Champions League: Bayern-Juve, Real-Galatasaray, Malaga-Dortmund, Paris-Barcelona
Champions League fans will enjoy the quarterfinals of the European soccer competition being played out in April. The March 15 draw resulted in classics such as Bayern Munich versus Juventus Turin and surprise teams such as Malaga FC and Borussia Dortmund competing for a place in the semi-finals.
Real Madrid will play Galatasaray of Turkey and FC Barcelona will face Paris St. Germain in two games played April 2-3 and April 9-10.
Bayern and Juventus players both showed respect for their opponents in what is arguably the most prestigious tie of the draw.
German international Toni Kroos, Bayern’s number 10, told UEFA.com: “After Barcelona, they are the toughest draw for us. We need to produce top performances against them in order to prevail. It would be ideal to keep a clean sheet at home.”
“Bayern are one of the toughest teams we could have got. We have to approach the tie positively,” Juventus official and former player Pavel Nedved tweeted.
Both teams are dominating their leagues and have shown some bright performances in this year’s Champions League campaign, with Juventus remaining undefeated. Both are among the oldest and most traditional names in European soccer, having won the competition six times between them.
The other undefeated team, Borussia Dortmund, reached the quarter-final of the competition for the first time since 1998 and is a surprise contender. They will play Champions League debutant Malaga of Spain, which finished its group ahead of AC Milan and overcame FC Porto in the round of last sixteen.
Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl, whose team finished ahead of Real Madrid, Ajax Amsterdam and Manchester City in arguably the most difficult group and comfortably overcame Shakhtar Donetsk in the round of last sixteen, was content: “We are happy about the draw and that we can play the first game away from home.”
Malaga winger Joaquin said: “We must give Dortmund our maximum respect. They are a strong team who play good football.”
The other two ties featuring Spanish titans Real Madrid and FC Barcelona seem to be less evenly matched. Real Madrid are clear favorites against Turkish Galatasaray Instanbul, but Gala midfielder Hamit Altintop refuses to give up too early: “If we can get a good result in the first leg away, then we all know what we can achieve at home in front of our fans. I am really positive,” he told UEFA.com
Barcelona are also favorites against Paris, who are without their key hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the first leg of the game, because of a suspension.
Having had a dismal performance in the first leg of the round of last sixteen against AC Milan—they lost 0:2 in Milan—, however, Barca player Jordi Alba cautions: “Paris St. Germain are obviously very difficult rivals but the draw looks good to me. We have learned so much from the last round and must correct our mistakes from those games.”
Paris coach Carlo Ancelotti, who won the competition twice with AC Milan will have a few tricks up his sleeve: “It will be a good test, but it’s a beautiful prospect. We’re happy to get Barcelona. We know it will be very tough…. We'll play to our strengths.”
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