UEFA light fuse under Florentino after Champions League redraw
With this latest draw in Nyon, UEFA have been worse than Cagancho in Almagro, as someone familiar with 1920s Spanish bullfighting epic failures might say. It was terrible timing for such a blunder, as Florentino and Agnelli continue to blow on the embers of the Super League idea to see if they can spark a flame. On top of that, the big loser in the redraw was Real Madrid, who were fairly picked out against Benfica before the blunder took place.
But after the mistakes made with Villarreal and Atletico's opponents, UEFA decided that everything had to be reset and Madrid, already rather pleased thinking about their Portuguese pairing, found themselves facing the PSG of Messi, Neymar and Mbappé.
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UEFA’s UCL balls-up
Madrid's anger aside, it is a disgrace for the organisation and there is clearly someone to blame, Michael Heselschwerdt, director of communications and the one responsible for the balls. It was a crass double mistake in a draw with two simple conditions: you can’t play clubs from the same country or those who already met in the group stage. Such an act of sloppiness demands atonement.
And it certainly looks bad for an organisation in whose hands we have entrusted the European football, that fabulous mass-market entertainment form that is at the same time an industry with many zeros after it. Damn Arshavin for making me laugh with his little snigger.
Spanish fortunes
In contrast to Los Blancos, the other two Spanish teams came out of the redraw in better shape. Atleti swapped the intractable Bayern Munich for Manchester United, where Cristiano is still battling in a team struggling for form, while Villarreal went from the terrifying prospect of Man City to Juve, another giant at a low ebb. Two clubs with more reputation than current impact, an ideal situation where you can look very good if you go through, and not too bad if you fail.
The Europa League hands Barça an uncomfortable tie against Napoli, a standout clash, Sevilla against Dinamo Zagreb, Real Sociedad against Leipzig and Betis against Zenit. I wish them all good luck and hope that a capable successor for Heselschwerdt is installed as soon as possible.