iï*
Make-or-break time
CHAMPIONS
LEAGUE
The eight teams contesting tonight's
second-leg matches in the 1995/96
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE quarter
finals know each other "inside out". Not
only as a result of last year's group
competition and their first-leg encoun
ters two weeks ago, but also because
they belong to the elite of European
football. A club playing in the UEFA
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE attracts the inte
rest of everyone-playérs, coaches,
association and club officials and, last
but not least, the media and footballing
enthusiasts.
Nevertheless, the harsh world of cup
knock-out football means that some of
these clubs will tonight reach the end of
the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE road.
Only four clubs can go through to the
semi-finals next month and continue to
cherish hopes of a place in the final in
Rome on 22nd May 1996.
The other four teams will fall by the
wayside in this year's competition.
However, defeat can also stimulate
succes - if clubs are able to accept that
they can be beaten. The teams that are
knocked out this evening may still be
aiming to qualify for the 1996/97 UEFA
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE via their domes
tic championships. They will be hoping
to embark on a new adventure in a
European competition whose format of
a group "championship", as well as
quarter-finals and semi-finals played
under the knock-out system, has been
widely praised by those taking part in
the present campaign. The UEFA
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE in its current
form has been a source of great satis
faction, and has produced entertaining
and exciting football.
It is in this spirit that I welcome the
teams for tonight's decisive matches,
and wish them the best of luck. I also
greet the spectators and television vie
wers, as well as the mass media, and
everyone else who has been involved
"with us in this season's UEFA CHAM
PIONS LEAGUE.
Finally, let us hope that everyone obser
ves the ideals of Fair Play and sport-
manship
Lennart Johansson
President of UEFA
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