Kevin McCarra Talking About the Champions League Draw

I'm a very big fan of the Guardian's football section, mainly because they offer excellent insight into soccer/football from around all of Europe. Of course, being an English newspaper they tend to focus a bit more regarding English clubs and the Premier League.

Here's a short video of Kevin McCarra, the Guardian's chief football writer talking about the UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw along with Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Jose Mourinho. If you're interested in more insight from the Guardian's expert panel of football writers and correspondents, I suggest you try listening to the Guardian's Football Weekly podcast.

What do you think, could Jose Mourinho be sacked if he fails to win the Champions League this season? I'd personally give him at least two years to work his magic, but maybe Florentino Perez has other ideas. And what about Chelsea, could this be the year that Abramovich's big spending pays off? Share your comments below!

UEFA Champions League 2011 Quarter-Final Draw

As this season approaches crunch-time, we're seeing some teams really step up their game for the Champions League. The holders Inter Milan knocked out Bayern Munich after a well-fought 3-2 victory in the return leg at the Allianz Arena. Real Madrid finally broke their seven year curse of never managing to reach the quarter-finals. And Tottenham magnificently overcame a staunch AC Milan side in their debut season of the European tournament. It has truly been a thrilling competition.

Many say that while the semi-finals and the final are extremely important, it's the quarter-finals which are often the most exciting. And so, after the UEFA draw in Nyon, we have the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals. The team on the left  (Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, and Inter Milan) will play the first leg (which takes place April 5th or 6th) at home, and the return leg away from home. 

Real Madrid - Tottenham Hotspur

Barcelona - Shakhtar Donetsk

Chelsea - Manchester United

Inter Milan - Schalke 04

The semi-final draw looks will be the winner between Real Madrid v Tottenham against the winner of Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk, and the winner of Chelsea v Manchester United will face the winner of Inter Milan v Schalke 04. This sets us up perfectly for a possible Barcelona v Real Madrid semi-final, which would truly be a spectacle. Share your thoughts regarding the draw below!