Serie A vs. EPL in the Champions League Round of 16

By: Francesco | December 19th, 2008

Often we always find ourselves arguing with other people about which league is the best in the world. Everyone has their own opinion, whether it’s the English Premier League, Serie A, or La Liga. Well, even though we know this won’t tell us 100% which league is the best, all three Italian teams have been paired with English opposition in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Draw results (as well as UEFA Cup) after the jump.

With Chelsea finishing second in their group, Juventus faced the risk of drawing them, and that’s exactly what they did. This makes for a nice storyline, as Claudio Ranieri goes back to Stamford Bridge where he was replaced by Jose Mourinho after taking Chelsea to second place and the semi-final of the Champions League. Now he has a chance to prove a point to Mr. Abramovich and knock Chelsea out of Europe.

Inter knew they were going to have to face tough opposition by finishing second in their group. And they drew last year’s champions Manchester United. Jose Mourinho knows Manchester United well after his time with Chelsea, so maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve to defeat Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and continue the Nerazzurri’s European dream.

Roma finished first in their group for the first time in their history. They were hoping for maybe a break in the Round of 16 (Totti even said in an interview he would not like to face Arsenal) but the soccer gods said that the Giallorossi will travel to the Emirates and take on the Gunners. Arsenal play a similar fast-paced style as Roma does and this should be an interesting encounter.

And the best news for Italian soccer fans about all three Italian teams drawing English sides is: you have a great chance of watching your team on ESPN! All they show are games featuring Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool, so your in luck!

Full draw:
Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting v Bayern Munich
Atletico Madrid v Porto
Lyon v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter v Manchester United

UEFA CUP

In the UEFA Cup, Fiorentina and Milan were handed tricky ties while Sampdoria and Udinese were left off the hook for now.

Milan, having faced German opposition in the group stage (Wolfsburg), finished second in the group and it has come back to bite them. They have to face a Champions League drop-out and have to take a trip to Germany and play Werder Bremen. It will be a tough encounter, and Milan can’t afford to play like they did in the group stage.

Fiorentina reached the UEFA Cup semi-final last year but lost to Rangers. This year they will try to impress in the UEFA Cup again after their Champions League adventure didn’t go so well. They have been handed storied Dutch club Ajax. They aren’t the force they once were, but they are still a tough team and La Viola will have to be at their best to knock off Van Basten’s side.

Udinese have been the best Italian team in the UEFA Cup so far, finishing on top of their group with 9 points. That means they face a third placed UEFA Cup team, and have been paired with Poland’s Lech Poznan. If they get out of their slump and play like they did in the beginning of the season the Friuliani have a good chance.

Sampdoria made it through to the Round of 32 at the last minute, defeating Spanish powerhouse Sevilla 1-0 yesterday in a must-win encounter. They have been handed Ukranian’s Metalist, who were the surprise of their group, finishing first in a group with Hertha Berlin, Galatasaray, and Olympiakos. If Sampdoria can get it together they could surprise.

Full draw:
PSG v Wolfsburg
FC Copenhagen v Manchester City
NEC v Hamburg
Sampdoria v Metalist
Braga v Standard Liege
Aston Villa v CSKA Moscow
Lech Poznan v Udinese
Olympiacos v St Etienne
Fiorentina v Ajax
Aalborg v Deportivo
Werder Bremen v Milan
Bordeaux v Galatasaray
Dinamo Kiev v Valencia
Zenit v Stuttgart
Marseille v Twente
Shakhtar v Tottenham

Some Related Serie A Posts:

Category: AC Milan, Champions League, Fiorentina, Inter, Juventus, Preview, Roma, Rumors & News, Sampdoria, Serie A, UEFA Cup, Udinese

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forzainter

Why is everyone talking so bad about the current italian champions. I have fiath the JOSE will get us through europe. I don't see Man U scoring on inter. Good luck to all the italian teams, Forza inter.
lupistoza

forza roma!!!!!!
asem

I hate Inter like crazy, but I'm hoping they win because I hate Man U even more hahah. And I think as many tougher teams get knocked out, the easier Roma's path will be. And I'd say that Man U is tougher for Roma than Inter. And I'm hoping and praying they make it to the final.
Colin

Joseph would you rather all that money goes into the English league to make it better or the Italian league?
Say a top Italian team wins or goes far and gets the cash adn buys your favorite Napoli player, at least you'll now get a good price and can spend it and still watch him in Serie A instead of watching the league detiorate.
Johonna

I have to say, I think Inter are just as likely to bomb or succeed against Man United as they are against any of the other teams they could have drawn. I have been following the team for quite some time, I hold no illusions about our chances in UCL.

As I said before, winning the Champions League seems like such a far away over-the-rainbow type thing that it wouldn't be much of a let down not to get past ManU. It would be great if they did, but, after all these years, I hold no expectations for Europe.

The league, now that is a different matter. I will be PO'ed if we fluff that this year.
A

I catch your drift and I have supported Inter in the CL before when they were perennial losers in Serie A. But supporting Mourinho is a different matter, more so that Inter are now winning in the league too. That would be like supporting Alex Ferguson and Man Utd. Then again, Man Utd also have CR so I might support Inter in this after all.
alessio

As long as Inter blows 30+million euros on players like Mancini and Quaresma, I've got no issue with it.
Joseph C

So quick question. I am a Napoli fan and I cheered for Milan in the cl final 2years ago because you have to be on the Italian teams side. But the problem is when you root for any Italian team against the hated English teams is when the Italian team wins they get all the extra money to buy new players and get better. Anyone catch my drift?
Bobo

Inter has no chance? Are you kidding? Inter's midfield shits all over Man Utd's by a country mile, and the defense and offense aren't too bad either. I hate Inter as much as the next guy, but Man Utd have lost their winning ways and it's about time that Inter plays at the level they are capable of considering the caliber of their players.
alessio

Inter has a chance, Jose knows Fergie and his tactics very well. Inter has lost to weak teams in the CL, both in recent history and this season, so maybe a strong team is what they need.
mele419

Every team but Inter has a chance, i think. Juve can definately beat Chelsea, Roma can most likely beat Arsenal.
sfinter won't beat Utd. I just don't see any way. Utd are all around a MUCH better team. They're good in the league and good in Europe. sfinter are garbage in Europe, and are only good in the league now.