis Enrique have long been cordially acquainted as a result of Luis Enrique’s brief stint as AS Roma head coach during the 2011/12 season—an ultimately aborted one-year experiment abroad for the Spaniard—and, despite that season being a disappointing one for both men in the end (Allegri, then at AC Milan, losing out in the league), the two tacticians clearly hold each other in high esteem.

“It is not as easy to manage great teams as it appears from the outside,” Allegri said of his opposite number this week. “He [Luis Enrique] was a good manager when he was with Roma, but it was a new challenge and a new league. But even back then it was clear that he was right in his ideas.”

The praise was returned in kind: “Allegri had already won titles with AC Milan. He has great prestige and what he has done this season has demonstrated that: Not only winning the fourth league title, but also being here in the final.

“I hope they don’t win of course, but I want to congratulate Mr. Allegri on the fantastic work he has done, conveying his personal style on Juve.”

The plaudits may have been handed out equally (and liberally), but the two managers arrive in Berlin for the Champions League final in completely different situations and with utterly different expectations resting upon their shoulders.

For Allegri this is almost a bonus game, the Italian—abused viciously when appointed Juve boss last summer—having long since won over the fans with his team’s exploits already this season.

For Luis Enrique, however, it is a different scenario: The league and cup double has earned him some deserved credit after an up-and-down (or, more accurately, down and then up) first season with the Blaugrana, but you sense criticism is there ready to bubble to the surface if his team end up losing a final they are expected to win quite comfortably.

With speculation persisting that the 45-year-old could yet leave the club after the final, the stakes appear to be very high.

“I know what it means to coach a very high-level team, I know there will be moments of criticism,” the Spaniard, who never reached the Champions League final as a player with both Barcelona and Real Madrid, said. “But I just do my job—regardless of whether people like me or not.”

Such exacting standards are par for the course when you manage a club like Barcelona, a team for whom Champions League finals have almost become de rigueur over the last 10 or 15 years. Luis Enrique is not just competing against the cream of the crop in Europe this season, but against the memories of previous Barcelona teams, and especially previous Pep Guardiola Barcelona teams.

The nature of Barcelona’s stunning run to the end of the season—propelled by Lionel Messi‘s scintillating return to his very best form—has started tentative discussions about this side’s place in the pantheon. Winning on Saturday, and winning in style, would green light those debates in earnest and, perhaps, result in a very favourable assessment of Luis Enrique’s first group.

“Clearly we have a unique generation of players, given the trophies Barca have conquered [in recent years],” the boss acknowledged. “We hope to see a spectacular final tomorrow, as we saw years ago when the scoreboard lit up very quickly [for Barcelona]. That would be great for football, to have an open, fun game. And the one that wins will be the better side.”

The Spaniard, a friend of Guardiola’s, has certainly sculpted a subtly different side to that of his former teammate, with possession—while still cherished—perhaps not quite the overriding concern it once was. Luis Enrique has encouraged his side to break the lines with greater speed on occasion, adding an aggressive, unpredictable edge to their attacking play that has seen the attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar sweep to some breathtaking goals against backtracking defences all year.

“We enjoy possession, although we’ve also had joy with counter-attacks this season,” defender Gerard Pique said. “[That] has added to our game.”

Allegri has no such comparisons to contend with, especially considering Barcelona have won the Champions League three times since Juventus last made it to the final (a defeat, in 2003, to AC Milan).

“The team is very calm and focused,” Allegri said. “I think we’ve reached the final seven times and won twice. Barcelona have reached seven finals and won four. You do the maths.”

Coupled with the fact that it is five years since any Italian team reached the Champions League final (Inter Milan beating Bayern Munich in 2010), and it is not hard to see why Juventus are seemingly everyone’s underdogs.

Free from the pressure of expectation (except from Juve fans hopeful of another historic European night), Allegri talked of “teamwork” and “concentration” as the vital attributes in potentially securing an upset.

“We need to be physically and mentally fit,” he added. “We need to play well because they are a great team, but like all teams they have their strengths and weaknesses.”

The midfield, apparently, is one of them—although Barcelona will look at their likely trio of Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta and feel more than secure in their chances. But even if Juventus lose, the season—and their European campaign—will go down as an unqualified success for a side that failed even to escape the group stages last term.

“We have played an important Champions League,” Allegri reflected. “We played well and less well.

“Against Monaco [in the quarter-finals] we were accused of playing badly but you cannot be at top form every time. It depends on your opponents as well, sometimes you can play well and sometimes you don’t.

“Irrespective of the outcome [of the final], I have to say Juventus have had an extraordinary season. We have to consider the consolidation of the team. This is important to move forward in future and position ourselves in the top eight in Europe. This season is important for momentum in that sense.”

For Juventus, the double will be celebrated even if the treble proves elusive. But Barcelona do not have the same luxury. They may have the experience of such games on such stages, plenty of it in fact, but with that comes an expectation of success that brings its own particular pressure.

The manager’s job is to block that out as much as possible, even if Luis Enrique knows how vindicating a victory on Saturday could be for him—perhaps even the difference between him staying in his job, with his power consolidated, or walking away with thoughts of what might have been.

“I said right from the beginning, that we wanted to win titles,” Luis Enrique said. “We have already won two titles and now we are only thinking about closing the season with a third title. That’s our only aim.”

After the game, then perhaps the comparisons between this team and previous iterations can begin in earnest.

“I don’t believe we play better or worse,” Pique concluded, when asked about the Guardiola years. “I hate comparisons.

“Now it is a different team, most of the players were in the team but there will always be different opinions. Some will say we play better [now], some will say they preferred how we used to play … but the important thing is it is working.”

All quotes obtained firsthand.

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