[FM13] Giuseppe Bergomi - The King of Calcio

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UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal Draw

Yesterday the 4 quarterfinal ties in the Champions League were drawn, and we were given 4 mouthwatering fixtures to look forward to. Spanish giants Barcelona drew the kings of Italy in Inter Milan, while the most successful club in the history of the competition, Real Madrid, drew Manchester United. OM, who knocked out champions Manchester City, drew Atletico Madrid, and Chelsea drew Bayern Munich a rematch of the final a few years ago.

Real Madrid vs. Manchester United

This was arguably the tie of the round as the leaders in La Liga and the EPL face off for a spot in the semifinals. The Red Devils of Manchester have played excellently in the Premier League, ahead of second placed Arsenal by 3 points and looking to win a second straight title. This could be long-serving manager Sir Alex Ferguson's last season, and so he will hope to make it a special one. United have already won the Capital One Cup.

Real Madrid, however, will be no pushovers. They lead La Liga by a massive 7 points over Barcelona and are favorites to win the league. They are also in the Copa del Rey final against city rivals Atletico Madrid, and are hoping to win all 3 trophies available to them. Reclaiming La Liga after Barcelona's recent two-in-a-row will be Madrid's biggest priority, but the fabled 'Decima', tenth European Cup, would not be a bad haul for manager Roberto Mancini.

The biggest talking point of the tie, however, is superstar winger Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Old Trafford. The Manchester United legend and Real Madrid top goalscorer is adored even now by fans in Manchester for his feats there, and his relationship with Sir Alex is still untouchable. It will surely be an emotional return to the Theater of Dreams for Ronaldo, but he will hope to score there and ensure Madrid's advance to the semifinals.

Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich

There is still bad blood among fans of Bayern towards Chelsea. Ever since Didier Drogba almost single-handedly took the Champions league from Bayern in their very own Allianz Arena in 2012, Bayern have waited for vengeance over the London club. Die Bayern currently lead the Bundesliga by a mere 1 point over Leverkusen, but Pep Guardiola will surely be more concerned with advancing in the lucrative Champions League. Bayern have advanced to the German Cup finals against Dusseldorf as well, and a treble looks a slight possibility for the side.

Chelsea, however, are driven on to taste success again after their first ever win in 2012. Chelsea are in a similar situation to that season; floundering in 6th place, 11 points off of the final Champions League place, knowing there is no chance of qualification via high finish in the Premier League. They are highly unfancied, much as in 2012, but will look to pull off the impossible and win the trophy and qualify for the Champions League once again to break Tottenham's heart, who again sit in 4th. Without a Drogba type figure, we will see if Luciano Spalleti's men can overcome their adversaries.

Olympique de Marseille vs. Atletico Madrid

This tie is the least hyped of the four but cannot be underestimated, as both teams will be hungry to overcome the odds and win an unlikely Champions League trophy. Atletico have long lived in the shadow of Real Marid, but now they have a chance to perhaps one up them in multiple competitions. They could meet Real Madrid in the finals of the CL, and are already set to face the Merengues in the Copa del Rey final.

OM, however, will provide a very difficult challenge to Andre Villas-Boas' men. They have finished 2nd each of the last two seasons in Ligue 1, and are likely to fail to win it yet again this season against the might of PSG. However, they have gone far in Europe this time, and will be favorites to defeat Atletico. In the last round Elie Baup masterminded a victory over reigning champions Manchester City, leaving Mourinho confounded with his tactical shifts, and will hope to do it again against Madrid.

Barcelona vs. Inter Milan

Two powerhouses of European football will take each other on in the quarterfinals as Inter and Barcelona square off to move on to the semifinals. Barcelona has been dropped to their knees this season domestically, and trail Real Madrid in La Liga by 7 points. The outstanding performances of 5 time Ballon D'Or winner Lionel Messi could not save them from elimination in the Copa del Rey either, and now the Champions League is Barcelona's last hope of a trophy. The Blaugrana never quite recovered from losing Pep Guardiola, and despite winning the last two La Liga's, the side have struggled in Europe.

Inter will hope to take advantage of this. Ever since club legend Giuseppe Bergomi took control a few years ago, Inter returned to the Jose Mourinho success they enjoyed in the past. The side have won Serie A in the last two seasons and are close to a 3rd straight Scudetto this season. The biggest factor for Inter, however, will be vengeance. After a dramatic penalty shootout loss to the 10 men of Manchester City in last season's final, Inter will be itching to set the record straight and win the Champions League this time around.

Semifinal Draw

Chelsea or Bayern vs. Real Madrid or Manchester United

Inter or Barcelona vs. OM or Atletico Madrid

The most tantalizing option given by the Semifinal draw is that we see an 'El Clasico' final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, but the 6 other talented teams will have much to say about that.

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April: Part One

Roma 1-1 Inter

Serie A

Starting XI (4-3-1-2)
Belec; Bellusci, Pierguidi, Juan, Pereira; Adryan, Cambiasso (c), Gautier, Coutinho; Livaja, Ademilson

Substitutions
Sissoko, Romano, Destro
Adryan, Gautier, Livaja

Match
Marquinho (48)
Daniele De Rossi (44)
Coutinho (64)
Erik Lamela (90+3)

Man of the Match
Vid Belec

Review
I put out a mainly secondary side, giving many of my younger players and substitutes a chance to play to rest my stars for the Champions League game against Barcelona. We paid the price, suffering until I made the triple substitution of Sissoko, Romano, and Destro, even against 10 men. In the end, Roma finished with 9, and we should've won the match, but a point on the road is not the worst result in the world.

Barcelona 1-1 Inter

UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal 1st Leg

Starting XI (4-3-1-2)
Belec; Peruzzi, Ranocchia (c), Juan, Nagatomo; Poli, M'Vila, Sissoko, Coutinho; Destro, Ademilaon

Substitutions
Romano, Adryan, Livaja
Sissoko, Coutinho, Destro

Match
Lionel Messi (32)
Juan (36)

Man of the Match
Andrea Poli

Review
Right after a very disappointing draw comes a very, very pleasing draw. We went up against Barcelona at the Nou Camp knowing they would try to dominate the game, and so we opted so sit back a little bit more and look to counter. A shocking error led to Messi's goal, but Juan pegged us back immediately, and we managed an impressive draw. I think we can win the home leg and advance to the semis, but we have a tough test in between in that we host AC Milan. The best part is, we injured Messi!

Serie A

After dropping 2 very important points to Roma, Juventus have clawed their way closer to us and are now 1 point ahead of us! We do have a game in hand, which me must win. We cannot afford to slip up at all for the remainder of the season, but undoubtedly two of the biggest test of the league season lies ahead; traveling to Turin to take on Juventus and in a few days taking on AC Milan.

UEFA Champions League

The first leg of the quarterfinals was very positive for us, as I sincerely believe we can beat Barcelona at the San Siro. We are the tightest of the quarterfinal matches, with OM, Chelsea, and Manchester United all definitely in the drivers' seats in their respective ties.

Monthly Review

This half of the month was twofold in that we disappointed in Serie A but got a strong result in the Champions League. We have 4 humongous fixtures in a mere 10 days in that we take on Barcelona twice, AC Milan in between, and travel to Juventus directly after. We have already drawn the first of those four, and in order to achieve a successful season it is a must to win all three remaining major games. First, we start with vengeance on AC Milan, who ended our undefeated streak in Serie A.

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