The draw for the European tournament has been announced, so who will be the one most content with their lot? Let's find out:
The mention of soccer and destiny always conjures up clichés. But if the Serie A leaders win the Champions League this season, it will be thanks to the strong team they have built and not to the manipulation of mysterious forces. Even so, if there is a higher dimension at work in the soccer world, the scenario could be as follows: the same season that Argentina won the World Cup for Diego Maradona, his former team Napoli would have won the most glorious trophy of all.
Before the underdogs decided the winner in Nyon, Switzerland, the team coached by Luciano Spalletti was one of the most promising - as were Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City - to win the title. When the draw was announced, Bayern, Real Madrid and Manchester City had to compete against each other to reach the final, while Napoli only had to beat AC Milan and then Inter or Benfica to make the road to Istanbul relatively smooth. For them, this could be the best possible draw; and if it's really God's will, it may be the blue-clad Napoli who maneuver it all.
What does Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola dream about in his dreams? Is it a dream that Julia Roberts fails to win at the Academy Awards and instead Kathy Bates walks away with the Little Gold Medal, or that the Detroit Pistons' legion of Bad Boys apply Jordan's Law to Michael Jordan and give him a taste of his own medicine? At least for now, it may be the unfavorable Champions League draw that he has to deal with the most.
Over the years, these top-flight matches have always made Guardiola anxious over tactical layouts, and now rival coach Julian Nagelsmann is facing the same problem (Editor's note: Julian Nagelsmann has been sacked by Bayern and replaced by Thomas Tuchel). As much as Guardiola tries to win the tactical duel, what he must deal with next is a game against City's weaknesses - against the security that City always lacked in the Champions League.
If this never-say-die Real Madrid side can pull off the upset over Chelsea, then as the years go by, Manchester City are becoming more and more convinced that their path to the Champions League will eventually go wrong. City may be the most promising team in their half of the division to reach the final, but their path is destined to be challenging.
While every moment on the soccer pitch is highly publicized, the world is becoming more and more interested in off-field transfer deals, with the more expensive and ill-considered deals attracting more attention. With this trend, the entire continent will be watching Benfica's every move and coveting which players to snatch from them. The Portuguese Premier League leaders are likely to reach the quarterfinals, and any team that arrives at this stage as a dark horse (such as Ajax in the 2018/19 season) will attract the covetousness of the big clubs like vultures circling over them.
Benfica's star striker Gonçalo Ramos is their goal scoring hero and has made the team seem completely unaffected by the departure of Darwin Nuñez. A number of clubs have been tempted to sign him, but center back António Silva is probably the most sought after. With the Champions League coming up against Inter's Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez, he'll have a great opportunity to shine and become Europe's next defensive superstar, and many in the industry expect him to take advantage of this opportunity to do so. If Benfica's coffers haven't been full so far, it may not be long before they are.
He's a winner not because his rival Pep Guardiola will be facing battle after battle over the next few months, but because the UEFA draw seems to have been tailor-made for Roma under the leadership of that "most special one". If Manchester United go down to Sevilla, it will be, in Mourinho's own words, a "footballing legacy". If Juventus go down, we can expect to see him shellacking his domestic rivals with his witticisms once again, perhaps even more so than last time! Lazio were also mocked by Mourinho after they were beaten by Alkmaar in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League on March 17: "I feel sorry for UEFA because the trophy could have stayed in Rome, but now it will have to be shipped to Florence, and they'll have to pay a transportation fee for it." (Editor's note: Ferentina successfully advanced to the UEFA Europa League's last eight)
