Soccer

Will the English dominate once again?

The World Cup is the biggest sporting event but as it only comes about every four years, soccer fans need to look elsewhere to have their excitement on an annual basis. The void has been filled by the Champions League which is the biggest club tournament in he world and where the re money is in soccer. In recent years, some fans have been concerned with the fact that it is the same teams who reach the later stages year after year but with millions of soccer fans all over the world wanting to see the star players; it is inevitable that the familiar faces will rise to the top time after time.

Current champions Manchester United have already sealed their qualification into the last 16 of the tournament and look a decent bet to reach the final again, which this year is being held in Rome. Ever since the Champions League was introduced in 1992, replacing the European Cup, no team has successfully defended their title so the odds are against United in that respect. That said, Manchester United have retained the squad that triumphed in Moscow in May over Chelsea and have even added Dimitar Berbatov which has strengthened the attacking power at the club. The Mancunian club is off to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup in December but with the knock-out stages of the Champions not taking place until later February 2009, there will be plenty of time for the Red Devils to rest up and regroup.

At least one English team has taken part in the last four Champions League finals, so even if Manchester United fail to make it to Rome, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea will be looking to maintain their countries strong showing in recent years. Arsenal and Liverpool, have also booked their place in the last 16 while Chelsea should be capable of beating FC Cluj at home to secure the points they need to make it to the knock-out stages too.

However, there will be many teams looking to ensure that the English clubs do not have it all their own way with the strongest challenge likely to come from Italy or Spain. If an Italian team makes it to the final which is being staged in their own country, it is likely to be Inter Milan and their manager will have his own special reasons for defeating English opposition. Inter are currently coached by Jose Mourinho, the Special One, a former Champions League winning coach with Porto and of course, former Chelsea manager. The Italian press are not as fond of Jose as their English counterparts proved to be but if he can turn Inter Milan into a team challenging for the Champions League he is likely to find himself extremely popular.

It is more likely though that Barcelona, the representative of Catalonia in Spain will put up the greatest resistance to the English challenge and they could very well win the Champions League for the third time in their illustrious history. The club have already raced away from Real Madrid in La Liga and their current form with Messi and Eto’o scoring freely indicates they will consider themselves in with a string chance of triumphing in Rome in May.