BlueChampions - The Blog of the Champions of England!

The quarterfinal draw for this edition of UEFA Champions League would be made at 12:00 noon UK time tomorrow (Friday). Remember, it’s a freestyle draw which means anyone can draw anyone. The pot has five equal favourites, one underdog and couple of quarterfinal debutants. Who should Chelsea draw?

I would like Chelsea to draw one of the favourites. I don’t want us to get an easy draw. Given the current circumstances, the best that can happen to us is to knock off a big gun and earn loads of confidence in our league title challenge. I’ve written about this before. I don’t want a draw against Schalke where we huff and puff and proceed to semi finals and still not being ready to take on the biggies. Arsenal will be taken more seriously now because they have managed to topple AC Milan. It is a lot different than an Arsenal team beating say a Porto. They are now confident and you heard Fibreglass saying they would go on to do the golden double.

Unfortunately I have my doubts about this Chelsea team. What ‘Olu’ mentioned in the comments section is exactly what I feel. I have doubts about this Chelsea team coming from behind against a good team and I have doubts about this Chelsea team beating a determined good team. Yes, I have doubts. This Chelsea team time and again flatters to deceive. Consistency used to be our hallmark but now we are as inconsistent as any team. I want us to be worthy of our place in semi finals or finals. We’ve lost in semi finals twice and another semi final place will not be any special. If the choice is between playing a good team in quarter final or in the semi final, I would take the former as winning would set us up nicely for the final. In the current lot, we will be favourites only against Roma, Schalke and Fenerbahce. That would mean I expect a match up against one of the English teams or our good old Barcelona. In order to be ready for a big occasion, the team needs a kick in the backside, a wake up call which can come in the form of a big match draw.

All said, we might draw anyone. I’ll tell you what I feel about the possible match ups. These predictions and expectations are based on the fact that we have one of the best and most expensive squads in Europe. And I really really expect Avram Grant to rise to the occasion and make a difference that he has not made all this while. Champions league matches generally require lots of preparations as you get to play teams from leagues outside of England. Luckily this time, it is entirely possible he can play English teams in quarter final, semi final and final too.

Schalke/Fenerbahce: The easiest of the draws. We’ve played Schalke in the group stages and found out that it does not take a great effort to despatch. I’d like to forget the away leg we played at Germany. One of the worst football matches I’ve seen. Anyway, the bottom line is, if we draw Schalke we should be able to beat them home and away and progress without too much fuss. Fenerbahce is supposed to be tough back home. So are we. Chelsea are more than capable of beating them at Stamford Bridge and earning a draw at Turkey. Fenerbahce are not to be taken lightly but we are on paper way too strong for Fener.

Roma: The dark horse. I personally would rate them as more dangerous than a Liverpool. When they have managed to beat Real Madrid home and away, you need to respect them. This is the same kind of respect we will get from our semi final opponent, if we despatch a big team in the quarter final. When Arsenal knocked out Real Madrid a couple of seasons back, Madrid were poor and that result was not too much of a surprise. Well, Arsenal were poor too, but then the tie was decided by one goal. And now, Real Madrid are the defending La Liga champions and well set for a back-to-back, under a new manager. To beat them now home and away is no mean feat. Certainly Roma may not want to play Man Utd again as they must be psyched out by the 7-1 demolition (and Roma are not Derby). Given a choice, among the English teams and Barcelona, Roma might in fact prefer to play Chelsea. Let’s admit, Chelsea can win the tie against Roma without taking the tie to extra time.

Liverpool: If there is one team that wants this trophy badly, that must be Liverpool. After spending loads of money this season, they must be frustrated to find themselves compete once again with Everton and Portsmouth for the fourth place. That’s not what they spent the money for. They wanted the league title more than the champions league. Now even the fourth place, which they made thier own, is under threat, their best chance to play the next champions league is by winning it. It’s only March and the only thing they can now celebrate is a champions league success. We have played them twice in champions league semi finals, one of those occasions playing them in the group league as well. On all occasions, we have ‘tactically cancelled out’ each other and these matches have ended in bore draws, once decided by a ‘goal that never was’ and the recent one decided by a penalty shoot out. The Chelsea squad is stronger than it was. With a fit Cech, settled Ballack, wanting-to-prove Anelka, brilliant Belletti, more experienced Kalou and an in-form Joe Cole, we are a lot stronger than we were in April 2007. Of course Liverpool too has strengthened in the meanwhile but our additions and improvements should weigh better than Torres and Babel. And you can count on Benitez to put Babel on the bench for important matches!

When it comes to tactics, Benitez is stronger and knows what to do in specific circumstances. Our players have to play be lot better than their counterparts to offset the gap between Benitez and Grant. Our line-up as start-studded as you would want to be. When we play tactical teams it is important to play them at earlier stages than playing them in end of April or mid-May when we are already fatigued in our title race. You’d expect Liverpool to be well rested and ready if we are to play in end-April or mid-May as they have nothing else to play for except champions league, just like the last season. Bottom line is, if we meet them in quarter final, I would count Chelsea as the favourites for this match.

Arsenal: They have just beaten the defending champions and are on a high in champions league. Their slow crumble in the league would surely be playing on their mind. If we play Arsenal, two things will be very crucial. Firstly, the result in our league match against them in the Stamford Bridge. A win against them would be a big plus while a defeat would mean the end of our illustrious home record. A draw would dent the title hopes of both teams. Secondly, the league table by the time we take on Arsenal in the quarter final. Arsenal had a lead of 8 points and in a matter of few days, having eroded all their lead, they could be in second place. This would be anyone’s match. If there is one team against which Arsenal could not assert any kind of superiority over the last few seasons, it is Chelsea. I don’t think Arsene Wenger would be fancying playing and winning Chelsea. Believe me, even against Arsenal, we should come out trumps.

Barcelona: Messi may not be available for the quarter final but Ronaldinho is back. I’ve been watching La Liga regularly. Trust me, Ronaldinho is getting back to his best. In such kind of form, he can finish a game in one killer pass. Though they are defensively shaky, in a champions league knock out match, they are capable of eliminating any team. They have a formidable attack even without Messi. We’ve talked at lengths about this Chelsea team unable to produce the goods against better teams. Barcelona are a team who can play this Chelsea team off the park. All it takes is one mind blowing goal from Barcelona to wipe off any remaining confidence in the Chelsea players. I have never thought Chelsea as the underdogs against Barcelona in the recent seasons. I have always looked forward to the Chelsea-Barcelona matches but this time
around, I think Barcelona will beat us.

Man Utd: Toughest of the draws. Man Utd are nearing their peak, at the perfect time for them. They are playing brilliantly, they are playing with passion, confidence and with a hint of arrogance too. They hate to lose, not just the match, even the ball. Man Utd are a team that every team avoids to draw. The Lyon tie was rather uncharacteristic but if the home and away matches are to be played in England, Man Utd would be the clear favourites. The manner in which they massacred Arsenal speaks loads about how they want to play and what message they want to give to their rivals. They don’t play differently against different class of teams. They want despatch their opponent of the day, be it Barcelona or Barnsley. I would rate the strike force of Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney much higher than even the Barca trio. Add Anderson and Nani to this list, this would be the toughest team to face.

Finally, thanks to M_D for the idea for this post. I hope we draw one of the favourites, that is, one of Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona or Man Utd. Let’s wait!