Last season, it was AC Milan vs. the Premier League. The Italian club won.
This time, it’s FC Barcelona’s turn to take on English soccer in the Champions League with Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea all in the semifinals for the second season in a row.
If last season is any guide, bet on a Barcelona triumph when the final comes around in Moscow on May 21.
Although the current form and odds suggest the famous trophy will be headed for England, fate could send it to Spain.
The English teams are great at reaching the last four, and there will be at least one Premier League club in the final for the fourth season in a row. Actually picking up the trophy is another thing altogether—they’ve won just two since 1984.
Since then, the Italian clubs (seven titles) and Spanish (five) have proved to be much better at that, and the English trio could well be beaten to the top prize by Barcelona, which defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the 2006 final.
Like Milan a year ago, Barcelona is way off the lead in its domestic league, plagued by injuries to big players and struggling for consistency.
Milan finished fourth and 36 points behind Inter Milan in the 2007 Italian league, although that included eight points imposed for its part in a match-fixing scam. Saving its best form for the Champions League, it beat Liverpool 2-1 in the final in Athens, Greece.
Barcelona is third and 11 points behind Real Madrid in the Spanish title race and that means, like Milan last season, it realistically only has the Champions League to focus on.
Now, with Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Deco fit again, Barcelona has the talent to beat Manchester United in Wednesday’s first leg at the Camp Nou a day after Liverpool and Chelsea face each other at Anfield. The return legs are next week.
Barcelona comes off a 0-0 tie at home against cross-city rival Espanyol on Saturday, although midfielder Andres Iniesta says that’s a good sign.
“The Champions League is another story,” Iniesta said. “A good example is that after a terrible (3-2 loss) in Seville against Betis, we were able to beat Schalke in Germany. It’s very important for us to get to the final, and we have 180 minutes ahead of us to do so.”
Barcelona just has to shrug aside its league form and switch into Champions League mode. But pressure has been mounting on the Barca players since they began falling too far behind Madrid in the league title race.
Barcelona started the season expecting great things from its new-look strikeforce with Thierry Henry joining Messi, Eto’o and Ronaldinho. But the French striker has failed to make an impact in Spanish soccer, Messi and Eto’o have spent long spells on the sideline with injuries and Ronaldinho, clearly putting on weight, has been accused of enjoying the nightlife a little too much.
The Brazilian great is out of action with a torn leg muscle and there is strong speculation he might be moving to AC Milan. With 17-year-old Bojan Krkic producing standout performances on his introduction to the team, however, Barcelona still has the players capable of beating Manchester United.
The problem for the Catalan team is that it appears to have lost confidence, and the fans can feel it.
They have been getting on the backs of the players, coach Frank Rijkaard and president Joan Laporta, especially with traditional rival Madrid on the way to winning the Spanish league title for the second season in a row.
Now the team has to respond with two big performances against Manchester United, which is leading the Premier League and hoping to win the league title for the second season in a row. United effectively needs only to win at second-place Chelsea on Saturday to clinch. The Red Devils were in a similar situation last term, with Chelsea also back in second place.
But Alex Ferguson’s team couldn’t manage the double. It struggled twice in the Champions League semifinals against Milan, coming from behind to win 3-2 in the first leg at Old Trafford and being soundly beaten 3-0 in the return.
With the home leg first, Rijkaard needs to get the best out of Messi, Eto’o, Henry, Deco and Krkic when the two teams meet at Camp Nou, so it can defend a lead at Old Trafford next week.
If he doesn’t, European soccer will be looking at a first all-English Champions League final, Premier League dominance will be complete and Rijkaard probably will be searching for another job.
source; yahoo
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