The most important soccer tournament in Europe at the club level has reached its quarterfinals stage after separating the men from the boys in the Round of 16. There are no pretenders anymore, just eight contenders.
Knowing that, let's see which teams have the best chance to become European champs in our Power Rankings. The system is simple, with each team being ranked from best to worst chances of advancing to the semifinals.
1)FC Barcelona(Spain):
They showed that they still are the defending champions and undisputed best team in the world after making a respectable German squad like Stuttgart look like a Division 2 team with a 4-0 victory at Camp Nou. If Messi keeps playing so well and scoring goals like the two he made against Stuttgart on Wednesday, there is no team that can stop them from repeating.
2Inter Milan(Italy):
It was tough picking them over Manchester United, but their decisive dismantling of Chelsea with wins both in Italy and in England (where Chelsea almost never loses, makes me think that that they are the second best team in Europe at the moment. Inter's duo of Milito and Eto'o as forwards is as lethal as any in the competition.
3)Manchester United(England):
Barcelona has Messi, Man U has Wayne Rooney. Rooney has scored 32 goals in 38 matches this season, including four in the two Round of 16 matches against AC Milan. Right now, Rooney is the second best player in the world, better than Cristiano Ronaldo and playing at the same level as Messi.
The Red Devils dominated an Italian powerhouse like AC Milan with a 7-2 aggregate score in the Round of 16, which included a 4-0 rout in the second leg of the series at Manchester's Old Trafford.
4)Arsenal(England) :
A perennial underachiever in the European stage, Arsenal made a statement in the second leg of its Round of 16 match-up with Portugal's FC Porto. After losing the first leg 2-1, the Gunners came out firing on all cylinders back in England with a 5-0 win that showed what they are capable of when they are playing at home.
However, all this will do is make their fans raise their expectations before getting their hearts broken yet again.
Keep in mind, Arsenal has never won the Champions League. Their best showing was as runners-up in 2006.
5)Bordeaux(France):
The dark horse of the competition that snuck up on everybody. Believe it or not, the French League champions have reached the quarterfinals of the competition for the first time since 1986 and haven't lost a single game in it yet. After tying in their first match, Bordeaux has won seven in a row.
They are not flashy and mostly fly under the radar, but they are effective and will be a major headache for anybody that plays them in the quarterfinals.
6)Lyon(France):
The other dark horse of the competition, Lyon eliminated the mighty Real Madrid in the Round of 16 by winning with authority in France and then hanging on in Madrid to advance. They base themselves on a stout defense and an effective offense commanded by SidneyGovou and Argentinean Lisandro Lopez that answers the call when needed the most.
7)Bayern Munich(Germany):
They really struggled to beat Italy's Fiorentina (a middle of the road team) in the Round of 16. The series was tied 4-4, but Bayern advanced because they scored more goals in Italy than Fiorentina did in Germany.
The lone German representative left in the competition looks fragile defensively,but you can never count them out when they have the likes of forwards Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben on offense.
Whether they advance or not will depend on who they draw in the quarterfinals. Barcelona? forget about it. Lyon? I like their chances.
8) CSKA Moscow(Russia) :
They are the question mark of the competition, because they haven't proven anything yet. They did have a very nice win in Spain against Sevilla to advance past the Round of 16, but Sevilla is no Barcelona or Real Madrid.
The Russians will have to be strong at home if they plan to shock the world and be one of the eight best teams in the world
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