The Champions League draw for the first knock-out stage is out and United have been drawn to face AC Milan with the first leg being played at the San Siro followed by the second leg at Old Trafford. The fixture, in itself a battle between two European heavyweights, will be watched upon by the entire world owing to the fact that David Beckham will return to the stage where he first made his name. In another high profile reunion, the self proclaimed ‘Special One’ returns to Stamford Bridge with the intention of showing Roman Abramovich what he and Chelsea are missing uppermost on his mind, surely.
The Spanish duo of Barcelona and Real Madrid were handed easier ties against Stuttgart and Lyon repectively (Conspiracy Theory: Platini has rigged the draw to favour the Spanish sides). Arsenal will also not lose much sleep over their match-up with Porto. The entire draw is as follows:
Sttutgart Vs Barcelona
Olympiacos Vs Bordeaux
Inter Milan Vs Chelsea
Bayern Munich Vs Fiorentina
CSKA Moscow vs Sevilla
Lyon Vs Real Madrid
Arsenal Vs Porto
AC Milan Vs Manchester United
With the press salivating at the thoughts of the two re-unions, let us not get dragged into the humongous Beckham mania likely to get stirred up. We must not forget that this is going to be a difficult game with the likes of Pato, Pirlo, Seedorf and Ronaldinho up on show.
These are some of the latest reactions about the draw (Evra’s comments, as always, take the cake):
Patrice Evra:
“I am very happy for David Beckham. He did a lot of great things for Manchester United and I want to say to him ‘welcome home’. I have met him. He is a gentleman. He is a good person and a good professional. This is why Milan wanted him to go back there. I like that type of player. He is still one of the best right-footed players in the world. But I hope he plays badly and I intend to make sure he doesn’t do very well.”
Milan’s coach Leonardo:
“I think it’ll be a beautiful, extraordinary match. These are great matches to play, to experience in every sense. In this case there is Beckham’s situation, which is a very beautiful thing for him and for us. Every clash has its ingredients that can contribute to making it more beautiful. I think they’re a team of great tradition with the same objectives that we have and we’ll play on level terms. They’re a great team, of course.”
Ancelotti on Mourinho:
“If we don’t have a good relationship, this game can be a good opportunity to return to a good relationship. There were some problems, some questions and discussions in the papers. Only this. Nothing important. I’m not ready to play mind games. I never will be ready to play these games. I prefer to play football matches. I have experience of what he’ll do. I think that, for him, it will be an emotional game. He did a very good job here in Chelsea so to play against Chelsea won’t be easy for him. He will do his best to win.”
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Lyon is by no means an easy tie. We have always struggled against them especially in France. I had placed them second in the teams to avoid from the runners up pot after Bayern Munich.
Should be very interesting to see Beckham go back to Old Trafford. I wonder what sort of reception he will receive from the fans?