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All you need to know ahead of the Atletico Madrid vs Juventus Champions League last-16 clash

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February 20, 2019

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All you need to know ahead of the Atletico Madrid vs Juventus Champions League last-16 clash

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Atletico Madrid host Juventus on Wednesday night in one of the most intriguing of the Champions League last-16 ties.

The Spanish club, who finished second to Borussia Dortmund in their group, have the enormous incentive that this year’s final will be played in their Wanda Metropolitano stadium on June 1.

But they face formidable opposition in the form of the Italian champions and runaway league leaders, who are hoping to win the trophy for the first time since 1996.

Sportsmail tells you everything you need to know about the match.

Antoine Griezmann (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo (right) are set to go head-to-head as Atletico Madrid play Juventus in the last-16 of the Champions League

CURRENT FORM

Atletico’s season is going about as well as might be expected. In addition to their Champions League progress, they sit second in the La Liga standings, ahead of their neighbours Real Madrid but still some seven points behind Barcelona.

It would take a Herculean effort from here to claim the title – or a monumental and highly unlikely Barcelona collapse – so attention can be turned to this last-16 tie safe in the knowledge they’ll be in the Champions League again next season.

Their form of late has been mainly positive but a little patchy. They lost 3-1 at home to Real the weekend before last, which was a disappointment, but bounced back to win 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

Antoine Griezmann celebrates scoring Atletico’s winner at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday

Their weekend win lifted Atletico back to second in the La Liga table after Real Madrid lost

That result, coupled with Real’s surprise loss to Girona, lifted them back above their rivals into second.

As they have a habit of doing, Juventus have established such a commanding lead at the top of Serie A they can completely focus on furthering their European aspirations without worrying about losing ground.

A 35th Scudetto and an eighth title in succession is an odds-on prospect – Juve remain unbeaten in league competition this season and lead Napoli by some 13 points.

Hopes of a Treble ended when Atalanta beat them 3-0 in the Coppa Italia late last month but aspirations of ending their long wait for Champions League glory are very much alive.

Leonardo Bonucci celebrates scoring for Juventus during their win over Frosinone on Friday

Juventus are 13 points clear of Napoli in Serie A and well on course for an eighth straight title

Atletico last six

La Liga unless stated

January 16 Girona (H) 3-3

Copa del Rey fifth round, second leg

January 19 Huesca (A) 3-0

January 26 Getafe (H) 2-0

February 3 Real Betis (A) 0-1

February 9 Real Madrid (H) 1-3

February 16 Rayo Vallecano (A) 1-0

Juventus last six

Serie A unless stated

January 21 Chievo (H) 3-0

January 27 Lazio (A) 2-1

January 30 Atalanta (A) 0-3

Coppa Italia quarter-final

February 2 Parma (H) 3-3

February 10 Sassuolo (A) 3-0

February 15 Frosinone (H) 3-0

EUROPEAN PEDIGREE

Diego Simeone has performed miracles in European competition as Atletico manager, leading them to two Champions League finals – both lost to Real Madrid – and two UEFA Europa League successes during just over seven years in charge.

They regressed by their own standards last season, finishing third in a tricky group containing Roma and Chelsea, but made amends by going on to win the Europa League, beating Marseille 3-0 in the final.

In this season’s group stage they tied on 13 points with Dortmund but finished second by virtue of their 4-0 loss in Germany on matchday three and that handed them this tricky draw with Juve.

Atletico won last season’s Europa League having been knocked out the Champions League

Though they are rightly considered among Europe’s elite clubs, it is now 23 years since Juventus last lifted the Champions League trophy.

The Turin club have been runners-up five times since then, the latest their 4-1 loss to Real Madrid in 2017.

And Real proved their nemesis again last season in the quarter-finals, though it was closer run. Having lost 3-0 in Turin, Juventus led by the same scoreline in the Bernabeu before an extraordinary finish that saw Cristiano Ronaldo score a 98th minute penalty to guide Real through.

This season, they still edged out Manchester United in the group despite losing to Jose Mourinho’s side at home and also to Young Boys on matchday six.

Juventus were left raging when Real Madrid were awarded a late penalty in last season’s quarter-final at the Bernabeu

THE MANAGERS

Simeone insisted in his press conference on the eve of this first leg that Atletico were not fixated on Cristiano Ronaldo but privately he must be annoyed to come up against him yet again.

Ronaldo has wrecked Atletico’s dreams in two Champions League finals and has scored 22 goals against them in his career – only Sevilla and Getafe have suffered more at the hands of the Portuguese star.

He has scored three hat-tricks against Atletico, most notably in the 2017 semi-final, first leg.

The Argentine boss has worked wonders these last seven years to elevate Atletico into Europe’s elite, or at least into a position where they can cling onto their coat-tails.

Atletico manager Diego Simeone has performed wonders to put them among Europe’s elite

Watching brief

ATLETICO MADRID vs JUVENTUS

Last-16, first leg; Wednesday 8pm GMT

Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid

Live on BT Sport 3

Possible line-ups

ATLETICO MADRID (4-4-2): Oblak; Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Filipe Luis; Koke, Partey, Rodrigo, Saul; Griezmann, Morata.

JUVENTUS (4-3-1-2): Szczesny; De Sciglio, Bonucci, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Bentancur, Pjanic, Matuidi; Dybala; Mandzukic, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Second leg is on March 12

Never tempted by a move away, Simeone has always deployed an impressive realism and resolve amid the regular sale of star assets, building a great Atletico team on fresh talent.

They might not be quite as strong as they were a few years ago but the characteristics that make them so difficult to beat remain.

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri resembles a puzzler who has breezed through a crossword only to come unstuck on the final couple of clues.

Domestic dominance is pretty much taken for granted but European glory – the club’s avowed goal for so long – has remained just out of their reach.

Allegri has guided them to two Champions League finals – they lost to Barcelona in 2015, and Real in 2017 – but they’ve fallen agonisingly short.

With Cristiano now in their ranks, Juventus should have everything they need to reach their final frontier but it also leaves Allegri without any excuses should they fail. It feels like it’s now or never for them.

The manager does exude the Juventus DNA though and this was apparent pre-match when he said: ‘I wouldn’t take a draw now, in fact I said to the lads that it’s important to score a goal, although two would be better.’

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri inspects the pitch ahead of Wednesday’s match

THE KEY PLAYERS

You only need to glance at Atletico’s stats this season to see where their primary threat will come from. Antoine Griezmann has scored 18 times in all competitions, some 13 goals more than the next highest, Koke.

The Frenchman is having a fine season and creates a vast number of chances for team-mates as well as putting them away. He’ll stretch Juve’s famously resolute defence but he can’t do it all alone.

Griezmann will likely be partnered up front by the on-loan Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata though he has so far failed to find the net in three matches since moving.

Of course, Juventus know all about Morata – he played for them between 2014 and 2016, scoring 27 goals – and Allegri said ‘he is a very dangerous player in one-off games.’

Alvaro Morata will be hoping for a fresh lease of life at Atletico following his failure at Chelsea

Atletico’s real strengths lie in defence, where Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez will try and marshal Ronaldo, and in the abundant midfield creativity of Saul and Koke.

Cristiano is chasing a sixth Champions League crown and knows full well that Juventus paid £100m for him to accommplish that very aim.

But the 34-year-old Portuguese has taken personal command of some many of these big games it has become pretty much expected.

Aside from him, Allegri has promised we will see Paulo Dybala as well on Wednesday night (and also probably Mario Mandzukic) in what will certainly be an adventurous line-up.

‘Dybala is playing. Are you happy? Can I go?’ Allegri joked in his press conference, addressing criticism that Dybala and Ronaldo can’t work well together.

Paulo Dybala will play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo – proving the pair can work together

On the nine occasions both have been available for selection in the Champions League and Serie A this season, Dybala has started on the bench eight times and Ronaldo once.

Naturally, Juve’s gnarled and uncompromising back line will lay the foundations for them to snatch an away goal or two. Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini have 122 Champions League appearance between them.

STATS

Atletico Madrid have met Juventus seven times previously in European competition, although five of those matches were played in the Fairs Cup in the 1960s. In fact, Juventus’ last victory against Atletico Madrid dates back to June 1965 in a Fairs Cup semi-final second-leg replay (3-1)
Atletico Madrid and Juventus’ only previous Champions League encounter was in the 2014/15 group stages. Only one goal was scored in the two matches, an Arda Turan winner for Atletico at their home stadium of Vicente Calderon
Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in the Champions League against Italian opposition under manager Diego Simeone (W4 D2). In those six games, they have only conceded one goal, by Kaka in a 4-1 win against AC Milan in March 2014
Atletico Madrid have reached the Champions League knockout stages in five of their six campaigns under manager Diego Simeone. The only exception was last season when they finished third in their Champions League group and went on to win the Europa League
Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in their last 12 home games in the Champions League knockout stages (W7 D5). In fact, they’ve only conceded one goal in their last 10 matches at home in the knockout phase, an Isco strike for Real Madrid in May 2017
Only Atletico Madrid (6) have conceded fewer shots on target from inside their own box than Juventus (9) in this season’s Champions League
Juventus have won four of their last five away games in the knockout stages of the Champions League (D1). Their last defeat dates back to March 2016 in the last-16 second leg against Bayern Munich
Antoine Griezmann has scored or assisted a goal in each of his six Champions League games at the Wanda Metropolitano (6 goals, 3 assists). This season, he’s been directly involved in six of Atletico Madrid’s nine Champions League goals (67%), with four goals and two assists – that’s the highest ratio among the 16 teams left in the competition
Paulo Dybala has scored six goals in his last seven Champions League appearances, that’s more than in his previous 24 appearances in the competition with Juventus (5 goals). All 11 of his goals in the competition have come with his left foot
Juventus’s Cristiano Ronaldo has scored only one goal in his last eight Champions League games; he’d found the net 11 times in his eight previous games. He has failed to score in four of his last five UCL games against Atletico Madrid.
Massimiliano Allegri has reached the knockout stages in each of his nine campaigns as manager in the Champions League. He was a beaten finalist in two of the last four seasons with Juventus.

Leonardo Bonucci will be a key figure at the heart of the Juventus defence as always

WHO WILL WIN?

You have to fancy Juventus to prevail over the course of the two legs, though they may draw or even narrowly lose the first leg.

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Grandes Rousses : L’opération de recherches pour retrouver le corps de Sacha

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February 20, 2019

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Grandes Rousses : L’opération de recherches pour retrouver le corps de Sacha

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Une quinzaine de sauveteurs de la CRS Alpes de Grenoble et du Peloton de gendarmerie de haute montagne (PGHM) de l’Isère sont à pied d’œuvre, depuis ce mercredi matin, dans le massif des Grandes Rousses pour tenter de retrouver le corps de Sacha Arabadzic, ce jeune skieur de 18 ans porté disparu depuis le 31 janvier et que l’on a malheureusement perdu tout espoir de retrouver vivant.

Des maitres-chiens spécialisés dans la recherche de victime d’avalanche et un hélicoptère de la Sécurité civile ont été mis à contribution pour cette opération qui devrait durer toute la journée.

Le jour de sa disparition, le jeune homme, enfant du pays et membre du ski club de Vaujany, avait pris le télésiège de la Grande Sure (le Signal) à 14 h 16 à l’Alpe-d’Huez pour descendre ensuite dans la vallée vers le Rafour à Bourg d’Oisans en passant peut-être par le hameau de Sardonne sur la commune d’Oz-en-Oisans. Il est très probable qu’il ait été emporté par une avalanche dans l’un de ces secteurs hors-piste.

Dès lors, d’importants moyens de recherche avaient été mis en place pour tenter de le retrouver rapidement mais aucune trace de Sacha n’avait été retrouvée et le dispositif avait été allégé avant d’être stoppé.

Profitant d’excellentes conditions météorologiques et de moyens humains disponibles, les secouristes en montagne vont donc consacrer cette journée à de nouvelles recherches mais l’étendue de la zone à inspecter, située à l’ouest de la station de l’Alpe-d’Huez, et la neige fraiche qui est tombée en abondance depuis dans ce massif, ne facilitent pas leur tâche.

Ils cherchent toujours, par ailleurs, à identifier la personne qui a fait la dernière photo publiée par Sacha sur son compte Instagram. Une image où on le voit sur une crête surplombant Villard-Reculas. Ce témoignage pourrait permettre aux secouristes de définir un secteur de recherches plus précis.

Procès pour pédophilie : Michel de Ravel de l’Argentière n’a presque pas de chance de survivre

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February 20, 2019

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Procès pour pédophilie : Michel de Ravel de l’Argentière n’a presque pas de chance de survivre

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Michel de Ravel de l’Argentière a très peu de chances de survivre. Une espérance de vie estimée à 8% pour les prochains 24 mois. C’est ce qu’a rapporté son médecin traitant, le neurologiste Hemraz Boodhoo, en cour intermédiaire, ce mercredi 20 février 2019.
Le neurologiste a été ainsi appelé à comparaître en cour pour donner son avis de spécialiste sur l’état actuel de santé de Michel de Ravel de l’Argentière.

Michel de Ravel de l’Argentière présent en cour aujourd’hui

Lors des précédentes audiences, l’accusé ne s’était pas présenté en cour.
A contrario, Michel de Ravel de l’Argentière était toutefois bien présent sur les bancs des accusés pour l’audience d’aujourd’hui.
Les plaidoiries sur sa peine seront tenues le 27 février prochain.

Pour rappel, Joseph Michel de Ravel de l’Argentière a été reconnu coupable, le 28 août 2018, et ce, sous 21 chefs d’accusation d’attentat à la pudeur.

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ANATOMY OF A WOUNDED EDUCATION SYSTEM – Part II  : Gated Student Communities Through Gaping Disparity

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February 20, 2019

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ANATOMY OF A WOUNDED EDUCATION SYSTEM – Part II  : Gated Student Communities Through Gaping Disparity

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Dr. Anand D. Awootar, PhD, D.Litt,
President, Education Commission,
Mouvement Patriotique.

A derailed system

Successive Ministers of Education, across the political divide, have had to carry the daunting burden of fixing a system that has been off-track from its greater purpose of preparing tomorrow’s fully-motivated, fully-activated and fully-functioning citizenry. Most of them have opted for the easy route of a shallow marketing language replete with honey-laced narratives that attempt to lull the population into a naïve optimism. The system, however, continues to wallow more dangerously in the swamp they once promised to drain.

Policy mechanisms and prioritisation of issues are preludes of hope. Ours, however, is a system characterised by a derailed narrative in which policies lag behind arguments and arguments lag behind rhetoric. It is when the tide recedes that rocks become visible, and only then do we discover who has been swimming naked.

School as stress factory

The most prominent legacy hatched by our system is STRESS, which, in its stride, swallows billions of rupees: well-to-do parents and their children are stressed from the need to perform extremely well for admission to a star college while parents and children from socially-deprived regions are stressed because they are not sure their preparation guarantees even a pass. Teachers, too, get genuinely stressed for the future of their students except for a handful who are stressed in a bid to carve a name for themselves for tuition purposes. They are the ones with an effrontery-laden reluctance to budge from star schools.

Gaping disparity: gated student communities

Children from socially-deprived regions like Roche-Bois or La Gaulette are adversely hit by a lottery of birth, with all its accompanying baggage of drawbacks. When they are made to compete with those from SVR Govt school or the QEC on the same syllabus, terms and conditions nationally without any proper safety net as suggested in my previous articles, the playing field becomes uneven and dangerously slippery. That glaring disparity belies the well-rehearsed national symphony that equality in our system is a shared goal.

Not surprisingly, our academically-overburdened education system has created gated communities since pre-primary and primary: those categorised as being good to become laureates, those good for University studies, those good for vocational studies, while the rest are supposed to be good for ‘nothing good’.

Immediate environment as child’s centre of gravity

A child’s immediate environment plays a preponderant role in his/her overall development. However, the school, which is expected to be the child’s saviour, specially in socially-deprived environments, eventually ends up adopting and absorbing the ethos of that very environment in terms of low ambition, aspiration, expectation and language. It becomes a case where the expected saviour is itself in need of being saved. That sums up the overall situation in socially-deprived regions and schools – a situation which is more of a social crisis than a moral failure, and which begs urgent and serious consideration. Those children need to be saved from their moral fibre getting further disfigured, their self-worth and self-esteem chiselled, their once-radiating ambition withered by a system that openly advocates, not necessary competition, but necessarily competition. Thousands of innocent little ‘boats’ in socially-deprived areas thus get stuck in the sand, unable to take advantage of the rising tides, though statistics offer but a partial view of the wreckage.

Asking the right question

Given the situation in impoverished regions, and the consequent high rate of failure and drop-outs, it would be more sensible to ask WHAT triggers underperformance rather than WHY those children underperformed. Such a question would help discover the rot and the disparity within the system and its thin veneer between anarchy and status quo.

Creaming off the top: the laureate saga as a whirlwind romance

The system, with its high failure rate and drop-outs, as well as the unenviable quality of graduates produced, is revelatory of a system struggling to survive the present while trying to capture the future into a whirlwind romance by converting the entire education spectrum into an incubator to hatch an annual tally of 45 laureates.

The backstory of the laureate saga features in itself different players, but the narrative remains essentially the same. The line separating HSC laureates and runners-up in terms of academic performance is highly blurred and porous to the extent of becoming almost undistinguishable. Yet, laureates are deified while runners-up, with bloated eyes glittering through unshed tears, are superciliously ignored. Unsuccessful students, on the other hand, are demonised by parents and neighbours.

With laureate-producing schools fielding their own chest-beating, foot-pounding teams of cheerleaders, the festive mood gets at its best. In a bid to blaze the trail, the press, in their own ways, join in that well-rehearsed rapturous route which has now become rote. Such celebrations are the culmination of an entire education system specialised in creaming off the top at the expense of the bottom.

Unveiling laureate list: hijacking the glory

The traditional unveiling of the laureate list has become, over the years, too sublime an opportunity not to be pounced upon by our eagle-eyed politicians of all coloration who are ever on the prowl for an opportunity to extol their own virtues. They need their fair share of glory because, after all, ‘they’ incur all expenses for laureates’ studies. The solemnities of the occasion, in their view, demand that prospective laureates, HSC hopefuls, parents and teachers should afford to wait with bated breath and crippling anxiety until opponents’ weaknesses and scandals are pursued in concentric circles of offensiveness while government virtues are highlighted with uncommon energy.

A sense of entrapment, however, sets in when successive Prime Ministers, through their tone, style and content, convey the impression of reading off the same teleprompter. If their words sound familiar, it is because our leaders spoke more or less the same sentences in previous years: ‘After your studies, come back to serve the Country’, while relentlessly holding on to the policies, practices and structures that favour nepotism at its best.

Home-coming: joining the queue

However, the days seem remote when parents requested their offsprings to come back home because institutions still functioned with decency. Today, through lack of the indispensable currency of personal connection, they are advised to stay abroad lest they further lengthen the already over-elongated queue of unemployed graduates on their native soil.

All that our education system needs is a triumph of resourcefulness over resources because a seemingly simple act of displacing a single pebble is likely to cause an avalanche to start a positive process liable to solve Mauritian problems through Mauritian brains, imported models notwithstanding.

The Country would not be robbed of its investment if laureates and scholarship winners chose to come back to serve. Inversely, investment made on a few politicians’ foreign trips would equally be investment-friendly, except that they keep coming back home!

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