The Champions League is a yearly soccer competition where the best 36 teams in Europe compete to be crowned the Champions of Europe. Those 36 teams are decided based on how they placed in their leagues, each league having a different number of teams qualifying based on its strength. Currently, there are four teams left in the Champions League: Barcelona, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
The Champions League has a unique format for how teams qualify, which is new for this year. There is a group stage with all 36 teams, each playing eight games. After these eight games, the twelve worst teams are eliminated, and the best eight teams automatically qualify for the round of sixteen. The remaining ninth through twenty-fourth placed teams have a playoff round to fill up the remaining eight spots of the round of sixteen. The rest of the tournament is a two-leg knockout tournament, meaning they play two games, and the team with the most goals after those two games goes through to the next round. To many, it is viewed as the biggest soccer competition in the world, including Jamie Miller, a performance arts/drama teacher at Ida B. Wells and soccer fan.
Barcelona is one of the favorites to win the Champions League, with many people predicting them to win the whole tournament, including Frank Mathews, a history teacher and soccer coach at IBW.
This prediction seems very justified as Barcelona placed second in the group stage behind Liverpool, who were knocked out by PSG earlier in the tournament. Barcelona’s manager, Hansi Flick, has created a deadly front three.
Firstly, Raphinha, who’s the Champions League top goal contributor and current favorite for the Ballon d’Or which is an award given to the best player in the world every year. Secondly, Robert Lewandowski, a former Ballon d’Or winner, is currently third in the Champions League top goalscorers. Finally, Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old prodigy that’s been turning heads since he was 15 because of his amazing ability.
Other than these three stars, Barcelona has tons of great players in the midfield, like Pedri, an attacking/center midfielder with amazing dribbling, playmaking, creativity, work rate and vision. But Barcelona isn’t all attack; they also have a rock-solid defense because of Hansi Flick’s risky but effective offside trap, which is backed up by world-class defenders who have mastered these tactics.
But Barcelona isn’t just going to walk through this competition, especially against an elite opponent, Inter Milan. Inter Milan finished fourth in the group stage with the same number of points as Barcelona. For them to qualify for the semifinals, they had to beat a very strong Bayern Münich team and were the best team defensively during the group stage, only conceding one goal in eight games.
Similarly to Barcelona, they have their fair share of great players. In the attack, they have the attacking duo of Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Thuram who have 33 combined goal contributions in all competitions. In the midfield, they have Hakan Calhanoglu, a versatile midfielder with amazing passing and huge impacts defensively and offensively. Nicolò Barella is also famous for the same reasons as Hakan Calhanoglu, with the addition of his incredible stamina. In the defence, they have a great defensive trio and a great goalkeeper who all have significantly contributed to Inter’s success.
On the other side of the bracket is Arsenal, which many people are surprised to see make it to the semifinals, including Carter George, a soccer fan and student at Ida B. Wells. In the quarterfinals, they beat Real Madrid, who are the reigning champions and historically by far the best team in the Champions League. They finished third in the group stage with the same number of points as Inter Milan and Barcelona.
Arsenal is a team with no bounds, with possibly the best defensive duo in the world, William Saliba and Gabriel, who are not only great defensively but have made Arsenal the best team in the Champions League for set pieces because of their aerial prowess. They are not just limited to great defenders, though, as they have great midfielders too, such as Martin Ødegaard with his amazing playmaking and attacking contributions, and Declan Rice, who has great positional awareness and not only helps in the attack but is a huge asset defensively. They have lots of attacking options, especially their star boy, Bukayo Saka, who has amazing playmaking and technical skill.
Arsenal’s opponent, PSG, is a team to watch. Despite a disastrous start, finishing 15th in the group stage and being forced to go through the playoffs, they have since shown their true potential. PSG demolished Brest with a 10-0 aggregate win, then stunned tournament favorites Liverpool with a dramatic penalty shootout victory. Their impressive run continued as they knocked out the Cinderella story Aston Villa, cementing themselves as serious contenders.
Despite losing some of the best players in the world, PSG is looking better than they have in a long time, and surprised many people with their improved form, including Miller. With 19-year-old Désiré Doué and his amazing stamina, passing and dribbling, and recent transfer Khvicha Kvaratskhelia with incredible agility, dribbling and playmaking. But probably the biggest reason for PSG’s amazing form is former Barcelona “flop,” Ousmane Dembélé, and his incredible speed, dribbling and ability to use both feet effectively. Because of his form, Dembélé has definitely made himself a Ballon d’Or candidate, especially if PSG wins the Champions League.
The Champions League is almost over, with the final taking place on May 31st between two of these four teams. Make sure to watch this exciting game on CBS Sports or wherever else you can find it.
