Assisted to Score

Yang Yang's near-leg-breaking injury had caused an uproar in Spain. By midweek, once the remaining four Champions League Round of 16 matches had concluded, the list of quarterfinalists quickly occupied the front pages of media outlets around the world.

La Liga's Real Madrid and Barcelona, the Premier League's Manchester United and Arsenal, the Bundesliga's Bayern Munich, Ligue 1's Bordeaux, the Russian Premier League's CSKA Moscow, and Serie A's Inter Milan.

The Champions League quarterfinalists came from six leagues, making this the most widely scattered quarterfinal lineup in the past decade.

There was no need to mention the six traditional giants—Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Inter Milan. Bordeaux of Ligue 1 had overcome Bayern Munich and Juventus in the group stage, qualifying as group winners.

Led by French great Blanc, the team had drawn away to Juventus in the group stage and beaten Bayern Munich home and away. They had then defeated the Old Lady 2–0 at home. Their record was truly outstanding.

CSKA Moscow were no pushovers either. They had drawn 3–3 away to Manchester United and beaten Wolfsburg at home. Then, in the Round of 16, they defeated La Liga powerhouse Sevilla 1–1 at home and 2–1 away. Their overall strength was not to be underestimated.

One had to remember that Sevilla were one of the eight seeded teams in this year's Champions League.

Not a single team that had reached the quarterfinals was weak. Every clash promised to be spectacular.

According to a pre-draw survey conducted on UEFA's official website, the team fans least wanted to face was Real Madrid, led by Yang Yang. The reason was simple: Benitez was known as the Cup King, Yang Yang was in excellent form, and Real Madrid possessed tremendous overall strength. Together, they had turned the team