The return of the Champions League is akin to suddenly remembering you haven’t eaten that whole bag of minstrels and that there are still a few left in the bottom.
Forgotten about and seemingly appearing from nowhere to inject a bit of drama into your weekday nights, the last 16 stage of the World’s biggest club tournament kicks off with an intriguing tie that re-unites two entities who have played central roles in growing brand football to whole new levels. David Beckham and Manchester United.
Beckham will no doubt relish the opportunity to avenge Alex Ferguson in his first game against his old employers since he left for Madrid in acrimony in the summer of 2003. Whether an aging AC Milan side can match United over two legs is questionable however as they meet a United side that has been galvanised in recent weeks by a rampant Wayne Rooney.
The Rossoneri will be relying on the likes of Beckham, Ronaldinho and footballs very own Peter Pan- Clarence Seedorf, to roll back the years. The veteran Dutchman seems to have been around forever and first tasted Champions League success way back in 1995. Speaking ahead of the game, Seedorf downplayed both teams’ prospects claiming they were “outsiders” and contending that ChelseaBarcelona are the clear favourites for the Cup. and
This is reflected in the bookmaker’s odds with Milan available at odds of 22-1. This could be worth a punt, considering the vast experience that Milan have at their disposable, coupled with the finesse and skill of Alex Pato and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
Man. Utd will be looking to build on their current winning streak which has seen them close the gap on Chelsea to one point in the Premier League. An away goal could be pivotal for United and much of Milan’s hopes hinge on their ability to stifle the threat of Rooney at the San Siro. I predict a tight tie, and opting for a narrow Milan victory. The Italians will be resolute in defence and have enough quality to nick a goal against an under-strength United backline.
The contest will determine who has coped better since the departure of the two sides respective star players in the close season, Ronaldo and Kaka respectively. The duo both jumped ship to the star studded Real Madrid in a summer spending spree that Harry Redknapp would be proud of.
The Galactios have been in the shadows of bitter rivals Barcelona for a number of seasons now and will be desperate to challenge for the CL after last lifting the trophy in 2002. They meet perennial dark horses Lyon who have also been robbed of their best player by Madrid.
The Real Madrid/Barcelona presidential elections are claiming another victim in the form of Karim Benzema. On paper this should be an easy hurdle for Madrid to negotiate with the team from the Stade Garland sitting in fourth in League 1 and lumbered with a leaky defence marshalled by Newcasle reject Jean-Alain Boumsong.
However, the French side will be looking to complete a hat-trick of victories over Madrid on home soil in recent seasons and will be hopeful of dumping Madrid out at the last 16 stage for what would be the 6th straight year. Such an unedifying statistic was the catalyst for the massive financial investment pioneered by President Florentino Pérez I fancy Madrid to pull through here given their superior attacking options; Lyon will be no pushovers but are definitely on the wane while Madrid will not lack desire as they seek to re-establish themselves as the pre-eminent force in not just Spanish, but world football and it will be fascinating to see whether money can in fact buy success.
All in all, the return of the Champions League should provide an effective remedy for those winter blues and with 2 games a night for the next 4 weeks, student football fans will be not be short of distraction from their studies. Jose Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge in 2 weeks is perhaps the pick of the round and promises to throw fire on a football season that has not been short of entertainment.
Mark Devlin
Related posts: