Midfielder

After a season of Champions League that lacked star power, the fans were already excited before the draw ceremony for the top 16 ended, because this round of knockout matches will definitely not lack peak confrontations between strong teams, and not just one or two games.

Chelsea, which has been in the limelight recently, ran into Barcelona, ​​and Manchester United, who is in the same Premier League as them, also ran into a very tough opponent, AC Milan. From the moment the draw was announced, Ferguson's eyebrows were probably twisted together. This time the opponent is really troublesome.

For Manchester United, which has been in a precarious situation recently, AC Milan is indeed a bit too strong. Ferguson even asked people to help him prepare AC Milan's recent game videos after the draw. The old Sir Alex didn't dare to be arrogant this time.

Ferguson didn't want to be locked out of the Champions League quarterfinals for two consecutive years. Last year, Mourinho's Porto emerged as a dark horse, but this year, a real strong player stood in front of him. Even Ferguson, who has always been tough, felt unsure about the result of this game.

The Rossoneri in the Champions League have always been unstoppable. The old Sir Alex can only hope to solve the battle at home. San Siro is not such a good place to win. Ferguson really has the urge to curse at the moment. If it weren't for the constant competition with Chelsea in the league, Manchester United would not have been taken the first place in the group in the Champions League by Lyon. As a result, they can only fight with AC Milan.

But who can be blamed for this problem? It can only be said that the old Sir Alex needs to win a championship, so he has been competing with Chelsea in the league. As a result, Lyon completed the final overtaking without any sound. This may be the biggest embarrassment of Manchester United this season.

Not only were they suppressed by Chelsea in the league, but they also encountered the strongest opponent in the Champions League. Many Manchester United supporters are a little worried at this moment. Will the great Red Devils go through two consecutive depressing seasons?

Of course, Ferguson would not let others know that he was a little depressed. He even smiled at reporters after the draw, "A great opponent, but Manchester United is also a great team. This round of games will be very exciting. I am looking forward to it."

Looking forward to it? I guess only the old man himself knows. Anyway, after leaving the sight of reporters, Ferguson will not have any smile on his face.

Similarly, AC Milan coach Ancelotti also expressed his respect for Ferguson in front of the media, but behind the respect, this guy who is good at the Champions League schedule is definitely not the kind of person who will let his opponent go because of respect. He must be thinking about how to kill Manchester United.

And the fans cheered more than just these two games. Real Madrid, who qualified in the second place in the group, also encountered a tough opponent. The old lady Juventus from Serie A became a threshold they had to cross to enter the quarterfinals. Maybe Real Madrid's Brazilian main brush Luxemburgo also realized that this was a big crisis for the Galaxy Battleship. He may only have one way to go, which is to win.

Luxemburgo couldn't have been unaware of what kind of team that was. With tenacious defense, strong will, and stable state, this was the toughest opponent Real Madrid had encountered in this Champions League. It seemed that it would not be easy for the Galacticos to advance.

For Luxemburgo, the most dangerous thing might be the head coach of Juventus, Capello, who usually liked to look gloomy. Everyone knew what the team under the command of this guy could do, and it was rumored recently that Florentino was getting close to the Italian.

It was obvious that Florentino was very dissatisfied with Luxemburgo's leadership of Real Madrid, which had always lagged behind its arch-rival Barcelona in the league. He had been thinking about changing the head coach for the team. Capello, who had been successful at the Bernabeu, was naturally a good candidate. Perhaps this round of confrontation was a duel to decide the head coach of Real Madrid next season. Luxemburgo really couldn't afford to lose this game.

The confrontation between Bayern and Arsenal is also attracting much attention. In particular, after the draw, the Bundesliga madman Magath publicly declared that Bayern Munich's goal is to enter the final. No matter who the opponent is in this round, they must overcome obstacles and get the ticket to the next round.

Compared with Magath's tough attitude, Wenger's usual performance has not changed much. He just said in an interview that this opponent is very strong. If Arsenal wants to enter the quarterfinals of the Champions League, they must go all out, otherwise they will lose the game.

However, this confrontation also brought Wenger some benefits, that is, Lehmann, who has been at war with him recently, gave in. The guy took the initiative to find Wenger to discuss his own problems. As for the content of the conversation, no one knows, but the German has already trained with the team afterwards.

Who can make Lehmann take the initiative to seek peace? Of course, it is Bayern's main goalkeeper Kahn. With the two guys competing for the position of the main goalkeeper of the German national team becoming increasingly fierce, this direct confrontation may add an important weight to their final victory.

Four peak duels, this arrangement is estimated to make many fans' adrenaline secrete sharply. They even have to worry about which game to watch, because each game may be like Mars hitting the earth, making people crazy. If you miss it, Any confrontation is a waste.

In comparison, the confrontation between Liverpool and Leverkusen seems to have been ranked behind these four games. At least their eyeball effect is not as attractive as this peak showdown between giants, but this also makes Beni Tes, that bald Spanish guy, can have a chance to breathe.

But at the same time, Benitez also knows that if he can't win this time, then he will just wait to pack up his bedroll and get out of Liverpool.

When Mourinho saw such a matchup table all listed in front of him, he couldn't help but put a smile on his face, "It seems that UEFA is trying to find a balance for last year's losses. This matchup format , it is estimated that when the final eight are finalized, they have recovered the ticket revenue they lost last year, and may even set a new record for the TV broadcast. They are really willing to invest in the cost.”

Mourinho has never believed that there are no human factors behind such a draw. Maybe the heads of UEFA will not arbitrarily arrange who will play against whom, but absolutely do not believe that these things are fair. In order to ensure ratings , they will also make some small moves behind their backs.

Although such small actions will not determine who is going to fight who, they will always have some hints. They can always control the frequency of dialogue between strong teams. After all, such games still rely on these giants to support the scene. Yes, UEFA will never make a loss-making deal.

It's just that this time they obviously want to give last year's sluggish ratings a shot in the arm, so they would rather arrange four strong dialogues, but also let the Champions League set off a climax in the round of 16, so that the excitement of those fans will start from the first round of elimination. It was ignited by the fierce competition from the beginning.

However, the final winners were only four teams, but it doesn’t matter. Anyway, there are enough wealthy teams this time, and UEFA is not afraid of the embarrassing situation like last year where there were no wealthy teams among the top four. Dark horse’s reaction For normal phenomena, a collective release is enough.

For such an opponent, Mourinho did not say much after the draw. He just told reporters, "Barcelona is a place where I have worked. Camp Nou is not unfamiliar to me, so my The team won’t have the hindrance of playing away from home, which is nice.”

Mourinho's words reminded many people. Don't forget, this guy is not only the head coach of Chelsea. This guy also worked at Barcelona for several years, but this guy once served as an assistant coach next to Robson. Man, this time will be the enemy of Camp Nou.

Rijkaard was a little cautious when facing a team that had shocked the Premier League this season. "Chelsea's overall strength is very strong, especially defensively. They are as tough as an Italian club." , I have to remind my players about this.”

"But in the first round of the game at Camp Nou, no matter who the opponent is, Barcelona will defeat the opponent and defend the honor of the home court. I think this will not change, but we can all feel it when facing such an opponent. Pressure, but it’s not a bad thing, at least it reminds me that if you want to win the Champions League for Barcelona, ​​you have to surpass these powerful opponents on the field.”

"In addition, on behalf of the Barcelona team, I will welcome Jose back to the Nou Camp. After all, he has worked here for four years. The Barcelona fans have not forgotten his days here. Of course, in addition to the final score, we will use My own way to greet this old friend."

There was no sword or gunpowder in the conversation. Perhaps this was the first time that Mourinho did not provoke others, but he could keenly detect Rijkaard's edge from such a conversation. This trip to the Nou Camp , for him, it is definitely not a trip, but a fierce battle.

On February 24th, this was the day when Chelsea faced Barcelona away from home. Mourinho put a heavy mark on the Champions League schedule, and then said to all the players, "This is our first opponent. It’s very powerful, I don’t deny that, but the winner must be us!”

"Before we meet Barcelona, ​​we still have four league rounds and a League Cup semi-final to play. My request is to try our best to get all 12 points and a ticket for the final, and then let us go to Camp Nou to see it. It’s great to play in Barcelona. I haven’t been back for a long time. This time I don’t want those old Catalan acquaintances to see my joke. This time it is away, but Chelsea is the dominant team on the field!”

After experiencing the depression of falling in the semi-finals last season, the current Chelsea team is too eager for the big scene of the Champions League final, so when Mourinho uses words to tease these beasts' desire for the championship trophy, you still Can these guys be expected to stay quiet?

That was a dream. . .

(Chelsea vs. Manchester United... Well, maybe God doesn’t want to see the Premier League too glorious. Maybe there will be no English team in the final at Wembley... This civil war is purely an act of self-harm...)