The football season draws to a close this week in Europe, and all eyes are going to be on the big game on Saturday between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich. My Champions League final prediction is that this is going to be a very close match, with Inter just edging it 1-0.

Both teams have achieved some truly grand feats in order to get here. Bayern have been on the verge of going out on a number of occasions, but some late goals, mostly from their star player Robben, have saved them each time. Most notably, they were 3-0 down to Manchester United in the second leg of the quarter final, but managed to fight back to 3-2 defeat and progress on away goals. That’s the thing about Bayern – you just can’t rule them out this season, and they can always produce something out of nothing.

Inter, however, managed to do the impossible by eliminating Barcelona, who were firm favorites to win the competition. It was all down to their manager Jose Mourinho, who organized an unshakable defense that only allowed two goals in total against the Spanish side, allowing inter to progress 3-2 on aggregate.

So it all depends on who can score the first goal. My Champions League final prediction is that Inter will keep it tight, allow Bayern more of the ball, and look to hit them on the counter. If Mourinho’s side do take the lead, they will shut up shop and not make the same mistake Bayern’s previous opponents did, while the Germans will once again have to rely on a moment of individual brilliance.

It doesn’t seem like Barcelona will be making any official statements about the little “accident” that happened at the end of the 2nd leg between the Spanish side and Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-final, which shouldn’t be too surprising. The incident speaks for itself really.

After the final whistle, which saw Inter lose 1-0 but qualify 3-2 on aggregate, Jose Mourinho charged the pitch in celebration, only to find himself soaked in water soon after. In fact, the sprinklers conveniently went off right at the visitor’s section where Inter were celebrating, and it’s obvious to anyone that this was no accident. It was perhaps a little bit of spite by a nameless Barca worker who couldn’t stand “the Special One” parading around in victory, but the prank was hardly enough to stop the visitor’s celebrations. Victor Valdez also got into a scuffle with the Portuguese manager, and had to be held back by officials.

It ends, at least for this season, a very touchy rivalry between Barca and Inter, who played each other no less than four times in Europe’s top competition. The boiling point came before the return game at the Nou Camp, with Barca’s president calling Mourinho a “second-rate psychologist”, after the latter had said Barca had an unhealthy obsession with reaching the final.

The Special One might have the last laugh this season, but he must know Barca will come back next year with more than just sprinklers.

Who will emerge victorious? Here are our predictions:

Arsenal vs. Barcelona

Defending champion Barcelona is probably seen by most observers as the CL favourite but with Arsenal not far behind. The two were matched against each other in the 2006 Champions League final. Arsenal had a great game against Porto and really looks like the team that can take down vaunted Barcelona. They have the speed and passing game to get the job done, but they will need to reign in Lionel Messi who was spectacular in Barcelona’s win over VfB Stuttgart. Thierry Henry is surely eager to get a shot at his former team that lost to Barcelona in 2006, but we pick Arsenal to win.

Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich

Bayern beat United earlier this year in pre-season on penalties, and the two teams met in the 1999 Champions League final with Manchester taking home the championship. In fact, that was the only time that United has beaten the Germans. These teams are very closely matched so it could go either way. United will likely have a hard night against Chelsea on April 3, but they benefit from having the second leg at Old Trafford. A slight edge to United to progress.

Bordeaux vs. Lyon

An all French matchup that will see the first French club to make the CL semifinals since Monaco in 2004. Bordeaux became French champions last year and they have not lost in Champions League play this season. However, they may be a bit overmatched against Lyon, which has performed mightily in Champions League matches this season. Lyon’s strong defence and their brilliant goalkeeper Hugo Lloris should allow them to advance against Bordeaux and their star forward Marouane Chamakh.

CSKA Moscow vs. Inter Milan

CSKA Moscow looked impressive beating Sevilla in Round of 16, but they will have a difficult time against Jose Mourinho, who may be looking ahead to the semifinals. CSKA’s Leonid Slutsky will have to hope that his team will be better rested and that Inter will be worn down by the time of the second leg at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Inter Milan to progress.

It has been two months and a week since the last Champions League games, and finally, we are back. A lot of things have happened since the biggest competition in Europe held it’s last group games, namely the January transfer window and the 2010 African Cup of Nations. Some big players have moved clubs; some have suffered long-term injures, while youngsters have emerged from the ranks, but all the dust has now settled and we are ready to find out who is the best team in Europe.

The upcoming round of 16 offers some of the most mouth-watering ties in recent years. Current Premiership and Serie A leaders Chelsea and Inter Milan clash for a place in the quarter-finals, knowing one of these top-class teams will have to suffer an early exit. David Beckham will make a return with Milan to Manchester United, the club where he made his name, in what is sure to be an emotional match. Real Madrid vs. Lyon is another juggernaut match, while Porto continue their seemingly endless duos with English opponents, this time in the face of Arsenal.

Elsewhere, Barcelona and Bayern Munich should be the favorites in their clashes with Stuttgart and Fiorentina respectively, but Olympiakos vs. Bordeaux and CSKA Moscow vs. Sevilla should be lower-profile but very tight encounters.

All in all, it is shaping up to be one of the most exciting competitions of the new millennium, as there are many clubs that stand a solid chance of taking the crown off Barcelona.

Let’s face it. Most people would have predicted that Barca would have been victorious at the end of this match but few would have predicted that they would do it so easily. The Spaniards were so comfortable keeping pocession of the ball all over the park that Man U players seemed to run around like chicken with no heads for most of the game.

Then again, this is the same team that dominated Real Madrid in their home scoring a massive 6 goals having captured the Spanish title realistically since January. I think Man U should consider themselves fortunate that the boys from Spain stopped only at 2 goals because I have the feeling that if they wanted they could have scored many more. Messi was dominant on the pitch and so was Eto’o. Cristiano Ronaldo tried hard especially early in the game but the rest of his team seemed lost. Substitute Tevez was probably the only other Man U player who played his heart out but it was not enough.

Messi is going to win all the awards next year and he deserves all of them. He plays well with little arrogance and he doesn’t bitch as much as the other phenomenom Ronaldo. Rumors that the latter might be making a move to Real Madrid are once again making the rounds. Of course, he can always move to Madrid so he can continue to be second to the all might Barcelona.

Ole!

In conclusion, below is a video of the game highlights including the goals and some of the controversial moments. The only thing missing is Drogba swearing at the referee and all the cameras.

Ronaldo’s incredible shot stunned everyone at the 6th minute of the match giving Manchester United the one goal necessary to earn a ticket to the semifinals against another English club, Arsenal. But talk is cheap, so enjoy the video below of Cristiano Ronaldo’s fantastic goal (best one he has scored this far according to his own account) against FC Porto.

Villarreal v Arsenal
Manchester United v Porto
Liverpool v Chelsea
Bayern Munich v Barcelona

The semi final draw was then also made:

Villarreal/Arsenal v Man U/Porto
Liverpool/Chelsea v Bayern/Barcelona

In the final the winners of the Liverpool/Chelsea v Bayern/Barcelona semi-final will be designated the home team.

In the build-up to the draw the talk was about which teams were the worst to draw, the consensus being that, after their 4-0 demolition of Real Madrid and 1-4 thrashing of Man United in the space of a few days, Liverpool were the team to avoid. I doubt Chelsea will be too disappointed though, there’s still an air of invincibility around Stamford Bridge that stems from the Jose Mourinho era. This could be vital as with the 1st leg due to be played at Anfield any ’special European night on Merseyside’ factor will be nullified.

Rafa’s record in Europe will scare them though and he still holds the edge over them in the past few years. When they met in the 2005 semi-finals Liverpool won 1-0 on aggregate due to a controversial Luis Garcia goal and then won again on penalties in 2007, Chelsea managed to progress when they met up in the semi-finals last year though, and the telling factor that time was the fact that the 1st leg was at Anfield instead of Stamford Bridge, where it had been held in the two previous occasions.

Arsenal and Man United will both be pleased with their draws especially Arsenal who have the cushion of the 2nd leg at home in case they have some trouble in Villarreal. Conversely Man United will be confident that they can see Porto off in the 1st leg without having to deal with a hostile atmosphere in Portugal. Barcelona will be hoping to emulate their Champions League win in 2006 and could face a re-match with Arsenal in the Final assuming they both get through. While UEFA President Michel Platini may be annoyed that 4 English teams are still in the competition it’s obvious that these quarter-finals are going to be better with them than without them.

After the game Wenger praised his team’s “mental strength” after battling through the game to win the shootout. This notion of mental strength that Wenger talks about only washes if you believe that a penalty shootout is about skill and not luck. Arsenal were extremely lucky last night, Julio Baptista managed to produce a performance worse than any seen during his brief Arsenal spell and a miss that defied the concept of a £50,000 a week professional striker. He managed to score his penalty though, so it’s not all bad. If he hadn’t I don’t think he would have been with us today. If Roma fans decide to stab someone just because they support the opposing team what do you think they would do to someone that helped the other team win? Incidentally Max Tonetto hasn’t been seen since he punted that shiny piece of leather over the bar.

Other pieces of luck include keeper Manuel Almunia accidentally (in my opinion of course) slipping when going to dive and therefore saving Mirko Vucinic’s spot kick and looking like a cool guy in the process, Kolo Toure deciding not to aim for Roma keeper Doni’s face when he charged out for the 6th Arsenal penalty and instead choosing to score and Denilson managing to scuff his penalty but still score in the process. God knows what “mental strength” was involved in any of that. If you’ve got enough skill about your person you will score from 12 yards, especially if you’ve got the whole goal to aim for and only one player (who for some reason is jumping up and down like a small child after too much sugar) to beat. Just don’t aim for that player (but do make sure you aim for that white, mesh stuff!) and hey presto, you win. Arsenal were better at not aiming for the goal keeper and aiming for the white, mesh stuff so they won. Roma managed to grab defeat from the jaws of victory by finding a way of not scoring another goal in normal time so they lost.

And lastly some tragic news came in from France late, late last night: Unfortunately Michel Platini died from a brain aneurysm after watching Tonetto miss and then realising all 4 English teams had gone through. Luckily his place has been quickly filled by Sepp Blatter, who’s first act as joint head of UEFA/FIFA is to make sure the quarter final draw looks as follows:

Manchester United v Liverpool

Arsenal v Chelsea

Bayern v Villareal

Porto v Barcelona.

We can’t have those pesky English teams dominating now can we!