Football: Beyond Barcelona

Laurence Janta-LipinskiAssociate Director
February 16, 2011, 2:15 AM GMT+0


As the UEFA Champions League last 16 (a stellar group including Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham, as well as top foreign teams such as Barcelona, Real Madrid and Milan) kicks off, we asked fans to predict who they think will emerge victorious.


  • Barcelona come out as the favourite, with 41% of football fans favouring the Catalan giants
  • Manchester United are seen as the most likely British team, selected by 22%
  • Spurs meanwhile, in their first Champions League appearance, remain rank outsiders, selected by just 4% of football fans

But when we turned our attention to who fans would most like to see lift the trophy at Wembley in three months’ time, Manchester United’s popularity is evident.

  • 28% of respondents would like to see United lift the trophy
  • Compared with 23% plumping for Arsenal
  • While Tottenham Hotspur makes up the top three on 18%
  • Chelsea lag some way behind their British counterparts, selected by just 9%
  • The same number (9%) went for, Barcelona, making it the highest ranked foreign team

As excitement builds for all 16 clubs ahead of the 2nd round, it appears that most fans feel that the British clubs have a tough time ahead if they want to beat 2009 champions Barcelona and lift the trophy for themselves.

See the survey details and full results here