David Shonfield
AS with films, football remakes are rarely as good as the original, but from the English point of view it’s Italian Job 3 in the Champions League. The Italians are marginally more optimistic this time than they were on previous occasions following Napoli’s success against Manchester City.
For Milan, facing Arsenal brings some bad memories, says the Gazzetta dello Sport, but also provides the chance of “dealing with the inferiority complex they have with the Premier League”.
Beaten by Spurs last season the return to London offers a chance of immediate revenge but Milan’s manager Massimo Allegri says he doesn’t see it that way. Arsenal’s problems at the start of the season are in the past.
“We know their strength,” he says “and they’ve been recovering in the league. We need to have our whole squad available in February, without injuries, unlike last year.” Arsene Wenger’s switch to a 4-1-4-1 formation and the goal threat of Robin Van Persie have made Arsenal once again a force to be reckoned with.
Chelsea’s recent recovery has also not gone unnoticed. Two 30-somethings have turned them round says the Gazzetta – Didier Drogba being one, Andre Villas-Boas the other.
“We’re at home in the first leg,” says Napoli manager Walter Mazzari, “so the game at Stamford Bridge will be decisive and if we want to qualify we’ll have to play to perfection.”
The Italian view is that Chelsea are likely to buy reinforcements in January whereas Napoli lack the necessary resources. “We’ll only buy if the players are better than those we already have, because in terms of numbers we already have too many,” says Mazzari.
For Napoli owner Aurelio di Laurentiis the tie is also attractive because it will raise Napoli’s profile further.
“There will definitely be a lot of interest in these games. The media round the world will be talking about it,and think of all those Neapolitans in London.”
In Portugal there’s the prospect of another game against old adversaries for Porto and should Sporting progress the chance of taking on the other Manchester club. As elsewhere in Europe the presence of both United and City has definitely made the Europa League competition more interesting.
Benfica’s match against Zenit St Petersburg gives the Portuguese a chance of instant revenge after Zenit’s defeat of Porto in the group stage. Former Porto player Bruno Alves, now at Zenit, says he was surprised to see Benfica top their group and is confident the Russians will progress. Benfica’s Director of Sport Rui Costa seems resaonably happy with the draw, however.
Progress in the two competitions could be crucial for Portugal’s standing in Europe as they are on the brink of overtaking France to secure fifth spot in the Uefa rankings. French sides have looked vulnerable in Europe this season and Marseille’s draw against Inter is a tough one despite Inter’s poor league form.
“It’s the easiest draw we could have had, we could have got Barcelona or Chelsea” said Lyon’s president Jean-Michel Aulas, celebrating an early Christmas present with the draw against APOEL. Lyon manager Remi Garde, once of Arsenal, pointed to the Cypriots’ exceptional home form, however, and warned that “You don’t qualify through the draw, you do it on the pitch.”
The same goes for the Spanish sides in the two competitions, all of whom will be confident of progressing, especially as they are all away from home in the first leg. Dealing with the cold of Moscow will be the problem for Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, according to Marca – a comment echoed by Madrid director Emilio Butragueno — whereas Valencia are unused to the aerial threat posed by Stoke City.
Barcelona will probably go into their tie against Bayer Leverkusen as champions of the world as well as Europe. It’s a tie that has the Germans excited, perhaps a prelude to a Spain-Germany final in the summer. “German teams are never to be underestimated” says Marca, but it looks as though Bayern Munich will be left to fly the flag alone in a tournament that climaxes in their own stadium.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/AVkQ3pOFQcs/post.aspx
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