Champions League Round of 16, Preview 2: More Rematches!

Do we have more Champions League games this week? You bet your ass we have more Champions League games this week. Last Wednesday’s games weren’t really all that fun to watch or write about, so I opted not to do a full recap. I do feel like I need to say something, so I’ll make this quick. Schalke 0 – 2 Madrid effectively ends that tie without Madrid looking at all dominant in the first game. The opening goal came from Schalke napping and letting Cristiano Ronaldo sky their defense for a headed goal. After that, Madrid did little to nothing, and Schalke nearly tied it up when 19-yr old Felix Platte clobbered a shot past Casillas and off the crossbar. Afterwards, Saint Iker tapped the crossbar as if to thank it for its service, then Marcelo scored a crazy goal, so leg two should be a bore for anyone but Madrid fans. Basel 1 – 1 Porto gives both sides something to play for in the next game, but I didn’t watch it and don’t feel like I know enough to comment on how this one turned out. So forget about last week, (like I’ve tried to!) because we’ve got some excellent affairs this week.

Juventus v. Borussia Dortmund

Tuesday Feb. 24, 2:45 ET

This is the game that I will be watching. 

Sure, Man City and Barcelona will be a great head-to-head rematch (!!!), with narrative, splendid goals, and diminutive forwards. If you like that, great, but I have bit more of a personal stake in the other Tuesday game, so that’s what you are going to get.

Juventus are evil. Sorry, I’m a Roma fan, so I had to get that one off of my chest.

In spite of this, I will admit that Juventus will win the league again. Serie A is too poor as a whole and Roma is in too much of a funk, and also, LOL, Roma doesn’t win titles. But if a Juventus title is an inevitability, then success in Europe sure as hell is not. Juventus have been expected to make deep runs in Europe the past few years, but they have failed to do so, and they hope that trend does not continue. They have a very good team, but their window with this group may be closing because of aging stars (Buffon and Pirlo) and the potential for significant departures (Pogba and maybe Tevez). And up against the Bianconeri is the Yellow Wall.

You see, I like Dortmund. I love Jurgen Klopp’s lunacy and his manic gegenpressing system that took the Bundesliga by storm in 2011 and 2012 when Dortmund won back to back titles. (Of course, Bayern had to spoil the fun by buying their players and becoming a ruthless killing machine, but that isn’t important here!!). Dortmund have a good team, a team that has been underperforming badly for most of the season, but they seem invigorated since the start of the Rückrunde, winning their last three games and “charging” up the table to 12^th. I’d love to see them make Europe, but what is more important is for the team to ride the high of Marco Reus’ contract extension finish strong in the league, try and make a run in the Champions League, and do better next year.

Both teams have a point to prove in this rematch of the 1997 final. For Juventus, they want to show they can beat strong sides in Europe. For Dortmund, this is a chance to salvage their season and get their talented-on-paper team to produce the results expected of them on the big stage.

These teams can entertain, too. There is a chance that Paul Pogba will do something superhuman, or that a brilliant Dortmund counterattack will lead to an ecstatic Jurgen Klopp fist pumping into oblivion on the sideline, or that Andrea Pirlo's beard will cause us all to bow down and chant "We're not worthy."

One team sits in first in their league. The other was at the bottom of theirs just a few weeks ago. That is about as misleading as it gets. I’m expecting a tight first leg in Turin, but the second leg back at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund is where the fun should really start.

Manchester City v. Barcelona

Tuesday Feb. 24, 2:45 ET

Ah, rematch is in the air. Last year Manchester City fell to Barcelona in the knockout round of 16 before Barcelona fell to Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals. City has struggled to gain footing in the Champions League even though they are the soccer equivalent of Mr. Moneybags. They won two of the last three Premier League titles, but success abroad has so far alluded them. Is this the year?

Well, it depends which City team shows up, and whether Barcelona keep their - until last weekend’s loss to Malaga – scintillating form going. City is stocked with stars, but their team really clicks with Yaya Toure in the lineup. Without him, the other central midfields (Fernando and Fernandinho. Not joking) just don’t offer what Toure does offensively. To be fair, few other what Toure does. He’s smart, powerful, skillful, and formerly of Barcelona (oooh! Narrative!)

Barcelona sit second in La Liga, with the attacking trident of Neymar, Luis Suarez, and Messi finding their groove at the right time (until that shock loss, which was seriously shocking). They are not perfect at the back, and their ultra attacking fullbacks might get caught out by City’s counterattack. Expect some goals in this one, goals that either display the massive skill of the players involved, or goals that stem from blunders so blunderous that you might as well soundtrack the replays with the Benny Hill theme.

Crap, I think I need to find a way to watch both these games. Good thing I have two monitors at work.