Previewing the Best Champions League Finale in Years

The semifinals of the Champions League are just about a week away.

The four clubs that have qualified for the semifinals are in good form, and each team has a realistic chance to win the trophy with big ears.

This may not be the best Champions League, as we have noticed some epic games.

But in my opinion, these will be the best Champions League semifinals and finals we will have watched in years.

I am not going to write a preview or any prediction, but simply why each team involved will give it their best, and why these last five games are going to be intense and competitive.

As a bonus, I will also include strengths and weaknesses of each team and the players to watch.

These last five matches are not only about football, but mind games, ego, and pride.

It also involves revenge.

So, in alphabetical order are each team’s reasons to win this trophy and what exactly will spurn them to win.

Arsenal

Arsenal have been doubted, criticized, and ridiculed all season long.

Aston Villa’s threat to the fourth spot in the Premier League almost all season was one of the major reasons.

Arsenal fans around the world, on blogs and websites, even mentioned the most absurd thing—sack Wenger!

However, this can still be a fantastic season for Arsenal.

Although they crashed out to Chelsea in the semifinal of the FA Cup a few days back, they have reclaimed fourth spot and assured the fans of Champions League qualification next year.

Let’s also keep in mind that Arsenal was without many key players all season.

Fabregas was injured for over four months.

Eduardo and Adebayor have had fitness problems all season and so has Diaby.

Rosicky has not played a single minute of football.

Walcott suffered a long term injury as well.

Besides that, William Gallas played a horrible role as captain and rocked the team morale and spirit.

Wenger was ready for what he calls Arsenal III this season, but Flamini and Hleb left for new clubs as they could not resist the smell of a few more thousand pounds every week.

A few weeks before Flamini joined Milan, he was linked to Juventus and said that Juventus was the team he always supported as a child, and he would join Juventus as it was not about the money.

However, a week or two later, he signed for Milan who offered him a bigger pay check.

Hleb left in similar circumstances as well.

Due to these unforeseen problems and his trust on the loyalty of players, Wenger now had to reshuffle his team.

Many have criticized Wenger for not buying Gareth Barry or Xabi Alonso in the summer, but as Wenger said a few days back, buying one of them would have been killing Diaby, Denilson, and Song.

Yet, the young Gunners have done well this season.

Compared to the big money spent by Chelsea on Bosingwa and Deco, by Liverpool on Robbie Keane, Riera, and Dossena, and by Manchester United on Berbatov and the Da Silva brothers, Wenger spent money only on Arshavin, that too only in the winter after the injuries in the squad.

Other players he bought are youngsters like Ramsey, Bischoff, and the super cheap Silvestre.

The main reason why Arsenal will fight for the trophy is to shut all their doubters.

Many, including ex-goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, repeatedly have said that winning trophies with “kids” is not possible.

How best to keep these doubters quiet than to win the Champions League?

This will also give them immense confidence going into next season and make them title contenders in the Premier League once again.

Also, the Champions League is the only trophy missing from Wenger’s CV, so watch out for the display of his football knowledge.

Arsenal will also want to get revenge from Barcelona for the 2006 final in Paris, and how sweet would it be if they eliminate eternal rivals Manchester United on their way to the finals?

Besides, which players would not want to be the first ones to win the Champions League for a club and write their names in the history books?

Strengths: Attack

Arsenal has stopped being the goal shy team they were a month or two back. They combine and play beautiful football to score fantastic goals, and their energy will spurn them on to the final whistle.

Weaknesses: Defense

As Arsenal’s defense was hitting top form; lady luck walked away.

The injuries to Almunia, Gallas, and Clichy have come at the wrong time. Even though Almunia and Clichy are very likely to feature, the absence of Gallas and his understudy, Djourou, will be sorely felt.

Another weakness is the inexperience of the squad required at such a big stage, especially in the holding midfield role(s).

Players to Watch:

Fabregas, the heart beat of the team.

He is a leader on the pitch and can come with a moment of genius any time to decide the game.

Adebayor is hitting form too, and he would certainly give problems to the defense he faces.

Toure will also have to do a fine job to lead the defense and hold off Rooney.

Nasri can also have a good chance to exploit United’s weak point—the right back position.

Barcelona

Barcelona has had a simply fantastic season so far.

They are in the final of the Copa Del Rey, leaders in La Liga, and are the bookies' favorites to win this year’s Champions League.

Although they did have a slump over a month back, Barcelona seems to have recovered perfectly from it. They are once again scoring goals freely, and play attractive and compressing football.

This can be a great year from Barcelona, and Pep Guardiola will be looking to write his name in the history books with a treble.

Although the Catalan fans are happy and would be satisfied with maybe just La Liga and Copa Del Rey, Guardiola will want to win all three trophies to erase any memories of Frank Rijkaard and Ronaldinho.

Daniel Alves has been superb since his summer move from Sevilla, and with decent performances from Seydou Kieta, Gerard Pique, and youth product Sergi Busquets, Barcelona is destined for some trophy or the other.

Although Caceres and Hleb have been flops, Barcelona has been able to cope without their help.

The main reason why Barcelona wants to win this league is to show their superiority, obviously in Europe, but especially in Spain.

With rival Real Madrid winning back-to-back leagues in the last couple of seasons, and Barcelona finishing “only” third last season, the team is determined to win not just the Liga, but the Champions League to plant a dagger in the capital and the hearts of their supporters.

Barcelona also needs to add more Champions League trophies in their cabinet so the fans from Madrid do not have constant chuckles at them every time there is a football debate.

Strengths: Attack

Barcelona has scored 133 goals this season in all competitions.

None of the other three clubs come anywhere close to this tally.

Messi, Eto’o, and Henry have been in fantastic form all season, and have scored over 75 goals among them.

Surely, Chelsea and Arsenal/Manchester United (albeit, if they qualify), will have a massive task to stop this attack.

Weaknesses: Defense

Barcelona’s defense, including the goalkeeper, has been shaky.

Although Victor Valdes was in superb from in the beginning of the season, his form has gone downhill from there.

If Puyol does not play in the center of defense, then the center is shaky.

If he plays in the center, then the left side becomes extremely vulnerable.

Guardiola has to come up with a master plan to take care of these problems.

Players to Watch:

Lionel Messi; no explanations needed here !

Other players to watch are Xavi, Iniesta, and Puyol.

It will be interesting to see the clash between Xavi/Iniesta and Essien/Ballack.

All four players are powerful, technically gifted, and this is going to be a titanic battle in the center of the field.

It will also be interesting to see where Puyol plays.

Will he play center to contain the in-form and powerful Drogba, or on the left to prevent any runs from Anelka?

Chelsea

Chelsea has been a brilliant team since the time Guus Hiddink has joined as interim manager. The Blues have lost just one game under Hiddink and are as strong as they were in this stage of the Champions League last year.

This season has been a very mixed season for everyone involved with Chelsea.

The team started out brilliantly, and was tipped to win at least two trophies this year.

However, Scolari ran out of ideas and was unable to install the “fighting” spirit in his players, and in the process, Chelsea lost their 86th game—unbeaten at home record.

The Premier League race was also virtually out of Chelsea’s reach as both Manchester United and Liverpool leaped in front of them.

New boy Bosingwa has been a good buy for the Blues and adds a much needed width to the team.

Deco has not been as good as expected, and Mancienne has not been featured as much as he would have liked.

However, Florent Malouda is playing really well for the last month or so and this may well be needed, especially as Ashley Cole will be suspended for the first leg, and Chelsea will not enjoy the luxury of his overlapping runs.

The main reason why Chelsea will want to win the trophy this year is because of last year.

Chelsea was so close, yet so far.

Terry had even got Van Der Sar going the wrong way and would have lifted the trophy for a slip in the reign of Moscow.

Another reason why Chelsea wants to win the Champions League is that it is their only chance of a major trophy this year.

Although they can still win the FA Cup, Chelsea will be considered only the third best team in England if they fail to win the Champions League.

Also, Terry, Lampard, Essien, and Drogba have lifted every trophy in England, but not yet in Europe.

Even Ballack who has been featured in so many closing stages of Champions League matches has unfortunately not won.

Guus Hiddink has won one European Cup, but that was 21 years ago, and I am sure he will relish this opportunity to win it again.

Strengths: Powerful and combative football.

Chelsea has strength in all their players from Drogba to Ballack, Essien to Carvalho, and Terry to Ivanovic.

There is no chance of Chelsea players getting bullied by the likes of Xavi, Puyol, Henry, or Eto’o.

All of these players are technically gifted and talented as well.

Chelsea could just use these potential weapons to go on to win the trophy.

They also have a master tactician on the bench.

Weaknesses: Probably Petr Cech.

Cech has been shaky as of late and almost cost Chelsea their Champions League semifinal place.

He is not the same player as he was before his head injury, and this season especially he has not been at his best.

Another potential weakness is their full backs.

With Ashley Cole suspended for the first leg, Messi could make mince meat out of the player who starts in left back, and with Bosingwa injured, the right back position offers little attacking support.

The defense has also conceded eight goals in their last three games.

Players to Watch:

Frank Lampard and Dider Drogba.

Lampard has been Chelsea’s best player this season, notching up goals and assists.  He is not a player who usually disappoints in the big stage, so be ready to expect magic from him.

Drogba has been an absolute killer (as both Hiddink and Arsene Wenger stated) as of late. Ever since the arrival of Hiddink, Drogba no longer looks like the sulky player he was after the departure of Mourinho.

If Puyol finds himself out of position then Drogba could “kill” Marquez and/or Pique.

The battle between Ballack/Essien and Xavi/Iniesta will also be fantastic.

It will also be interesting to see how Chelsea’s defense will cope with such a brilliant Barcelona attack.

Manchester United

United has been strong this season, but not brilliant.

What I mean by this is that they have not played the best football, but they get the results, and deserve almost every result they have received.

They shut down teams and choke their opponents’ midfield.

They have been very formidable, until late…

Lately, United has faltered.

Their Champions League semifinal place, in my opinion, is undeserved. I honestly think Porto played better over the two legs and deserved the spot.

But then again, this is United. They may not play well, may not dominate the game, but will win it.

This is the spirit which has kept them going over the years.

While United’s chances of winning a historic quintuple are over, there is still a chance for them to win a historic quadruple.

This will spurn on the team and make them play well.

Dimitar Berbatov has been okay at best for United, but no way close to the tag of record signing.

Rooney has been superb this season and so has Vidic. Vidic looked like he was having a bad moment against Liverpool and a game or two after that, but has put those games well behind him, and is at his best again.

The main reason why Manchester United will want to win this trophy is because they are defending champions.

In the last three editions of the Champions League, the defending champions were all eliminated in the first knock-out stages, but United have managed to overcome that curse, and reached their third semifinal in as many years.

Sir Alex Ferguson has also stated his desire of winning a third Champions League before he retires, and this will be a great opportunity to fulfill his dream.

United are also on course to win this year’s Premier League title, and if they repeat the double this year, they will record their names in history books, and will probably be labeled the best team in the club’s illustrious history.

Strengths: Defense

Manchester United probably has the best defense out of the four teams.

Vidic has been superbly consistent all season long, and United have conceded just five goals this term in the Champions League.

Arsenal will have to toil hard to break down this defense.

Weaknesses:

I would consider Manchester United’s weak points to be in specific positions:

Right back is a problem.

O’Shea and Rafael Da Silva are not the best of players, although Da Silva is still too young.

Gary Neville looks like he is ready to hang up his boots, even though he will not admit it.

The center of midfield is also not looking strong for United.

Scholes is not as consistent due to his age, and Carrick, Fletcher, and Anderson are very good players but not the most consistent ones.

The striker to partner Rooney will also have to do well. Berbatov has been below expectations, and Tevez is not a point striker.

Players to Watch:

Rio Ferdinand is one.

Although Vidic has been the better performer this season, Ferdinand has been superb as well. Whenever Ferdinand plays, Manchester United’s defense looks impenetrable and well organized.

Wayne Rooney has also been in superb form this season. He not only scores goals, but makes them too, so expect something from him.

Cristiano Ronaldo will also be keen to impress so his tag of big game flop goes away.

Overall, I think all four teams have much more to gain from winning the Champions League this year.

They all have different reasons, but the same goal, and therefore will work as hard as possible. Of course the prestige of the trophy and the cash prize which comes with it are the most important things, but all four teams will be helped in the above mentioned ways by winning this year’s trophy.

Although the last five matches of the Champions League in the last few years have been full of promise and competitive, I expect this year’s Champions League to be the best.

Let us hope we are not disappointed.