Champions League Possibles – Who’s Next?

By Niccolo Conte | 15th September 2009

Champions League Possibles - Who's Next? | read this item

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barcelona-champions-league-winners After Barcelona won the Champions League it seemed highly possible that they could do it again in no time, but after the transfer market many teams have strengthened and are looking to take another crack at the famed trophy.

Here is a breakdown of all teams that have a good chance of winning the Champions League, starting with the current holders, Barcelona.

Barcelona

Barcelona has a good squad which is able to play beautiful football, and not much has changed for them after the transfer window. Although they lost Eto’o they gained a striker with fantasy and flair, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and who says they can’t bring the young Bojan Krkic into the starting eleven?

Barcelona has brought great players through their academy and is full of young talent, including a young and motivating manager. Having already won it once their chances look pretty good to win it again.

Manchester United

Manchester United seems to be one of the teams that have weakened over the transfer window. They have lost some great players and their squad doesn’t look as prepared as in the years past. The loss of Ronaldo is certainly a large blow, but Ferguson has lost many great players over the years and has always replaced them accordingly. Not only have they lost Ronaldo, but they lost Tevez, a package of energy that can provide a late goal in a game.

But what have they gained? They have gained Valencia, a player that still has to prove himself; they have gained Owen, a striker who last year scored eight goals in the Premiership, and a relatively unknown French winger in Gabriel Obertan.

A few key factors in Manchester United’s chances are Rooney, Owen, and Berbatov. If Rooney is played as a striker (as he should be) he can really start popping in goals. If Owen starts to regain his form, you have another 15 or more goals, and if Berbatov really shows us what he can do, well then the Champions League could easily be theirs.

Inter Milan

Inter has decided to spend wisely in this summer’s transfer market, but they were also able to get everything they wanted (or everything Mourinho wanted): a central defender (Lucio), a defensive midfielder (Thiago Motta), an offensive midfielder (Sneijder), and a striker (Diego Milito). They are all top class players, and by selling Ibrahimovic, they were also able to get Eto’o, €51 million, and a new style of play.

Inter Milan was also able to get rid of lots of extra, unneeded players, such as Crespo, Cruz, Rivas, Jimenez, Burdisso, and Bolzoni, leaving a small but powerful squad. Inter Milan also has the type of players that can play not only in their traditional 4-3-1-2, but also in a 4-3-3, and even in a 4-2-4 as they did against Bari. This allows for tactical freedom, which is a weapon on its own.

After dismantling rival AC Milan 4-0 with quick one touch passing and dominating possession, Inter looks ready to challenge and show what they can do in Europe. After all, if there is a manager who can do it, it’s certainly Jose Mourinho.

Bayern Munich

Losing the Bundesliga seems to be what they needed. They strengthened their squad with quality signings such as Gomez and Robben, and they were able to keep Ribery despite the persistent offers from Real Madrid. With the new coach, Louis Van Gaal, the club seems to play in a much more solid manner, leaving no spaces to be taken advantage of while at the same time having extremely dangerous players when going forward such as Toni, Ribery, Schweinsteiger, Robben, and Klose.

Bayern seem to be one of the most compact teams around but maybe they are missing some creativity. Only time will tell whether Robben and Ribery are inventive enough, or whether they will need a more creative player.

Chelsea

Chelsea seems one of the most consistent and powerful sides out there right now. With two powerful strikers, Anelka and Drogba, and some great wingers to cross the ball in for them, Malouda and Zhirkov, the Blues don’t have any trouble finding the back of the net. Right behind those two, a powerful midfield backs them up consisting of Michael Essien and Frank Lampard Lampard. All of this is finished off with a defense including England captain John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, with two world class full-backs, Bosingwa and Cole. If anyone gets past these 10 then Petr Cech will be waiting for them in between the two posts.

This is a solid squad that speaks for itself with the “chess-master” Carlo Ancelotti at the helm. There could be a small problem, though: the squad is small. If two or three players get injured, the squad noticeably loses talent. If everyone remains fit, however, Chelsea will continue to cruise out results and they can certainly count themselves in as a strong challenger.

Juventus

The Italian side Juventus wasn’t exactly “lacking” last season, but now you can really see an improved side with the hunger to win. Having made some key signings such as Diego and Felipe Melo, it is hard to find an area of weakness in this side. They have powerful and experienced strikers, with Del Piero, Amauri, Iaquinta, and Trezeguet. Their midfield is both young and powerful with Giovinco, Diego, and Felipe Melo, and having now signed Grosso, Cannavaro, and Caceres, they look ready to rumble.

Although he is young, manager Ciro Ferrara is full of experience. He was the second in command of Marcello Lippi when he coached the Italian national side and won the 2006 World Cup. Juventus could be a team to look out for with creativity and physical prowess.

Real Madrid

Real Madrid could be considered one of the teams with the highest possibility – or the lowest possibility – to win the Champions League. Having spent enough money to buy Newcastle United at least two times, Real Madrid is looking to win it all with its multitude of stars. Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Benzema, are all great goal-scorers, and if they are able to mix well together then they will be one of the deadliest trios on the planet with Raul, Van Nilsterooy and Higuain to back them up.

But if egos get too high and too challenging then the team could not even get out of the group stages. Another reason Real Madrid might have some trouble is their defensive players: they have very few. Having bought Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa, and Albiol Real Madrid might have fixed their problems, but it might not be enough, especially if one of those were to get injured.

For Real Madrid a lot is riding on this and for the new coach Pellegrini this group could either be tamed to perfection, or become lost in changing room squabbles.

In conclusion, of all the sides that have been named, some may seem stronger or weaker than others on paper, but the beautiful game is based on it being unpredictable. To win the Champions League every team needs a bit of luck, either being drawn against a weaker team in the knockout stages or scoring that away goal in the 90th minute of the second leg. And that’s why we watch the Champions League, to not only see which team is the best, but also to be surprised by the underdogs of the competition, and see which team is the champion of Europe.

Who will win this year’s Champions League? Have your say below!

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