The world’s most prestigious club football tournament has reached its conclusive stages. Four huge clubs fight for the right to be crowned kings of Europe in Munich’s Allianz Arena next month. All four clubs have real pedigree for the task ahead but Chelsea stand out as the only non winner despite several close runs in the 2000′s which included a glut of semi-final appearances along with that dramatic final in Moscow in 2008. Barcelona are 4 times winners (’92, ’06 , ’09 and last year) and are going for an historic back to back double and indeed are favourites. Real Madrid lead the all time roll of honour with 9 and will try to bring the Mourinho/Ronaldo era to a triumphant peak in the next few weeks while their semi-final opponents Bayern Munich have a long, successful and storied European tradition with 4 wins from an impressive 8 finals. Now that they appear to have been beaten for the Bundesliga title, they will be keener than ever to make the final for the chance to fight for the Cup….. on their own pitch!
These 4 teams also happen to have particularly closely interwoven histories. The semi-final match ups recall a great deal of recent years’ history with some old scores to be settled. The final permutations also provide great intrigue and we will even gaze into our crystal ball to opine on who the finalists might be and how that great occasion will pan out.
For your favourite fantasy football betting game, now is the time to compete for an enhanced €500 pool and pick the winning combination of star performers, avoid (too) crippling penalties for team deductions and find the right strategy that leads to cash for you. There are some tweaks to the game such as 3 players per club allowed and we have grouped the final with the semi-finals for this last, thrilling Champions League Matchday. We will offer some new and exciting specials for the Final itself which we are really excited about but for regular season Matchday opportunity, you need to get on by 19.45 tonight! Let’s have a close look at the teams. The best of luck with your choices. Try a few teams.
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid are two of Europe’s greatest ever club sides. There have been numerous clashes between these giants down the years. When Real were enjoying their golden era in the 50′s Bayern were a relatively insignificant German side who had only won a single German Championship. Bayern came alive in the early to mid 70′s and conquered Europe in 3 consecutive years from 1974 onward. Since then they have bumped into the great Spanish side on many occasions and the key trend is that Bayern tend to get the better of things, particularly at home. They have previously beaten Real in 3 separate European semis including 2001- the last year they were Champions. Allied to that, Bayern have played Real 9 times in Munich, winning 8 and drawing 1. Bayern have been impressive at home this year in all competitions winning each of their last 6 and are 12 for 13 in European fixtures recently. They have swept all, bar Borussia Dortmund, aside at the Allianz arena and frequently inflict heavy defeats on their opponents.
Bayern have genuine world class talent at their disposal throughout the pitch. Manuel Neuer is an outstanding young goalkeeper, already in the top 10 for his position worldwide. Philip Lahm has been a phenomenal full back for a long time now and remains one. Bastian Schweinsteiger is superb in the deep midfield role- probably as good as Xabi Alonso for Real. Both Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are among Europe’s most potent and creative wingers while Mario Gomez is an imperious and prolific striker who can score against the best defence in the world. Throw in top class talent like Toni Kroos and Muller and you see that Bayern are a serious propositition.
They will be really hurting at their loss to Dortmund, compounded by the draw with Mainz which means they will not win their own league despite being very long odds on favourites in the Autumn. The Champions League and German Cup remain and the former gives the team many Germans call FC Hollywood, the chance of the greatest glory and honour any Bayern fan could imagine. ie Winning the big one at your home stadium which has only been achieved twice before. If Bayern have a weakness it is possibly the defence where Jermome Boateng, Badstuber and David Alaba are perhaps not quite an elite world class defensive unit. Mario Gomez has also admitted that, at times, Bayern have been a bit lazy at stages this season. Borussia Dortmund have punished them for it.
Aside from the obvious motivation of trying to reach a home final, Bayern have 2 men who may be keener than most to get one over on Real Madrid. Winger Arjen Robben moved from Chelsea to the Bernabeau in 2007 where he spent 2 successful seasons with Los Blancos, winning La Liga in 2008 and becoming a fan favourite only for the second Galactico era to begin in 2009 and the signings of Kaka and Ronaldo meaning Robben had to move on. Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes spent one season coaching Real Madrid and is was a momentous one in Real’s long history. An unbearable 32 year famine for Europe’s greatest prize ended for Real fans in May 1998 when Heynckes steered Real to Champions League glory in Amsterdam over Juventus. It was his last game for the club as he was sacked. This is a recurring theme in Real’s last 15 years of history. Top manager wins either La Liga or Champions League and gets the sack- immediately. Just ask Fabio Capello, Vicente Del Bosque or the Bayern boss.
Real’s current boss is the inimitable Jose Mourinho who certainly knows how to plot the way to European success. Aside from his winning years with Porto and Inter in 2004 and 2010, Mourinho’s overall record with those clubs as well as Chelsea and Real bears the closest inspection. He is so comfortable with the biggest stages and is there to win, always making sure he gets loads of the attention and glory. This may make him rather shameless but doesn’t alter the fact that he is one hell of a coach. Real will be wary of their rotten record not just in Munich but in Germany generally and will be thrilled with a draw tonight. A narrow loss with an away goal may also be acceptable, depending on how the match unfolds. For all Bayern’s considerable individual talent, Real Madrid can justly claim to have an even more impressive array of superstars. Iker Casillas is very possibly the world’s best netminder, Alonso is a magnificent and creative holding midfielder, Mesut Ozil and Angel di Maria are already so good that the thought of further improvement is frightening – they are only 23 and 24 respectively. Ozil can unlock any defence and his numerous assists can be works of art. Though Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain are among the finest strikers in World football they are thoroughly eclipsed by the the incredible CR7 ; Cristiano Ronaldo. He is Real Madrid’s greatest scoring talent in half a century and has managed the impressive feat of justifying his £80 million price tag. He makes even Raul’s best seasonal tallies look puny and only Lionel Messi can breathe the air that the Portuguese superstar can. He is a match winner and must be fancied to score in at least one of the two games, far more likely in Madrid. If Bayern succeed in tying him down – it is occasionally possible- they run the huge risk of Ozil, Benzema, Alonso, Kaka or Higuain getting the space to inflict serious damage. Real have a better defence in terms of skill by position but at least 2 of their better defensive kingpins- Pepe and Sergio Ramos, can incur yellow or red cards at moments of high stress and they can even be a liability when facing Barcelona- if they get to do so in Munich.
My verdict is Bayern to win the first leg or a tight draw in Munich, leaving both teams with real chances for the second leg where Real may be only marginal favourites. Real may get very tactical- where they have an advantage with Mourinho but if Real play off the cuff Bayern may match them blow for blow. This is the better of the two semi-finals.
That’s because Chelsea v Barcelona is not a meeting of equals. Anytime from 2005 to 2009 Chelsea were a match for Barcelona. They had a harder core and were a tougher team than Barcelona then. Barcelona would compensate with the flair, incisiveness and vision of Deco, Ronaldinho, Eto’o, Xavi and the still very young Lionel Messi. There were 3 great years in which they clashed – 2005, 2006 and 2009. Chelsea have an obsession with winning the Champions League and men like Lampard, Terry, Drogba and Cech may feel that it owes them one triumph at least. We’ll examine that notion in a moment. The problem is that this current Chelsea side is muck weaker than any of the other 5 years they reached the last four and are not good enough to avail of any breaks that may go their way. They may have to look for the FA Cup to get something from an extremely difficult season at the Bridge. That top 4 spot is in mortal danger of being lost, though it’s not over yet.
Chelsea have declined since Carlo Ancelotti led them to the English League and Cup double in 2010 while Barcelona have soared to ever greater heights in that same time span under Pep Guardiola. Chelsea deservedly and impressively beat Barcelona over 2 legs in 2005 before losing to Liverpool in the semis to a goal that can never be proven to have crossed the line,by Luis Garcia. Unlucky Chelsea. In 2006 Barcelona got their revenge and went all the way to Paris to claim the big prize at Arsenal’s expense. In both those 2 season Chelsea and Barcelona recorded back to back titles and were at the top of the tree at home and abroad.
In 2007 Chelsea won more silverware but lost their league crown and suffered more Anfield heartbreak in a Champions League semi, losing a semi final penalty shoot-out after missing a glorious chance late on. Again you could say unlucky Chelsea. In 2008 there was the ultimate heartbreak in Moscow in the rain when John Terry slipped and missed the chance to win from the spot and Anelka’s saved penalty meant that it was Manchester United who collected the great prize. Again you could say unlucky Chelsea. In 2009 Chelsea held Barcelona at Camp Nou only for the most inept and biased refereeing performances ever at Stamford Bridge by Norwegian Tommy Ovrebo saw four strong penaly claims denied to Chelsea. This incredible reprieve for a poor Barcelona performance was exploited to the full when Iniesta’s fantastic late strike saw Barca prevail and Chelsea not only were deemed unlucky but were the victims of a terrible UEFA injustice. Barcelona went on to win in Rome but they should never have been in a position to take to the pitch there.
Does the Champions League owe Chelsea FC a title trimph? Life in sport rarely works out that way and Barcelona are probably just too good for them. It is hard to see Chelsea getting even a sniff at Camp Nou. Barcelona will score 3 times there, minimum. Chelsea can keep the tie alive with a strong performance at the Bridge and a win is not out of the question. However I don’t really see it. I expect Barcelona to win narrowly away and handsomely at home and the aggregate score will not be close. Something like 4-1 or 4-2 for Barcelona. If you share this view it must be reflected in your fantasy football player selections
Remember 3 players per club can be picked without penalties. It may even be worthwhile to pick 4 from a really top side and take the penalty in the hope that the points earned by your player will justify this. It must surely be tempting and possible be the best strategy to select up to 4 players from the likes of Messi (a must pick) Xavi, Fabregas, Sanchez, Iniesta and Dani Alves. Barcelona are the side most likely to play in all 3 reamining games and Pep Guardiola relies on the same 15 or 16 players always. Theirs is not a huge squad. The other managers rotate more. For instance will it be Higuain or Benzema, Di Maria or Kaka for Real? Will Chelsea give Torres his chance or rely on Drogba and Sturridge? Pep Guardiola has fewer key decesions, perhaps only who is the 4th midfielder aftyer Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets and who will partner Messi up front. The wonderful little Argentine will score his first goal against Chelsea as so called bogey teams do not exist for him and Chelsea have a slow defence.The options for Guardiola’s selection include are Fabregas, Pedro, Sanchez and one two others. Barcelona are overall favourites and rightly so but the Bayern/ Real winner could not be ruled out so those sides get a look in for our suggested team as well.
I’m going for the El Clasico final to deny Bayern’s home town dream and Chelsea’s wait for natural justice. Barcelona to win back to back titles and Real to just barely hold on for the Spanish crown and that will be their compensation for losing the final in Munich.
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Champions League Semi-Finals and Final: Old Friends
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