The return of ‘European nights’

Tonight marks a defining moment in the return of “European nights”, also known as the Champions League — the best continental championship in the world right now. This season’s final is going to be held at Real Madrid’s homeground, the Santiago Bernabeu. As usual there will be more questions than answers which will be answered next May. Will Barcelona and their coach, Pep Guardiola, repeat last year’s brilliant display and win it again? So far history is against them because the Champions League title has never been defended successfully as my beloved Manchester United found out the hard way last May.

This year’s Champions League will mark the start of glorious international careers for some players who will be looking to make their mark and put in impressive performances so as to be called to their national teams for next year’s World Cup. Some of the players who’ll be looking for a chance to make the cut are: Anderson (Manchester United), Diego (Juventus), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan) and Hulk (Porto) will be looking to convince Brazilian coach Dunga while Lisandro Lopez (Lyon) would like to convince Diego Maradona that he is worth a pick for Argentina. Another player who will be looking to reboot his career is two time Fifa world player of the year Ronaldinho who has stalled in the past three years. So far he has been overlooked by Dunga. If he gets back to his best then he can be on the plane to South Africa because we know that on his day and when he is on song, he is unplayable.

The 2009/10 Champions League could mark the finale for some of the greatest names to ever grace the soccer pitch. Positioning, understanding and nous can compensate in some situations but it’s never enough to prevent disasters, especially when faced with younger and quicker opposition as Paul Scholes found out on Saturday against Tottenham Hotspurs. This could be one last hurray for him because at 35 we have seen that his influence on Manchester United’s midfield is not as big as it used to be. But we might see him score those 30-yard scorchers that made him famous over the years like he did two seasons ago against Barcelona in the semi-finals.

Another veteran who might be looking at his last chance for Champions League glory is Ryan Giggs. At 36, he would like to bring down a glorious playing career and rewind time a bit with memories of the past by twisting and turning the fullbacks. Some of the other veterans who might be defying the laws of nature if they play next season are: Gary Neville (34), Alessandro Del Piero (35), Jens Lehmann (40), Filippo Inzaghi (37), Giuseppe Favalli (37) and Edwin van der Sar (39).

A quest for glory will also spur some players to get one over their former employers. Samuel Eto’o was shipped to Inter Milan because the Barcelona coach didn’t want him in his team whereas Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved in the other direction. Ibrahimovic was heavily criticised by his former team-mates. In game 1, Barcelona will be visiting Internaziole, expect sparks to fly between these teams. Real Madrid in game 3 will be going to the San Siro to meet AC Milan. It will be the return of Kaka since his move to Spain.

Great expectations will also be very high in Madrid with Real having invested heavily: Kaka, Benzema, Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo. The fact that the final will also be hosted at their stadium adds to the pressure. Managers can be very conservative and cost their teams at the same time, sometimes they are reluctant to throw in youngsters on one of the biggest stages. They go for faith in familiar faces, which have served them well over the years and they ignore promise. But then who is going to be the next prodigy? Will we see the birth of a next generation of stars, maybe a new Kaka or Ronaldo? All answers will be available in December after the conclusion of the group stages or next May after the final, but all we know it will be filled with heart breaks, lots of drama and plenty of goals.

Nothing beats “European nights”.