adminfeature yet another Germany-Spain clash.
Last year’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich, who have already secured the Bundesliga title, take on Spanish league leaders Barcelona.
In the other match, Borussia Dortmund will play Real Madrid, as representatives of Europe’s current dominant footballing powers go head-to-head. Remarkably, the four semi-finalists can boast a total of 18 European titles between them.
Real lead the way with nine victories, although their last success dates back to 2002. Their arch-rivals Barcelona and Bayern both have four and Borussia weigh in with their single victory in 1997 when they upset favourites Juventus 3-1 in the final.
Neutral fans were probably hoping for a Bayern v Barcelona final, promising a feast of football between arguably the continent’s two top teams of the moment.
The semi-final is given added piquancy in that former Barca coach Pep Guardiola is to take over the helm at Munich’s Allianz Arena next year.
But Jupp Heynckes, the man he is to replace, will have reason enough of his own for wanting to reach the final — and not simply in order to bow out on a winning note in London.
He will no doubt also be hoping that Real win through to the Wembley showdown, as a fitting way to bring down the curtain on his long and distinguished coaching career against the side he led to the European crown in 1998, bringing the Madrid giants their first title in the competition in more than 30 years.
Bayern, having comprehensively dispatched Juventus in the last round, again have home advantage first but are unlikely to find the Barca defence as porous as the Italians, who shipped four goals without reply over the two legs.
However, if they are to reach their third final in four years, Bayern will have to do so without the services of leading scorer Mario Mandzukic, who is suspended for the first leg.
Barcelona, in their sixth semi-final in as many years, showed just how reliant they are on World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi in their hard-fought quarter-final triumph over Paris Saint Germain, eventually prevailing on away goals.
But they needed the less-than-fully-fit Messi to come off the bench in the second leg in Barcelona to orchestrate the equaliser on the night that saw them through. Jose Mourinho’s Real are unlikely to relish the thought of another trip to Dortmund in this season’s competition.
In the group stages, the Germans overran Real 2-1 and then earned a deserved 2-2 draw in Madrid to finish top of the group. And the way Real struggled to overcome game Galatasaray, losing the away leg 3-2, while Dortmund were getting the better of another Spanish side Malaga with two late goals, will doubtless set the alarm bells ringing in the Spanish capital.
There is also the little matter of the bitter memory of their last German semi-final opponents, Bayern, who beat them on penalties at the same stage of the competition last season.
Meanwhile, the pairing of Barcelona with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid with Borussia Dortmund in yesterday’s Champions League semi-final draw has left Spain dreaming of an El Clasico final at Wembley in May.
A completely open draw in Nyon meant that Barca and Madrid could have been paired together in the last four for the second time in three seasons, but having both drawn German opposition they could now meet in the final for the first time.
“A Madrid-Barca final.
“The dream final.
“These 110 years of rivalry, these last three of four years that have attracted the attention of the whole world to the Clasicos deserves something like this,” enthused Alfredo Relano, editor of Madrid sports daily AS. “A final duel in the Main Street of the town.
“A Champions League final at Wembley, in the 150th year of the creation of football in this same city that produced this miracle. I am dreaming.”
Madrid probably emerged from the draw happiest of all the four teams involved. “It was all that Madrid could have asked for, with the return-leg at home as well,” wrote Relano.
“That is not to say I think Dortmund are a Cinderella, but among what is left, they were the preferred one.” However, Dortmund have already beaten the nine-times European Champions in the group stages of this season’s competition and also managed a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu to ensure they topped the group.
And not everyone within the Real halls is getting quite as excited as Relano. “We respect Borussia Dortmund and I need to say that we played them twice already this season and weren’t able to beat them, so eliminating them will not be easy,” former Real striker and now the club’s director of institutional relations Emilio Butragueno was keen to stress.
Yet, having failed at this stage of the competition against Barca and Bayern in each of the last two seasons, there is a growing expectation that Jose Mourinho’s third season in Madrid could be the lucky one.
And as long as they manage to reach their first final in 11 years, there will be little concern in the Spanish capital whether the old foe they meet is from Barcelona or Bavaria.
For Barca, meanwhile, a tie with Bayern is given extra intrigue by former coach Pep Guardiola’s decision to join the Bavarians at the beginning of next season.
Bayern are arguably the form team in Europe having already sealed the Bundesliga title with six games to go and they dismissed Italian champions Juventus 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
However, of more concern for Barca is in what sort of physical condition a number of their key players will be by the time the first-leg of the semi-final comes along in 11 days time.
Messi should be fit to play after not aggravating his hamstring injury in the 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday which secured Barca’s passage to the semis on away goals.
At the back, though, there are more questions with Adriano suspended for the first-leg and Carles Puyol and Javier Mascherano still out injured.
Yet, despite those doubts there is still the belief that with a fit Messi, Barca can return to Wembley, where they have already won European football’s greatest prize on two occasions.
“There will be great players, great coaches and great fans, everything will be in a big dose,” Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta told the club’s website.
“When you look at the squad and history of Bayern it shows that they are a great club, but when I look at ours, I see the same. It is a challenge for us.”
The first leg matches will be played on April 23 and 24, with the return games on April 30 and May 1, with the final at Wembley stadium in London on May 25.
And English Premier League club Chelsea will meet Basel in the semi-finals of the Europa League after the draw was made in Nyon yesterday.
The Londoners, who overcame Rubin Kazan yesterday evening winning 5-4 on aggregate, will enjoy home advantage in the second leg against the Swiss side. — AFP.
Online Reporter