Lippi Terms Arsenal As Favourites To Win Champions League

voldemort · 03-14-2008, 12:37 PM

The whole of the world is eagerly following the draw for the quarter-finals of the competition, which will take place in Nyon, Switzerland.

EPL has made history by becoming the first country to have four teams in the last eight, but Lippi has favoured Arsenal.

"Any of the four could win the Champions League, but at this moment the way Arsenal play is the one I like best,” he told The Independent.

“It would be good for football if Arsenal could win. They play on the ground, they manoeuvre the ball, very, very well. It's very fast and very technical."

Lippi also had some words of praise for his close friend Sir Alex Ferguson who, after 21 years at Old Trafford, has built another excellent Manchester United side.

"Manchester United play great, great football and Alex Ferguson is the type of manager able to renew his team, and, every four to five years, to bring it back to an excellent level of top-class football,” the Viareggio-native said.

Finally Lippi, who won Europe’s premier club competition in 1996 with Juventus, says that the tournament was better when only the champions of each country participated.

"When I won it, it was the last year of the European Cup [when only domestic champions entered]. Then it became the Champions League and now it's possible that even a team that has finished fourth can win it. It was more beautiful, more significant when it was the European Cup,"

03-14-2008, 12:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
voldemort Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 8,202	Lippi Terms Arsenal As Favourites To Win Champions League The whole of the world is eagerly following the draw for the quarter-finals of the competition, which will take place in Nyon, Switzerland. EPL has made history by becoming the first country to have four teams in the last eight, but Lippi has favoured Arsenal. "Any of the four could win the Champions League, but at this moment the way Arsenal play is the one I like best,” he told The Independent. “It would be good for football if Arsenal could win. They play on the ground, they manoeuvre the ball, very, very well. It's very fast and very technical." Lippi also had some words of praise for his close friend Sir Alex Ferguson who, after 21 years at Old Trafford, has built another excellent Manchester United side. "Manchester United play great, great football and Alex Ferguson is the type of manager able to renew his team, and, every four to five years, to bring it back to an excellent level of top-class football,” the Viareggio-native said. Finally Lippi, who won Europe’s premier club competition in 1996 with Juventus, says that the tournament was better when only the champions of each country participated. "When I won it, it was the last year of the European Cup [when only domestic champions entered]. Then it became the Champions League and now it's possible that even a team that has finished fourth can win it. It was more beautiful, more significant when it was the European Cup,"