UEFA Champions League Final 8

[tennibro]

I know the NCAA tournament is still going on, but personally I'm looking ahead to the Final 8 of the UEFA Champions League!! I'm really intrigued by a couple of the match ups, particularly between Juventus and Bayern Munich. Should be a close one in both legs. Real Madrid shouldn't have too much trouble but Drogba and Sneijder should not be underestimated for Galatasary. Dortmund should win their match-up but Malaga is definitely the dark horse of the tournament. And lastly, Barcelona all the way!! Gotta back my team But really, they should beat PSG handily. Any different opinions on the outcomes? Who do you want to see in the final 4?

 

[PhilipRJ_UK]

The best match will be Juventus vs Bayern. I've been backing Borussia Dortmund to win the tournament and I still think they can do it, especially with Lewandowski up front. Barcelona should have enough to sort out PSG and Real Madrid will see off Galatasaray. I think Juventus, with their ultra-disciplined defence and Vucinic in good form, might just be good enough to beat Bayern over the two legs. Personally, I couldn't care less about the fact that there are no teams from the UK in the last 8. We haven't been good enough in Europe this season, so nobody can really complain about that.

Semi-finals: Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund.
Final: Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona

 

[tennibro]

Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona would be a fantastic final! and I can definitely see it working out that way. I kind of want to see Dortmund play Bayern in the semi's while Barcelona play Real Madrid. Make sure two teams from the same league don't make the finals. Then again, a classico in the final could be highly entertaining/riot inducing lol.

And I don't know what's been up with the UK. I think part of it might just be the leagues ability to retain the very best of the best for a long period. I also don't know the status of the club youth systems in the EPL. I've recently started watching the EPL regularly and have been following Tottenham. Do you have a team PhillipRJ_UK?

 

[PhilipRJ_UK]

The reason that UK teams have been so bad in Europe is the fact that they can't defend properly. And the standard of the EPL is declining with every season. The Spanish, German and Italian leagues are now far stronger and better than the EPL.

As for my team, I'm a Sunderland fan, but things aren't going well for them right now and there's a strong possibility that they'll be relegated from the PL by the end of the season. I don't necessarily think that would be a bad thing, to be honest. They've been in decline for two and a half years.

 

[tennibro]

Nothing like being relegated to inspire some improvement.

 

[PhilipRJ_UK]

Yeah, you're right. If they did go down, there'd be no option but to make changes right across the board. It'd be painful for a while, but the fact is, they're just not good enough to deserve Premier League football at this point.

 

[me4o]

I'd say we shouldn't underestimate PSG, and Barcelona haven't been that amazing recently anyway (well, except Messi, of course). Bayern vs. Juventus should be a cracking game, really looking forward to it.

Philip, now that Martin O'Neill has been sacked, do you think Sunderland will improve? Who do you think will be next manager?