The Final Four for the Rest of the World

The Champions League Semifinals Have Three Historical Powers, One Massive Cinderella; 150 Million Watch on TV

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN And JONATHAN CLEGG
WSJ

Anyone who thought the NCAA's little four-team basketball tournament in Houston earlier this month was a major sporting event might want to consider what's taking place this week in Germany and Spain.

The world's foremost tournament for professional soccer clubs, the UEFA Champions League, is down to its own final four, and it contains something that March Madness conspicuously lacked: a clash among three colossal powers.

After 208 games involving 76 teams from about 50 countries, the Champions League "bracket" has produced two noteworthy semifinals. Wednesday's matchup includes Spain's bitter rivals, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, whose rosters include Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—arguably the world's two greatest players. Tuesday's pits English Goliath Manchester United against one of the biggest Cinderellas in years, the German club FC Schalke. The final will be played May 28 in London.

This is what the NCAA tournament would be like if there were more teams, three times as many games and roughly 150 million TV viewers a week in 70 countries. (That's about double the roughly 81 million who watched the NCAA tournament's first weekend.)

(Original here.)