Need a break from the Olympics already?
Yeah, me too. They’re exciting and all, but come Feb. 18, the world’s foremost club competition returns to the center of the sporting world’s attention: the UEFA Champions League. Yes, after two months of painful isolation from the biggest soccer event outside of FIFA’s World Cup, the Champions League is finally on its way back. And as always, there are plenty of exciting matchups to anticipate.
First off, in perhaps the biggest matchup of them all, we see perennial favorites Barcelona taking on English powerhouse Manchester City. Barcelona has won this competition four times, most recently in 2011 after taking out their opponents’ bitter rivals, Manchester United. But two straight semifinal exits since then have left a bitter taste in their mouths, and they’ll be looking to get back to the top this time around.
Their opposition, of course, won’t make it easy on them. Manchester City is making its first appearance in this stage of the competition in only its third total participation in the Champions League. Like Barcelona, City currently sits second in its domestic league, but they have scored 10 more goals than any other English team this season, with 68 over 24 games, including two six-goal hauls and a seven-goal mauling.
City’s emergence as a real threat in the European landscape has been a bumpy one. They’ve been subject to criticism over how their influx of money in 2008 to 2009 has helped them buy so many top players, and they failed to exit the group stage in the last two Champions Leagues. But they finally put it together under new manager Manuel Pellegrini, though their group was far more manageable than it has been in the past.
This is in stark contrast to Barcelona, whose reliance on a number of players nurtured in their famed academy, La Masia, helped them build a nearly unstoppable passing system and become the best team in the world.
There’s a difference in philosophy, but the story is the same: Both teams are filled with star power. From Lionel Messi and Neymar to Sergio Aguero and David Silva, it’ll take a masterful performance to come out on top.
The defending champions of this tournament, Bayern Munich, don’t have an easy task on their hands, either in their quest to repeat. After having edged out City to win their group, they’re now pitted against current English leaders Arsenal, who very nearly knocked them out at this same stage last season. Indeed, it took the away goals rule to put Bayern through, after losing 2-0 at home in the second leg of the tie.
While Arsenal have fallen flat in the Champions League frequently over the last few years, perhaps this season will be different. After a stunning home loss to open their domestic season, they’ve been nearly untouchable since, topping the league every week but one since mid-September. They were on the wrong side of one of City’s six-goal shows, but at this point, it looks to be an anomaly.
Bayern, while surely a familiar foe for the Gunners, are a step above everything that’s been thrown at Arsenal so far. They’re the defending champs and are once again running away with the German league, holding a 13-point lead just past the halfway marker. Under new boss Pep Guardiola, who won the Champions League, both as a player and manager for Barcelona, the Bavarians are playing with a sublime style, rife with world-class talent across the board.
As enticing as this matchup is overall, it seems like Bayern ought to be too much for their English opposition. They’re led by Ballon d’Or finalist Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben — who scored the winning goal in last May’s final — and the world’s best goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer. Arsenal boasts a world-class talent of their own in Mesut Ozil, but he seems to be a step above the rest of his mates, and that gap in class is likely to make the difference.
The rest of the matches have plenty of star power. The mercurial Zlatan Ibrahimovic leads Paris Saint-Germain against German squad Bayer Leverkusen, Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid take on yet another German foe in FC Schalke and 2011-12 winners Chelsea are pitted against Turkish giants Galatasaray.
But the appeal of the Champions League goes far beyond the pitch. Fans get to see their teams play against other domestic sides week in and week out, so getting the opportunity to face off against the best of the best from across the continent is a unique experience. The stadiums will be rocking, from the rowdy sea of red in Istanbul to the Yellow Wall at Borussia Dortmund’s home fortress.
Before every match, the Champions League anthem is played over the loudspeakers in every stadium. Sung in German, French and English, the lyrics reflect the nature of the competition: “the masters, the best, the biggest teams, the champions.” It’s a chilling, almost operatic tune taken in by both the fans in the stands and the fans at home, providing that climactic moment before the match gets underway.
I sometimes feel like the Champions League is level with or sometimes a bit ahead of the World Cup overall. Sure, it’s every year instead of every four years, and representing an entire nation does probably carry more weight than representing a club. But being able to play in your home stadium, filled with unbridled support rather than a bunch of random stadiums across an entire country, is an incomparable experience. Plus, you’re facing the best of the best from across an entire continent, rather than the relatively “weaker” teams you might end up with in the World Cup.
Whatever the case may be, the Champions League absolutely deserves your full attention for each match. The “beautiful game” is at its wonderful best, so sit down and enjoy every last second of it. You won’t regret it.
