We're through to the quarterfinals! That's right, on their debut Spurs have made it to the last eight in the Champions League. When the draw was first announced I said this tie was 50-50, and I was pretty much right on target. We thoroughly out-played Milan in the first game, but in tonight's second game we were on the ropes for much of the evening. It was pretty tense since they had the ball in our end for long stretches and only needed to score once to even things. There were moments of panic (such as the Gallas goal-line clearance), but after the game was over we had held strong. Milan did not score on us in either match.
It was an ugly win - everyone agrees with that evaluation. The other 4 games in this round will be played next week. On Friday, 18 March, the quarterfinal draw will be made. This is just like Selection Sunday in college basketball except that it is entirely random. There are no longer seeds since the competition is this far along. I've been saying it all along, but it is no longer out of the question that Spurs can get to the semifinal or final with a favorable random draw. Do I think we will get that far? Probably not. However, it's still possible. Most Spurs fans agree that the ideal draw would match us up against Schalke in the next round. In my opinion, based on the rest of the teams still left (or that should be left after next week's games), I think Chelsea would be the easiest opponent we could face in the semifinals (after Schalke in the quarterfinals). We play well against them and are very familiar with their team. If everything goes according to plan, we'd then have the pleasure of getting blown out by Barcelona in the final.
Just for fun Jules and I held a mock draw. I did it five times. Unfortunately, 3 out of 5 times we drew Barcelona in the next round. One time I did draw Spurs and Schalke and they were to play the winner of Bayern and Shakhtar. I would take that. I guess everyone will find out "for real" on Friday of next week. Even if we get Barcelona and it ends right now, this run has exceeded all dreams and expectations.