The UEFA Champions League knockout stage starts in two weeks after the seasonal winter break, so teams are starting to prepare for their ties. The transfer window slams shut at the end of January so clubs are making last minute additions and subtractions to their squads. Nearly every club in Europe has something to play for and are shaping up to achieve their goals for the season.
The most exciting moves have come from an unlikely source - Turkey's Galatasaray. Turkish football has suffered under UEFA investigations of match-fixing, including a European ban last year to Galatasaray's arch-rival Fenerbahce. Both clubs share the lead with 18 domestic titles, while Gala holds a small advantage in terms of fan base. Despite the recent turmoil, this is a huge club and showed its prestige by bringing in Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba this month. Both are Champions League winners and would be included in anyone's list of greatest players of the last decade. Both players are far from the form that brought them those honors, but are still great assets for a team with little experience against the titans of Europe.
Will Drogba and Sneijder make a big impact? For a team with a number of Turkish internationals, including the current joint-lead scorer in Europe, Burak Yilmaz, as well as experienced foreign players like Felipe Melo and Thomas Ujfalusi, it is certainly intriguing. I don't believe these moves were made in an attempt to win the Champions League, but to strengthen the squad for both Europe and the Super Lig. Gala have a five point lead over Fener and it is just as important to top their rivals as it is to achieve success in Europe (if not more so). Having depth in the squad is especially important at this time of the year, and Drogba and Sneijder will certainly provide that, but their impact will likely be minimal. Drogba is not fit enough to start for Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations and it has been two years since Sneijder displayed top form. Fans expecting a long run in Europe this year are likely to be disappointed, as anything further than victory over Schalke would be a shock. However, the moves show Galatasaray's ambition to compete on the continental stage, so they could be tough competitors for years to come.
The Milan-Barcelona tie also became more interesting through the transfer window. Barcelona have been rampant in La Liga and will be heavy favorites, but AC have recently hit a solid run of form and brought in maverick striker Mario Balotelli to aid the attacking front. Balotelli's impact is completely unknown, mainly because he is a complete unknown, so we will have to see. But as always with Mario, if he can focus his energy on his footballing talents rather than his psychotic antics, he will be difficult to stop. Milan's only hope in the tie is that they can score enough times to beat Barcelona - I would guess that number would be around five or six, minimum. Balotelli, the in-form Stephan El Shaarawy, Robinho, and Giampaolo Pazzini provide solid options for Massimiliano Allegri and they may push Barca further than last year. It will still take a near-flawless performance to knock out the 2011 champs, who are playing at full throttle right now.
Full preview of the Champions League coming next week - I want to see the final transfer moves before making the final write-up. Will there be another APOEL this year?
