Berlusconi (Or Not Learning Lessons Of Speaking

[Nunavut Patrick]

Out).

 

Barcelona made some comments aboot being glad to face us.

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LONDON (AP) -- Don't be surprised if Chelsea is paired against Liverpool in Friday's Champions League draw -- again. The two English clubs are used to it.

 

With no seedings and no separation of teams from the same country, Chelsea and Liverpool could wind up facing each other for the 15th time in three seasons in different competitions.

 

There's also the chance that either could face the third English side in the draw, Manchester United. There also could be an all-Italian matchup between AC Milan and AS Roma.

 

Bayern Munich, Valencia and PSV Eindhoven make up the rest of the field when the quarter-final and semifinal draws are made in Athens..

 

The surprise eliminations of defending champion Barcelona, nine-time winner Real Madrid, runaway Italian league leader Inter Milan, French club Lyon and 2006 runner-up Arsenal have left Chelsea as the British bookmakers' favourite to win the trophy for the first time.

 

Jose Mourinho's team is the only one of the eight survivors that has never reached the final of the 52-year competition, which used to be called the European Cup prior to 1992.

 

Milan has won the title six times, Liverpool five, Bayern Munich four, Manchester United twice and PSV once. Roma lost to Liverpool in the 1984 final on home turf, while Valencia was runner-up in 2000 and 2001.

 

A Chelsea-Liverpool quarter-final matchup of two legs would be the fifth and sixth Champions League meetings between the two sides in the last three seasons.

 

They played in the semifinals in 2005, with Liverpool advancing on a disputed Luis Garcia goal which Mourinho maintains never crossed the line. Last season, they faced each other in two group games, both finishing 0-0. The Garcia goal is the only one scored in their four meetings.

 

Chelsea beat Rafa Benitez' team 3-2 in the 2005 English Carling Cup final but Liverpool beat the Blues 2-1 in last season's FA Cup semifinal on the way to winning the trophy. Chelsea has a better sequence in the Premier League, winning five times in a row until Liverpool's 2-0 victory at Anfield on Jan. 20.

 

Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1 in the season-opener Community Shield between the league champion and the FA Cup winner. The record in their 13 meetings reads Chelsea six victories, Liverpool four and three draws.

 

Bookmakers William Hill now makes Chelsea 11-4 favourites to win the Champions League and also offers Manchester United (10-3), Liverpool (5-1), Valencia (7-1), AC Milan (8-1), Bayern Munich and Roma (9-1) and PSV (16-1).

 

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi believes his team should be the favourite, even though it laboured to beat Celtic on Wednesday thanks to an extra time goal by Kaka after more than 180 minutes of goalless play.

 

"Now, we have a goal to strive for," Berlusconi said Thursday. "After the elimination of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter, I think Milan should seriously consider itself the favorite. We're the club left with the most titles, tradition and class.

 

"The Milan school has always been the best, not only in Italy, but also in the world."

 

(Hmmmm...two fucking iron cast penalties denied for Celtic and you could not muster a goal until almost the 200th minute against Celtic. Attentionio Michel, mea thinka somethiga smell like fishy here. The club with the most titles after Madrid eliminated- true, but not for long Silvio. Tradition- you are fucking joking. Please stop leaving the pizza oven as your brain is being affected by the heat. Class- errr, tell me again why you started the season -9 pts. The Milan school- what the fuck is that? Oh, yeah- I remeber. Envelope Sealing 101; How to Buy a Opel for a Referee 101, etc)

 

 

Roma might like a game against Milan. (So would the Vespa company and flare/fireworks producers in China)

 

"Probably because Roma beat us this season in both the league and the Italian Cup," Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani said. (This part was lost in translation: It should read- We will make sure we bribe the ref so the humilation of being dumped by Roma again will not happen)

 

After knocking out Real Madrid, Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is confident of going further. He still considers his team an underdog despite its four European Cup titles.

 

"We can beat anyone, even the final is possible," he said. "We are underdogs, but underdogs have won the Champions League before."

 

Bayern would probably like to avoid Milan, however, because it has a record of five losses, one win and two draws.

 

Manchester United has reached the quarter-finals for the first time in four years.

 

"I think being there is important," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. "We have had bad years in terms of not qualifying for the quarter-final stage, whereas before that we had an excellent record.

 

"But the last eight is not our aim. We want to go as far as we can and reach the final... . I don't think there is a lot between the teams that are left in the competition and I think we have as good a chance as anyone."

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Christ, even Ferguson can keep his gob shut.