So, the final of the UEFA Champions League has come and gone, with much fanfare and it's distinctive Teutonic flavour. The German sides in this years competition, the two finalists as well as Schalke 04 too, who bested Arsenal to top spot in the group stages, have played some excellent football throughout the tournament. With such  an exciting, dynamic and above all efficient approach it comes as no surprise that the rest of Europe has sat up to take notice of the German sides . From the famed geggenpressing, a term coined by Jürgen Klopp to the ultra-fast transitions from defence to attack. Mirko Slomka, the current head coach of Hannover 96, once famously said that you only have 10 seconds after winning the ball to initiate an attack culminating in a shot a goal.

Italy on the other hand, are struggling to impose themselves at club level on the international stage. A few results notwithstanding, Italian clubs have once more undergone a poor season in Europe and naturally there are envious looks from the Italians towards their German counter parts. The day after the UEFA Champions League showpiece in Wembley, La Gazzetta dello Sport began speculating that Juventus and Antonio Conte will line up his charges in the same 4-2-3-1 that was used by both sides in the final, next season. Indeed, it is a formation that isn't too dissimilar to Antonio Conte's favoured 4-2-4 , which he used to great effect during his time at Bari and Siena. It was that same formation that was used extensively by his managerial hero, Louis van Gaal throughout his career and in particular to great effect as he laid down the foundations for this seasons all conquering Bayern side.

But as we have seen before, formations and systems don't necessarily go hand in hand, it is perfectly normal to see two sides with the same formation playing different systems, once more Bayern and Dortmund are great examples, and Antonio Conte is aware of this. The tactician, who is sometimes called the "Italian Klopp", was asked in an interview earlier in the season, where fans tweeted their questions to the manager, why he stopped using the 4-3-3 which was used by the side in their unbeaten run to the scudetto last term, his response was that despite the formation change to a 3-5-2, the teams approach was the same. While there are of course perks to changing a system, i.e. the 4-3-3, which was widely speculated to be the formation which Conte would use prior to kick off, or the 4-2-3-1, for examples sake (and for relevance to this article!)  would certainly have helped Juventus handle Bayern's strong wing play in the quarter finals and match them positionally, but  it would not have meant that they could bypass Bayern's pressing at goal kicks, which hurt them most in that tie.

The 4-2-3-1 poses positional problems to some of the players. Juventus has four world class midfielders in the shape of Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Arturo Vidal and the emerging talent that is Paul Pogba. While one can see Pogba and Vidal doing great things in the two man pivot of the 4-2-3-1, Andrea Pirlo often struggles to impose himself when he has been deployed in that formation. Pirlo at his age, is still at the top of his game and is a massive influence for his team, whether it is in the colours of the national team or Juventus. Marchisio too would see his late surges into the box greatly reduced if he is to play in the two man pivot, though he could work as the number 10 just behind the lone striker. He could be a false enganche. Though it's true that that prefix is overused, it would be true with a player of Marchisio's qualities to play wall passes and triangles at the edge of the penalty are between the two deep-lying midfielders, wide men and the lone striker. Though it must be said, il Principino, links up well with his teammates like that in the current system too. 

The wingers purported in the report by the pink sports daily, were Stevan Jovetic and Alessandro Diamanti, while the Montenegrin is heavily linked with Juventus, Diamanti has said that he wants to remain at the Dall'Ara. Regardless of transfer rumours, Jovetic is undoubtedly a great player (or at least one with the potential to be great) but I don't see Conte fielding Diamanti as a starter, assuming both players are bought. And if Juventus were to buy Jovetic, one cannot see them splashing the cash to acquire the services of the likes of Robben, who they have been linked with for some time now, simply because they won't have much left in the transfer kitty.

Then there is the issue of the defence, the back three has been on of the best in Europe these past two seasons. To drop one of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini would be difficult to justify considering the trio's form since Conte took charge. La Gazzetta offered the solution of moving Chiellini out to left back but the gangly defender seems uncomfortable out wide. Still it is more likely than the club looking into the transfer market as there is a real dearth of talent at left back and one assumes the likes of Coentrao, who despite being out of favour at Real Madrid, would only be sold for hugely inflated prices. 

I wouldn't put it past Conte to move to a four-man backline occasionally next season, especially in Europe, but the move to the 4-2-3-1 is most unlikely . I think the deal breaker is due to Pirlo's importance, particularly if Marchisio is played behind the lone striker, as was speculated by La Gazetta, so it really begs the question why not just rotate between the 3-5-2 and 4-3-3, both formations with which Juventus have used with some success since Conte took over.