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Future is now Leeds United makes unlikely Champions League run
It all started with a 4-0 defeat in Barcelona. The talk then was all about gaining experience and building for the future. But the future is now for Leeds United. Their talented youngsters are about to experience quarterfinal action in Europe's most prestigious club football competition. Leeds in the quarters of the Champions League. One of the first two teams to book its place in the last eight no less. It's one of the more remarkable success stories of recent times. David O'Leary's bunch of raw, but clearly talented, soccer fledglings have emerged from two of the toughest groups to reach the knockout phase of the quest for the European Cup. Leeds, who have never won this trophy, lost in the 1975 final to Bayern Munich. This is as close as they have come to the prestigious title showdown since.
And yet who could ever have predicted it. Not even the affable O'Leary himself would dare to look this far down the Champions League road. Not after drawing mighty AC Milan and Barcelona in the first group phase, along wth the testing Turks of Besiktas. Not after landing in a second round group with Italian champions Lazio and reigning European Cup holders Real Madrid, not to mention Anderlecht and their phenomenal home record. Yet each step along that road, Leeds have confounded the predictors of doom. That 4-0 loss in Barcelona was followed by a 1-0 home win over Milan, albeit courtesy of a goalkeeping howler of a mistake in dreadful, wet conditions. That sparked the belief in an English Premier League side of immense promise. Besiktas were crushed 6-0 at Elland Road, then came a 0-0 draw in a return fixture made all the more difficult by memories of last season's tragic events in Turkey, when two Leeds supporters lost their lives. An injury time goal by Rivaldo temporarily robbed Leeds of place in the second group phase. It earned Barcelona a 1-1 draw and kept the Catalans in contention. Indeed, with Barca hosting Besiktas and Leeds traveling to Milan on Matchday 6, the English upstarts appeared to have blown it. But not so. A 1-1 draw at the San Siro carried Leeds through with Milan. Barcelona were out.
Then came the draw for the second group section - another cruel draw as far as O'Leary was concerned. Like the opening round, Leeds began with a defeat first off against a Spanish power. Leeds 0 Real Madrid 2. Was reality about to set in ? No such luck for Lazio. The Rome giants lost 1-0 at home to Leeds next time out. The English outfit followed up with a shaky 2-1 home win over Anderlecht and an imperious 4-1 win in Belgium to send Lazio tumbling the way of Barcelona. The last two victories have been played out to the backdrop of a court case involving, among others, two of Leeds' brightest young stars in Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer. They are accused of grievous bodily harm with intent and affray after an alleged incident with an Asian youth last year. The players deny the charges, but the ongoing trial at Hull Crown Court makes daily news in England. O'Leary has done a marvelous job of keeping his team focused on the European job in hand. Bowyer, in fact, arrived from the trial to score the winner in the home game against Anderlecht. I'll reserve judgement on the players in the dock until the jury hands down a verdict and instead will offer a glowing verdict on the ever-commendable O'Leary. In his calm, under-stated manner, which belies a fierce football passion and an incisive football mind, he has kept his players focused on the European job in hand, even amid the controversy of the legal battle and white-hot trip to Turkey. The former Irish international has also constantly played the underdog card to perfection -- and still does. "We're not going to win the competition, " he declared after Wednesday's win in Brussels. "We didn't expect to get this far." But here they are: Leeds, in the last eight. Wouldn't fancy being the next football giant to draw them.
Phil Jones is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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