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Champions League returns. After a 76-day winter break, the strongest and most prestigious club tournament on the planet, featuring 16 teams competing for the title of European champions, continues with the round of 16 matches - football fans are once again eagerly awaiting high-level clashes between the most renowned clubs of the Old Continent. EuroFootball.com previews the Wednesday matchups.
London - FC
Although neither "Chelsea" nor "Barcelona" have such a glorious history as, for example, "Real" or "Liverpool," it is not surprising that this showdown has attracted massive interest among football fans across Europe. Indeed, as the round of 16 draws were revealed, many could not wait to see both teams clash on the green pitch.
Looking back at their meeting 12 months ago at the same stage of the Champions League, there were dramatic, fluctuating, and tense moments, plenty of intrigues and controversial episodes, lots of goals, and fantastic football. The match was like a wonderful football spectacle that had everything, in fact, it was so unique that hopes of witnessing another such impressive thriller might be a bit exaggerated.
However, from this pair, which is sometimes even called the unofficial Champions League final, one team had to lose, and that team was "Barcelona." So the fans of the Catalan club had to experience disappointment and hope for the future. But last year it was the opposite, as "Chelsea" sought revenge for the failure they experienced in the quarterfinals of the 1999/00 season. It was the only other time the teams faced each other - the Spanish club scored two goals in extra time at home and triumphed with a crushing score of 5-1, eliminating their opponents with an overall score of 6-4. This failure in the "Nou Camp" stadium remains the biggest ever defeat for "Chelsea" in the 96 competitions of UEFA tournaments.
This time, compared to the previous encounter, the match will differ in one aspect - "Barça" will play the return leg at home, and the first leg will take place at the "Stamford Bridge" stadium in London. Although a year ago in the second leg at home, "Chelsea" players, with the help of their "walls," secured a victory, London team's manager Jose Mourinho claims that it is not of great importance as the winner will still be determined over 180 minutes, and to win, it is not necessary to secure a victory with a significant margin at home.
"I never said we have to win home games 2-0 or 3-0, or that if we play away, we shouldn't concede a goal. Both teams are of a very similar level, so we will only know who is stronger after the second leg," Mourinho said. "For example, last year I didn't tell the team that we must score three times in 20 minutes - but that's what happened. I only know that the match will last at least 180 minutes, so with such pressure - where it is said that if you play at home you have to win - I disagree. A 0-0 result is not one we aim for, but it also wouldn't scare me."
The matches between the leading teams in their countries in 2005 were accompanied by a lot of debate beyond the pitch - after the first match, J. Mourinho stated that his opponent Frank Rijkaard visited the referee Anders Frisk during halftime and influenced him, resulting in a red card shown to "Chelsea" striker Didier Drogba. Later, the Swedish referee received threats and even ended his career due to this incident, and the Portuguese coach was fined and disqualified for his statements. This time, the topic of conversation is somewhat different - for some time now, everyone has been discussing the poor quality of the "Stamford Bridge" stadium.
The guests from Spain fear that it may interfere with their favorite fast-paced passing football, but J. Mourinho allegedly blames his club for ruining the pitch, calling their actions foolish, stating that the pitch is the same for everyone, and it will also disrupt the technical players of "Chelsea" like Arjen Robben, Damien Duff, or Joe Cole. However, "Barça" captain Carles Puyol tried to argue and claimed that the quality of the pitch would disturb them more since they like to play at a fast pace and pass a lot, while the club president Joan Laporta stated that the poor quality pitch was watered down because the club had bad intentions. Meanwhile, as always, the calm strategist of the Catalan team, F. Rijkaard, refused to engage in the argument.
London club's lineup welcomes back Asier Del Horno, Paolo Ferreira resumes playing, and Claude Makelele should recover. However, in this match, the team will be without the injured defender William Gallas and the suspended midfielder Michael Essien - they should be replaced in the starting lineup by two Portuguese players and former Mourinho proteges from "Porto" club, Ricardo Carvalho and Maniche. The biggest loss for "Barça" will be their midfielder Xavi, who suffered a serious injury in December, and another midfielder Ludovic Giuly will also be unavailable. They might be replaced by Marcos van Bommel or Thiago Motta.
Predicted lineups:
"Chelsea" (4-3-3): Cech; Del Horno, Carvalho, Terry, Ferreira; Makelele, Maniche, Lampard; Robben, Crespo, J.Cole
"Barcelona" (4-3-3): Valdes; Belleti, Puyol, Marquez, Van Bronckhorst; Edmilson, Van Bommel, Deco; Messi, Eto’o, Ronaldinho
Bremen - Turin
When the Champions League round of 16 draws were made, Turin's "Juventus" staff did not hide their joy - unlike their Serie A rivals "Milan," who faced the dominant Bayern Munich from Germany in recent years, they got a bigger opportunity to face Bremen's "Werder," which will try to forget the humiliation they suffered last season when they lost 10-2 on aggregate to Lyon in the first knockout round. This is the first meeting between both teams, and although Bremen has not lost to Italian teams at home so far, Juventus have won only once in their last ten away matches against the Germans - in the 1996/97 Champions League final against Dortmund's "Borussia."
Although "Juventus" is considered a clear favorite, Werder coach Thomas Schaaf, who is a fan of attacking football, promised to "stick to his beliefs" - if his team concedes a goal, they must attack more and try to equalize the score, and if they score - they must aim to double the result. Their attacking style was evident in the group stage matches, where they managed to come back from a three-goal deficit against Udinese and win 4-3. Their attacking play is also reflected in the number of goals scored in the Bundesliga - the Northern German club has scored 52 goals in 22 matches this season, surpassing the league leaders Bayern in this statistic.
A more pragmatic philosophy is followed by Juventus coach Fabio Capello, but it pays off as he manages to balance defense with attack - the Turin team, leading comfortably in Serie A, has conceded the fewest goals of all 'Serie A' teams but ranks second in terms of goals scored behind Milan. However, according to the coach, his team is not going to Bremen to defend and instead aims to score an away goal, as it could be crucial.
Juventus will be without defenders Gianluca Zambrotta and Jonathan Zebina, but good news for "Vecchia Signora" fans is that other defenders Lilian Thuram and Federico Balzaretti return to the squad, while Giorgio Chiellini might also recover in time. If not, L. Thuram should take the left-back position, and Robert Kovac can move into the central defense. F. Capello will also have to decide which pair of forwards to choose - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Trezeguet, or Alessandro Del Piero should remain on the bench. On the other hand, Werder coach T. Schaaf will likely rely on the "K and K" partnership in attack - beside Ivan Klasnic, who is back from injury after scoring 16 goals this season in the Bundesliga.
Predicted lineups:
"Werder" (4-4-2): Wiese; Fahrenhorst, Naldo, Owomoyela, Schulz; Baumann, Borowski, Micoud, Frings; Klasnic, Klose
"Juventus" (4-4-2): Buffon; Thuram, Kovac, Cannavaro, Balzaretti; Nedved, Vieira, Emerson, Camoranesi; Ibrahimovic, Trezeguet
Amsterdam - Milan
Once these famous clubs fought in European cup finals, but now Amsterdam's "Ajax" is not as powerful, enjoying playing in the knockout stages, while Milan's "Inter," despite their star-studded lineup, has struggled for years to win trophies. In their recent head-to-head encounter, "Inter" celebrated victories, thanks to three goals from Hernan Crespo in the 2002/03 season group stage matches, both away and at home. However, it was the only time Milan club won in the Netherlands, while "Ajax" has beaten Italian teams multiple times, with the most memorable victory being the triumph against Milan in the 1994/95 Champions League final.
Recently, the Danny Blind-coached "Ajax" has been in a difficult situation - they rank fourth in the Dutch league and lag significantly behind the top three, while the team is plagued by injuries. Players like Wesley Sneijder, Steven Pienaar, Tomas Galasek, and Zdenek Grygera will be unavailable for the match, with Nigel de Jong, who moved to Hamburg in January, also absent. The fans hope that the trio of attackers who scored six goals in the last match against Roosendal last weekend - Mauro Rosales, Markus Rosenberg, and new club signing Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who will make his Champions League debut, will bring hope to the team.
Meanwhile, "Inter," coached by Roberto Mancini, is not performing as well in Serie A as expected this season. They are preparing to seek victory in the Champions League despite their struggles in the domestic league. The coach, R. Mancini, stated that he does not expect an easy match but can trust his team, especially since capable defenders like Luis Figo and Dejan Stankovic are back in the lineup. "Inter" will miss only the injured Juan Sebastian Veron and the suspended Cristiano Zanetti.
Predicted lineups:
"Ajax" (4-3-3): Stekelenburg; Juanfran, Heitinga, Vermaelen, Trabelsi; Maduro, Lindenbergh, Emanuelson; Rosales, Huntelaar, Rosenberg
"Inter" (4-4-2): Cesar; Wome, Cordoba, Samuel, J. Zanetti; Solari, Cambiasso, Pizarro, Figo; Adriano, Martins
Glasgow - CF
This pair is interesting because both teams are participating in the Champions League round of 16 for the first time. After many attempts, Glasgow's "Rangers" have reached the knockout rounds, becoming the first Scottish club to do so, while "Villarreal" is participating in the most prestigious tournament on the continent for the first time but managed to unexpectedly win their group and even eliminate the famous "Man Utd." The inexperienced European tournament team "Villarreal" has not faced Scottish clubs, while "Rangers" have played quite unpredictably at home against Spanish clubs so far, sharing three wins and three defeats each, and suffered five losses in six away matches.
Both teams have struggled this season in their respective leagues. Particularly disappointing in the Scottish championship is the defending champions "Rangers," who are far behind city rivals "Celtic" and also struggle to compete with the intervening Edinburgh "Hearts." Furthermore, "Rangers" has also withdrawn from both cup tournaments, and the team's manager Alex McLeish has announced that he will step down from his position after the season. The coach can only rejoice in the fact that currently, there are no injury problems, and he can select the strongest lineup for the historic match.
Villarreal's season is also not going as successfully as in the past. Managed by Manuel Pellegrini in the Spanish league, the team currently sits in seventh place and is eight points behind fourth-place "Osasuna." In their last six matches, "Villarreal" recorded only two wins, but the team should regain confidence from their excellent 4-0 victory against Barcelona's "Espanyol" last weekend. For the match against "Rangers," "Villarreal" will miss their captain Quique Alvarez, as well as newcomers Guillermo Franco and Josemi, with the main news for the Spaniards being the return after injury of team leader Juan Roman Riquelme, who is expected to at least be among the substitutes.
Predicted lineups:
"Rangers" (4-4-2): Waterreus; Hutton, Rodriguez, Kyrgiakos, Smith; Burke, Hemdani, Ferguson, Buffel; Prso, Boyd
"Villarreal" (4-4-2): Viera; Venta, Gonzalo, Pena, Arruabarrena; Josico, Senna, Riquelme, Roger; Jose Mari, Forlan
