The Champions' League is the context for one of the highest forms of soccer competition in the world. Every year, each European country sends its best teams to bring the tournament title back home. Thirty-two teams fight for the honor of being the best in Europe, and now only eight teams remain.
The quarterfinals will kick off on Tuesday with Manchester United facing Roma and Germany's Schalke playing Barcelona. Once again, the British are dominating the Champions' League with all four of its teams still alive. Arsenal sent defending-champion AC Milan home in the last round with two brilliant last-minute goals, leaving only Roma to defend Italian pride in European soccer. Arsenal will face Liverpool on Wednesday, the same day that Chelsea will play Fenerbahce, a Turkish club that stunned many skeptical soccer fans with a nail-biting penalty shootout victory over Sevilla. Each match will be crucial to all the teams that hope to achieve the highest glory in European soccer.
To begin, the quarterfinal rematch between Manchester United and Roma is eagerly anticipated by both sides. The last time the teams met in the Champions' League, Man. U. crushed the Italian squad 7-1. Needless to say, Roma is extremely keen on exacting revenge.
Still, the club is not coming into Tuesday's match with much momentum. A disappointing tie against Cagliari on Saturday because of an own goal in the third minute was enough to show Roma fans that their club will have to step up their game if they are to stand a chance against Man. U.
On the other side, Manchester's superb performance on Saturday, in which they outplayed Aston Villa to a score of 4-0, gave them their sixth consecutive Premier League win. The team will travel to Rome hungry to carry themselves to the next round, and eventually the Champions' League title.
Meanwhile, Barcelona has managed to keep Spain in the running after Real Madrid and Sevilla were eliminated. The club will face Schalke, which narrowly defeated FC Porto in penalties and has not done much to stun European soccer supporters.
On paper, it seems as though Barcelona would be the favorite, although the club's victory in the previous round against Celtic did not do much to show Barcelona's famous superiority. Considering soccer's propensity towards the unpredictable, Schalke may have a strong chance if it puts up a good fight.
A very impressive performance by Fenerbahce against Sevilla should at least give Chelsea a reason not to count the team out. Sevilla, a team who is often in the shadows of Real Madrid and Barcelona but nonetheless an excellent club, underestimated the Turkish team and lost in penalties after the teams reached a 5-5 tie on aggregate. Now, Fenerbahce faces the challenge of stunning Chelsea, which has not had a very impressive tournament thus far. Chelsea will have to be prepared to withstand another possible upset on Wednesday, while Fenerbahce will have to come into the game with the preparation needed to win.
Finally, Wednesday will see two English giants battling each other. In between the two legs of the quarterfinals, Liverpool and Arsenal also have one more Premier League match to play, which is sure to take a lot out of both teams.
In the regular season, the clubs tied 1-1. However, Liverpool possibly has the advantage since it no longer has any realistic chance of winning the Premier League. Arsenal, although currently six points behind Manchester, is still focusing on its domestic situation, while Liverpool can afford to focus solely on the Champions' League. Moreover, Liverpool lost the final to AC Milan last year and undoubtedly wants the entire victory this season.
While Chelsea and Barcelona are expected to reach the semifinals, the nature and unexpectedness of international soccer might give surprise wins to Schalke or Fenerbahce. Arsenal and Liverpool fans are preparing to meet and harass each other for the next few weeks, but the importance of a win in the Champions' League may seem a bit more important to Liverpool's side. Finally, for the second time in a row Man. U. and Roma are fighting in the quarterfinals.
While Roma is hoping for history not to repeat itself, Man. U. will arrive in Italy on Tuesday having performed brilliantly in its most recent games. By then, soccer fans will be closer to answering the question of who will be on top when the most exciting stages of the Champions' League kick off on Tuesday afternoon.
