So today, the draw for the UEFA Champions League
Semi-Finals were made. The games to be played are Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
and Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund. With only these 4 teams, two from Spain
and two from Germany, remaining, now would seem the ideal time to make an
educated decision on who is actually going to win the tournament. To do this, I
have compiled a table to compare the teams’ performances and squads.
Borussia Dortmund
|
Bayern Munich
|
Real Madrid
|
Barcelona
|
|
League Position
|
2nd with 55 points
|
1st with 75 points
|
2nd with 65 points
|
1st with 78 points
|
Total Market Value
|
£225 million
|
£380 million
|
£525 million
|
£530 million
|
Most Valuable Player
|
Mario Gotze
£37 million
|
Franck Ribery
£37 million
|
Cristiano Ronaldo
£88 million
|
Lionel Messi
£105 million
|
Form in last 10 games (all competitions)
|
DLWWLWWDWW
|
WWWWLWWWWW
|
WWWWWWDWWL
|
WLLWWWDDWD
|
Goals Scored in UCL this season
|
19
|
22
|
23
|
18
|
WDL record in UCL this season
|
6-4-0
|
7-1-2
|
5-3-2
|
5-3-2
|
Discipline in UCL this season (Y/R)
|
9/0
|
24/1
|
18/2
|
19/1
|
European Pedigree (Includes European Cup Wins as UCL)
|
UCL Winners: 1997
UEFA Cup Runners Up:
1993, 2001
|
UCL Winners:
1974, 1975, 1976, 2001
UEFA Cup Winners:
1996
|
UCL Winners:
1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002
UCL Runners Up:
1962, 1964, 1981
UEFA Cup Winners:
1985, 1986
|
UCL Winners:
1992, 2006, 2009, 2011
UCL Runners Up:
1961, 1986, 1994
|
Clearly, the remaining four teams are fairly evenly matched,
with each team having its own strong point. Munich are in the best run of form,
having lost only once in their last ten games, the defeat coming against
Arsenal in the Champion’s League last 16. Dortmund, however, have the best
record in this year’s competition, being the only team in the last four yet to
have lost a game. Real Madrid obviously have the European pedigree, having won
the tournament more times than any other team. Barcelona’s advantage, for me,
lies with Messi. He is capable of winning the tournament single-handedly, as
demonstrated by his game changing substitute appearance against PSG in the
quarter-finals.
However, to consider who is best placed to win the
competition, we must also examine who is playing who. Barcelona vs Bayern
Munich would seem to be the tougher of the two games, with these being many
people’s pre-tournament favourites. I’m sure it will be a tense game over the
two legs, but I personally feel that Barcelona will be able to edge out Munich
in their home tie at the Camp Nou. Having seen Barcelona wipe AC Milan out 4-0
at home, I see no reason why a similarly impressive Barcelona display could not
happen against Munich. However, I would imagine Munich would win their home
tie, but I still see Barcelona winning out over both legs.
The second semi-final would seem far more easily settled.
Madrid are the clear favourites to win over both legs, with Dortmund having
been considered as outsiders to get this far in the tournament, at the cost of
sides with perhaps greater pedigree such as many of the English or Italian
sides. That said, Dortmund have shown great resilience so far in the
competition, they came from behind against Malaga in the quarter-finals to win
in injury time, and it is no mean feat to play 10 UCL games and not lose a
single match. Madrid, do overall have a deeper squad, with a larger range of
talent and Ronaldo. He is not a player to be ignored, and like Messi, can
single-handedly win games.
This brings us to a final that I predict will be Barcelona
vs Real Madrid, to be hosted at Wembley. I think that this final encounter will
be won by Madrid. In the last 10 iterations of El Clasico, Real Madrid have won
4, Barcelona have won 3 and 3 have ended in stalemate. However, of the last 5,
3 have been Madrid wins, and the other two were drawn. This shows that Madrid
may have the edge in what is perhaps one of the most hotly contested rivalries
in European Football, and this is the reason why Real Madrid are going to win
the 2013 UEFA Champions League (in my opinion, I can’t say what the other chaps
think).
By Paddy Milnes
Follows us on
Twitter: @chapstalkfootball @thepaddy
Statistics from:
Transfermarkt.com
Uefa.com
Bvb.de
Fcbayern.telekom.de
Realmadrid.com
Fcbarcelona.com
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