From
sweet sixteen, to now just the great eight. The 2011-12 UEFA Champions League
is now at the quarter final stage as the fight for a date with destiny in
Bavaria come May intensifies. Today the draw was done and the die cast. Now we
have a clear picture of how the final might look like. How about we go through
the ties one by one and see what to expect, shall we?
APOEL
Nicosia v Real Madrid
A
walk-over? The easiest fixture of the lot? In all honesty with the form that
Real Madrid have exhibited so far, it’s hard not to view this fixture that way.
Take nothing away from APOEL though, they’ve been worthy of dining on European
football’s high table. Indeed the Cypriots showed plenty of tenacity, grit and
character by overturning a 1-0 deficit against seasoned campaigners Olympique
Lyonnais to proceed. They are now up against arguably the best club in the
world this season, nine-time champions, Real Madrid. For Madrid and manager
Jose Mourinho, this is a trophy they really want to have for keeps considering
it would be a record tenth title. Iker Casillas is as evergreen as ever,
Cristiano Ronaldo is taking no prisoners and Kaka is rediscovering his magic
touch. And of course, Mourinho is still The Special One. APOEL can only thank
the gods for orchestrating a dream trip to the Santiago Bernabeu, but really
there is where it all ends. Madrid should comfortably get past this one in to
the semi finals.
SL Benfica v
Chelsea
Very
few (including the writer) gave Chelsea a chance of making it to the quarters
especially after they were dismantled by Napoli in the first leg in Naples but
they pulled off a classic come back at the Bridge to book a place in the last
8. Benfica too staged a comeback albeit a less spectacular one to overcome Zenit.
This tie really is one that can be rated 50-50, could go either way. The Blues
showed some quality and determination against Napoli but in all honesty their
season has been indifferent. Under caretaker manager and legend, Roberto Di
Matteo there have been signs of them coming back to feared unit that they have
been in recent years. In Benfica, they face one of the silkiest and slickest teams
in Europe. The Portuguese outfit has the talent and guile to hold their own against
Europe’s best. Key to them winning will be getting the best out of Alex Witsel,
Nicolas Gaitan, Jarvi Garcia and Oscar Cardozo in the home leg at the Estadio
da Luz. Chelsea meanwhile are embroiled in the scrap for 4th spot in
the Premier League and that might prove to be their undoing. Still, they have
the experience and pedigree to get the better of Benfica.
Olympique
Marseille v Bayern Munich
Can
the Big Red Machine be stopped in their powerful march to the coveted home
final appearance? Indeed it seems as if that is what serves to drive on Bayern
Munich if their unbelievable 7-0 demolition of Basel at the Allianz Arena is
anything to go by. Marseille on their part will feel they are competitive
enough to match, if not to beat the Germans after snatching victory from former
champions, Inter. It is fair to say Bayern’s attack at the moment is the most
fearsome in Europe and if they click into gear, OM will be skinned in a
bloodshed that could get ugly. Didier Deschamps’ men have done well to get to
where they are but you get the feeling they just won’t match up. The likes of
Loic Remy, Andre Ayew and Brandao are not prolific enough compared to Arjen
Robben, Thomas Mueller, Franck Ribery and of course, Mario Gomez. Super Mario
is in the form of his life and if there’s anyone who’s going to have the most
say in this, it is him. FC Hollywood (Bayern Munich) marches on to the next reel
of the Champions League installment.
AC Milan v
Barcelona
In
what is the undisputed stand-out tie of the draw, the two giants of the
European game meet yet again in the competition this season. In the two occasions
they met in the group stage they treated us to sumptuous football of the highest
order and definitely similar if not better is expected this time round. The
Catalans are increasingly looking like they could be the first team to
successfully defend their title, with some celestial displays they’ve doled out
so far. Milan have every reason to be concerned as while they were holding on
for a 3-0 loss at Arsenal, the Blaugrana were demolishing Leverkusen 7-1 with
Lionel Messi pulling off a perfect virtuoso 5-goal haul. Can the Rossoneri defense
keep up with the ruthlessly marauding little man from Argentina? At their best,
Milan have proved that they too can get it and get it right courtesy of the
Robinho-Ibrahimovic-Prince Boateng triumvirate. The spectacular specials of
Prince are well documented including that wonder goal against the same
opponents at the San Siro. If Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas pulls the strings in
midfield as normal and Messi bangs them in like only he knows how, it will be
Barca proceeding to the semis.
Yes,
so that’s it. The semi finals should most likely take this shape: Bayern Munich
v Real Madrid and Chelsea v Barcelona. As much as I would like to predict the outlook
of the final, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The
Dug Out.
