The next phase towards European glory awaits

THE two-month wait for the knockout stages of European football's premier club competition - the Uefa Champions League (UCL) - is almost over, with the first of the two-legged ties in the round-of-16 taking place across the coming fortnight (Feb 13-21).

This stage of the competition will see eight former winners, with more than half of all UCL titles between them.

The round-of-16 draw, which took place at Uefa's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on Dec 11 threw up intriguing clashes between the best teams in Europe, which are sure to garner a lot of fanfare. But of the lot, one particular fixture stands out: the one between defending back-to-back UCL champions Real Madrid and ambitious French nouveau powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Feb 14. After a…