Champions League and Europa League 2009/10 Quarter Final Draws

By: Daryl | March 19th, 2010

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After the magnificence that was last night’s 33 goal Europa League action (seriously, I saw the highlights show and thought I’d died and gone to football heaven) you’d have been excused for tons emporarily forgetting about the Champions League altogether. But then UEFA’s people grabbed some balls and drew the quarterfinals for both competitions this morning, and the spotlight returned to the Champions League.

The match to make your mouthwater is the repairing of 2006 finalists Barcelona and Arsenal. If that doesn’t produce some good passing football, then I’m going to start watching another sport. Maybe basketball. There’s also a rematch of the dramatic 1999 final between Man Utd and Bayern Munich, which should be worth watching. Maybe one final supersub appearance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer?

Ligue 1 fans can decide for themselves whether the Lyon and Bordeaux being drawn against each other is a blessing or a curse. It guarantees one French team in the semi-finals, but also guarantees that one will be going out. Suppose it depends on whether you’re a fan of the team that goes though or not. Last but not least, Inter’s reward for that impressive win over Chelsea was to be paired with CSKA Moscow in the last eight, although only a fool would think that’s an easy game.

The draw looks like this:

Champions League quarterfinals:
Lyon v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Arsenal v Barcelona
Internazionale v CSKA Moscow
First leg: 30th and 31st March.
Second leg 6th and 7th April.

And so… Champions League semifinals:
Bayern Munich or Manchester United v Lyon or Bordeaux
Internazionale or CSKA Moscow v Arsenal or Barcelona
First leg: 20th and 21st April.
Second leg: 27th and 28th April.

The Europa League draw was equally interesting, but takes second place in this post, just as it will elsewhere. Still, plenty of good Thursday action to look forward to. Fulham will be most pepole’s favourite underdog story, as most people expected a different black and white team to be in the quarters. Also, the all Spanish Valencia vs Atlético Madrid tie will definitely be worth a watch.

Europa League quarterfinals:
Fulham FC v VfL Wolfsburg
Hamburg v Standard Liège
Valencia v Atlético Madrid
Benfica v Liverpool
First leg: April 1st
Second Leg: April 8th

And then… Europa League semifinals
Hamburg/Standard Liege – Fulham/Wolfsburg
Valencia/Atletico Madrid – Benfica/Liverpool
First Leg: April 22nd.
Second Leg: April 29th.

Europa League final is May 12th in Hamburg and then Champions League final is May 22nd in Madrid. Then it’s World Cup time. Is everyone else excited? Or have I just had too much of this rather strong Brazilian coffee?