Reluctantly setting aside suspicions that Michel Platini and his UEFA cohorts rigged the entire thing, Friday’s draw for the European Champions League round-of-16 games produced some intriguing matchups.
What could be better, for example, than AC Milan versus Manchester United, with David Beckham returning to the scene of his youthful triumphs to play against a coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, who no longer gives him the time of day?
“Since I left in 2003, I haven’t returned to play at Old Trafford,” Beckham said Wednesday. “Seven years have gone by, and I would like for that to happen. Me against Manchester, it would be beautiful, wouldn’t it?”
Two days later, Beckham got his wish.
According to the Times of London, the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder, who joins AC Milan on loan again in a couple of weeks, “uttered an incredulous expletive” when told of the draw.
The media circus that will follow Beckham and AC Milan to Manchester for the decisive second leg of the series on March 10 will cause Ferguson to bristle with the knowledge that it was AC Milan — admittedly still with Kaka in its lineup — that knocked Manchester United out of the Champions League in 2007 and add to the florid-faced Scot’s worry lines.
The stage is set.
Similarly, another crucial series is in store when Inter Milan plays Chelsea, starting Feb. 24 at Milan’s San Siro.
Again, it will be the second leg, on March 16, that will be loaded with subplots, the most obvious one being the return of Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho to the club at which he first proclaimed himself “the Special One” and which he led to Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006.
