The top four sides in Europe are a mere 180 minutes away from the finals of the most prestigious club competition in Europe. Bayern Munich will have to overcome Real Madrid in order to further their hopes of becoming the first side since the rechristening of the tournament to win it on two consecutive occasions. Their opponents, the most successful side in the competition, will be looking to finally complete their pursuit of La Decima.
The other semi final pits Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, a side no stranger to this stage of the competition, against Atletico Madrid, a relative newbie to this level of European football. But past laurels may mean nothing in this fixture as the Spanish league leaders have taken the world by storm with their incredible style of play, even adding Barcelona to their long list of scalps thereby ensuring that they do not enter the semi finals as the underdogs.
With both semi finals set to be very tightly contested affairs, it may well be brilliant individual performances that propel sides into the finals. Here is a look at five players who might excel and lead their respective clubs to the finals of the 2014 UEFA Champions League.
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
The individual battles that could take place in the two legs between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are mouth watering. Bayern’s weakest unit, their defense, may face their toughest test yet, while Madrid’s mental strength will be pushed to the limit by Bayern’s dominant style of play.
While the likes of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, whose presence on the playing field in Madrid is doubtful, may be the real superstars of the side, the midfield magic of Luka Modric will be a thorn in the side of Bayern. The Bavarian giants may have successfully dealt with the hard hitting likes of Yaya Toure or the deep lying passer in Michael Carrick, but what Modric brings to the field is very different.
Despite not being built in the same mould as Toure, Modrid is no mug when it comes to winning the ball and disrupting plays, something that Madrid will need aplenty in order to overcome Bayern. Xabi Alonso may just pip Modric in the number of tackles made in the Champions League this season, but Modric’s superiority when it comes to reading the game and intercepting passes is unquestionable (24 interceptions in 8 appearances). In fact, only one other player remaining in the Champions League has a better average number of interceptions per game – Tiago of Atletico Madrid.
Modric’s abilities aren’t limited to just the defensive side. His ball carrying ability from deep is unmatched and this may prove to be his most important trait against Bayern. The Croat’s number of dribbles in the Champions League match that of Bale, which is no mean feat.
If Madrid are to overcome Bayern and inch towards La Decima, the 28-year-old midfielder may well hold the key.
Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)
Both teams that Jose Mourinho led to Champions League glory boasted of sides capable of sitting back and soaking up pressure, a tactic that requires a solid defensive unit. The Chelsea side that won the Champions League a couple of seasons ago also had this defensive solidity, and that defense hasn’t changed drastically over the past two years. Putting all of this together, it is fairly clear that if Chelsea are to progress to the finals of the competition, their defense will have to be at their destructive best.
While Cesar Azpilicueta may have grown by leaps and bounds this season, grabbing all the attention, there is absolutely no denying the quality of Chelsea’s reliable right back, Branislav Ivanovic. The Serbian defender has been ever present for the Blues this season, making 41 starts in the Premier League and the Champions League, the highest by any outfield player for the club. With Chelsea competing for both domestic and continental glory, the fact that Mourinho has barely ever rested Ivanovic is testament to the importance of the burly defender to his plans.
Atletico Madrid will surely look to take the game to Chelsea, be it in Spain or England, and the London outfit’s defensive unit will have to be at its very best. Ivanovic may well be pitted against the immensely talented Arda Turan, Atletico’s creator-in-chief. Keeping the Turkish maestro quiet is going to be a mammoth task but if one was to make a choice regarding a defender to shut Turan down, Ivanovic would undoubtedly be a fine one.
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
A year or so ago there were rumors of Arjen Robben possibly being shipped off given his susceptibility to injuries and his inability to perform under pressure. But how things have turned around since then! Two Bundesliga triumphs, once DFB Pokal win and, most memorably, a UEFA Champions League victory, have ensured that Robben is one of the most integral cogs in this Bayern unit.
With four goals and four assists in eight Champions League appearances this season, the Dutchman has become one of Pep Guardiola’s most potent attacking options. His ability to cut in from the right flank is unmatched in the Bundesliga, if not in European football, and his shooting, nothing short of phenomenal.
Add to this the fact that Madrid’s defense always seems uncomfortable against attackers running at them, and Carlo Ancelotti has a major cause for worry. Given that Madrid’s left backs have never been epitomes of defensive stability, Ancelotti will have to rely heavily on one of his midfielders when it comes to shutting Robben down, thereby allowing more space of Bayern’s central midfield.
Whether Robben is going to be given the costlessdom and space that he loves so much is uncertain, but his ability to greatly affect this monumental fixture is unquestionable. Look out for the gliding Dutchman!
Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid)
While Real Madrid might be the most successful side in the tournament and boast of an unmatchable history, their city rivals have taken European football by storm this season. Atletico currently sit atop La Liga, a point ahead of Barcelona and three ahead of Real Madrid.
Atletico’s form hasn’t been confined to just Spain. Their path to the semi-finals of the Champions League has been unblemished, and they’ve shoved aside tournament regulars such as Porto, AC Milan and Barcelona.
At the center of this costless flowing attacking football that has earned them so many plaudits has been Diego Costa. The beastly striker has scored a mind boggling total of 33 goals this season, with seven of those coming in the Champions League. His showing against AC Milan in the round of 16 was a clear sign to the rest of Europe – look out for the next big attacking sensation.
Although Chelsea’s defense may not have the frailties of say Real Madrid, keeping Costa under the cloche will be next to impossible. Costa’s physical ability will prove hard to handle even for the duo of Gary Cahill and John Terry, while his pace is going to be the biggest cause for concern for the Chelsea defense.
With the whole of Spain also looking for a new attacking option for the World Cup, Diego Costa has all the more reason to go out there and put the sword to this Chelsea defense.
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
With Ronaldo being a doubt for the first leg of the semi finals, the onus falls on none other than the 100 million man, Gareth Bale. The Welshman is still far from repaying the monstrous amount that Real Madrid deemed him worth, but his form this season has been heartening for the Madrid faithful.
Bale has netted eighteen times and provided eighteen assists in thirty seven appearances this season, a tally lower than only that of Ronaldo. In the second leg against Borussia Dortmund, Bale seemed to be the only attacker who stepped up in Ronaldo’s absence, reiterating the fact that he is Ancelotti’s second best attacker.
Come the 23rd of April, the 24-year-old superstar will lock horns with one of the most exciting defensive talents in world football, David Alaba. But there’s one factor that should work in Bale’s favor, the form of Alaba over the course of this season. The Austrian full back has set such high standards for himself over the past couple of years that this season comes as a sort of blemish in his career.
Alaba hasn’t looked at his best defensively and his latest struggles against Antonio Valencia, an attacker nowhere near the quality of Bale, make this battle tilt a bit onto Bale’s side. Despite being one of the quickest in the business, Alaba will have his hands full against the raw pace of Bale.
This battle between two of the sport’s most exciting stars may be the decider of the first, and possibly even the second leg. With Bale in the form that he is in, it seems more likely that he will finish on top, and Real Madrid may well be travelling to Lisbon thanks to this Welshman’s magic.