Barça draws familiar foe in Champions League quarters; AC Milan rematch awaits

The Champions League quarterfinal and semifinal draw takes places in Nyon, Switzerland. (Courtesy UEFA.com)

The draws for the UEFA Champions League were announced in Nyon, Switzerland and the competition’s defending champions FC Barcelona will be up against AC Milan once again. The Spanish side was in the same group as AC Milan this season and both the matches were high on goals, closely-contested and entertaining affairs with Milan drawing in Camp Nou with a goal in the dying minutes and Barca emerging victorious in San Siro. Ultimately, Barca topped the group.

Guardiola will appreciate the fact that the second leg will be at home (on April 3), a situation he always prefers. The first leg will be played on March 28 at San Siro. If Barca are able to contend with AC Milan’s challenge and progress into the semi-finals, they will face the winner of the tie between Benfica and Chelsea, creating a repeat of the 2008-09 semi-final in which Barca progressed to the finals thanks to Iniesta’s memorable strike at Stamford Bridge.

The draw is such that were Barca to pass the semi-final test, it sets the possibility of a scintillating final between Barcelona and arch rivals Real Madrid, who have been paired against Cypriot side APOEL in the quarters. If Real were to progress, they will face the winners of Marseille and Bayern Munich tie in the semis.

The final is set for May 19 in Munich and if Bayern Munich pass the quarter-final and semi-final hurdle, they will have the advantage of not just playing at home but also being the home side. The semi-finals will take place on 26/27 April and 3/4 May.

AC Milan's home, San Siro, will be shrouded in red and white when the Catalans visit for the second time this year. Barcelona won 3-2 in their first visit. (Courtesy UEFA.com)

On facing Barca again, Milan director Umberto Gandini said, ”At least it will be easy to organize the away game as we have been there recently and we know the place. We faced them in the group stage and the aggregate score was 5-4 so I think it will be balanced. We drew 2-2 there and played well also at home despite losing 3-2, so we have confidence because I think we have also improved since then. It’s a game every player dream to play, both teams will be very motivated and we will see the winner of Benfica-Chelsea in the semi-finals.“

Reaction from the club itself is somewhat less pleased, though neither discouraged nor timid.  Club Director of Football Andoni Zubizaretta remarked, “We prefer to play against new teams, sides that don’t know us as well and that we can better analyze”.  When asked about whether the second leg being played at Camp Nou gave Barcelona an advantage, he replied, “It’s Milan, and that’s that….We’ll have to play football well”.  But, he did later say both historically and personally second home leg is preferred.

Pep Guardiola too had a word or two on AC Milan. Echoing Zubizaretta’s respect for Milan, he said, “We are playing one of the greatest teams in history so we will need everyone’s help.  We are the European champions so we have to eliminate the best and Milan are one of them.”  Both Pep and Zubizaretta dodged questions of a potential final, stating all that mattered was the difficult matches on March 28 and April 3.

AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri spoke at length on his views after the draw.  The jist of his reaction was that despite playing “the best team in the world”, he feels that the tight encounters during the group stage had “boosted confidence” of his side.  Commenting on the earlier encounters, Allegri stated, “We defended well in Barcelona and we played well at home, even though we lost. We played two different kind of games in the group stage. We were forced to defend at Camp Nou, while we tried to attack more at home where we made a few more mistakes.”  He continued with a few comments on the strengths of others remaining, such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, but returned to emphasise that their focus is now only on Barcelona and despite playing the best, “we know we have a chance.  We have to believe in what we are doing”.

Historically, this tie is as evenly poised as possible.  Prior to our recent 3-2 victory, Barça and Milan had met in Europe 12 times, each winning 4, drawing 4, and losing 4, each scoring 16 goals, and each conceding 16 goals.  Without question, Milan held bragging rights for the most important of those 4 victories, the primary being the humiliating 4-0 thumping Cruyff’s dream team received in the 1994 Champions League final.  Of late though, Barça have had the upper hand, winning 4 of the previous 6 encounters, while losing only once.

Personally, I feel the tightness of this season’s earlier matches flattered Milan, but there is no doubting the quality they possess in many positions.  It will be a great encounter, as Zubizaretta said,  “between two great clubs, two great teams, two great squads, two great coaches, two great sets of fans, and two great stadiums.  We’ll see everything that’s passionate about football…”.