FCBARCELONA.CAT

13.03.2008 16:00

The quarterfinal draw has an English flavour

www.fcbarcelona.cat

The draw for the quarterfinals of the Champions League takes place this Friday in the Swiss city of Nyon. In the hat with FC Barcelona will be no fewer than four Premier League clubs plus Roma, Fenerbahçe and Schalke 04.

The draw will be held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. Barça’s representatives will be led by vice-president for sporting affairs, Marc Ingla, Albert Perrín (international competitions) and director of football, Txiki Begiristain. It will be presided over by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor, and by the ambassador for the Moscow final, former goalkeeper Rinat Dasaev. The semi-finals will also be decided and there will be no seeded teams or restrictions on the possible pairings.

A full house for the Premiership

The draw will be special for two reasons. It’s the first time that four teams from the same country have reached the quarterfinal stage -Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool from the English Premier League – and it will also be the first time either.Fenerbahçe or Schalke 04 have featured in a CL quarterfinal draw. Making up the eight sides will be Roma, one of the surprise packages of the competition and featuring former Barça winger Ludovic Giuly.

Some familiar faces

Barça have met six of the possible seven opponents at least once before, the exception being Schalke 04. Rijkaard’s players came up against Chelsea and Liverpool in the Champions League last season and played Arsenal in the unforgettable final in Paris. Barça also met both Fenerbahçe and Roma in the group stages of the 2001-02 competition. The last time Barça faced Manchester United in a competitive match was in the CL quarterfinal in the 1998-99 season.