Drawn and Quartered

Phew!

Man, am I glad I didn’t have any money riding on the First Knockout Round of the Champions League. Otherwise, I would be quite broke. YCS’s token soccer blogger went a PATHETIC 2-for-8 in picking those First Knockout Round series, which is BULLSHIT because four teams I didn’t pick (Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Valencia, AS Roma) only advanced on the away goals tiebreaker and the other two (AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven) only won by 1 goal on aggregate.

My upset special nearly came true as Scottish Champions Celtic FC; huge underdogs to AC Milan took the Italian superpower to extra time before a Kaka goal after 183 minutes of tied football did the Hoops in. Heartbreak. BULLSHIT!

Anyway, Manchester United and Chelsea kept me from looking like a complete fool, and I’m still 14-10 on the campaign, so I’m gonna give it another go for the Quarterfinals and try to bounce back. I guess it just goes to show you what a crapshoot top level soccer is. In competitions like the Champions League and the World Cup Finals, there really aren’t any BAD teams, just good teams and better teams.

AC Milan, Valencia, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea FC, Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven, and AS Roma all survived the first knockout stage and move on to the Quarterfinals. With that, let’s go to the pairings.

AC Milan vs. Bayern Munich is probably the marquee matchup of the Quarterfinals, as both are storied clubs and both survived harrowing escapes to remain in the competition. Milan were held to 183 minutes of scorless football by Celtic, being pushed to extra time before finally escaping 1-0 on aggregate. Bayern rode out of the Bernabeu with a 3-2 victory over Real Madrid, but los merengues came back to level the series on aggregate at 4-4. Bayern prevailed though, by advancing on away goals 3-2. Milan is a classical Italian team with great finishers in Gilardino, Kaka, and Maldini. They may not have the speed they once had, but they're quite formidable still. Despite starting the season with an 8 point penalty, Milan are charging up the Italian Serie A table and are in position to clinch a Champions League place for next season.

Milan 3-2 on aggregate

Manchester United vs. AS Roma is an interesting match in that it will pit Manchester United starlet Christiano Ronaldo against wisened Roma veteran Frencesco Totti, an Italian international who could have played for any club in Europe, but instead remained with the heretofore mediocre Italian capital side who discovered him as a child. Roma would be my upset special in this case, and due to fixture congestion on Manchester United’s side, they might be able to swing the upset, but just to play it safe, I’m going with Man U because Scholes, Park, Solsjkaer, Van der Sar, and Saha are all in top form right now, and it’s only a matter of time before Wayne Rooney’s goal-scoring funk ends.

Manchester United 3-2 on aggregate

Liverpool vs PSV Eindhoven should have a touch of déjà vu, as it is a rematch from the group stage. Liverpool escaped the Philips Stadion with a draw before winning at Anfield in the group stage, and I see no reason to believe that Liverpool can’t get through to the semifinals here. PSV is injured, battered, and slipping in the Dutch top flight. Liverpool on the other hand are relatively healthy, and are playing their best football of the year following a 4-1 thrashing of Arsenal at Anfield over the weekend.

Liverpool 4-1 on aggregate

Chelsea vs. Valencia...hmmm...Of all the teams still in the competition, Los Che is the one who I think might have the best shot to take down Chelsea other than Manchester United. The Mestalla is an intimidating environment to play in, and for the most part Valencia match up with Chelsea very well. Where Chelsea has Valencia beaten and all other teams beaten is in their depth. Should a player go down to injury or suffer an off-night anytime in this series, Jose Mourinho has a wealth of talent to fill the void. Chelsea is a notorious Champions League choker though, having all the talent in the world won’t matter if you’re behind after 180 minutes. The upset special, going off nothing more than a gut feeling.

Valencia 2-1 on aggregate