NOVEL NEXT Chapter 121: The calm before the storm [1]
Every season, after Christmas for big European clubs, it was a familiar schedule of game after game piling up one after the other, and this season was no different.
FC Barcelona and Real Madrid had survived the first leg fire of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
After the semifinals, their next fixture was a league game but before that, the world of football focused on a ritual that football fans around the world anticipate at this point of the season… the UEFA Champions League knockout draw.
The league had been a sprint, and February's chill reminded players that the hardest months of the season were still to come.
La Liga's final matchday before the Champions League knockouts felt less like a routine weekend and more like a pause before the plunge of champions, the plunge where giants are killed and where underdogs write their stories.
The knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League was the true UEFA Champions League.
Afterall, that was the stage where the big hitters have a significantly higher chance of meeting each other, and with the stakes higher than ever before.
This time, it's no longer 3 points that is on the line, but rather elimination from the champions league entirely for that season.
These reasons and more made it one of the most anticipated periods for every football fan, and finally, it was here.
To Barcelona and Real Madrid fans, their clubs had to remain flawless in the league so they could carry on that momentum to the champions league where form mattered than any other thing.
Both Spanish giants were still unbeaten this season, both still level on points at the top of the La Liga table, and both knew that any stumble here just before Europe's cauldron would be ammunition for their rivals.
The build-up to the La Liga game hummed with tension, but in the background, the world buzzed with something louder… the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw.
The new league phase had ended, the eight matches locked into history with memories made, and now the destiny of Europe's greatest would be decided by the lottery of balls and names in UEFA's headquarters.
UEFA's main headquarters after its foundations were located in Paris, but moved to Bern in 1060.
But in recent years, since 1999, the UEFA headquarters became located in Nyon, Switzerland, on the shore of Lake Leman.
20 years after its inauguration, the auditorium has been fully rebuilt with a custom-made seat solution, and it has a total capacity for only 144 people.
That was where the draw for the UEFA champions league knockout stage draw was to be made.
D-day came in a blink.
In Nyon, UEFA's headquarters, the stage was set with bright lights and velvet curtains as a new iteration of the trophy that gleamed like it held all of football's secrets was about to be competed for again.
Legends of the game drew the teams, their hands shaking as millions around the globe waited.
Questions lingered, building hype and excitement for the knockout stage.
Who would face Barcelona, the unbeaten Catalans carrying the Football God himself? Fans wanted to know; they were excited to know.
Who would face Real Madrid, wounded in the league but ravenous in Europe? Fans could not wait.
All the heavyweights of European football, Bayern, City, PSG, Liverpool, Chelsea, who would face them?
The draws were about to begin.
And then, when the hype was at its fullest and football fans were salivating, unable to wait anymore, the draw was finally revealed.
[UEFA Champions League Round of 16:]
(PSG vs Inter Milan)
…
(Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund)
…
(Bayern Munich vs Arsenal)
…
(Barcelona vs Juventus)
…
(Real Madrid vs AC Milan)
…
(Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid)
…
(Chelsea vs Napoli)
…
(Sporting CP vs Ajax)
The draw was made, the die was cast, and it set the world of football buzzing.
Barcelona and Real Madrid both drew historic Serie A giants in Juventus and AC Milan, not exactly easy rides.
Meanwhile, Man City vs Atleti, and Bayern vs Arsenal also dominated the headlines as ties of fire.
The hype was crazy.
(PSG vs Inter Milan)
It was a matchup made right in heaven; France's new era against Italy's resilient giants.
In recent years, PSG under Luis Enrique already rewrote the narrative of PSG being pushovers in the UEFA Champions League after a string of impressive performances under the coach.
In Nuno Mendes and Hakimi, they had the best fullback duo in world football. In Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, and Joao Neves was one of the most dynamic midfield trios in Europe.
Their attack? Well, they had the resurgent and electric Dembele leading a lineup with the likes of talents like Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue, and big names like Kvhicha Kvaratskhelia.
PSG must prove their new era against Inter Milan's resilience.
(Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund)
It was a Jurgen Klopp derby for the ages despite the fact that the German coach was no longer coaching either clubs.
The man who became a legend in Dortmund, but entered the conversation among all-time great coaches with Liverpool now faced a matchup where two of his beloved clubs went at loggerheads against each other.
Anfield vs the Signal Iduna Park, it was going to be a battle for the ages.
(Bayern Munich vs Arsenal)
Bayern's juggernaut attack of Harry Kane, Musiala, Olise, and Luis Diaz against Arteta's slick Arsenal side was fire guaranteed.
It was undoubtedly a heavyweight clash.
(Barcelona vs Juventus)
The media dubbed it "Sam Moses vs Juventus' granite defense", and that was all they needed to promote the game into the forefront of the UEFA Champions League matchups in terms of hype.
(Real Madrid vs AC Milan)
This was a clash of royalty; 15 time winners Madrid against 7 time winners Milan. It was a clash with history dripping from every blade of grass.
(Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid)
Guardiola's machine against Simeone's warriors.
In this case, it was a case of ideology clash, passion vs precision, perfectionist vs chaos incarnate… a clash for the ages.
(Chelsea vs Napoli)
This time, it was a case of two chaotic teams that can be brilliant on their day and can also self-destruct when it's not their day.
It was a clash that promised chaos.
And then…
(Sporting CP vs Ajax)
Both were two of Europe's most fertile academies, a stage for young stars to announce themselves, and they both made it to the Round of 16.
This was a clash of the underdogs.
The Round of 16 was set, and just one league game separated fans from the highly anticipated first leg encounter.