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What can Liverpool learn from Juventus? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Liverpool and Juventus are traditionally two of the biggest names in European football, who have fallen from glory somewhat in recent years. The Turin giants were caught up in a scandal domestically and got themselves relegated from Serie A, but most importantly have returned to somewhere near their best.

Bayern Munich vs Juventus

The quarterfinal round of the UEFA Champions League kicks off Tuesday with two fantastic matches right off the bat.

First, Barcelona will visit Parc des Princes Stadium to face Paris Saint-Germain in a match many expect Barca to win coming off a dominant performance in the second leg of the round of 16 against AC Milan.

Paris St. Germain's quest to become a world power and European champion will have to go through the top team in the world after the draw for the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals set up a dream tie between PSG and FC Barcelona.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and PSG will take on Lionel Messi and Barcelona in one of the most intriguing match-ups chosen in the Round of Eight draw, which was held on Friday morning.

Andrea Barzagli (L) of Juventus competes with Gary Hooper of Celtic-Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

The miracle for Celtic did not come true in Turin and Juventus won 2-0 to became one of the eight finalists of the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League.

Fabio Quagliarella, who was the Man of the Match with a goal and an assist, helped keep his team's three-year unbeaten home European record.

Andrea Pirlo of Juventus-Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images

Celtic's dream of Champions League glory was quickly dimmed as Juventus arrived at Celtic Park and dismantled Neil Lennon's side 3-0. The three vital away goals definitely put the Glasgow side at a heightened disadvantage, yet there should still be a spirited performance out of the Scottish club in the return leg of this fixture.

Andrea Pirlo of Juventus FC (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

Juventus host Celtic in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League tie on Wednesday in Turin. After an impressive 3-0 victory in Scotland, Juve will look to seal their spot in the quarterfinals of the competition, while the Scottish side will hope for a miracle to progress.

By Chris Wright

Andrea pours himself a cheeky little glass of Mad Dog 20/20

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense that a creature as cultured, sophisticated and precision-bearded as Andrea Pirlo dabbles in fine wine, though we weren't aware that the Juventus string-puller actually owns or, more specifically, his family owns a vineyard in the hills aroundBrescia in northern Italy.

Francesco Totti's powerful second-half strike earned Aurelio Andreazzoli his first win as AS Roma coach, the Giallorossi beating Juventus 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico. The defeat means that Juve's lead atop Serie A could be reduced to two points on Sunday.

Restored to the Roma goal, Maarten Stekelenburg was making only his second Serie A appearance since October, but the Dutch No1 kept the hosts in the game.

Daniele De Rossi of Roma-Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images

This Saturday, AS Roma will host Serie A league leaders Juventus at the Stadio Olimpico. Roma recently fired manager Zdenek Zeman who had his team producing attack-minded football, highlighted by a 4-2 win over rivals AC Milan.

AS Roma fans are champing at the bit after seeing their club go winless in league play since the start of the new year, but Michael Bradley and the rest of the Giallorossi can change all that with a win this weekend.

Roma will try to pick up their first victory since December, a stretch of even matches without a victory, when they host Juventus in one of the weekend's bigger match-ups.

The first four participants in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 will take the field today as Celtic face Italian champions Juventus and Valencia take on big-spending Paris St. Germain.

Celtic will enter the first leg at Celtic Park confident of their chances after beating Barcelona in the group stages to help book their place in the Round of 16.

Sebastian Giovinco of Juventus-Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images

Celtic FC have already climbed one massive hurdle in the 2012-13 Champions League by finishing second in their very tough group and qualifying for the knock-out phase. Their excellent group stage performance was, of course, highlighted by a stunning 2-1 victory over Catalan giants Barcelona at Celtic Park.

Charlie Mulgrew of Celtic-Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

A European clash against an Italian side will always remind Celtic FC's fans of their glorious past, when the Bhoys won the 1966-67's edition of the Champions League – then called European Champions Clubs' Cup – by beating Internazionale 2-1.

Victor Wanyama of Celtic FC-Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

Since mid-December, the football world has been anxiously awaiting the onset of the Champions League Round of 16, especially Neil Lennon and his Celtic side. The Scottish champions likely enter their clash as the underdogs, and will look to prove a point to Italian giants Juventus.

Paul Pogba of Juventus-Photo by Dino Panato/Getty Images

After winning the 2011-12 Serie A league title and leading thus far this season, it is clear that Juventus is finally back. Struggling in the era post-Calciopoli match-fixing scandal, theBianconeri experienced a season relegated to Serie B before returning to the top of the Italian Serie A.

Andrea Lazzari (R) of Udinese with Arturo Vidal of Juventus-Photo by Dino Panato/Getty Images

2013 did not start well for the Old Lady of Italian soccer. Juventus have won just one point from a possible six in their last two matches. Coming off a loss to 15th seed Sampdoriaand a tie with 9th seed Parma,Juventus will face off against Udinese at home on Saturday, Jan.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

BY DAN KARELL

Frank Lampard's club search for next season may have gotten a bit easier.

After reports that he would leave on a Bosman transfer this summer, Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo has extended an open hand to Lampard to join him next season in Italy.

Juventus stretched their lead at the Serie A summit to seven points with a comprehensive 3-0 victory against ten-man Atalanta, on a day when Napoli blew the chance to move second.

Atalanta have claimed some considerable scalps this season but any ambitions of adding to that list looked bleak when Mirko Vučinić swept in after two minutes.

Compiling a starting XI from all of the best leagues around the world is difficult. Taking in consideration the league a player plays in, as well as their ability level are at the forefront of the equation. However, just because a player has a big name like a Vincent Komany or Gerard Pique, does not pencil their names into the squad, nor even a spot on the bench.

Andrea Pirlo of Juventus FC (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

AC Milan have qualified from the group stage in the Champions League and Juventus is almost in the Round of 16 but there is no time to relax just yet.

The Rossoneri host Juventus on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET in a highly anticipated game.

Luis Suarez of Liverpool (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images)

According to talkSPORT, Juventus have remained vigilant in their pursuit of Liverpool forward Luis Suarez as the Italian outfit are looking to seal the Uruguayan's signature in the summer. Liverpool would be very reluctant to sell Suarez in January considering the difficulties the Reds have had at the forward positions due to the injury to Italian international Fabio Borini.

Daniele De Rossi sparked Italy's fightback and Mario Balotelli scored a superb second-half equaliser as the Azzurri battled to a 2-2 draw in a match tonight between two of the best five teams in the world in Geneva today.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's side looked poor in their 1-0 defeat by England in February, but they jumped out to a commanding 2-0 half-time lead through goals by Fred and Oscar.

Every man and woman has obligations. Bearded Andrea Pirlo is no different. He is tasked with the duty to fight the tyranny of an unknown menace. To protect the world's depleted facial hair resources. To play football with orgasm-inducing skill. To make wine that gets people drunk in the classiest way possible.

(If it doesn't automatically show, you can turn on closed captioning for English subtitles.)

In the hills of Brescia, Andrea Pirlo has a vineyard/secret bunker where he and his family make wine infused with the musk of his powerful beard. At the start of the video above, Pirlo tells you that this is something you didn't know about him.

via FIFA.com

The worldwide players' union FIFPro and FIFA has announced the 15 midfielders shortlisted for the FIFA/FIFPro World XI 2012, part of the 55-player final shortlist to be revealed at a press conference in São Paulo on 29 November 2012.

After the unveiling of the five shortlisted goalkeepers and the 20 shortlisted defenders, the shortlist of 15 midfielders is now also known.

You might not think that a man with a powerful beard and his own vineyard like Andrea Pirlo would have any time for video games, but you would be very, very wrong. The 33-year-old Juventus midfielder has a new biography out now entitled "I think therefore I play" and James Horncastle wrote an excellent piece for ESPN on a section in the book about Pep Guardiola, who tried to buy Pirlo from Milan when he was still at Barcelona.

As a rule of thumb, if a manager is good enough to lead a team to a cup final, it is generally neither necessary nor beneficial to relieve him of his duties right before said cup final.

Southend Utd have thrown the Book of Logic and Sound Reasoning straight out of the window, parting company with manager Paul Sturrock on Sunday.

Here's an exceptional illustration from artist Dan Leydon featuring Italy legend Andrea Pirlo.

The illustration is available for purchase as a print from Etsy. Who wouldn't want Pirlo staring down at you all day in your home?

Andrea Pirlo: Effortless Cool [ILLUSTRATION] is a post from Serie A News from Serie A Talk

By Chris Wright

Pirlo is Juve's bearded midfield passing hub and a high-ranking entry on Pies' list of man crushes.

Frank Serpico is Al Pacino's bearded police whistleblower from the film of the same name.

Thanks to Pies spotter Luke Atkins for the spot.