Some students are energetic and patiently waiting for a match to begin, others nervous to see who will conquer the next round. They’re ready to watch one of the most anticipated tournaments around Europe, where sixteen teams play against each other, all teams reaching for the finals. A tournament where all fans come together and watch the game of soccer, more specifically within the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League.
Sport enthusiast junior Willam Zheng shared his experiences watching the games so far.
“It’s extraordinary due to the fact that there are 22 players on the pitch, running around for 90 minutes, teams fighting for the all to become champions,” he said.
Zheng roots for Copenhagen as “they are the underdogs.” He said he watches it to support them, though he understands some others watch the games purely for entertainment.
He shared who his current favorite players are for the time being, both who are from the league called La Liga.
“My favorite players at the moment are Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham, part of Real Madrid. [They’re] interesting players to watch just because of their style of play.”
Another student, junior Christopher Schwiers, talked about his thoughts on the current Champions League matches.
“It’s very exhilarating when you have two teams put together from different levels of competition and I watch it because of Borussia Dortmund,” he said. Borussia Dortmund is a German team.
Schwiers plays soccer himself and got into it thanks to a player from a different European team.
“I like Paolo Maldini because he is the one who got me into defending,” he said.
Right now, though, his favorite star is Borussia Dortmund player Donyell Malén because of “his pace.”
His saddest moment when watching the Champions League was, “Last time when we lost to Chelsea FC.” This game caused his team to be eliminated from the competition.
His happiest moment, however, was when his team proved fans wrong.
“Being at the top of the group stage, everybody was saying that we were losing so we proved them wrong,” said Schwiers.
He is holding out hope for Borussia Dortmund to once again win the Champions League like they did in 1997.
Junior Raymond Needham watches the games for entertainment.
“I like watching the best players play against each other and there are a lot of good games so it’s very interesting,” he said. “It’s fun talking about it with my friends.”
His favorite players are Lionel Messi, who no longer plays in Europe, and Erling Haaland. The former plays for Manchester City.
“I like watching [Haaland] because he is physical and his shooting is powerful,” said Needham.
As of today, the UEFA Champions League games are continuing, with the final being played on June 1. With teams rising to the top or falling from it, the question as to who will become champions has students on the edge of their seats, hoping their team will succeed.
