09.12.2010 12:22
Six possible rivals in UCL
Jordi Clos
Barça now know who their possible rivals will be in the first knock out stage of the UCL, with Inter, Milan, Marseilles, Olympic Lyon, Roma and Arsenal all possible candidates in the draw set for December 17th.
With the Group stages finishing on Wednesday night, Barça now know the six possible rivals awaiting
them in the next knock out round. As Group Winners, they cannot be drawn against the top teams in
the other groups, or Copenhagen, who finished second in the same group, or Spanish team Valencia.
With the second leg certain to be at the Nou Camp, Barça could find themselves up against Inter,
Milan, Marseilles, Olympic Lyon, Roma or Arsenal.
The draw for the last 16 will take place in UEFA HQ in Nyon on Friday December 17th at 12.00.
Below we analyze Barça’s possible opponents:
Inter Milan
The last team to beat Barça in Europe finished second to Spurs in their group after losing
3-0 to Werder Bremen in the final game. The current champions retain the backbone of the team who
denied Barça last season, including the competition’s leading scorer Samuel Eto’o, but
with Mourinho gone, Rafa Benitez is struggling to keep up the quality and Inter currently lie fifth
in the Italian league, 10 points off the leaders.
Milan
The seven times winners finished second behind Real Madrid and Massimo
Allegri’s new project has taken the team to top spot in the Italian league, with 10 wins from
15 games so far. Barça faced Milan in the Gamper Trophy this season and before that the last time
the two met was in the semi finals of the 2006 competition which Barça won in Paris. If the two
meet again this season, the game will see the return of Ronaldinho and Ibrahimovic to the Nou Camp.
Olympic Marseilles
After 18 years, Marseilles again won the French Championship last season and their good
moment of form was confirmed in the 1-0 win over group winners Chelsea on Wednesday. Coached by
Didier Deschamps, Marseilles can count on players such as Lucho González, Heinze, Azpilicueta
(currently injured), Valbuena or Brandao and have never played Barça in Europe.
Olympic Lyon
Although they no longer dominate the French game so completely, Lyon have maintained
their European reputation and reached the semi final of this competition last season. With a large,
quality squad, Claude Puel’s team finished behind Schalke 04 and currently lie fifth in
France. Their games with Barça have become a fixture of the Champions League and the two last met
in the last 16 of the 2008/09 competition.
Roma
The third Italian team who could face Barça are Roma. Coached by Claudio Ranieri, the
Italians still look for inspiration to veteran Francesco Totti, who also featured in the only UCL
meeting between the two teams in the 2001/02 season. Roma finished second in their group behnd
Bayern Munich, but have been inconsistent in “El Calcio”, currently lying eighth, ten
points adrift of Milan.
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger’s exciting young team saw their hopes of winning
their group frustrated by Shaktar and the Gunners have had to settle for second spot. Led by Cesc
Fàbregas and boosted up front this year by the addition of Chamakh, Arsenal are one of the
strongest teams in the draw and lead the Premier League, ahead of Man Utd and Chelsea. They crashed
out to Barça in last year’s quarter finals after two thrilling games.