Ah, the Champions League — that glorious, thrilling UEFA competition that awaits every soccer fan coming out of the winter doldrums. It pits the best of each nation against each other, giving great teams from small leagues and the traditional giants alike a chance to showcase their skills on the biggest stage.
Of course, it is always more likely that the giants will emerge victorious, and this year, as the Round of 16 gets underway, I'd consider Copenhagen, Valencia, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk, Marseille, Schalke and Tottenham Hotspur to have virtually no chance of winning the competition. Some of those are simply too weak and ripe for early elimination (Roma, Marseille) while others are talented but too inexperienced (Tottenham, Shakhtar).
That leaves Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Lyon, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea with a legitimate shot at the title. Of course, a small problem emerges: Inter vs. Bayern, Lyon vs. Real Madrid and Arsenal vs. Barcelona are all first round matchups, meaning three of the squads get eliminated right off the bat.
From those games, I'd go with Inter, Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Inter pick is rather easy — Bayern has been up and down the whole season, and Inter has been re-energized under new coach Leonardo. Madrid and Barcelona, though, are much tougher picks, especially given their mediocre results in the first legs of the round (Madrid: 1-1 Lyon; Barcelona: 1-2 Arsenal).
Coaching here will be key. Madrid manager José Mourinho is a master at doing what is necessary to win, and Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola not only is a first-class tactician, but also has the greatest player in the world, Lionel Messi, at his disposal (not to mention the leadership of defender Carles Puyol and his crazy hair). In the end, that'll be enough for the Spanish sides.
So now there's Inter Milan, AC Milan (who will beat Tottenham, even without that headbutting, bat$%@! crazy Gennaro Gattuso), Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea. Of these teams, Chelsea is by far the easiest one to weed out. They will skate past their easy first-round battle with Copenhagen, but after that, the age, slowness and lack of depth of their squad will really show. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them get embarrassed by four or five goals against a team like Barcelona since they've shown about as much consistency this year as the Jabulani World Cup ball.
That leaves only the Milan clubs, the Spanish giants and the Red Devils still standing. Yet I believe Inter, AC Milan and Manchester United will all fail for the same reason — an over-reliance on one creative forward who masks age and lack of creativity in the rest of the team. Players like Cambiasso, Zanetti, Gattuso, Seedorf, Giggs and Scholes are stalwarts and great veterans, but they are possession players now — they are no longer the ones who make that marauding run or killer pass through the defense for the key goal. Ibrahimovic, Eto'o and Rooney are brilliant strikers, but even they don't have enough ability to power their teams to the title.
So, in my estimation, Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet in the final. Guardiola vs. Mourinho, Messi vs. Ronaldo, Catalonia vs. Madrid — El Clásico would play out on the grandest stage. And unfortunately for Los Merengues, I can't see anything but a repeat of the meetings between these two teams over the last three years — in other words, an emphatic Barcelona victory. Madrid may have Ronaldo and Mourinho, but Barcelona has the better team, and in the end, Messi and Co. will lift the European Cup for the third time in five years.
