With the quarter final ties drawn and teams already mapping out their paths to the final, this year’s Champions League is the most diverse in recent years, with representatives from six countries.
It could also promise to be one of the most exciting, as the final stages of the competition no longer resemble English Premier League matches.
In less than two months time, the Champions League final will be contested by two of Europe’s finest, in the legendary Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid.
Here are my take on the favourites to win the Champions League:
Manchester United FC (England)
Barring a major upset in their quarter-final match up against Bayern Munich and a potential semi-final date with French giants Lyon or Bordeaux, a repeat of last year’s thrilling final against world beaters Barcelona seems likely.
If that is the case, then expect the tactical mastermind that is Sir Alex Ferguson to out think young Pep Guardiola this time around. The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo was quickly forgotten with the emergence of Wayne Rooney’s head, and the Red Devils will love nothing more than to have revenge against the Catalans.
FC Barcelona (Spain)
No team has won the Champions League twice in succession since AC Milan in 1989/1990.
Manchester United came close last season only to lose out to Barcelona, and you get the feeling that Barcelona are more than capable of defending their title. The team that dazzled and wowed audiences all over the world with their signature champagne football will be more than determined to win the Champions League on their eternal rivals’ soil, the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Spanish midfield duo Xavi and Iniesta orchestrated Barcelona to an unprecedented 2008/2009 season with Lionel Messi leading the attack that flattened anyone who dared to stand in front of the Barcelona steamroller.
World Player of the Year Messi is scarily improving to even greater heights this season; he has scored 10 goals in the last four matches.
Arsenal FC (England)
Unfortunate to be tied with Barcelona in the quarter finals. The match-up, many dub as a contest between the master and the pretender of beautiful football, is only one major obstacle Arsenal must face to lift the big-eared trophy come May. Even if they could overcome Barcelona, Arsenal would most likely have to face Italian giants Inter and Manchester United in the corresponding rounds.
For a young team, that’s an unenviable task.
However, this is no ordinary young team. Wenger’s boys have shown extreme maturity and a winning mentality time and time again this season.
Fabregas is playing some very Cesc-y football, while much maligned Nicklas Bendtner has finally found his goal scoring boots.
FC Internazionale (Italy)
Italy’s best team at the moment have been perennial underachievers in Europe’s top club competition with not a single title to their name.
Always a squad of world class players at their disposal, Inter would need a lot more of Mourinho’s genius to negotiate their way to victory. The Special One has won it with Porto in 2004, but it remains to be seen if he could repeat the feat in a high pressure atmosphere of a much bigger club.
FC Bayern Munchen (Germany)
Bayern Munich fans felt hard done by their 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in 1999’s dramatic final.
While revenge against United could be a driving factor for the Bavarians, it seems unlikely that they will even get past the Red Devils. The gap in quality between two teams is just too great and Bayern Munich should just focus on recapturing the Bundesliga title.
Olympique Lyonnais (France)
Knocked out Real Madrid’s multi-million dollars team to reach this stage of the competition, but that’s usually as far as they go. Fancied by many as one of the outsiders to win the competition, Lyon usually crumble when facing a team of real quality.
Should they beat Bordeaux to advance to the semis, a date with Manchester United will be too much for the French to handle.
Girondins Bordeaux (France)
The team that snapped Lyon’s seven year dominance of the French League, Laurent Blanc’s boys are currently France’s number one but lack European experience.
Yoann Gourcuff, heir to Zidane’s throne, and Marouane Chamakh may well surprise many though, and they will use this platform to gain worldwide attention in order to move on to bigger clubs.
PFC CSKA Moskva (Russia)
The least favourite to win the tournament, CSKA Moscow’s journey should end in the hands of Inter Milan.
The Russians surprised many by knocking out Sevilla in the first knockout round, and the side with promising talents such as Igor Akinfeev and Milos Krasic will find this quarter final experience a valuable one.
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