European Club Cup – A great warmup for the European Cup of Nations

People following football blogs aren’t the sort to let the questionable naming of major competitions be an obstacle to their enjoyment, but it just might help increase interest among Americans if the European Club Cub wasn’t oddly named the Champions League, and if the Euros had a name a bit closer to the “World Cup.”

But while the naming of the tournaments is a bit of a mess, the product on the pitch has been good quality. The buzz from the Liverpool-Arsenal second leg is only just starting to dissipate, and the first leg of Liverpool-Chelsea is tomorrow. Barcelona host Manchester United Wednesday.

Who among the French players will be making the cut and earning starting berths in these semi-finals? Henry might not be able to play. What about Thuram and Abidal? Abidal has been critical of his own form, and evidently put in a request to be benched.

If Patrice Evra turns in yet another good performance for Manchester United, and Abidal doesn’t make it off the bench for Barcelona, would that have any bearing on their chances for France this summer? I can’t discuss French leftbacks without a mention of Gael Clichy, a fantastic player who’s a joy to watch; winning the ball and bombing forward, but Evra, at this point, has surely earned a chance to play for France.

Will Makalele be first choice for Chelsea? His chances are better than Malouda’s. Will Anelka figure for Chelsea? Everything is aligned for Nico to score the goals to secure a couple European cups.