The story of this Champions League draw could well be a story of
comebacks.
Jose Mourinho makes his return to Chelsea, David Beckham to
Manchester United, and Karim Benzema to Lyon; these are the stories
that will dominate the next round.
Yet beyond the more emotional stories of the draw, from a
real footballing perspective, the draw presents a massive
opportunity for Serie A to readdress the position it finds itself
in.
Not so long ago it was Serie A, not La Liga or the Premier
League, that was the dominant league in European football.
Notwithstanding perhaps its pinnacle, with the great AC Milan and
Juventus team's of the early to mid '90s.
This is where the greatest players—Zinedine Zidane,
Patrick Kluivert, and Gabriel Batistuta, et al.—simply headed
straight for Serie A without giving the Premier League so much as a
passing glance.
As recently as 2003, the Champions League final was contested
by AC Milan and Juventus, and the big spenders in European football
were not the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, but the
established Italian elite of Lazio, bankrolled to the point of
collapse by Sergio Cragnotti, Juventus, Roma, AC Milan, and Inter.
Yet lately Italian football has found itself in the unusual
position of third place in the footballing hierarchy as a resurgent
La Liga and Premier League, flushed with fresh cash and wider
audiences have relegated Serie A to a sideshow, where once it was
the headline act.
Nothing represents this more than the recent performances in
Europe's premier league competition. In the first 10 years of the
Champions League, Italian clubs were victorious four times, while
they reached the final seven times, culminating in the clash
between AC Milan and Juventus.
Yet, in the six years since, only Milan have managed to win
the title, and indeed reach the final. While English and Spanish
clubs have featured regularly, and have won seven of the last 10
finals, demonstrating their dominance of Europe's premier
competition.
Last season no Italian team reached the semifinal stage in
the competition, and Roma and Inter Milan were knocked out by
English opponents in the second round stage.
But now two of Italy's finest once more find themselves
facing up to two of their English rivals in two of the more
intriguing Champions League second-round encounters, with a real
chance to test themselves against their English cousins and to
strike a blow for the cause of Serie A.
Jose Mourinho's return to Chelsea with Inter Milan makes a
wonderful story, and for the journalists and headline writers, the
"Special One" makes wonderful copy. Yet this is an Inter Milan team
who have ruled the roost in Serie A for the last four seasons, and
have done so with ease.
Yet one of the reason's for Mourinho's arrival at Inter Milan
was to help the club claim their first European Cup since the
glorious days of Helenio Herrara, when they last won the title
1965. Yet last season's poor performances against Manchester
United, and an underwhelming group campaign topped off by an anemic
2-0 defeat against Barcelona, have the pressure firmly on Mourinho.
Yet that is arguably when Mourinho, ever the showman, is at
his most dangerous. A return to his former club could help
galvanise a capable Inter Milan team, containing dangerous players
like Julio Cesar, Lucio, Maicon, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto'o, and
the talented, but temperamental, Mario Balotelli.
Mourinho will be no better than most of the quality residents
on this Chelsea team, but John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier
Drogba all blossomed from nearly-men into the champions they are
today, because of his work. Chelsea also have him to thank for the
arrivals of key players Michael Essien and Ashley Cole.
Meanwhile for AC Milan, for so long the sole flag bearers for
Serie A in the Champions League and the last Italian winners in
2007, the story is very different. If anything, the pressure is
less on Leonardo, a club legend who is slowly but surely learning
the management trade in his first season.
After the toughest of managerial debuts, including a
dispiriting 1-0 defeat to minnows FC Zurich, Leonardo has restored
some manner of normality at the Rossoneri.
Currently sitting in second in Serie A, Leonardo has managed
to galvanise some impressive performances from the likes of
Ronaldinho, Alessandro Nesta, Marco Borriello, and Clarence
Seedorf.
The return of David Beckham may be headline news in the
context of the tie, yet he must first break into the Milan
team—such is the level of competition.
Whether it will be enough up against Manchester United, whose
record in the competition over the past two years is peerless and
who have a blend of ability and experience rarely matched across
Europe, is another thing.
United have plenty to prove in Europe after last season's
defeat against Barcelona and the summer departure of Cristiano
Ronaldo, but enter the tie as favourites to progress.
Their last defeat to an Italian club came at the hands of a
Kaka-inspired Milan team. While the Brazilian may have since
departed, a number of that team remain and will be buoyed by that
success.
While the comeback stories of Mourinho and Beckham to the
haunts of their former glories will dominate the headlines, the
real story could be the comeback of Italian football.
Though victories for Inter Milan and AC Milan won't return
Italian football to its former glory, it could be the start of a
redressing of Europe's balance of power.
Alex Stamp is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, the
open source sports network.
