Let’s dive back into that hypothetical landscape we’re constructing. If you need Ellen Page on the cast to make it seem more real, that’s fine. There are times I wish we had Christopher Nolan directing our efforts, but without the Inception director at our disposal, we’ll have to take responsibility for inducing this dream state, where 68 clubs compete in our NCAA basketball tournament analog.
Soccer Bracketology: Picking The Games, North America Region Edition
Graham MacAree walked us through the Europe region earlier today. Spoiler alert: He has Barcelona moving on to Wembley, the site or our final four. Now it's time to look at the North America region, where the weakest of the No. 1 seeds, Germany's Borussia Dortmund, is on a collision course with defending European Champions Inter Milan.
Let’s see if they’ll meet:
First Round
No. 1 Borussia Dortmund over No. 16 Independiente. The Argentines are the perfect warm-up for a team dealing with a favorite’s expectations.
No. 9 Rangers over No. 8 Ajax. A large portion of Ajax's eight seed is built on results from the days of Luis Suarez.
No. 12 Olympiacos over No. 5 Lille. An experienced Olympiacos team is better equipped to deal with the challenges of playing half-way across the world. An inexperienced Lille side is hard done by drawing a very tough 12 seed.
No. 4 Manchester City over No. 13 Copenhagen. City's star-studded roster will thrive on the big stage, against inferior opposition.
No. 11 Atlético Madrid over No. 6 Benfica. Atlético’s stars - most notably, Diego Forlán - step up to the challenge. Like Ajax, Benfica’s seeding seems to be a function of glory too long past.
No. 3 Tottenham Hotspur over No. 14 Nagoya Grampus. In the rarefied air of Mexico City, this could end in an upset by a Nagoya team that may be better suited to make the adjustments.
No. 7 Fenerbahce over No. 10 Fluminense. The long trip from Rio to Moscow does Flu in, Fener getting a break.
No. 2 Inter Milan over No. 15 Estudiantes. The reigning Argentine champions are still adjusting to a change in coach. Even if they had carried over the momentum from the Apertura, they’re not beating the World Champions.
Second Round
No. 1 Borussia Dortmund over No. 9 Rangers. This one will be close. Rangers will play five, seemingly playing for kicks. And it might get there, though odds are Dortmund finds a goal.
No. 4 Manchester City over No. 12 Olympiacos. City will have a tough time, but this is where their depth can help. Being able to rotate in class players will help alleviate the effects of the long trip to Seoul.
No. 11 Atlético Madrid over No. 3 Tottenham Hotspur. Forlán versus Bale, but in front of the slight pro-Atlético crowd at the Estadio Azteca, the Atleti put on another performance that makes you ask “why are they so bad in league when they’re capable of this?”
No. 2 Inter Milan over No.7 Fenerbahce. Pretty straight forward win for Inter, whose able to clog the middle of the pitch, preventing Alex Souza from working any magic.
Regional Semifinals
No. 4 Manchester City over No. 1 Borussia Dortmund. BVB was deservedly number one, but on the slow Rose Bowl track and on a stage that will bring the best out of Carlos Tévez, the Germans go out.
No. 2 Inter Milan over No. 11 Atlético Madrid. Inter’s having an easy time of it, because once Atlético comes north from Mexico City (and have four days to lose momentum), they’re easy pickings.
Regional Final
No. 2 Inter Milan over No. 4 Manchester City. It’s a bitter end for Robert Mancini, who could have gotten a measure of revenge on Massimo Moratti were he to eliminate the Nerazzurri from the biggest tournament of all time. But there may be something to be said for having experience in similar circumstances, experience Inter has. Oh, and they may be the better team (that, too).
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