Europe’s Elite Eight
The UEFA Champions League has entered its ‘big boys’ stage. Apologies to Chelsea – your team is too old to be playing with these ‘kids’.
John Terry blames German referee Markus Stark for ignoring penalty claims that saw Jose Mourinho and his Inter side leave Stamford Bridge with a bigger smug than they came with. It’s quite hypocritical for the former England captain to question the decision-making of other men, don’t you think?
So whilst Roman Abramovich thinks of new ways of using British pounds to get the one trophy he has yet to lay his hands on, we look forward to eight leading clubs doing battle on fields across Europe.
The most mouthwatering quarter-final showdown has to be between Cesc Fabregas’ current club and his past/future employers. Memories of the 2006 final in Paris will inevitably be stirred, just as emotions will run high as Thierry Henry faces Arsene Wenger’s men for the first time since leaving the Gunners as one of its greatest ever players.
Arsenal’s attacking philosophy will have to be sacrificed to deal with the movement and trickery of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi. Sol Campbell needs to stock up on migraine pills as he tries to deal with the Catalans’ deadly trio.
Alex Song will have his work cut out in midfield not just protecting the back line but also winning the ball back for his mercurial captain. To prevent Fabregas from running the show in the middle, Yaya Toure has a similar job to do for the defending champions.
With so little to separate clubs at this stage of the competition, away goals will play a much bigger role. Arsenal must keep a clean sheet at home in the first leg, knowing that Pep Guardiola’s outfit are well capable of finding the net at the Nou Camp.
Louis van Gaal, one of the few men who comes close to matching Mourinho in terms of ego, sees his rejuvenated Bayern Munich team take on Manchester United in another tongue drooling tie.
Again, with the importance of away goals, the Bavarians need to keep Wayne Rooney and friends at bay in the initial encounter at the Allianz Arena.
An epic struggle should ensue between the likes of Scholes, Carrick and Fletcher against van Bommel, Schweinsteiger and Mueller. They will be responsible for providing service to their respective talented forwards.
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are the key operatives behind Bayern’s attack which sees them sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga table.
If Rio Ferdinand marshals the defence with his usual aplomb and Rooney continues on his relentless pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 42-goal tally, the Red Devils should reach the semi-finals for a fourth successive campaign.
A French side awaits them there, one of Lyon or Bordeaux. With so much local pride and bragging rights at stake, I expect this to be the tightest of the quarter-final encounters.
Yoann Gourcuff’s creative genius together with the goalscoring prowess of Marouane Chamakh could tip the tie in Laurent Blanc’s favour.
Inter have the easiest opponents on paper against CSKA Moscow. Mourinho knows that his team needs to take a comfortable lead over to the Luzhniki stadium, with the unpredictability of playing on an artificial pitch in the second leg.
If everything goes to plan, the neutral football fan can look forward to a semi-final lineup of Barcelona against Inter and Manchester United against Bordeaux.
The biased supporter, such as a United follower like myself, will hope for a repeat of last year’s final, with a different winner this time.
I may not be impartial in this regard, but I’m realistic. On May 22 in Madrid, I still think Carles Puyol will lift club football’s premier trophy again.
I just hope Real Madrid fans find something else to do on that day.
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