Who Will Win the Champions League 2009-10?

After this years unbelievable finish of the champions league by Barcelona and the Argentinean skipper Messi, everyone’s heads are up to figure out which club will win next years European Cup! The question arouses through many peoples mind with the answer that Barcelona will certainly be favorites, but they will have to fight for it extremely hard as the transfer window goes on and other clubs are reinforced beyond belief.

Definitely, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Ac Milan, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Liverpool will not give up without a fight.

Let’s talk about Barcelona and how they miraculously won the league this year. With the Spanish captain and lead defender Puyol, the Spanish club unbelievably led itself towards victory. Unbelievably, scoring a goal in the last minute of extra time against Chelsea, they found themselves in the final against Manchester United, 2007/2008 winners of the European League. Ferguson, backed up by the assets of Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Van Der Sar had no chance at all of stopping Barcelona as they played in their prime. Thus, they were defeated a humiliating 2-0 defeat by goals scored by E’tto and Messi. Ronaldo did get a few chances at net, but was unsuccessful along with Henry for Barcelona.

This year however, Real Madrid is ready for the fight. With Project Galactico Part I, they have earned the assets of Kaka’, Ronaldo, Benzema. They have created a thunderbolt offense backed up by the former Spanish player Raul. Certainly, with the asset of Iker Cassilas (winner of Euro 2008) they are second favorites for the league. With a humiliating defeat against English Cup, Liverpool, they will certainly be looking for revenge for the deserved title.

This brings us to the English club, Liverpool. They have the asset of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and a bunch of other Spanish players. After giving a humiliating defeat to probably the second best Spanish team in the knockout stages, they were pumped. With the asset of Reina, backup keeper for Spain, they saved them selves and moved onto face Chelsea. Chelsea, owned by the rich billionaire Roman Abramovich, were going through a re-building stage. After the sacking of Scolari, and the arrival of Guus Hiddink, they rebuilt themselves to defeat Liverpool. The second leg was close by Chelsea won by goal advantage. This was very bitter for Liverpool, as they had been close to winning both the Barclays and the Champions league, but both their dreams were shattered. They however, will be looking forward to putting up a fight, against all their English rivals.

Or will the new victors be MY FAVOURITE the Blues, and the team led by John Terry (English Captain). Chelsea has the assets of the most European captains and one of the best possible squads with most 5 star players. Backed up by the English skipper, Frank Lampard; the German skipper, Michael Ballack; the Ivory Coast striker and French striker, Drogba and Anelka; they shall be one of the best squads in the league. They also have the assets of John Terry, Deco, Michael Essien, and one of the best goalies in the world, Petr Cech. The Blues have had bad luck in previous season. They had to go through a rebuilding stage after the sacking of their manager, Scolari. However, the Russian coach Guus Hidink took over and managed to get the Blues into the semi’s of the European Cup. With unbelievably bad luck in the final minutes, they conceded a goal and lost due to goals against. This was heartbreaking as many fans were looking for revenge with Manchester United who won because of penalties a year before. However, with a team this stacked, backed up by new signings like Zhirkov and Shevchenko, the Blues will definitely be a team to watch! Go Chelsea!!! Blue blood for life!!!    

Manchester United is now a team in a rebuilding stage as well. Now that they have lost the asset of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs, they are vulnerable at many positions. However, do not underestimate the red devils. They are mutually strong along with Ferguson. They have the signing of old Michael Owen (an English player) who is said to be lanky, but can pull of magical creations! However, the reds will have a harder time getting themselves towards the top of the charts; they still have Van Der Sar and Wayne Rooney to lead the squad around. Definitely, it will be fun to watch how this team keeps its famous and respectful reputation up to par with new players and new formations. Good luck Reds.

Finally, the topic arrives of the three squads who have not really reached such a high status in this year’s tournament, however certainly possess the skill to do so this year. Arsenal, Ac Milan and Bayern Munich are three different squads from three different leagues. Arsenal, a highly supported English squad has one of the best play makers, Cesc Fabregas. They have been reported to play the most beautiful football in all of England and will most likely keep up to their name with the vengeance running through their jaws. Ac Milan, is an Italian club who did not qualify for the league last year, however, this year they will certainly try with last year signing of legend Ronaldinho. They have lost Kaka to Real Madrid but still have the strong squad. It would be foolish to doubt the red and black stripes for not accomplishing the impossible. Bayern Munich, a German club, also would qualify for anything. They lost miserably to Barcelona, but they were just having a bad day. I don’t know much about this squad; however, I do know that many fine German international players play for it. It would be a cliff hanger to see exactly where they accomplish to this year.

In conclusion, the question is extremely difficult and impossible to answer. It all depends on how the clubs evolve throughout the season and who manages to qualify for the league as the qualifiers go on at the moment. However, it would be enormously joyous for me to witness the victory of England’s Chelsea as the winner. They have been my favorite for a very long time and would love to see them as victors. In the end, they will certainly have to fight their hardest with Real Madrid, Ac Milan, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Liverpool and certainly current leaders Barcelona. Other clubs not mentioned are Valencia, Roma and Lyon. They are contenders as well, in my opinion, not at the level of the squads listed above. Good luck and may be the best club win!