With Liverpool winning the second leg of their First Knockout Round tie against Internazionale last night, we now know the line-up for the quarter finals of this season's Champions League. It is:
Arsenal (ENG)
Barcelona (SPA)
Chelsea (ENG)
Fenerbahçe (TUR)
Liverpool (ENG)
Manchester United (ENG)
Milan (ITA)
Schalke 04 (GER)
No prizes for spotting that for the first time in Champions League history, one country (England) has four teams representing it in the last eight. Reason to celebrate and rejoice if you're English, then, but one is reminded that even with three teams in the last four in 2006/07, England did not provide the eventual winners of the competition.
Still, it's a great achievement and one that English football fans should be proud of, but of the other four teams that remain this season, can any of them stop an English team lifting the trophy?
First of all there's Schalke 04 who finished runners-up to Chelsea in Group B of the First Round and couldn't beat them in either of their two games. At Stamford Bridge, the Germans lost 2-0 while a 0-0 draw in the return match left us in no doubt who the better of the two sides were there. Schalke also lost to Valencia in the same group, so perhaps the English sides have nothing to fear on that front
Roma were second only to Man United in First Round Group F, and though they avoided another 7-1 thrashing like the one they endured last season, they still lost 1-0 at Old Trafford and 0-0 in Rome. The Italians have been a tough team to beat in the earlier stages and could well scupper one of the English teams' hopes.
Fenerbahçe were the runners-up in Group G behind Inter, but if they have a weakness it's their away form. Despite winning all three of their home ties, away from Turkey they could only draw two and lose the other. Good for only one leg of their quarter-final match, perhaps? We shall see…
Finally there's Barcelona, and there's not much to tell you about them that you don't already know. They finished Group E unbeaten with four wins and two draws, and they fair old steamrollered through Stuttgart, Rangers and Lyon. Winners of the Champions League in 2006, their hopes of regaining the title last year were undone by Liverpool in the first knockout round, so perhaps The Reds will fancy their chances again this season?
Let's wait and see. For now we can only lick our lips at the prospect of some of the English teams meeting each other before or during the Final, but a game against Barcelona somewhere between now and May could be just as mouthwatering.
Whatever the draw may be, we know the semifinals will be Liverpool v. Chelsea and ManU v. Roma. So my best guess is Liverpool v. Barca, Chelsea v. Arsenal, ManU v. Schalke, and Roma v. Fenerbahce (or some variation thereof.) We all know it's fixed, right?
ReplyDeleteEven if it is is fixed I have been unable to work out how they fix it exactly. Not so that I can successfully predict it anyhow.
ReplyDelete"Still, it's a great achievement and one that English football fans should be proud of,"
I was just writing about this over on my blog. While supporters of those clubs should be pleased I don't see what Englishness has to do with it... they are less Engish than I am and I am Welsh- all be it that I have english parents.
That's true, Liverpool have only 2Englishmen starting, Chelsea have 3ish (usually a combo of Lampard, the Coles, and Bridge), Arsenal have none, and ManU have 3 or 4. Not very English at all. On the other hand, most of the top Spanish clubs are Argentinian, Brazilian, and African. Italy is the on federation that uses a great deal of homegrown players (Save for Inter, who fielded 0 Italians last night.)
ReplyDeleteOK guys, OK - when I said it was an achievement for English supporters to be proud of, I meant in the broadest, most general sense, OK?!?!
ReplyDeleteI know better that anyone how many foreign players there are in the modern game, so when I call a team 'English', I'm referring to the club rather than its players... how else can England claim to have any success in anything?!!?!
I don't think we should get into a debate about foreign ownership as that seems to get more sour by the day. At least England can look forward to the world cup. Fabio seems to be at every prem. game every week. It's strange to have a manager that actually looks interested in football. I think the next England cup side will be impressive. No more sentimental old-timers selected, no more sven's pets, just a young hungry team that's organized and wants to win.
ReplyDeleteImagine that the draw will be fixed so as to try and avoid an all-English final. Liverpool vs Man Utd in Moscow would be an absolute nightmare and quite possibly a bloodbath.
ReplyDeleteAnyway not long to wait now:
The event at UEFA HQ begins from 13.00CET and will be conducted by UEFA General Secretary, David Taylor, together with the ambassador for the final in Moscow on 21 May, former Russia goalkeeper Rinat Dasaev. The quarter-final first legs will be played on 1/2 April and the return matches the following week. The four winning teams will know who they will meet in the semi-finals (taking place on 22/23 and 29/30 April) as those pairings will also be decided during Friday's draw ceremony. The final will be held at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, on Wednesday 21 May at 20.45CET
Anyway...
R 8 pieces of paper and a pint glass. Who needs Uefa and the whole draw ceremony circus.
Liverpool v Arsenal
Chelsea v Schalke 04
Barcelona v Man Utd
Fenerbache v Roma (ouch)
You heard it here first....
Your draw still mantains the Liverpool/Chelsea and ManU/Roma semis. It is inevitable.
ReplyDeleteAll very interesting! I think the moment we see David Blaine conducting the draw, we should be VERY worried...
ReplyDeleteI think that Barca will win the whole competition. However Pool and Roma will probably be the second team in FINAL
ReplyDeleteMirha, I think there's a very good chance you'll be right. At least they've avoided Liverpool up to this point...
ReplyDeleteTotefootballking - I see you predicted one of the games correctly! :)