Q&A with voice of Champions League, Tommy Smyth

	If you watch UEFA Champions League soccer on ESPN, you're more than familiar with the brogue of commentator Tommy Smyth. Courtesy of ESPN
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With the Champions League down to its final four, SI.com recently checked in with ESPN's Tommy Smyth, who broadcasts UEFA Champions League games for the network. The colorful Irish broadcaster calls more than 200 international soccer matches a year, and is never short of opinions.

SI.com: Who is the most enjoyable player in the world to watch?

Smyth: Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United. He's the most enjoyable player for many, many reasons. In the past I have been very critical of him for his shenanigans of diving and complaining to the referees. And I was very critical of him in the World Cup when he got involved that fracas with Wayne Rooney. So to see a player come back like that and to do what he has done -- I was convinced, along with a lot of people, that Ronaldo's days with Manchester United were over. For a young man, he has risen above all of that. He has done the right thing and he has now decided that he will let football speak for him. It's unbelievable what this man can do with a football!

SI.com: Manchester United plays AC Milan in one of the Champions League semifinals, which kick off Tuesday. You'll be calling both legs. What do you expect?

Smyth: Alex Ferguson has a huge problem of a back four that is very inexperienced playing together [because of injuries] and it'll have the problem of facing Alberto Gilardino or Pippo Inzaghi. And if that wasn't big enough, then you have probably the second-best or maybe the best player in the world in Kaká coming down the middle. The good thing about Manchester United, of course, is that they have enough firepower that they could go out on the field and in 10 or 15 minutes could blow you away when you put Ronaldo, Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes out there. I think it'll be a very tight tense encounter, but Man U will advance.

SI.com: What about the Chelsea-Liverpool matchup?

Smyth: There's really no surprises in this game as far as the two teams go. They have met now four times. There are a couple of players who obviously can change this game. Didier Drogba is one of the toughest center forwards I've ever seen. He plays so well with his back to goal. Michael Essien is starting to play very well. But I just have a feeling that the way Liverpool plays, I think it could rip Chelsea to shreds. People tell me I'm nuts, but I think Liverpool is destined for another final.

SI.com: So if you're proven correct, what can we expect from a Manchester United-Liverpool final?

Smyth: Oh, I think that it would be a very open final. I think it would be a throwback to playing in an FA Cup final where it'll be hell for leather and whoever's left standing at the finish will be the team that scores the most goals. I just have a feeling about Liverpool this year. I really don't have any grounds for it -- especially when you see the way Manchester United plays in the Premiership -- but if Liverpool gets to the final, it would be a very difficult to beat.

SI.com: Where did your catchphrase, "a bulge in the auld onion bag," come from?

Smyth: I was having dinner one night with a fellow named Barry McCormick and we were talking about how all the great sportscasters always seem to have a tag line. I said, "Well, I guess if I want to be a great sportscaster, I have to have a tag line." We were talking about things and he said, "You know, I remember some old boy at home, he said he used to talk about guarding the onion bag." And I said, "Guarding the onion bag?" And he said, "Yeah he was a gardener. He used to guard the onion bag." And all of us a sudden the light just went off. At the time, when I started doing international soccer going back 15 years ago, a lot of the nets were actually red. As soon as the ball touched the net I said to myself, it just looks like an onion, sitting in it.

SI.com: Is Major League Soccer in a good place right now?

Smyth: Yeah, I think it is. But I also feel that it's in a place where it needs to continue growing. I think it's gotten to a point now where it has to grow, it can't afford to go back, and the one way it will grow, of course, is by bringing good players in. I think the Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Juan Pablo Ángel signings are very good moves [by Columbus and New York, respectively]. Fred [of D.C. United] is also a very good player. The league is in a very good position, but having said that, it needs to move forward.

SI.com: What impact will David Beckham have both on and off the pitch?

Smyth: On the pitch he's going to have a huge influence because he can still play. I've watched him for many years. He came on as a sub last Saturday and I know he was only on for 15 or 20 minutes but it looked like vintage Beckham. There's no question -- Beckham will be a big star in MLS. Off the field, the sky is the limit. George Clooney will have a lot of competition in terms of who's going to be on more magazine covers. Beckham is going to get people who have no interest in soccer.

SI.com: Do you have an early pick as your pre- 2010 World Cup favorite?

Smyth: Oh, I'm on the record already. Germany's my favorite. They have a lot of good young players coming on -- Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker. They are strong at every position. I think they will win Euro 2008 and I have to make them as my favorites for the 2010 World Cup. And remember, I did pick Italy a long way out the last time.

SI.com: Will the U.S. win the World Cup in your lifetime?

Smyth: I would say in my lifetime, no. I don't think I'm going to live that long. But I would say that it is definitely in the cards that the U.S. will win one. When the U.S. puts their mind to winning a World Cup, they will win a World Cup. They have proven in every sport that they compete -- if they have the right attitude and go about it in the right way, they can produce the very best athletes in the world. There is no reason for a country with the population of the United States, with the interest in soccer, can't put together a team that will win a World Cup eventually.

SI.com: You're originally from Knockbridge, County Louth, in Ireland. When did you come to the United States?

Smyth: I've been here 43 years. I only sound like I came in yesterday. I've lived in Queens for the past 20 years.

SI.com: How often do you get recognized when you're walking around your neighborhood?

Smyth: I get recognized all the time here. In fact, three months ago I was coming out of Mass and this guy came up behind me and said, "Tommy, Tommy, I love what you do. You picked Italy to win the World Cup. Could I have your autograph?" I said sure. And he handed me the Mass book to sign. [Laughs.]