Josep Guardiola will take his FC Bayern München team to play his former club FC Barcelona while holders Real Madrid CF face old rivals Juventus in the semi-finals of the Uefa Champions League.
Guardiola led Barcelona to UEFA Champions League victories in 2009 and 2011, two of the 14 trophies his side won during his four years in charge at the Camp Nou. Real Madrid and Juventus, meanwhile, have a rich European history of their own; the semi-final will be their 17th and 18th meetings in UEFA competition, the most famous the 1998 UEFA Champions League final.
Barcelona and Bayern have met in eight previous European ties, all since 1996. Their most recent encounter came in the 2012/13 semi-finals, when Bayern triumphed 4-0 in Munich and 3-0 at the Camp Nou – the biggest aggregate victory in a UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Bayern also got the better of Barcelona in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup semi-finals, following up a 2-2 first-leg draw in Munich with a 2-1 success at the Camp Nou. Indeed, Bayern have won on three of their four visits to Barcelona, posting a 2-1 victory in the 1998/99 group stage. However, their other trip produced a 4-0 first-leg defeat in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals; Barcelona went on to lift the trophy.
The old lady of Turin, Juventus are in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 12 years; in 2002/03 their last-four opponents were also Real Madrid. Then, the Serie A side went down 2-1 in Madrid but won 3-1 in Turin to set up an all-Italian final against AC Milan, which they lost on penalties at Old Trafford, Manchester.
Juve and Madrid share a European history going back to 1962, when the Spaniards won their European Champion Clubs’ Cup quarter-final 3-1 in a replay after each team had prevailed 1-0 away. Their overall record could scarcely be closer, with eight Madrid victories to Juvetus’s seven. Their most recent tussle, in last term’s group stage, ended in a 2-2 draw – the first stalemate between the sides – at the Juventus Stadium, with Madrid having edged it 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu through Cristiano Ronaldo’s double. The clubs’ most famous head-to-head was the 1998 UEFA Champions League final in Amsterdam, Predreg Mijatović scoring the only goal in the 66th minute to give Madrid their seventh European title.
If Barcelona and Real Madrid triumphed in their respective semi-finals, the world will witness the first el-classico Champions League final.
In the Europa League, Sevilla FC continues their title defence against ACF Fiorentina, while SSC Napoli takes on semi-final debutants FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.
Dnipro and Napoli met in the 2012/13 group stage, Dnipro winning 3-1 at home and Edinson Cavani scoring all four as Napoli took the honours in Italy with a 4-2 victory. A repeat would take Dnipro through on away goals rule. This will be Dnipro’s first UEFA competition semi-final: they lost two previous European Cup quarter-finals. Napoli had not advanced beyond the last 16 since Diego Maradona inspired them to UEFA Cup glory in 1989. Napoli’s Rafael Benítez is seeking to become the first coach to lead three clubs to UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League glory (Valencia CF in 2004, Chelsea FC in 2013), matching Giovanni Trapattoni’s record haul of three wins in the process. Dnipro have lost their last five games against Italian opposition, including twice against FC Internazionale Milano in this season’s group stage.
The semi-final pitches Sevilla against Fiorentina, the sides have never before met in European competition. Fiorentina went out on penalties to Rangers FC after a scoreless 180 minutes on their last semi-final appearance in 2008. Sevilla are bidding to become the first team to lift the trophy four times. They are currently alongside Juventus, FC Internazionale Milano and Liverpool FC on three. The tie will have special meaning for Fiorentina winger Joaquín, who is from Andalusia and began his career with Sevilla’s city rivals Real Betis Balompié.
If Fiorentina and Napoli come top against their opponents, we will have an all-Italian Europa League final, the fifth all-Italian final in this competition, after1990, 1991, 1995 and 1998.
Anyway you look at it; all these ties will keep adrenaline pumping and blood boiling.
