Champions League Quarterfinal Draw

The results of the Champions League Draw from Nyon, Switzerland:

The first team listed in each draw will be the home side for the first leg. 

1.  Lyon v Bordeaux

2.  Bayern Munich v Manchester United

3.  Arsenal v Barcelona

4.  Inter v CSKA Moscow

Semi-final 1 will be:
Winner of Munich/Manchester United v Winner of Lyon/Bordeaux

Semi-final 2 will be:
Winner of Inter/Moscow v Arsenal/Barcelona

The home side (unlike here in the US) is the first team listed.

The home side draw for the Final in Madrid:
Winner of Semi-final 1 v Winner of Semi-final 2

The 8 quarterfinalists are represented by 6 different countries; 2 from England, 2 from France, 1 each from Germany, Italy, Russia, and Spain.
It's ironic that in the draw today the two teams from France were pitted against each other in the quarterfinals.  The team representatives grimaced when they heard the draw.  The whole idea of the Champions League is to draw teams who don't normally play each other.  Lyon and Bordeaux are both from the French Ligue 1.  So there is no possibility of an all-French final.
If Manchester United and Arsenal make it through the quarterfinals and semi-finals, they could meet each other in Madrid, as United and Chelsea did in 2008.  Of course the president of UEFA, Michel Platini would grind his teeth if that were to happen; he hates English sides.  There is also the potential that the final from last year is repeated, with United and Barcelona meeting each other.

Some other possibilites:  If Bordeaux and United win their semi-final the managers of the two teams would be reunited.  Sir Alex coached Bordeaux manager, Laurent Blanc, when he played for United as a center-back.  Blanc has commented recently that he learned much of his own managerial style from the time he spent at Old Trafford under the tutelage of the most successful manager in European history.  Could United welcome home another player as they did with David Beckham?  Time will tell.

UNITED
Manchester face Munich in their quarterfinal, a team which struggled to qualify out of the group stages after being pummeled by Bordeaux in their two-leg tie.  At the time, Munich were on a major slide and many thought that their manager would be axed promptly.  But since then the former Bundesliga champions have made a resurgence and are sitting atop the German table.  Their star player is Franck Ribery, who was supposedly a United target in last summer's transfer market.  His contract is soon to expire and Munich are keen to hang on to him.  As it is with every star of another team, Real Madrid  *yawn* have been rumored (by their own hand, no doubt) to want him desperately.  Ribery has been plagued by injuries and I'm sure United took that into account when assessing his viability at Old Trafford.
Munich just sold Luca Toni, the tempermental Italian has-been, but picked up Arjen Robben, who was excessed from the Florentino Perez Project of Madrid last summer.  Robben is an aging veteran, but still has the potential to score.  Their keeper's name is...Butt.  I laughed during the Bordeaux/Munich matchups, as the word for "goal" in French is "but (pronounced boot)."  So Bordeaux scored a few buts against Butt.  Let's hope that Rooney and Company score many buts against Butt.  Or we BUTTrify him, or BUTTer him up, or give him the BUTT but good! Okay...I'm done.

I found this quote last night from the Bordeaux/Olympiakos match on Wednesday:
"We've had to suffer a lot, so now we are going to savour the moment. It wasn't at all easy, especially in the second half, but it's fantastic to be in the quarter-finals. I'm so happy for the club, the town, my family and the fans. It's really beautiful."    --Marouane Chamakh