by Nobody wants to face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, and anyone who says otherwise, mind. It will be Copenhagen’s turn. The cheapest squad in the round of 16 against the most expensive. And for a shocking difference. But the Danish team, the great revelation of the group stage, showed that football is not just about money, but about faith, about fighting for what you want, no matter how complicated the path may seem.
The Danish team won a huge prize with a ticket to the round of 16. They went out to fight against the ‘giants’ from the first day, and with heart and a lot of feeling they put themselves against the ropes. The team led by Jacob Neestrup was the cinderella of Group A. They faced the Bayern Munichto the manchester united and to Galatasaray. Teams with much more budget and proven players, but on the field, that is of no use.
THE CHEAPEST SQUAD OF THE EIGHTH
When the competition began, the Danes had the squad with the second smallest market value of the entire group stage (66.35 million euros). To put it in context: the market value of the Bayern Munich was 948.15 million, that of manchester united of 877.30 million, and that of Galatasaray of 236.58 million.
Evidently, the economic power of the aforementioned clubs was also reflected in the last summer market. he manchester united spent more than 200 million euros to reinforce its staff, the Bayern Munich 150 million and the Galatasaray almost 30 million. The Danes did not spend even 10 million.
Copenhagen beat Galatasaray at home (1-0) and got a ticket to the Champions League round of 16 / Agencies
Now, the market value of the Danish team’s players has increased considerably (84.6 million euros). But they are, by far, the cheapest squad of all the round of 16.. They are light years behind Lazio, second from bottom with a value of 241.65 million euros. And if we compare it with that of Manchester City, their rival in the round of 16 and the most expensive squad in the competition, the difference is insulting: 1.26 billion euros.
Another shocking fact. The footballer who has the highest market value on the squad is the goalkeeper, Kamil Grabara (11 million euros), who will join Wolfsburg in the summer of 2024 in exchange for 13.5 ‘kilos’. he City It has up to four players on the roster who are worth more than the entire team. Copenhagen (Erling Haaland, Rodri Hernández, Phil Foden and Julián Álvarez).
A VERY HARD ROAD TO THE EIGHTH
The revelation of the Champions He hasn’t had it easy at all. They started from the bottom, devastating the Breidablik in the qualifying quarterfinals (8-3 overall), suffering against the Prague Sparta in the semifinals (they passed the round on penalties) and competing very seriously against the Rakow in the ‘final’ (2-1 on aggregate).
They fell into the Group A, and the rest is history. Impressive milestone that serves to obtain the second ticket to the round of 16 Champions in the history of the club (the last time was in the 2010/11 season). The great victim was manchester unitedthat was even left out of the European Leagueticket that was awarded Galatsaray. he Bayern MunichFor its part, it fulfilled all the predictions and dominated the Group A with an iron fist.
BELIEVE UNTIL THE END
The Danish team began to gain respect from the first day. he Galatasaray They managed to scratch a draw (2-2) in the Turkish hell. They started winning by two goals, but an expulsion of Elias Jelert In the 73rd minute of the match he allowed the Turks to come forward, who tied the match two minutes from the end. Then they made the man suffer a lot Bayern Munich at home, which had to come back and turn around the initial 1-0 in the 83rd minute.
The image was good, but the points did not arrive. One of six possible that would become one of nine. he manchester united they won by the minimum in Old Traffordwith a penalty missed by Jordan Larsson in the 97th minute to score a golden point. But when everything was completely lost, the reaction came. The Danes found the key to managing a very difficult situation, and filled the Parken Stadium to condemn manchester unitedwho began to win by two goals, and began to climb the table (4-3).
The Copenhagen players celebrate the victory against Manchester United (4-3) / Agencies
The next visit, the fearsome Allianz Stadium. From the battlefield in which so many teams have emerged humiliated, they returned to Denmark with a goalless draw that left the door open to the round of 16 on the last day against the Galatasaray. those of Neestrup They complied by the minimum (1-0), in front of their people, who never left them aside.
THE CITY, THE WORST POSSIBLE RIVAL
Copenhagen’s dream may expire against Pep Guardiola’s team. On paper this is what has to happen. The Danes have everything to gain and nothing to lose. They have already delivered in the Champions League incontestably. The English, on the other hand, have a lot to lose and very little to gain. Favorites, plugged in and with all the resources in their favor, being eliminated by the ‘Cinderella’ of the tournament would be an absolute failure.
