Paulo Dybala's Champions League shirt collection
Thursday, May 7, 2020
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Juventus forward Paulo Dybala shares memories of some of the shirts he has collected down the years.
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"Hello everyone. I’m Paulo Dybala and, as you know, I love collecting jerseys. I’ve done this ever since I started playing professional football. I posted a picture on my Instagram recently with a few of my jerseys.
"Well, I was organising them because I had just started to unpack the boxes. And I wanted to show you some of them, particularly the [Champions League ones], which are very special to me."
Watch Dybala invite us into his home in the full interview on UEFA.tv
ARJEN ROBBEN'S SHIRT
23/02/16: Juventus 2-2 Bayern
UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg
"This is a very special jersey because it is from the day when I scored my first Champions League goal. It was against Bayern and against an amazing goalkeeper, [Manuel] Neuer.
"It’s impossible not to choose this one because I really admired [Arjen Robben] as a player. How he moved on the pitch, the things he did, how he ran with the ball basically glued to his feet - only a few players can do that.
"It was obviously an unforgettable Champions League game for me. That day we drew 2-2 against Bayern, of course, but [Josep] Guardiola was their coach.
"It was a really tough game because, as we all know, Bayern played excellent football and we were aware what Robben’s typical move was to turn inside from the wing and shoot to the far post. But he was so fast we couldn’t stop him and he scored from one of those moves. So it’s a very special shirt."
IKER CASILLAS' SHIRT
14/03/17: Juventus 1-0 Porto
UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg
"[Casillas is] an incredible goalkeeper, as I said about Neuer. Probably an icon for goalkeepers, for football and for Spain. A bit like Gigi [Buffon] here in Italy.
"I was able to score against him. It was from the penalty spot, in the second leg of a Champions League round of 16 tie. And thanks to that goal we made it to the next round. We had a good result [2-0] from the first leg.
"After that, I had the chance to talk with him for a while and we swapped shirts. As is the case with the previous one, this is a very special jersey because of what Iker means to the world of football."
ANDRÉS INIESTA'S SHIRT
11/04/17: Juventus 3-0 Barcelona
UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg
"It’s obviously impossible to forget this match because it’s not every day that you get to beat Barcelona 3-0 and score a brace. It really is one of the games I remember the most, an unforgettable one. That happened almost three years ago. I was able to get this relic when [the game] finished. It was a tough game, actually. Not as easy as the result suggests.
"Barça had their chances. Even when we were 1-0 up Iniesta got into a one-on-one situation against Gigi, who made a terrific, impossible save to keep the equaliser out. And in the very next minute after that save we scored our second goal and, then, we sealed the victory with Chiello’s [Giorgio Chiellini] goal.
"This was the game that allowed us to make it into the semi-finals. Barça had just won 6-1 against Paris with that comeback. So we had our doubts ahead of the second leg about what could happen because we knew how Barcelona could play at the Camp Nou.
"But we had a good second leg. So, all my admiration and respect for an incredible player who seemed much faster with the ball than without it. This is one of the most important shirts I have."
PAUL POGBA'S SHIRT
23/10/18: Manchester United 0-1 Juventus
UEFA Champions League group stage
"I couldn’t overlook a shirt like this, of course. It’s from Manchester, my friend Paul [Pogba], whom I admire as a person even more than as a football player.
"I had the chance to share great things with him and hopefully I can repeat that someday. But regarding the game that day, it was unforgettable playing at a stadium like Old Trafford, one of the most important stadiums in the world. You go in and you feel the atmosphere in the air and you breathe it in.
"They played under [José] Mourinho, one of the most successful managers in history in terms of winning. It wasn’t an easy game. We won 1-0 with a goal I scored, although I was a bit lucky because the ball bounced in front of me very close to the goal.
"To score and to win a game in that way makes it even sweeter and to be able to swap shirts with your friend is one of the most beautiful things you can do in football."