UEFA had already set the date for the Champion’s League Quarter-finals, semifinals and finals draw. March 20 it is for the top 8 draw! The road to Rome is much more fierce and tight. The eight best clubs in Europe are all ready to rumble, coming off from very impressive victories against their respective foes. April 8 and 9 are the schedules for the first leg. The results of the draw is shown at the bottom of this post. So who are into the last eight?


Manchester United – The reigning European champ and Premier League leader is on the race for a quintuple of trophies this year. This is a very rare feat but achievable at their current standing. They already won the Carling Cup and the World Club Trophy. They put aside Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan team in a 2-0 clinical finish last Wednesday. Their best players are all fit, and the young guns in Rooney and Ronaldo have reached their full potential and maturity. Sir Alex Ferguson is again at his best. When you manage a club a its peak, why think of retirement?

Liverpool – Who would think they would demolish 9-time champion Real Madrid that way? 2-0 is great. But 5-0 aggregate is mind blowing for top teams. Liverpool is awesome in Europe. Rafa Benitez once again has proven that he is a master tactician. Gerrard is a world-class player, and Torres has outshone his more famous Spanish national teammates. The Liverpool vs Manchester United game tonight at Barclay’s is a must-see game to watch. There is no love between these two teams. Much more if they will meet again in Europe.

Chelsea – There is nothing spectacular with a 2-2 draw. But it happened when the team was on a road game, against an Italian giant, and your best striker was mocked by the home crowd. Drogba did it again for Chelsea, putting the Blues up front in aggregate against Juventus 3-2.

Arsenal – 1-0 in Rome for the visitors, and 1-0 again for the visitors at the Emirates Stadium. AS Roma showed that it cannot be taken lightly by any English club, beating the Gunners at their turf. So it came to extra time, and then the dreaded penalties. The English club was fortunate to escape with a 7-6 score at a shootout. Close!

Barcelona – The French beat the French. I am actually referring to Thierry Henry of Barcelona leading the attack against the French Club, Lyon. Winning at 6-3 aggregate, the Catalan giant is closing in for a repeat of its 2006 European glory.

FC Porto – The Portuguese powerhouse is silently making its move as it beat Atletico on away goals. 2-2 and 0-0 isn’t spectacular. But it is enough to progress to the next stage.

Villarreal – The Spanish club beat the Greek club Panathinaikos, 3-2 in aggregate.

Bayern Munich – Despite a fourth place standing at Bundesliga, they were spectacular in Europe, embarrassing Sporting Lisbon in a 12-1 aggregate scores. This team is capable of snatching the Champion’s League title from the favorites. Miroslav Klose, Franck Ribery, Lukas Podolski and Luka Toni are all world-class.

In summary, there are 4 English, 2 Spanish, 1 Portuguese and 1 German on the last eight teams in the 2008-2009 UEFA Champion’s League. In my opinion, the strongest 4 are Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona and Chelsea. If not pitted against each other at the quarterfinals, they are more likely to progress. But again, I will never discount the potential of Bayern Munich. They are the dark horse for this tournament.

Here is the result of the quarterfinals draw:

QUARTER-FINALS: Ties to be played April 7/8 & 14/15
Villarreal v Arsenal
Manchester United v FC Porto
Liverpool v Chelsea
Barcelona v Bayern Munich

SEMI-FINALS: Ties to be played April 28/29 and May 5/6
Manchester United or FC Porto v Villarreal or Arsenal
Barcelona or Bayern Munich v Liverpool or Chelsea

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