The Luck Of The Draw

After the last round of Champions League group matches, there was considerable excitement at the fact that all five British clubs had qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League. It was, said much of the press, proof of the strength of the Premiership, and was almost certain, at some point, to set up a "mouth-watering" all-British knock-out tie. Speaking as a supporter of none of these five clubs, I would beg to differ.

This has been a weird season for European football, and it almost feels as if the game on this continent is going through something like a transitional phase. In Italy, Serie A is still rocking at its foundations as the fall-out from last summer's corruption scandal. Juventus, of course, aren't involved, and Milan have been struggling in the league. Britain and Italy take up no fewer than eight of the sixteen places in the last sixteen, but Roma, Inter and Milan don't seem to have the pulling power that they used to have to draw in the big names. Five further clubs come from Spain and France. Barcelona, of course, we know all about, but Real Madrid appear in some sort of turmoil (as ever), and Valencia have had a tough time of it so far, and lie in fifth place in La Liga. From the French contingent, Lyon have been the team of the tournament so far, but it's tempting to think that they might even have peaked too soon, and Lille can probably be dismissed as also-rans. The same can probably be said for Holland's PSV and Portugal's Porto. All of which leaves Bayern Munich, who are below par in the Bundesliga at the moment.

What irritates me to the point of distraction is the attitude of the press in this country, particularly the television broadcasters ITV, who seem to expect us to support the English clubs (and Celtic) because they're from England. Let me make it clear right now that I have no interest in Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool, and that I would prefer it if this self-perpetuating English elite all went out in the next round. It's unlikely, though. Liverpool will struggle against Barcelona (a shame, since if I had to choose, they'd be the team of the English sides that I'd want to win), and Celtic will have their work cut out against Milan, but we can certainly expect United, Chelsea and Arsenal to be in the last eight, playing out their increasingly tenuous mind games before a rapidly wearying public. Personally, I'll be lending my support to Lille.