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Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Taneo: Champions League fever
By Paul J. Taneo
Free-for-all
GOT e-mail from one Francis Bastasa. The Champions League bug bit him hard.
Paul,
The draw is up for the quarterfinals of the Uefa champions league, and if the draw would have it, Real Madrid would meet AC Milan in the finals to be held somewhere in Germany (Schalke’s Stadium, I think).
But first Real Madrid must tackle the gritty A.S. Monaco of France. If you remember, this is the same A.S. Monaco which smothered Deportivo la Coruña, Real Madrid’s main rival in the Primera Liga, 8-3, in one of the group matches. A.S. Monaco may not have the galacticos of Real Madrid but in any given day, and if they can duplicate their flawless offense they showed against Deportivo la Coruña, they can cause a mighty upset.
And what a scalp will it be. Another exciting thing to note is that Fernando Morientes who plays for A.S. Monaco is on loan from, well, Real Madrid. Will he score against his employer? I hope he does. I cannot wait to see the reactions of the bosses of Real Madrid who decided to loan him to A.S. Monaco. Players to watch, aside from Fernando Morientes, are French internationals Ludovic Giuly and Jerome Rothen and Croatian striker Dado Prso for A.S. Monaco. Real Madrid has Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Raul Gonzales and Roberto Carlos. Wow.
Arsenal will go up against fellow Londoners, Chelsea. Although, Chelsea has a strong squad composed of various internationals, they have not won against Arsenal in 16 meetings. Arsenal is in form now. They are seven points clear at the top of the English Premier League against their nearest rivals, Chelsea. Thanks to Thierry Henry, who in my opinion, is the best striker in the world, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires.
A.C. Milan will test Deportivo la Coruña. Milan has an intact defense manned by the ageless Paolo Maldini, supported by the outstanding Italian international, Alessandro Nesta. But Milan’s strength lies in its strike force of Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi. Deportivo is an amazing team with Diego Tristan at the helm, but they are sometimes inconsistent. They allowed eight goals against them in their match against A.S. Monaco.
Fresh from their slaying of Manchester United, F.C. Porto will tackle the impressive Olympique Lyonnais. Porto is a former European champion while Lyon is making its first quarterfinal appearance. Lyon is playing attractive football right now – fast-paced with lots of flare. Lyon’s main man is Brazilian Juninho Pernambucho.
So, Paul, who do you root for? if you are adventurous like me, the final will pit Arsenal against Lyon, with Lyon going all the way.
Hey, I always root for the underdog.
Thanks for the space and time.
Football Fanatico,
Bastong
I don’t know what it is about dogs. We love them so much. We love Lassie, Bantay of Pepe and Pilar fame, Snoopy, even Snoop Dogg and Lil Bowow. Heck, Filipinos love them so much we eat them – like a perverted version of the Holy Communion.
Now, Monaco. Love this underdog, too. I dared a colleague who is a Real Madrid fan to put his money where his mouth is and bet a measly P100 on Real against Monaco…on a plus-one goal advantage though for the French League team. He didn’t bite, reasoning that the injuries and suspensions on Real are too much a disadvantage.
Well, it’s not. Without Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, Real Madrid on a good day can play any national team and beat it.
When I told Max Limpag that you want Arsenal and Lyon playing in the finals, he said: “In your dreams.” Although he smiles sheepishly when reminded of Real’s recent consecutive losses to Real Zaragosa, 3-2, and Athletic Bilbao, 4-2.
Like you, Bastong, I want Arsenal to be in the finals. I don’t care who they play, as long as I see those familiar red and white Gunners jerseys worn by Henry, Pires, Dennis Bergkamp and company keeping the opposing defenders on their toes trying to hold them back.
Arsenal’s attack is so dynamic sometimes I feel I’m watching a point-a-minute basketball game and not what those Norte Americanos call soccer.
Bring on Chelsea.
(sports@sunstar.com.ph)
(March 24, 2004 issue)
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