England general manager Franco Baldini gives his verdict on the Champions League draw. “The Brits should be worried.”
The second round of the competition has pitted all three Serie A contenders against Premier League opponents, as Inter face Manchester United, Juventus take on Chelsea and Roma play Arsenal.
“If I had to sum up the draw in a headline I would say: ‘The Brits should be worried.’ I will make my predictions, but they are based on current form, so in two months the situation could be wildly different,” he told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“All you need is an injury or loss of form to change everything. Straight off I’d say Manchester United have the edge, you just need to look at their front line: Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez, Anderson and Nani.
“However, Inter seem to be built especially to make [Sir Alex] Ferguson’s side suffer. The current Champions League and Club World Cup holders have shown they struggle against physically strong opponents.
“Inter are so physical they can be described as a tank. To beat Manchester United you need to be aggressive and rile them up. You also require a few well-placed kicks,” continued Fabio Capello’s right hand man.
“The important thing is don’t let champions like Cristiano Ronaldo or Tevez play the ball to feet, otherwise you’re dead.”
Baldini tips United as “slight favourites” in that tie, but gives his verdict to the Italians in the other two fixtures.
“I say Juve have a 51 per cent chance of qualifying, thanks above all to Luciano Spalletti’s Roma. Chelsea went haywire after the defeat at the Olimpico, it’s as if a grain of sand blocked an almost perfect piece of machinery.”
The Giallorossi return to London to face Arsenal in the final Anglo-Italian battle of the Champions League.
“I say Roma. Arsenal are the ideal side to bring the best out of Roma’s football. It’s also true that Arsene Wenger won’t have Cesc Fabregas or Theo Walcott.”
Francesco Totti was set to miss out after suffering a thigh strain before Christmas, but recent scans suggest he could be back by the end of the month rather than the original eight-week predictions.
“Francesco is the man of the miraculous recuperation. Do you want to bet he’ll be one of the protagonists of this encounter?” grinned former Roma director Baldini.
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