The last “quiet” week has passed. In fact, the cups will start again from Tuesday and our teams will be called to important exams, without an appeal test. The European commitments, however, will not only concern Juve (Champions), Rome, Naples, Fiorentina, Turin and Inter (Europa League): in fact, even those who do not participate will be involved, albeit smeared. Midweek matches take away physical and mental energy: someone could take advantage of them to gnaw points and thus move up their rankings... The big dream concerns Juventus, the only Italian remaining in the European gotha of the Champions League, but the greatest expectations are aimed at the Europa League, more realistically speaking within our reach.
However, the draw gave the black and whites a good hand: having qualified as runners-up they could find everything from Real Madrid to Chelsea, passing through Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Instead Massimiliano Allegri found Borussia Dortmund, to date the team most in difficulty of the 16 remaining in the running. Klopp's gialloneri are in third from bottom place in the standings, contested by the fans and at risk of relegation. Put like this, there would seem to be no match, but football is not an exact science and, above all, the Champions League is not the Bundesliga. Limping Borussia in the league has in fact managed to win their group, coming ahead of a team like Arsenal; the squad then, Lewandowski aside, is practically the same that, a couple of years ago, came close to winning the cup in the final (later lost) against Bayern: therefore woe to underestimate him, otherwise risk an elimination that would hurt, very badly.
If the Champions League is still a dream, the Europa League is a necessity. In fact, the rise of our football passes from there and not only because, starting this year, whoever wins it will have a pass for the main cup. It's a matter of prestige and ranking, all things that once saw us excel and which today, however, see us light years away from the Premier League, Liga and Bundesliga, as well as undermined by Ligue 1 and Liga Sagres. Maximum attention therefore on Rome, Naples, Fiorentina, Turin and Inter, who will play the passage to the round of XNUMX with Feyenoord, Trabzonspor, Tottenham, Athletic Bilbao and Celtic. On paper, the most affordable commitment is that of the Azzurri: in fact, the Turks don't seem to represent a big problem.
The others, on the other hand, are awaited by heavy matches, full of historical appeals (Inter and Celtic, for example, played the 1967 Champions Cup) and pitfalls. The most difficult task concerns Fiorentina and Turin, who start as underdogs against Tottenham and Athletic Bilbao: the chances of qualifying are there (especially for the Viola) but an elimination would certainly not be a scandal. On the other hand, woe if Roma and Inter were to mess. Feyenoord and Celtic remain insidious teams, with historical backgrounds and very hot fans, the Giallorossi and Nerazzurri are however much better equipped. In short, it is forbidden to get distracted: our football, never like this year, really cannot afford it.
