With Alvaro Morata suspended, Wednesday night's Coppa Italia final was an opportunity for Fernando Llorente to remind Massimiliano Allegri of what he can do, but in the end it was the unlikely figure of Alessandro Matri who staked his claim for a place in the Champions League final.
Discarded by Genoa in the winter and picked up by Juventus for emergency reasons, Matri demonstrated at the Stadio Olimpico that he is also an option to face Barcelona in Berlin. He was Juve's hero as they lifted the Coppa Italia for the 10th time on Wednesday.
"You've always got to be ready, even if you're only going to play five or 10 minutes," said the 30-year-old, who will return to being an AC Milan player in the summer with two years left on his contract with the Rossoneri. "This is a great victory and such a huge personal joy for my goal also."
If Matri does get the chance to pull on a Bianconeri shirt in the German capital, he says he has "a surprise in store" to celebrate.
"I'm not going to say what it is out of superstition," he told reporters at the Stadio Olimpico. "I can't tell you what I would give for a goal there. That's our final big match, against a really strong side, but we are equally strong and it won't take much to motivate us. Allegri's great in finding the right stimuli."
It worked with Matri on Wednesday as he sprang from the bench to reward himself and the man who has believed in him the most during his career.
It was Allegri who gave Matri his break at Cagliari, and he was one of Allegri's first signings when he took charge of AC Milan in 2010. It is hardly a coincidence that only days after Allegri was sacked as Milan coach, Matri was sent out to Fiorentina on loan.
The pair were reunited again this winter when Allegri identified Matri as the man to plug an eventual gap in his side's attack, and that gap appeared on Wednesday.
"We did well to believe in it and it's the reward for a year of hard work," added Matri, whose goal in the semifinal paved Juve's way to the final. "We deserved it, and now we go to Berlin to crown our dream."