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.
