The UEFA (Union of European Football Association) Champions League has returned this year with the eight remaining teams against one another to see who will advance to the next stage.
The Champions League is one of the notable competitions in Europe. Every year, around 400 million soccer fans from around the world watch as 32 teams compete for the glory of winning that year’s trophy.
The match-ups were drawn on March 15 by officials from UEFA, who placed eight balls that contained the names of the teams in small bowls. They were then shuffled and drawn, with the first and second balls drawn being the first match-up, the third and fourth balls drawn being the second match-up, and so on.
Each match-up will be played twice, with the first leg being played on April 9 and 10, and the second leg being played on April 16 and 17.
The first possible winner in the competition is Manchester City. As last year’s winners, many expect them to be one of the finalists this year. The team has had strong form all this year. With the combination of Erling Haaland’s ability to score from nothing and Kevin De Bruyne’s playmaking and stunning assists, the team has been such a threat to go against in this competition.
But they must first defeat Real Madrid, who has been in very good shape lately, going toe-to-toe against some of the best teams and winning. Since many have considered both as finalists in this competition, it is a little upsetting that only one from this match-up will be moving on to the semifinals. But with both teams having some of the youngest superstars at their best, this match-up will be very interesting. Many believe that the victor will be Real Madrid.
“Their [entire roster] is elite and have a good chance of beating the reigning champs, [Manchester City],” Vargas said.
“Real Madrid [will win], without question,” soccer coach Christopher Dimarco said. “They hold many UCL titles and it’s highly implausible that they could continue this legacy of constant success.”
The other possible winner of this year could be Bayern Munich. Although their performance has been adequate in this competition, many fans like sophomore Alex Vargas are unsure of the chances of the latter of the two.
“As much as I want to say Bayern Munich is going to win the UCL, they won’t,” Vargas said. “They’re in a bad situation in their league and the team just seems to be falling apart.”
But on the other hand, soccer coach Christopher DiMarco believes that the chances are pretty high for Bayern.
“They’re a historically dominant team in this competition, with a coach who’s already won the Champions League,” DiMarco said. “Domestically, they’re doing superbly well, only a few points behind a team that’s never won the Bundesliga. It will be good motivation for them to have some ‘space to chase.’”
Harry Kane, striker for Bayern, has mostly been the reason for their incredible success. Being a superb striker has led Bayern to be second in the Bundesliga.
“He has played in two finals before and there is no tangible proof of any curse against his success regarding silverware,” DiMarco said.
