Changing Times in the Champions League.

The general consensus is one of disappointment for British teams this season, with holders Chelsea and Premier League Champions Manchester City crashing out in the group stages. Celtic found the might of a reinvigorated Juventus too hot to handle and as we all know, Manchester United went down to Real Madrid in two fantastic ties, if not with a controversial ending.

The quarter final draw was recently unveiled and here are the match up’s for the first and second legs starting on the 7th and 8th April respectively.

Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 10th April

• Bayern Munich vs Juventus

• PSG vs Barcelona

Wednesday 3rd and Tuesday 9th April

• Malaga vs Borussia Dortmund

• Real Madrid vs Galatasaray

As we now move towards the business end of the Champions League, I give a little inkling into the who’s who, what, where and how in terms of the chances of winning the competition for the remaining teams:

Juventus

Juventus have quietly gone through the motions in this year’s competition and eased past Celtic to gain their first Quarter Final spot since being knocked out by Liverpool in the 2004/05 season. Since that they have failed to qualify for the group stages in 4 out of the last 6 years, and the 2 times they did qualify they fell at the last 16 and group stage respectively.

Juventus’ off the field problems haven’t helped over the past few years with relegation from the Serie A in 2006 as well as league titles from 2005 and 2006 being stripped from them after the match fixing scandal that shook Italian football found Juventus guilty of involvement.

Recent time however have somewhat woke the sleeping Italian giant and after going throughout all of last season unbeaten, conceding only 20 goals in the process on their way to winning Serie A, there’s no doubt Juventus pose a threat in this year’s competition.

We are yet though to see Juventus against one of the big boys of European Football. With all due respect to Celtic, Juventus made slim pickings in both matches but Bayern Munich will provide a stern test which I imagine both players and fans will relish. It will take a lot to prove to Europe and the rest of the world that this famous ‘Old Lady’ is back in the big time but maybe this year’s Champions League can be the perfect starter in bringing back the glory days.

Personal Hunch Paragraph: After returning from incredible controversy they have rebuilt the old Italian force that I used to watch with intent as a young lad watching channel 5 on a Sunday afternoon. That force though is still building and although I believe they will provide some great moments when the Germans visit them in the Juventus Stadium, I don’t think they will progress any further than the quarter finals.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich showed up in North London with an air of swagger about them as they ripped into Arsenal with a sublime first half display to take a 3-1 lead. They did however make difficult work of the return leg, reaching the finishing line with a limp, quietly applauded along by 66 000 very nervous Germans.

Munich’s form this year, particularly in the league is frightening, conceding only 13 goals this year with only 2 away from home. A quite phenomenal statistic considering they had fallen by the wayside over the last couple of years to Borussia Dortmund.

Munich are a staggering 20 points clear at the summit of the Bundesliga and are looking to bury the demons created in last year’s final at home to Chelsea, losing on penalties in what was an enthralling final. Up to now they have done just that with ruthless efficiency, both domestically and in European competition. Conceding only 7 in 6 group games early on as well as scoring the most goals in the group games with 15, Bayern Munich are up there with the front runners for this year’s prize at Wembley.

Personal Hunch Paragraph: Before their second leg against Arsenal, my personal opinion was that Munich were on a speeding steam train across Europe to London. Then I was reminded of the inconsistencies (against Arsenal) that have to often haunted them. So my prediction for the South German giants is the Semi Finals.

PSG

David Beckham may be the media’s talking point currently but in all honesty he isn’t the player who could be taking the Paris based club to the heights of European football. PSG haven’t been anywhere near the level they are now expected of with their last Champions League appearance being in the 04-05 season when they crashed out at the group stage.

9 years on and some heavy investment by Middle East company Qatar Investment Authority they have become a leading force in the race for the French Championship this year with players in the calibre of Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Ibrahimovic providing the backbone to a club who are expected a lot of this season.

Their two legs against Valencia gave them a real European test and they came through that with a notable 2-1 away win in Spain. The rest of Europe will now take note as they progress into the quarter finals and are looking good for next year’s Champions League as they currently sit five points clear ahead of Lyon with 10 games to go.

Personal Hunch Paragraph: I don’t believe this year will be PSG’s year thanks to the quarter final draw revealing Barcelona as their opponents, but everyone should take note of this club as they rise into the echelons of the European competition.

Malaga

Malaga are somewhat of an unknown quantity as they head into unfamiliar territory in the form of a quarter final draw against Bundesliga Champions Borussia Dortmund.
This year saw them enter the Champions League for the very first time, and they did it in style by topping a group which contained AC Milan. Eventually they finished top with an impressive 12 points and joined Barcelona and Real Madrid in the quarters after knocking out Porto in the last 16. This marked the first time that 3 Spanish sides have reached the quarter finals in 10 years, another sign of growing dominance from the other top European nations.

Since 2010 Malaga have had significant investment put into the club, helped in part to Sheik Abdullah Al-Thani, a businessmen from the Qatari Royal family who took over officially in July 2010. Youth development has been their main focus, as well as their manager Manuel Pellegrini, a Chilean national and former Villareal and Madrid player.

Along with a certain Arsenal middle man in Santi Cazorla, Pellegrini led Malaga to a top four finish on the last day of the season last year. This year the star man is Isco, a 20 year old Spanish attacking midfielder who has scored 11 goals in all competitions this season for Malaga, the most notable one being the 43rd minute opener against Porto in the last 16 which helped them progress.

Personal Hunch Paragraph: Malaga are the definite dark horses and have almost crept up from nowhere in this seasons Champions League. They did however top their group and come back from a 1-0 aggregate scoreline against Porto, so they fully deserve their place against Borussia Dortmund. My personal feeling however is that the German giants will provide too much. With Malaga having the home advantage first it’s important they stop the threat of Dortmund’s attacking force. They have experience though, with the like of Roque Santa Cruz, Javier Saviola, Martin Demichelis and Joaquin Sanchez all providing vast experience which could sway the tie in the Spanish clubs direction. Hopefully a close and exciting encounter to look forward to.

Galatasaray

Turkish side Galatasaray are appearing in their first Champions League Quarter Final since the 2000/01 season but come into their tie against Madrid in fantastic form. Losing only twice league game since January, they currently sit top of the Turkish Super Lig on 53 points. They stumbled a little at the start of their Champions League campaign, losing their first two games but they recovered to finish 2nd behind Manchester United on 10 points.

Galatasaray’s front man Burak Yilmaz, a 27 year old Turkish international is the man to watch currently. Relatively unknown in Europe until recently, he has scored 28 goals in 35 game s for club and country this season. Most notably he has bagged 7 in 8 Champions League games which earned him this season ‘UEFA player of the group stages 12/13’. His last goal came against Schalke and since then interest from the Premier League has been hot. At a tall, lean 6ft 2” he will provide all sorts of problems for the likes of Sergio Ramos at the heart of Madrid’s defence.

Personal Hunch Paragraph: Galatasaray’s home stadium the Turk Telecom arena will provide the fiercest of atmospheres for Madrid in the second leg. This stadium and atmosphere is famously greeted by the home fans with bannerx to the away team that read ‘Welcome to Hell’ and in fact holds the Guinness World record for the ‘loudest crowd roar at a sport stadium’ at 131.76 decibels.

The Turkish team do have firepower with the recent signings of Wesley Sneijder and Drogba providing experience and a goal threat. Whether or no they can make it past the might of Madrid is another question though, my personal opinion is that the midfield talent that they possess will be too strong, even in an atmosphere that can potentially blow your eardrums to pieces. An honourable quarter final exit is my prediction and they won’t let Real Madrid walk past them either, not with those fans signing the way they do!

Real Madrid

Without European glory since the 2000/01 season, the Madrid faithful have grown more and more impatient as the years go by in their team’s quest to make it 10 European victories. 6 years on the trot from 2004/05 to 2009/10 has seen them drop out of the competition at the last 16 hurdle. Improvements have be made though over the last couple of seasons, but both have ended in frustration with 2 semi final exits, one to their bitter league rivals Barcelona and the other with a penalty shootout loss to Bayern Munich at home last season.

Redemption seems to be the cries this season as they look to end what they would consider a ‘baron spell’ in the Champions League. They came out of the cleverly titled ‘group of death’ (although nobody did die) 2nd to Borussia Dortmund on 11 points with 15 goals and only 1 loss.

Their league form has been inconsistent for a team who took the title off Barcelona last year so clinically. They have only won 7 games away from home compared to 16 last season. Their 5 losses and 3 draws away from home also, gives further evidence of their league position, 13 points behind leaders Barcelona in second.

They did however come through a difficult, if not controversial tie against United. Mourinho did admit that United deserved to go through over the two legs but they have been given a second chance in a competition that wouldn’t be the same without them involved. The calibre of players they posses from defence to attack would give you reasons enough to hand them the trophy now but that isn’t how this competition works.

Personal Hunch Paragraph: With the league pretty much wrapped up and handed to Barcelona, Mourinho will now give all his attention to this competition and I believe there is a place in the Wembley final for Madrid. As I mentioned before, Galatasaray will provide a stern test in both legs and should Madrid overcome it, I predict a shot at glory in London come May.

Borussia Dortmund

With a third Bundesliga looking more and more unlikely thanks to Bayern Munich’s incredible season, Dortmund are further looking to stamp their authority on the Champions League and add a first European Cup to their cabinet since 1997.
Dortmund topped their group ahead of Real Madrid with 14 points from 6 games, winning four and drawing two. After going out in the group stages last year, they will see this as a perfect opportunity to attempt to go all the way, and this begins with a Quarter final draw against Malaga.

Robert Lewandowski has got the cream of Europe snapping at his heels to join their club at the moment and with 5goals in this season’s Champions League, he will be the man the Borussia Dortmund fans will be hoping can guide them to Wembley.

Dortmund boasts a further array of talent however with the likes of Marco Reus and Mario Gotze scoring 28 goals between them in all competitions this season. Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic give a solid defensive line to a well balanced team and although they have fallen by the way side in the Budesliga this year, they have potential to join the group of Champions League heavyweights everyone wants to be in.

Personal Hunch Paragraph: With the Champions League draw not revealing who plays who in the Semi-Finals, my prediction of Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund in the final is a bit of a wild one. But it’s one I’m going to stick by as the Germans look to make swift work of Malaga in their Quarter Final match up. A tough game it will be, yes, there aren’t ever easy ones at this stage of the competition, But Dortmund have such fluidity throughout their whole team, and I believe this will be too much for Malaga over these next 2 legs. A final appearance for Dortmund is on the cards in my Personal Hunch Paragraph.

Barcelona
You might think I’m a complete idiot for not putting Barcelona in this year’s final at Wembley, a place they know well after previously downing Manchester United in the 2010/11 final. And you’re probably right looking at Barcelona’s record in this competition over the last few years. Champions 3 times in the last 8 years with 3 Semi-Final places to add to that, they are the team to beat and continue to be a European force.

Like Bayern Munich, they lost their League Champions status last season to their nearest rivals, and like Munich they are set to retain it with admirable efficiency. Their only loss in La Liga since January 19th came at the hands of Real Madrid. They have only lost one other game all season and with a 13 point gap between themselves and second place Madrid, only an incredible dip in form will stop them regaining La Liga once more.

Personal Hunch Paragraph: Barcelona’s draw against PSG is certainly the glamour tie of the round and although PSG will want to have their say against the giants of European competition, I believe the Catalans will be too much for the French side. Lionel Messi’s 7 goals in 7 games in the Champions League will forever pose a threat in any game he plays in. Backed up by the two midfielders Xavi and Iniesta, the possession game and speed at which Barcelona hit teams in the final third will eventually lead to PSG crumbling in my opinion.

So there you have it, my take on this season’s ‘Big 8’. Just because there isn’t any British involvement in the Champions League this season, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it and pick a team to follow. Hopefully next season I will be looking into the chances of some of the Premier Leagues elite, and I’m sure they will be unhappy about missing out on the business end of this great competition this season. A blip in form from the British sides indeed, one which shouldn’t affect them too much......or so we hope.