Ok, so before I begin talking about the draw, I have to mention a couple of things. First off, there was a heck of a coincidence in one of the couples I predicted and in one of the couples that actually came out. I mistakingly predicted that Paris Saint-Germain would play Arsenal, but taking a second look, I had already pitted Arsenal against Barcelona. And the only team I hadn't picked an opponent for was PSG's actual opponent in the final 16, Valencia!! What a twist of fate... Another thing that I would like to mention is the fact that I had already mentioned in my previous post that something like this might occur. With the exception of Real Madrid and Manchester United, who were pitted against each other, all other strong candidates for the cup got a relatively "good" draw. Let's take a closer look:
Real Madrid-Manchester United
AC Milan-FC Barcelona
Arsenal-FC Bayern Munich
Valencia CF-Paris Saint-Germain
Celtic-Juventus
FC Porto-Malaga
FC Shakthar Donetsk-Borussia Dortmund
Galatasaray AS-Schalke 04
So, by just looking at the draw, the eye immediately goes on three matches: Real vs United, Barca vs Milan and Arsenal vs Bayern. But, if we analyze things a little we'll see that things aren't really as they seem for the latter two couples.
First off, we have the big game. A match that could've as well been the final. The biggest event in these games is of course Cristiano Ronaldo's big return to the Old Trafford. But there's so much more to it than that! We're gonna see such great games. With Ronaldo, Ozil, Benzema, Higuain, Alonso, Pepe, Khedira, Casillas on the one side and Rooney, Van Persie, Hernandes, Giggs, Ferdinand, Nani, Evra, Vidic, De Gea on the other. And the ultimate clash of Mourinho against Ferguson on the two benches. This is the game to watch and the entire world will be tuned once these two teams kick-off!
Now let's take a look at the other two hot potatoes. These other games that are supposed to attract attention just because the names of the opponents is big. AC Milan vs Barcelona. Barca is probably the biggest club in the world right now. The definition of the word "team". They have three nominees for the "Player of the Year" award in the faces of Iniesta, Xavi and of course Messi. On the other hand, we have Milan, who lost again last night 4-2 to AS Roma, have lost several key players last season (including Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic) and are currently 7th in the Serie A. I think that with the season Milan is having, this draw was pretty easy for Barca.
As for the Bayern vs Arsenal couple, the Bavarians haven't found any competition this year neither in the Bundesliga nor in the Champions League. And they want to claim what was stolen from them last year, so they'll be looking to go all the way to the final. On the other hand, Arsenal qualified as second from Group B in the Champions League and isn't really looking to be in the greatest form in the Premiership, despite being in 3rd. Of course, all this could change if someone like, I don't know, maybe David Villa were to move to the Emirates, but this is all just speculation right now.
So you see that the only game that is actually a nail-biter is the first one. The other two have clear-cut favorites and as for the rest of them, if any one of these teams were to make it past the quarter-finals, I would call it a 2004-size miracle! But let's just take a look at them, shall we?
In what is expected to be a close couple of games, Ernesto Valverde's Valencia go up against Paris Saint-Germain. The Parisians want to make a grand re-entry to European football, which is precisely why they've spent so much money on top-notch players such as Thiago Silva, Alex and Ibrahimovic. But the players of Valencia want to show their new coach what they're all about. They're already doing much better in their performances in the La Liga going from 15th place to 9th. But they have to prove that they deserve their position in European football.
Juventus got the luck of the draw. They will be going against Celtic, who literally qualified in the last minute. Juve is topping the table in Italy and their performance is just as good in Europe. Let's not forget they were the ones who disqualified European Champions, Chelsea. If they were to be disqualified now, it would be a shock.
FC Porto goes against Malaga. The Portuguese are having a decent season, second in the table in their league (just 3 points behind leaders Benfica) and qualified through Group A along with Paris Saint-Germain. Malaga hasn't lost yet in the Champions League, despite clashing with giants such as Milan. This could go either way.
Another tie that could go either way is Shakhtar vs Dortmund. Both teams did great in their group stages (Shakhtar was second against Juve and Chelsea, Dortmund was first against Real Madrid, Ajax and Manchester City), both teams are doing great in their leagues (Shakhtar 1st in Ukraine, Dortmund 3rd in Germany), so we really don't know what to expect from these two teams except a nice couple of games!
As for the final game, Galatasaray vs Schalke, I can't really see any way for the Turks to break down the German side's formidable defence. And that's where it will be decided.
Anyway, I'll give the prediction thingy one more shot. Here are my predictions for the final eight of the competition: Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Sain-Germain, Juventus, Malaga, Shakhtar Donetsk, Schalke 04.
That's all folks! Merry xmas to all!!!
Real Madrid-Manchester United
AC Milan-FC Barcelona
Arsenal-FC Bayern Munich
Valencia CF-Paris Saint-Germain
Celtic-Juventus
FC Porto-Malaga
FC Shakthar Donetsk-Borussia Dortmund
Galatasaray AS-Schalke 04
So, by just looking at the draw, the eye immediately goes on three matches: Real vs United, Barca vs Milan and Arsenal vs Bayern. But, if we analyze things a little we'll see that things aren't really as they seem for the latter two couples.
First off, we have the big game. A match that could've as well been the final. The biggest event in these games is of course Cristiano Ronaldo's big return to the Old Trafford. But there's so much more to it than that! We're gonna see such great games. With Ronaldo, Ozil, Benzema, Higuain, Alonso, Pepe, Khedira, Casillas on the one side and Rooney, Van Persie, Hernandes, Giggs, Ferdinand, Nani, Evra, Vidic, De Gea on the other. And the ultimate clash of Mourinho against Ferguson on the two benches. This is the game to watch and the entire world will be tuned once these two teams kick-off!
Now let's take a look at the other two hot potatoes. These other games that are supposed to attract attention just because the names of the opponents is big. AC Milan vs Barcelona. Barca is probably the biggest club in the world right now. The definition of the word "team". They have three nominees for the "Player of the Year" award in the faces of Iniesta, Xavi and of course Messi. On the other hand, we have Milan, who lost again last night 4-2 to AS Roma, have lost several key players last season (including Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic) and are currently 7th in the Serie A. I think that with the season Milan is having, this draw was pretty easy for Barca.
As for the Bayern vs Arsenal couple, the Bavarians haven't found any competition this year neither in the Bundesliga nor in the Champions League. And they want to claim what was stolen from them last year, so they'll be looking to go all the way to the final. On the other hand, Arsenal qualified as second from Group B in the Champions League and isn't really looking to be in the greatest form in the Premiership, despite being in 3rd. Of course, all this could change if someone like, I don't know, maybe David Villa were to move to the Emirates, but this is all just speculation right now.
So you see that the only game that is actually a nail-biter is the first one. The other two have clear-cut favorites and as for the rest of them, if any one of these teams were to make it past the quarter-finals, I would call it a 2004-size miracle! But let's just take a look at them, shall we?
In what is expected to be a close couple of games, Ernesto Valverde's Valencia go up against Paris Saint-Germain. The Parisians want to make a grand re-entry to European football, which is precisely why they've spent so much money on top-notch players such as Thiago Silva, Alex and Ibrahimovic. But the players of Valencia want to show their new coach what they're all about. They're already doing much better in their performances in the La Liga going from 15th place to 9th. But they have to prove that they deserve their position in European football.
Juventus got the luck of the draw. They will be going against Celtic, who literally qualified in the last minute. Juve is topping the table in Italy and their performance is just as good in Europe. Let's not forget they were the ones who disqualified European Champions, Chelsea. If they were to be disqualified now, it would be a shock.
FC Porto goes against Malaga. The Portuguese are having a decent season, second in the table in their league (just 3 points behind leaders Benfica) and qualified through Group A along with Paris Saint-Germain. Malaga hasn't lost yet in the Champions League, despite clashing with giants such as Milan. This could go either way.
Another tie that could go either way is Shakhtar vs Dortmund. Both teams did great in their group stages (Shakhtar was second against Juve and Chelsea, Dortmund was first against Real Madrid, Ajax and Manchester City), both teams are doing great in their leagues (Shakhtar 1st in Ukraine, Dortmund 3rd in Germany), so we really don't know what to expect from these two teams except a nice couple of games!
As for the final game, Galatasaray vs Schalke, I can't really see any way for the Turks to break down the German side's formidable defence. And that's where it will be decided.
Anyway, I'll give the prediction thingy one more shot. Here are my predictions for the final eight of the competition: Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Sain-Germain, Juventus, Malaga, Shakhtar Donetsk, Schalke 04.
That's all folks! Merry xmas to all!!!
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