Who’s gonna win?

Million dollar question: Who’s gonna win this season’s CL? We had some analysis as well as discussions just now on groups. Now lets have a look at who will be favorites to win. Is’nt this the favorite pastime for everyone to predict the favorites of tournament? Lets dive in then.

I have found 3 teams who will be extremely close to “big ears” this year. All of them are equally talented as well as capable. It was extremely difficult to differentiate between these 3 teams and hence all of them in my opinion are favorites. There are always dark horses in any tournament, so I’m going to discuss about the team which I think will be dark horses this year. There are 32 teams of very high standards and it becomes difficult to choose 4-5 best teams let alone only “single” favorites. So I’m going to discuss about the teams who can give tough fight to my chosen favorites.

FAVORITES

Barcelona: Top squad, Top club, 4 best forwards and best playmaker in the world. These are all discerning factors with Barca this year. Catalan club has great history of both trophies and players but they have won Champions League only twice. Recently they won in 2006. All the big stars of that tournament are still playing for Barca. Even Henry who played against Barca in 2006 finale is playing with Barca now. As a cohesive unit they gel very well. Midfield of Deco, Xavi and Iniesta have ability to unlock any defenses with their brilliant thru balls. Puyol, Thuram, Marquez and Zambrotta will be holding back line and their experience is immense. As far as strike force goes, they are best in Europe. Ronaldinho playing as playmaker and Eto’o, Henry, Messi to make sure all the creativity ends in back of the net. Only one weakness of Barca is their GK Valdes. No doubt he is good GK but he looks vulnerable in pressure situations. Millito, Toure, Gudjohnsen, Abidal and latet sensation Dos Sontos on bench makes the squad one of the best.

Key Player: Ronaldinho, just name is enough to create pressure

Chelsea: Champions League has been achilles heel for Chelsea for past couple of seasons. They reached 3 semis in last 4 years. And for past 3 years, their voyage ended controversially. Whether it was “goal that didn’t cross the line” in 2005 or Messi theatrics in 2006, Jose is yet to drive Chelsea in CL final. Last year they went out in lottery of penalties. Peter Kenyon (CEO of CFC) has already reiterated board’s desperation to win Champions League this year. Even amongst the fans, general consensus is to give highest priority for CL even though if its means abandoning ambitions for other trophies. Midfield is forte for Chelsea, with the likes of Lampard, Essien, Makalele, Ballack (even though lots of controversy is around his name now), Joe Cole they look extremely strong. Shaun Wright Phillips and Malouda will be creating havoc for full backs on the wings. This year defense is looking bit shaky but Mourinho is intelligent enough for repairing dents. Petr Cech is arguably world’s best GK now and it is big advantage for Chelsea. John Terry, Carvalho and Cech are certainly force to reckon. Alex and 2006 winner Belletti have added steel to Chelsea defense. England’s best left backs i.e A. Cole and Bridge will make defense complete. Drogba, Shevchenko, Kalou and Pizarro have ability to unsettle any defenses at any given moment. All in all the whole squad is enviable for any other club in Europe. They have so much quality that they can even progress to KO stages without their 1st choice of 11. This exemplifies their depth of squad. And on top of that they have Jose, one of the best managers in the world. Only weakness in Chelsea is their precarious away form in Europe. Even though they beaten Valencia at Mestella last year, they need to improve a lot in this aspect.

Key Player: Frank Lampard, one of the best midfielder in world and just too many goals from midfield.

Manchester United: Sir Alex is the best manager in history of Man Utd in terms of trophies. But even he laments the fact that he has only one Champions League in 20 years reign of Old Trafford. Last year they were breathtaking and came extremely close to silverware in Europe. They have just “perfect” squad with excellent mix of youthful exuberance and hard steel of experience. As I have said in previous post, their strike force only comes second to Barcelona. Tevez is improving and adjusting very fast. Saha is always goal poacher for Man Utd. Even though Rooney looks little ineffective in England shirt, but in red shirt he is on the top of world. Midfield is full of stars and can produce stellar performance in favorable situations. Ronaldo and Giggs keep on swapping wings which results in perplexity of full backs for opponents. Nani has been excellent acquisition for them. Hargreaves, Carrick and Scholes provide much needed stability to midfield. Defensively they are very well organized. Ferdinand and Vidic are rock solid at the back. Evra’s attacking instincts are very well complemented by their wingers. Van Der Sar is good GK to guard the net. Neville is fading and keeps getting injured now and then. With due respect to Wes Brown, he lacks the ability required at the top level. Squad depth is one issue which must be bothering to Man Utd. fans and its their weakness this season. They don’t have ample cover for forwards. Just now they had Rooney and Saha injured which resulted in lack of penetration in couple of matches.

Key Player: Owen Hargreaves, he is the one who help the likes of Giggs, Ronaldo and Scholes to roam at their will on third part of pitch.

DARK HORSE

Real Madrid: They already won it 9 times and this one should take them into 2 digit figure. Past 4 years they were all struck with ample problems. Let it be the sacking of the managers every 6-8 months or languid performances by “galacticos”. Last year they won domestic league in very unusual circumstances. But again Capello got sacked even after winning La Liga, the reasons only board knows. Schuster has assembled excellent team and they are playing some free flowing football. Nistelrooy is their main weapon and can score goal in any circumstances. Raul is reliable and seem to be returning at his best. Robben and Robinho are like live wires can turn any match in their favor. Sneijder looks like their ideal replacement for Zidane. Even though they are yet to fill void created by Makalele 4 years ago, Diarra and Guti seem to be somewhat close to Maka’s presence. Ramos has improved significantly and can be considered as one of the best defenders now. Canavarro’s experience can always come handy. Drenthe will always be scrutinized with great detail this year since he has to fill “big” boots of Roberto Carlos and I think he is doing some commendable job. Casillas is best in La Liga and his experience at top level is huge. The only weakness in Real is their inconsistency.

Key Player: Ruud Van Nistelrooy, he is goal machine

CHALLENGERS

AC Milan: Most of the players have old legs but they are full of enthusiasm and energy. They can surprise any team like last year when they surprised everyone by winning CL. Kaka is right now best player in the world. Players like Pirlo, Seedorf and Gattuso complement him very well. But they lack genuine striker. I think Ronaldo is past his prime and Gilardino yet to become world class. Yet they have ability to outperform teams in Europe like last year.

Sevilla: Who says you need high profile squad to win trophies. Atleast Juande Ramos doesnt think so. Sevilla FC squad is embodiment of hard working squad who can do wonders. If their squad is their strength then lack of experience is their weakness. I think they have capability to reach last 8 in CL but after that if they fight like cohesive unit as they did in UEFA cup then we will have new entry in the group of Champions League winning clubs.

That’s all I can say about my favorites. Champions League is always unpredictable and who knows even any minnow can win at the end of it. And if you don’t find your teams name in this favorites then don’t feel crestfallen after all if Porto can do it in 2004 then why can’t other teams make to silverware. Do let me know your views and opinions.

Category: Champions League