Between Wednesday and Saturday the four quarter-final matches of this rare 65th edition of the Champions League and it will do so with only two trophy champions among the eight qualifiers. Something almost unique to date. You have to go back to 1992, when there were still two groups of four before the final, to find a similar situation. On that occasion neither Sampdoria, nor Barcelona, nor Anderlecht, nor Panathinaikos, nor Sparta from Prague and nor Dinamo from Kiev they knew what it was like to win the competition. Only Red Star and Benfica.
Now among the eight quarter-finalists, only Barcelona, winner five times (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015) and Bayern Munich, also with five wins (1974, 1975, 1975, 2001 and 2013) they have tasted the honeys of success. Catalans and Bavarians will face each other, so there will only be one former champion in the semifinals.
The knockout draw for this atypical Champions League has already provided one side of the table without winners (PSG; Atalanta; Atlético and Red Bull Leipzig), who have joined Manchester City, after eliminating Real Madrid, and Olympique de Lyon, after doing the same with Juventus. In the 64th editions disputed there have been 22 different teams capable of winning. In the event that Bayern or Barcelona do not finally achieve victory in Lisbon, on 23 August a new club will be proclaimed the best in Europe.
Check the record of the competition.
Guardiola, the only coach with the Champions League
It may not only be the case that there is a new winning team, but also a new coach. Of the eight coaches who will be in Portugal, Pep Guardiola (two 'Orejonas' with Barça) is the only one who knows what it's like to win the top European club competition. For the rest it would be their first time, although the Cholo Simeone has been close twice (2014 and 2016). Nagelsmann (Leipzig); Rudi Garcia (O. Lyon); Tuchel (PSG); Gasperini (Atalanta); Setién (Barcelona) and Flick (Bayern Munich) they have never achieved it or been close. Curious, which of the eight is also Guardiola the only one who has also won the title as a player (when he was a member of Cruyff's Barça in 1992).
Josep Guardiola, in 2009.
CHRISTOPHE SIMON (AFP)
41 different coaches have achieved the European Cup / Champions since 1956, so in this edition so peculiar due to the coronavirus pandemic another technician can be added to the extensive list. It must be remembered that if it were Guardiola, he would enter the select group of coaches with the most titles along with Paisley, Ancelotti and Zidane. Three each.