No, I'm not writing of myself. I'm talking about the group stage of the world's second greatest football competition, which has just concluded: the Champions' League. These are the teams that advance to the knock-out rounds, including my beloved Liverpool:
Arsenal
Atletico Madrid
Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Chelsea
Inter Milan
Juventus
Liverpool
Lyon
Manchester United
Panathinaikos
Porto
Roma
Real Madrid
Sporting Lisbon
Villarreal
Once again, there appears to be serious competition between the Spanish and English sides as to who will dominate the competition. Last year, that resulted in 3 English teams in the semis, and 2 in the Final. This year, I'm betting that Barca will make it all the way, against either Man Utd or Liverpool. There is "country protection" in this next round, so we shan't see English team vs. English team in the forthcoming draw. However, given the number of Spanish and English sides, I expect to see Liverpool vs. either a Spanish or Italian side in the draw.
It should be another marvellous couple of European nights.
The best football until the World Cup will return in March.
Posted by artandscience at December 10, 2008 11:07 AM