Chelsea & Arsenal handed Italian trips
442 Staff - Friday 16 December 2011, 11:31
Holders
Barcelona will play Bayer Leverkusen while strongly-tipped
Bayern Munich will face Basel in the Champions League Round of
16 following the draw on Friday.
Seven-times champions AC Milan will face Arsenal in one of
two Italian-English ties with Napoli, in the knockout rounds for
the first time, facing Chelsea.
Arsenal have advanced on all eight occasions when they have
met Italian teams in the knockout rounds.
Real Madrid, seeking to become European champions for a
tenth time, were given a trip to icy Russia in February when
they drew CSKA Moscow - something their arch-rivals Barcelona
were happy to avoid.
"We got Bayer, well, perfect. All the teams have their
positives and negatives. Like all things in life, you can focus
on the rough and the smooth," said Barcelona president Sandro
Rosell.
"With the Russian teams, for example, we preferred not to
get one of them due to the plane trip, the fact you have to
travel a day earlier and the cold, but, on the other hand they
are in pre-season."
Barca's sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta told reporters:
"German teams are always tough. I have always liked German
football. They have stadiums that are full of passion, emotion
and young people and it seems to me an excellent place to go and
play."
Bayer Leverkusen sports director Rudi Voller said: "We are
playing against the defending champions and are of course the
clear outsiders.
"Both for our fans and young players, this is a dream
draw... everyone must play their best and Barcelona could have a
bad day."
MUNICH FINAL
Bayern, who beat FC Basel home and away in last year's group
stage, refused to take Basel lightly after the Swiss champions
qualified at Manchester United's expense.
"If we remain focused and play with full force then we have
a good chance to move into the quarter-finals," said Bayern CEO
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on the club website.
"But please, no underestimating Basel."
This season's final will be played in Munich's Allianz Arena
in May.
Surprise packages APOEL Nicosia, the first Cypriot club to
reach this stage, will play Olympique Lyon.
The other matches pitch Zenit St Petersburg against Benfica,
who were last European champions 50 seasons ago, and 1993
champions Olympique Marseille against three-times winners Inter
Milan.
Real admitted that conditions in Russia would be a worry.
"We have to be careful, the temperatures will be low in
Moscow on those dates, we are not used to that, it could be a
problem," director and former striker Emilio Butragueno told
Reuters.
"It's an element that can have an impact on that game. The
artificial pitch will also be a novelty."
Napoli's home record could be a worry for Chelsea as they
have not been beaten in their San Paolo stadium in European
competition for 17 years.
"It will be difficult, we've already seen from their group
performances," Chelsea secretary David Barnard said.
"It will be a good occasion, a new experience for us. The
feeling is upbeat, it's always been there and I think just
because a few results haven't gone our way people have assumed
people are not together."
The first legs will be played on February 14/15 and 21/22, with
the return legs on March 6/7 and 13/14.
Draw for the Champions League round of 16 made in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday:
Lyon v APOEL
Napoli v Chelsea
AC Milan v Arsenal
Basel v Bayern Munich
Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona
CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid
Zenit v Benfica
Marseille v Inter Milan