The draw has gifted everyone a couple of very intriguing ties between Premier League and Serie A teams, as well as some other close matchups.
CSKA And Zenit Learn Their Champions League Fate
Luis Figo, Dmitri Alenichev and Davor Suker cut tape during opening ceremony of the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour 2011 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Dmitry Korotayev/Epsilon/Getty Images) Getty ImagesSlutskiy had wanted it, Spalletti had wanted reinforcements. Slutskiy got it. As for Spalletti it seems everyone, even he himself, is still waiting. January will be a crucial period in both Moscow and St. Petersburg and for equally different reasons.
What Leonid Slutskiy, CSKA Moscow’s under pressure manager, had wanted all along - so he says - is to test his slightly imbalanced squad against his friend Jose Mourinho and the might of Real Madrid. The last time Slutskiy and Mourinho met, whilst the Portuguese manager was at the Inter Milan helm, CSKA’s boss had been gifted with a bottle of wine and an engaging conversation. It seems that Slutskiy has remembered Mourinho’s gesture of goodwill and now wants to return the favour in slightly different fashion, by rolling up to the Santiago Bernabeu, wine in hand, and pushing Real Madrid off the edge of glory and down the vertical chasm to Champions League elimination. Obviously and unfortunately it won’t be that easy.
Read Article >Arsenal Vs. AC Milan, 2012 UEFA Champions League Draw: The Best Of The Bunch?
Real Madrid Vs. CSKA Moscow, 2012 UEFA Champions League Draw: Could Los Merengues Be Tested?
Barcelona Vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 2012 UEFA Champions League Draw: Well That’s Unfortunate For The Werkself
Sorry, Bayer Leverkusen. Looks like you guys drew the short end of the stick! You really should have beaten the crud out of Genk in that last Champions League game. Now, Bayer must face Barcelona, who will be very heavily favored to defeat them in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
Key player
Read Article >Chelsea Vs. Napoli, 2012 UEFA Champions League Draw: So Much For Those Edinson Cavani Rumors!
UEFA Champions League Draw, 2012 Knockout Stages: Preview
The official ball for the UEFA Champions League. The draw for the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League Knockout Stages takes place on Friday, December 16, 2011. The UEFA Champions League draw takes place on Friday (12:00 PM CET, 6:00 AM EST), and although there are some big names who didn’t make into the knockout rounds there’s plenty of talent to keep us all interested. The big guns that didn’t fall out of the picture entirely mostly managed to top their group, which is unfortunate for the second place finishers, all of whom will be desperate to end up with APOEL Nicosia. Below is the full draw - highlight the teams to see who they can be set against.
Since only the Bundesliga and Serie A managed to place teams both second and third in their groups, the draw is pretty open for everyone else. That means all manner of fun things can happen. Here are some ties we’d love to see pulled out of the hat on Friday.
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