Champions League – All Roads lead to Rome

Things are finally getting serious, pathetic Italian clubs and couple of more outsiders have finished their Champions League adventure. There are eight teams left, as expected, it will be a clash of the Premiership and the rest of the world, but the eternal city will host only two best. Quarter-finals draw will be crucial and a lot of things will depend upon it. Soccerpie is bringing you our prognosis regarding the teams left in the pool and their chances in the finish of the competition. The closing stages appear as difficult as ever and, apart from maybe Porto and Villareal, all the teams have right to keep their hopes high.

Manchester United: It appears that only tradition is against Red Devils since champions have never before defended the title, but those numbers, statistics and history should be taken with reserve although they tend to repeat themselves. Manchester United eased past Inter, will collide with more difficult rivals until the end, but Manchester are able to put their performances even on a higher level. If their key players remain healthy, Rome will be red in May.

Bayern: Many people would wonder why we are putting them in front of Barcelona or maybe Liverpool, but there is something we all should remember. Bayern played less games than their rivals and will be probably  able to count on the full crop of players and their performances in Europe are always bringing the impressive combination of fearless confidence and incredible efficiency. We cannot imagine Liverpool, in example, to stay unbeaten at Camp Nou this season, but we could definitely imagine Bayern doing so, in a game that would  potentially end 2-2.

Barcelona: many pundits see this team as the only one to have enough power to stand on sir Alex’s way. And definitely, Barcelona seemed untouchable in most part of the season, but the Catalans have also sometimes looked unexpressed against big teams in this competition. Should they clash United, Bayern or even Chelsea, they will not be given much space to develop their play like in Primera or like against the teams such as Lion. It may sound weird, but we don’t think Barca are the biggest favorites to win the title.

Liverpool:  History taught us they are never to be discarded, but there are three basic problems. Firstly, Benitez has never been able to comprehend and deal with Ferguson’s football perception. Secondly, unlike other giants, Reds  depend too much upon Fernando Torres. Also, you cannot sell same tricks to same people three years in a row…unless you play Real.

Chelsea: Guus Hiddink is an excellent coach but he isn’t Merlin the wizard. Chelsea have eliminated Juventus in a game that could’ve gone the other way too. If you also think that Juventus are far away from European top, we cannot imagine the Blues as the team that can recover from Scolari that fast and find the right formula to go all  the way. With the right schedule, they could end up in Rome, but we honestly believe they are much  inferior to the teams we have mentioned above.

Arsenal: Wenger is hoping that Fabregas and his other players will recover, but there is not enough time until the end. Arsenal, as it is, are without enough quality, despite all the youth, speed, spirit…beating Roma after the penalty shoot-out is not the result that should be regarded as the proof of quality. Gunners will have enough time in UEFA Cup next year to gather enough experience for the new Champions League campaign. This is simply not their year.

Porto: Quarter-finals will probably be the end of the road for them since we honestly believe Porto don’t stand any chance against a serious team. Dragons are not so convincing even in their domestic championship, just a solid team that could only wish for Villareal or Arsenal on the way to the semis. Never say never…

Villeareal: Spanish teams should never be underestimated, but the Yellow Submarine is not the kind of a team that was unfortunately ruled out of the semis a couple of seasons ago. The only reason why this team got to top eight is because draw was mild on them.  There are less chances draw will do them another favor…anyhow, their fans will not travel to Rome this year.

Many people would like to see Manchester United – Barcelona clash in the finals. We would like to see 1999 remake since sometimes blockbuster’s sequel goes way beyond the original movie…Manchester and Bayern can do it, Rome is the city where world’s history wrote its first pages…new chapter might be added just in the right place.

Popularity: 13% [?]