When I was a teenager it almost felt like that the European Cup was part and parcel of the domestic honors scene along with the league and FA Cup. It was in essence only a trophy that English clubs seemed to contest. Liverpool triumphed four times in 1977, ’78, ’81 & 84, Nottingham Forest twice in ‘1979 & ’80 and Aston Villa in 1982 – but then came the Heysel disaster and a five-year ban on English teams competing in Europe with Liverpool serving an additional year.

Since that horrific day in Brussels, 23 finals have been contested and English clubs have won the princely total of two!

And if I was to be completely honest with hand on heart, I would have to say that both victories owe a huge amount to luck and incredible collapses by the two teams in world football who you’d bet the house on if you were offered these two scenarios – a one goal lead in injury time and a three goal lead with a half to play.

Who could possibly think that United would score two goals in injury time as its usually, Bayern Munich, that break hearts (just ask Getafe in the UEFA Cup) but fate smiled on the Red Devils on the epic night in Barcelona. As for AC Milan throwing away the Mt. Everest of leads in Istanbul, impossible, but I guess that’s why they call it the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’.

So without these freak occurrences, English clubs in all seriousness would not have won the European Cup since Liverpool beat Roma in 1984.

This year though, if the semifinals play out they way I think they will, an English teams name will be engraved on the trophy. Luck may still play a part in the final result but at least it won’t be at the expense of those ‘Johnny Foreigner’ types from Europe.

Tuesday

Liverpool v Chelsea

At first glance this fixture has all the appeal of a trip to the dentists minus the anesthetic. In fact it has been described by Argentine great, Jorge Valdano in the following way ‘Put a turd hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium (Anfield) and there are people who will tell you it’s a work of art. It’s not: it’s a turd hanging from a stick.

When six previous Champions League meetings have produced a grand total of three goals, its hard to argue with Valdano’s description but this time though I believe a turd won’t be laid for the simple reason that Liverpool does not get Anfield in the 2nd leg. This will force Rafa Benitez to play a more expansive game in the 1st leg on Merseyside because the Reds must travel to Stamford Bridge with a lead. The reason is that the Blues are all but unbeatable on their home turf.

When you factor in revenge, the ‘it must be our time’ mentality and a desire to win the ‘big one’ before this Chelsea team breaks up, fireworks are a must. I also believe the players will make a contest out of this in spite of Avram Grant.

One final note is the continuing doubt over the fitness of Steven Gerrard. Who knows if Benitez is playing mind games but should the Liverpool captain be missing the odds of the Reds making their third final in four years lengthen considerably in my book. I backed Liverpool months ago to win it all – without Gerrard all bets are off!

Wednesday

Barcelona v Manchester United

Unlike the Liverpool/Chelsea saga this fixture at first glance has the purists drooling and they’ll be positively drowning in saliva if both teams recapture the magic of the 1999 Champions League. The two group games produced 12 goals and two amazing 3-3 ties. I’m not expecting that quantity this time around as defensively, United, are a far superior unit and don’t seem capable of conceding that many goals.

Offensively though they can score for fun and with Barcelona in terrible shape coming into this contest a 0-0 in Spain followed by a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford would have the Red Devils advancing.

Fans of Barcelona might think I’m disrespecting them but their current form reminds me of Arsenal. They’ve only won four times in thirteen and seem to be running out of gas at the wrong time of the season despite at times playing fantasy football. Supposedly Thierry Henry isn’t happy - Ronaldinho is busy learning Italian and eating pasta - Frank Rijkaard is flirting with Chelsea, which all results in bad form and unrest in the camp. All signs point to a spanking, which is something the English clubs used to hand out to the rest of Europe on a regular basis.

It was thirty-one years ago this year that English teams began their seven-year domination of Europe’s top cup competition. With a domestic team guaranteed to make the final in 2008 that will now be four consecutive years with English representation and with a victory, two wins in that same period.

With the Barclays Premier League now the cash cow of world football, it sure feels to me as though a new era of dominance has begun and will continue for the foreseeable future.

Until then, I’ll meet you at the far post.