A week ago the UEFA Champions league group stage was concluded. The teams that qualified were known, the ones that dropped to the Europa League went on their journey and the one that didn't qualify for nothing went back to their league. Among the clubs that relegated to the Europa League is Manchester United, who bid the UEFA Champions League farewell after they careless throw away the opportunity they had to the pit. Of all the teams that relegated to the Europa League, Manchester United's story is likened to a ridiculous one as the Red Devils have a very big control of their future in the next round of the Champions League in the earlier stage of the Group Stage. Manchester United were able to gather 9 points just from their first 4 matches in the Europa group stage shorting of one point to seal their place in the next round. They could have gathered the needed points in their first 4 matches in the Group Stage if they had make at least a single point against the Turkish side, Istabul Basaksehir during their first visit to Old Trafford. But their carelessness led them to seeing the whole three points stolen away from them in the front of their eyes and from there persists in their carelessness and finally led themselves to the third place.
We have the likes of Ajax as well that seemed to play with a lot of energy right from day one of the UCL group stage but luck seems not to be on their side this time around as the Netherland team saw themselves forced out of UCL to Europa after Atalanta claimed the Second place on the table to qualify themselves for the next round of the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool sittting in the topmost position.
Real Madrid's Group, Group B is considered by fans as the hardest group in the UEFA Champions League group stage. A group that saw the team (Real Madrid) at the first position qualifying with just 10 points proved to be a tough one in fact. Borrusia Monchengladbach finished in the second place with the same point (8) as Shakhtar Donetsk but claimed from the Ukrainian side the second place after beating them to it with goal difference. Inter Milan finished in the fourth place with 6 points and if you ask me, I would say that's so much point for someone that's sitting at the bottom of a table in the UCL group stage. That's to show you that everything in the group was so tight.
Juventus on the other hand to mention a few saw a beautiful and unexpected come back by beating Messi's Barcelona 3 goals to nil after Koeman's side defeated the Italian giants at home during their first visit. Though Cristiano Ronaldo was out during their first visit and fans claimed it to be the reason why Juventus lost to the Catalans, Barcelona saw a painful defeat after Juventus Ronaldo proved to fans that they're right with their initial thought. The former Manchester United player scored a brace which almost turned an hat-trick for his team helping his team defeat Barcelona 3 goals to nil and of course, sealing for them the first position in Group G.
Before we talk about the team which we think might be the best contender for this seasons UCL title, let's take a look at the teams to talk about (that qualified to the round of 16) and of course, do a little analysis.
Below is the list of the 16 teams that qualified for the UEFA Champions League round of 16
So we have:
Atalanta Bergamo facing Real Madrid
Monchengladbach meeting Man. City
Lazio Roma versus Bayern Munich
Leipzig battling Liverpool
Barcelona facing Paris Saint Germain
Sevilla taking on Borrusia Dortmund
Porto meet Juventus &
Atletico Madrid taking on Chelsea
Though it's still too early to predict the team that's likely to come out as the winner when the round of 16 is not even concluded yet, but the earlier the harder, and the harder the more interesting the prediction will be. We're not actually talking about a single team here, but the top 4 teams that are likely to be the best contender for the title.
Here is how we're going to judge.
Checking from the list above, we have 3 Italian clubs, 4 Spanish teams, 3 England temas and 3 German clubs. So we're going to judge with the current form of the team, the UCL history and the versatility of the team as far as UCL is concerned.
- From Italy we have Juventus, Lazio and Atalanta
Our pick: Juventus
Juventus Football Club colloquially known as Juve is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. Founded in 1897 by a group of Torinese students, the club has worn a black and white striped home kit since 1903 and has played home matches in different grounds around its city, the latest being the 41,507-capacity Juventus Stadium. Nicknamed Vecchia Signora ("the Old Lady"), the club has won 36 official league titles, 13 Coppa Italia titles and eight Supercoppa Italiana titles, being the record holder for all these competitions; two Intercontinental Cups, two European Cups / UEFA Champions Leagues, one European Cup Winners' Cup, a joint national record of three UEFA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and a joint national record of one UEFA Intertoto Cup. Consequently, the side leads the historical Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) ranking[a] whilst on the international stage occupies the sixth position in Europe and the twelfth in the world for most confederation titles won with eleven trophies,[7] having led the UEFA ranking during seven seasons since its inception in 1979, the most for an Italian team and joint second overall.
Juventus have always been the Seria A winners countless of numbers of times and it has turned to something very easy for them as there hardly seem to be a good competitor or a better contender for their local league title. However they've been cursed with the inability to win the Champions league ever since it's renamed from European Cup to Champions League. The farthest they came recently was when they clash against Ronaldo's Real Madrid in 2017/18 season quater finals and they are sent back home after Ronaldo help defeat the Italian side in the UCL quarter finals with a penalty shootout to put his team on the favoured side. From the three shortlisted teams in Italy, they stand out to be a good contender when they have the man (CR7) that took their chance away back then in 2018 in their team. And of course, they are in a good form and have what it takes to win it.
- We have four teams from Spain: Barcelona, Atl. Madrid, Sevilla, Real Madrid
Our pick: Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded on 6 March 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn a white home kit since inception. The word real is Spanish for "royal" and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. The team has played its home matches in the 81,044-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club throughout its history.
The club was estimated to be worth €3.8 billion ($4.2 billion) in 2019, and it was the second highest-earning football club in the world, with an annual revenue of €757.3 million in 2019.[7][8] The club is one of the most widely supported teams in the world.[9] Real Madrid is one of three founding members of La Liga that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and El Derbi with Atlético Madrid.
The Los Blancos have always been the fans choice and favorite for the Champions League. They've always proven themselves to be to best choice for the UCL and it was something when they claimed the title three times consecutively. The UCL giants however have not been up to task ever since the last UCL title they claimed in 2017/18 season or should we say, ever since the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo. Well, some claimed what affected them is the exit of their golden boy, some said it was not their time to shine but what we know is, ever since the goal machine exit Real Madrid, the beat the Blaugranas have her done in the UCL is qualify to the round of sixteen as they almost even saw themselves relegating to the Europa League in the just concluded UCL group stage. Judging with their last two record in the UEFA Champions League it will be unwise to place the Spanish club on the list of the best contender for the UCL but compared to the others on the Spanish team list they still stand to be the best. Judging about their current form, their UCL history and how versatile this club is as far as UCL is concerned, they're a better pick over their rivals Barcelona, Atl. Madrid and Sevilla.
- We have 3 teams in England on the list: Liverpool, Man. City, Chelsea
Our pick: Liverpool
Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club in Liverpool, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Domestically, the club has won nineteen League titles, seven FA Cups, a record eight League Cups and fifteen FA Community Shields. In international competitions, the club has won six European Cups, more than any other English club, three UEFA Cups, four UEFA Super Cups (also English records) and one FIFA Club World Cup. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has played at Anfield since its formation. Liverpool established itself as a major force in English and European football in the 1970s and 1980s, when Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish led the club to a combined eleven League titles and four European Cups. Liverpool won two further European Cups in 2005 and 2019 under the management of Rafael Benítez and Jürgen Klopp, respectively, the latter of whom led Liverpool to a nineteenth League title in 2020, the club's first during the Premier League era.
Liverpool under the leadership of Jurgeon Klopp won the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League title for Liverpool for the first time since a very long time. It was a great achievement for the reds after Liverpool's long UCL drought. Though Liverpool was the/one of the favorites for the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League title, Jurgeon Klopp's side lost to the Spanish Giant, Real Madrid in the finals. Klopp is the only manager to win the title for Liverpool since the last decade after the club won the 2004/2005 UCL title under their former manager, Rafa Benitez. Jurgeon Klopp also won for his side what Rafa Benitez couldn't win for Liverpool, the English Premier League Title in 2019. Liverpool UCL history in the last decade has improved a lot more than the remaining two England teams and the improvement saw Klopp's side rewarded with the title last year. Also judging with their current form, Liverpool has proved to be better as they are above both in the EPL table despite experiencing a lot of setbacks due to injuries hitting their first eleven. So from England, we choose Liverpool.
- We have 3 German clubs on the list: Bayern Munich, B.Dortmund, B.Monchengladbach
Our pick: Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e.V. commonly known as FC Bayern München (German pronunciation) FCB, Bayern Munich, or FC Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system, and is the most successful club in German football history, having won a record 30 national titles, including eight consecutively since 2013, and 20 national cups, along with numerous European honours.
FC Bayern Munich was founded in 1900 by 11 football players, led by Franz John. Although Bayern won its first national championship in 1932, the club was not selected for the Bundesliga at its inception in 1963. The club had its period of greatest success in the middle of the 1970s when, under the captaincy of Franz Beckenbauer, it won the European Cup three consecutive times (1974–1976). Overall, Bayern has reached eleven European Cup/UEFA Champions League finals, most recently winning their sixth title in 2020 as part of a continental treble. By winning their sixth Champions League trophy on 23 August 2020, Bayern became only the second European club in history to achieve the continental treble twice.[9] Bayern has also won one UEFA Cup, one European Cup Winners' Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup and two Intercontinental Cups, making it one of the most successful European clubs internationally and the only German club to have won both international titles
Bayern Munich is no doubt the best/one of the best contender for this season's Champions League. The UEFA Champions League defending Champions showed a lot of versatility during the last season's Champions League as they won the title with an unbeaten record and they are still showing that they have what it takes to be the winner this time around as the German side won almost all their matches in the group stage. They're no doubt a team to fear for all the teams in the UEFA Champions League due to their angry attacking force which is fierce enough to break the defence wall of any team in Europe. The only German side to have 2 UCL titles to their gallery in a decade is arguably the best contender for this seasons Champions League and that's why they're chosen from the the list.
So we have a total of four teams from which this seasons UEFA Champion's League title winner is apparently expected to come from and they Are: REAL MADRID, JUVENTUS, LIVERPOOL and BAYERN MUNICH.
So what do you think?
I would appreciate if you can air your opinion.
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Some Bio' Source - Wikipedia
