Allegris Juve, Ronaldo and

controversy...

Without Barcelona and FC Bayern, the most

prestigious competition is continuing its path toward
Cardiff. However, the best 3 teams in the world at
the moment are still in alongside a surprising young
team of Monaco, which could recreate the sensation
of 2004.So before the draw Friday morning, lets
figure out why those teams deserved to qualify 100
%? And why introducing VAT technology is more
than an obligation?
Finalist 2 times in last 3 years, Atltico de Madrid
didnt suffer a lot in its double confrontation against
the fairy tale of Leicester. Simeones men were
much superior in all fields, and with a generous
penalty in 1st leg, Leicesters mission was
condemned to failure. But we all have to salute this
great story of a middle-class team realising what
only movies and stories can deliver, the 2nd leg in
The King Power Stadium wasnt more than a
formality and especially an occasion for the Foxes
fans to cheer and chant and enjoy probably their
last minutes in the champions League in a long
period of time...
On the side, The Colchoneros arent yet tired of
searching the escaped title and despite some
weaknesses this season, they still very organized
and pragmatic in finishing, Theyre surely going to
be a major contenders to grab the title, no matter
what the story was last year and in 2014, but an
Atltico finalist this time is synonym of a Win-or-die
battle, and to be fair they really deserve to win it...
Unfortunately for Atltico, their permanent
nightmare in Europe stills in, after a hugely
deserved qualification over FC Bayern. In fact, Real
Madrid was clearly the better side in both legs
despite some childish errors from the referee,
especially in the 2nd leg, but more than 30 shots on
goal for just 5 for FC Bayern showed how searched
this qualification was , even before the shameful
decisions from the ref. If Bayern is out, its mainly
due to the lack of key players, who can be more
decisive when it matters, and missing this sever
penalty in Munich is a demonstration of what Carlo
should work on, because letting an overwhelmed
Vidal taking it was a huge mistake, and when youre
playing against probably the best 11 men in their
positions, youd expect to be punished anytime, and
It was Ronaldo who stole the show by scoring 5
goals and crucifying Manuel Neur outstanding
performance.
Its clearly the end of an era for FC Bayern, with
Lahm and Alonso retiring by the end of the season,
Robben and Ribery getting old and injured all the
time, and especially the poor management of the
bench, where a 60 million Euro recruit Renato
Sanchez keeps freezing and a shocking costa
diminished by injuries struggles to make it to the 11.
The poor policy of the club in what concerns a
substitute of Lewandowski, and the low competition
that Bayern face in Bundesliga, where theyre
assured to win even before starting to play are all
some reasons of why the German giant is keeping to
be outplayed last 4 years by the Spanish teams...
And its completely another image in the other
side; its the seventh sky in Madrid, with a strong
and constant performance by the Merengue, who is
perfectly placed in both Laliga race and in the
champions League. And if we can attribute this
success to someone, it should be the future
wonderful manager Zidan, who is just 270 minutes
from creating the history and becoming the 1st
manager to keep the European title since its new
format. And while some people focus more on his
unclear tactical strategy or a game plan such as
Guardiolas or Mourinhos own tactical philosophies,
Zidan decides to work on his human resources first,
because when the players are mentally stable, and
feel theyre treated fairly, the implementation of a
tactical philosophy turns to be much easier. And
what better demonstration for that than the ability
of Zidan to win and convince with 2 different 11, he
understood it all from the beginning by his extra-
rotation every game which didnt affect the teams
composure, but rather minimise the gap between
the main and the subs players. All this make of Real
Madrid a strong contender for the title even more
than Juventus...
Juventus or the enigmatic team, a dictatorship in
serie A, and a continuous struggle in Europe...But,
this year it seems like they found it, and their
impassable defence is finally shaped for the cup,
because to stop a thrilling army of strikers {MSN an
cos} wasnt evident, and they did it, it was
wonderful how concentrated they were in every
piece of an occasion, pushing Suarez to return
inhale in the midfield and escape Bonnuci and
Chiellini total domination, and what to say about
Pjanic, Khedira , Mandzukic, Sandro...whom just
annihilated Messi and forced him to opt for useless
passes. It was the perfect game, and they reminded
me of PSGs performance in Paris against Messis
teammates, by applying advanced high pressure
and asphyxiating la Pulga the whole game.
Juventus is surely a serious contender to the title,
but they came behind Real Madrid, because Zidans
men are able to find alternatives to any defence no
matter how well organized it is, and the game will
be more balanced on possession...
While in Barcelona, they seem to be heading to a
horrible end of the season, and losing El Classico
next Sunday is a synonym of the one title-season,
expect if Feddals mates decided to send them
empty-handed...
As mentioned in the first, after 7 years of no French
side in the Semis, Monaco continued to create the
sensation and eliminated an emotionally affected
Dortmund, thanks to Lemars performance
alongside Mbappe and El Tigre. Monaco is the dark
horse in this competition, and if theyre unstoppable
in the upfront, their defence could cost them an
amazing, historical campaign in the Champions
League...
While, BVB unfortunately wasnt 100 % fit mentally,
and with an extra-errors in their defence, Tuchels
men should concentrate on the automatic
qualification to the next year Champions League,
and a probable DFB Pokal title...
To close our analysis, we must notice the very poor
performance of the arbitration in the Quarter-final,
with which introducing the video technology is just a
matter of time, because a year of labour can be
wasted by an error of judgement unintentionally,
and make the eyes switched off what make us love
the GAME...