There will be a couple of notable returns to old stomping grounds in the Champions League round of 16. With Jose Mourinho going back to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea and David Beckham facing off against Manchester United, some old passions will be renewed and a couple of old grudges brought to the surface.
But both Mourinho and Beckham will have to put all hard feelings away if their respective sides are to advance to the round of 8, as both Mourinho's Inter Milan and Beckham's AC Milan have been dealt tough draws in Chelsea and Manchester United.
The rest of the draw doesn't really live up to the above two series, but -- as is the case with all Champions League soccer -- it should make for some hard-fought, exciting play. Here is the full list of round of 16 matchups:
Stuttgart v. Barcelona
Olympiakos v. Bordeaux
Inter Milan v. Chelsea
Bayern Munich v. Fiorentina
CSKA Moscow v. Sevilla
Lyon v. Real Madrid
Porto v. Arsenal
AC Milan v. Manchester United
And on a separate note, you can check out a couple of decent European games on TV today. My highlights include: Jozy Altidore and Hull taking on Arsenal (11:30 a.m. CDT on FSC) and the Fiorentina-AC Milan game (1:45 p.m. CDT on FSC). Fulham-Manchester United (9 a.m. on Setanta) would make that list, but it's on Setanta, which I (unfortunately) am not a subscriber to.
Consider this post your open thread for all of today's games.
Filed under: 2009-10 Offseason, Champions League, Your Open Thread
Tags: Champions League, David Beckham, Draw, Jose Mourinho, Round of 16, Your Open Thread
Also Benzema is back at Lyon
True, that one slipped my mind.