By Andres Segura
It’s been over a month since the end of the group stages, where famous teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, work hard to be first or second and continue on their way to the finale. Starting on February 13, it’s what soccer fans have been waiting for to officially begin again—the UEFA Champions League. The Union European of Football Association (UEFA) hosts a tournament called Champions League. Although it says “League” in the name, this tournament involves 32 of the best soccer clubs from various European leagues and even some teams like Israel from the Middle East, and even Santos FC from Brazil . Fans have been waiting for this since the beginning of December after the final group stage game between Tottenham Spurs and Apoel Nicosia.
Tottenham fans were overjoyed when they had beaten Apoel Nicosia by a sweeping 3-0, allowing them a spot in the knockout rounds against one of Italy’s top soccer clubs, Juventus. A few of the matches that everyone will have their eyes on will be: Tottenham vs Juventus (2/13), F.C. Porto vs Liverpool F.C. (2/14), Real Madrid vs Paris Saint-Germain F.C. (2/14), and F.C. Barcelona vs Chelsea (2/20).
The top players everyone should keep their eyes on are Harry Kane (Tottenham), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Neymar De Silva Santos Jr (PSG) and, Lionel Messi (Barcelona). Harry Kane has broken the past record for most premier goals in a calendar year with 39 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon D’or five times and has 38 hat tricks. You should also watch Sergio Ramos who has not once, but multiple times, saved Real Madrid with last minute goals. Neymar De Silva Santos Jr who has set to become the world highest paid soccer player and former player for Barcelona is one to always entertain the fans. Lionel Messi who has led Barcelona to the top of La Liga, goes into the tournament with 500+ career goals. These are some of the top players in Europe and some of the top players out of Europe. These players have the ability to make a difference in any of the matches whether it be Sergio Ramos saving Real Madrid by scoring a last minute goal or Lionel Messi Adding on to his Career goals.
Out of these remaining eight clubs, only two will be able to execute their way to the finals. The event takes place at NSK Olimpiyskiy, Kiev in the Ukraine, and only allows one team to walk out as champions. These clubs have done incredible work in their 2017-2018 season to get to where they are now. Now the only question is, who will win? Will it be defending champions Real Madrid or could it be former Champions league holders, Chelsea F.C. or Juventus? We won’t know until these teams battle it out on May 26, 2018.