Photo courtesy the18.com

***Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are my own. For more info on the UEFA Champions League, visit http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/index.html#/

The UEFA Champions League is down to the quarterfinals, and these are the questions I have for the final stretch of the tournament:

Who Will Win Juventus vs. Real Madrid?

It’s painfully obvious that this is not only a question I’m asking; it’s a question the whole world is asking. These two foes will tangle for the twentieth and twenty-first occasions in April, and Juve reminded fans not to be taken for granted, rallying back to beat Tottenham 4-3 on aggregate last round. Last year’s final was Juve’s only loss vs. Real Madrid in its last four encounters with Los Merengues (and Juve knocked out R.M. during that span in 2015).

Gonzalo Higuaín and Paulo Dybala continue to be goalscoring threats, with the former logging five goals in eight Champions League games and 15 goals in the Italian Serie A thus far. Despite that form, Juventus has the fewest goals of the remaining Champions League teams.

In terms of absences, Medhi Benatia and Miralem Pjanic are suspended for leg one while Cuadrado is the only player who isn’t likely to be fit in time for the matchup and Federico Bernardeschi is questionable. It’s critical for the midfield to control the games against Madrid, as the overall midfield hasn’t exactly dominated the tournament.  

Speaking of injuries, Giorgio Chiellini’s thigh injury is not thought to be serious according to the Juventus head coach, which should be relief as the 33-year-old continues to be a rock for Juve’s back line.

Take note of how Juventus balances league play with cup play; Juve is fighting for the Serie A title and hosts A.C. Milan three days before the Real Madrid matchup.

As for Real Madrid, the Spanish La Liga table doesn’t seem to affect morale. Los Merengues have scored the most goals of this season’s tournament than any team remaining, including 15 from CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo). The squad is injury-free at the moment and firing on all cylinders. Ronaldo scored four goals in league play last weekend. The squad has the highest team rating of any team in the tournament. And the squad has averaged 60.6% possession through the tournament.

One stat that Juventus will appreciate seeing is that Real Madrid has missed several scoring chances in the tournament (despite converting on many as well). But Real Madrid will definitely be hard to beat in this series.

Is Sevilla the Real Deal?

It’s only just sinking in that Sevilla beat Man United over a two-leg aggregate series. And Los Sevillistas closed out that series at Old Trafford. Wissam Ben Yedder came off the bench to score both of their goals, they outshot the Red Devils and once again kept possession even. Joaquin Correa registered an assist, got six shots off and completed 29 passes. And while Romelu Lukaku put the defense under pressure, the underdog prevailed.

Sébastien Corchia has been a fantastic fullback and is easing back to full-fitness. Éver Banega is proving to be a valuable addition in midfield. And Franco Vazquez has been an effective attacking midfielder, with a 70% UCL dribbling success rate and 6 assists across all competitions. Add that to a 60%

possession/game rate and you’re looking at a tough midfield to beat.

Robert Lewandowski continues to rack up goals, with 32 across all competitions this season. And despite the ongoing conversations about where he might end up next season, he continues to lead a loaded attack that includes James Rodriguez and Thomas Müller.

This team is used to progressing far in this competition, while Sevilla is in its first Champions League quarterfinal in fifty years. Will experience prevail, or will Sevilla reach new heights?

Can Roma Pull off a Shocker?

A.S. Roma is in its first UCL Quarterfinal since 2008, and the team has the arduous task of going against Barca. Edin Dzeko continues to do Edin Dezko things, with four goals and three assists in the competition. Aleksandr Kolarov is doing big things, too. And Diego Perotti is helping Dzeko out with a solid pass-accuracy rate.

Roma had to battle back in the Round of 16 versus Shakhtar Donetsk to advance to the Quarters. “I Giallorossi” absorbed a lot of pressure and benefited from gritty defensive performances, especially from Konstantinos Manolas. They can expect a lot more defense being necessary against a Barcelona team that constantly puts opponents under siege.

Barcelona is hoping to remain undefeated in this year’s Champions League and advance in the process. The Blaugrana leads the tournament with 66% average possession and six clean sheets. In this tournament, Lionel Messi has six goals and two assists and Philippe Coutinho has five goals. This team is poised to improve upon last year’s quarterfinal exit, and its fans expect nothing less.

This attack has still been strong even despite Luis Suárez being held scoreless in the Champions League. That’s largely because a) Suárez has notched five assists and b) Messi is outta this world.

Barcelona will be the heavy favorite in this series.

Who Will Step Up Among Liverpool’s Supporting Cast?

Liverpool enters the quarterfinals as a team that has had a strong attack headlined by Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. The pair have combined for 15 goals in the tournament, and Liverpool leads the tournament in goals per match as well as frequency of winning possession in the final third of the field. But a big question still remains: Who will step up among Liverpool’s supporting cast? The midfield will have to control the two legs and bolster the team attack. The team is pretty healthy right now, and it’ll be important that players like Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson win duels, give the Reds rhythm, and connect with the forwards. Salah and Firmino have been excellent this season (especially Salah), but Liverpool will need its midfielders to also boss the games vs. City if the Reds want to advance to the Semis.  

Manchester City has only lost four matches in all competitions this season, with two of them coming in Champions League matches that were basically meaningless for the Citizens. Liverpool is the only team to have beaten them in Premier League action when the Reds won 4-3 in January, and City’s only other loss came to Wigan in the FA Cup. At this rate, this will be the Citizens’ best season in club history; none of the four title-winning Man City teams of the past have been as dominant as this group. Sergio Agüero and Raheem Sterling are leading the way in goalscoring, the midfield has the highest pass-accuracy per game rate and the defense has helped Claudio Bravo earn four clean sheets. Beating Man City over two legs will require a great effort from any team, and it’s hard to find a weakness in this team.

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These questions and more will all be answered in the quarterfinals. The first-leg matches take place April 11-12, followed by the second legs on April 18-19.

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich

Easily the tie of the round, this contest between two of Europe’s most historically elite clubs is a must-see event. No one has more European silverware than Los Blancos (six European Cups and five modern Champions Leagues, including last year’s title), but Bayern are third (tied with Liverpool and FC Barcelona) with five trophies (behind AC Milan’s seven). Bayern are sitting pretty with a 10-point lead in the Bundesliga table and will be able to turn their full attention to the Champions League. Madrid, on the other hand, are in a much closer domestic race in Spain.
Advantage: Bayern.

FC Barcelona vs. Juventus
Barcelona achieved the greatest comeback in Champions League history when they overcame a 4-0 first-leg deficit to defeat PSG 6-1 at the Camp Nou in the Round of 16. The Blaugrana will believe anything is possible—perhaps even destiny—as they face Juventus in the next round. Juve will hope Barcelona’s permeable back line (23 goals conceded in La Liga so far) and relative inconsistency this season will offset the Spanish club’s phenomenal trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar. The Old Lady also have a Bayern-like advantage in Serie A (eight points), but at the same time they have not faced any true blue bloods in the Champions League until now. Barcelona have been tested by PSG and Manchester City and still advanced—not to mention that they have rediscovered their swagger at the most opportune time of the season. Advantage: Barcelona.

Leicester City FC vs. Atletico Madrid
Leicester City doubled down on winning the English Premier League crown last season by overcoming Sevilla and becoming the only English team remaining in the Champions League. The Foxes will face their toughest test yet against the 2013-14 Spanish league champions Atletico, who were also Champions League finalists in both 2015-16 and 2013-14. Of all the ties in the round, this one will likely come down simply to who wants it more. Both teams feature game changing players (Antoine Griezmann, Riyad Mahrez, etc.), but grit may very well carry the day if these teams stick to their cautious defending and counterattacking ways rather than trying to open up and risk of being caught out. However, when it comes to finding ways to win at the highest level and with everything on the line, few are more skilled or experienced than Atletico.
Advantage: Atletico.

Borussia Dortmund vs. AS Monaco

Though neither side has the star power of a Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo like the first two ties on this list, Dortmund vs. Monaco could prove to be the most exciting contest of the round. Monaco progresses to this round by putting six past Manchester City, while Dortmund hit Benfica with five. Both teams are deadly in the attack. Both teams have an array of young, exciting stars, like Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe, Christian Pulisic, and Bernardo Silva. Dortmund, though, have the intangible advantage of the deafening Westfalenstadion, while Monaco’s humble Stade Louis II has a capacity of under 20,000. What’s more, Dortmund have a far superior track record in the Champions League in recent years and, if Marco Reus is able to return from injury in time, the German’s will have more than enough firepower to overcome the Ligue 1 leaders.
Advantage: Dortmund.

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Location, talent of national soccer teams, and culture are just a few things of many that Hispanic and/or Latin countries differ in. One that may be surprising is the language. “What?” is probably the question you’re asking right now, so let me explain.  There are countries whose national language is Spanish and are classified as Hispanic and Latin countries, but there are also countries who speak languages other than Spanish and are still classified as Latin countries. While people from Spain do speak Spanish they ARE NOT a Latin country.

Short Lesson: Hispanic is in reference to language while Latino/a is in reference to geographical location. Hispanic is for people who are from a country whose primary language is Spanish. (Some don’t like to identify as Hispanic and that’s okay. Just ask before you call them that.)

Latino/a means anybody who is from a country in Latin America. (Which is mostly every country below the United States of America.) This being explained, the terms Hispanic and Latino/a are used in the US to determine groups.

If you go to a Latin country, I doubt they’ll say “I identify as Latina/o” and if they do, videotape it because I won’t believe you. That being said, even in the United States there are people who don’t want to be labeled as Hispanic or Latina/o, but by their nationality. It’s always important to make sure you know before you begin labeling people.

For example, I identify as Mexican-American and since Mexico’s primary language is Spanish, then I can say I’m Hispanic. Since Mexico is below the United States of America, I can also call myself Latina. Therefore, I am Hispanic and Latina, but I only say this when someone asks me what I identify as when I’m in the Untied States. I don’t go to Mexico and tell people I’m Hispanic/Latina. (They’d probably stare at me like I was crazy and run away.)

Let’s say that Maria is from Spain. She speaks Spanish and identifies as a Spaniard. Maria can identify as Hispanic due to Spain being a Spanish speaking country, but because Spain is in Europe and not a part of Latin America she cannot identify as Latina. (If you are still unclear about the difference between Hispanic and Latino/a click here.)

While a large number of countries in Latin America speak Spanish, the reason that I say the language is different is because of the way that it is spoken. In Latin America, just because Spanish is spoken by a large number of countries it DOES NOT mean that every person in different countries are the same nationality. Labeling everyone who speaks Spanish as Mexican is absurd for many reasons but I’ll stick with the language thing for now. (Check out this video that talks about why not all Latinos are Mexicans.)

As examples of dialects I shall compare male soccer players. There’s no special reason that I’m using them as examples other than the fact of their nationality and that a few of them move around from place to place but still retain their native dialect. Well that, and the fact that I love soccer.

Before we get in to it, I need to clarify one thing. These dialects aren’t the only way that the people of these certain countries speak. There are countless others but if I was to talk about every single Spanish dialect in every single Hispanic and/or Latin country I don’t think I would do anything else for a solid month at the very least. If you don’t know Spanish thats quite alright. Just listen to the way that the words are pronounced. You should be able to hear the differences. (I hope. Either way here’s a video of soccer players doing cool stuff.)

Okay. Let’s get started.

First up, a Mexican Soccer Player. His name is Javier “Chichartio” Hernandez. (That’s not his middle name, that’s his nickname.) He plays for the German club Bayer Leverkusen and for the Mexico National Football Team. He currently resides in Germany, but before that he lived in Spain playing for Real Madrid, and before that he lived in England where he played with Manchester United. He started his career in Mexico before heading off to Europe. The reason that this is important is because while he has lived in different places and speaks English, he is Mexican and regardless of where he has lived you can still hear the dialect of Spanish that many people in the United States are used to hearing. Such as the speed of which it is talked, and the vocab and pronunciation that you may learn in Spanish class. The actual interview isn’t important. Oh, and he’s the guy in the jersey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ygO_Qm9VAA

Next up, is James Rodriguez. He is a Colombian soccer player who currently plays in Spain for the team Real Madrid and is a part of the Colombian National Football Team. Before arriving in Spain he played for teams in Argentina, Portugal, and France. The speed at which he talks Spanish makes it clearer to understand. His vocab varies than that of Javier’s which helps demonstrate how Spanish varies from country to country. Again, the interview itself isn’t important unless you think he’s cute. (A lot of people do. I won’t judge.)

Sergio Ramos is a Spanish soccer player who plays for the team Real Madrid and for the Spain National Football Team. He has played in Spain for the his whole career and the way he speaks is how people from Spain typically speak. There are parts of Spain that don’t speak Spanish, but thats a whole other thing. Once again, the interview isn’t important and Ramos is the guy in the jersey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyUEw7uilI4

Let’s go to South American countries.

Claudio Bravo is a Chilean soccer player who plays for FC Barcelona and the Chile National Football Team. Bravo played in Chile before moving to Spain. His Spanish varies from that of Javier’s, James, and Ramos but it is nonetheless Spanish. Listen to him speaking below, and once again the actual interview isn’t important just the way he speaks.

Next up on our dialect tour is a Uruguayan player. His name is Luis Suarez and he currently plays for FC Barcelona in Spain and also plays for the Uruguay National Football Team. He has played in Uruguay, the Netherlands, and England before arriving in Spain. However, even with all these location changes, you can still hear the difference in the way he speaks Spanish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32XbkgRpTkM

Next up is Lionel Messi who plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina National Football Team. Sidenote: He’s the best soccer player in the world. (Open for discussion, but he’s the best player in the world.) Messi is an Argentinian player who, after leaving Argentina at a young age, traveled to Spain and has played there ever since. Here you can tell that he has managed to keep his native dialect even though he’s lived in Spain for a large portion of his life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7k0aAb-Sec

Sidenote:  I should point out that I only used soccer players who have played or currently play for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid which are two teams in Spain. There are different soccer players that I could have chosen but I didn’t feel like it.

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have the biggest rivalry in Spain. When they play each other it’s called “El Clásico” and just watch this video so you can see for yourself how intense games can get. Real Madrid is in white and Barcelona are in the blue and red stripes.

Their fans constantly argue about who is the best team but the most heated discussion comes from the question who is the best player in the world: Lionel Messi or Cristaino Ronaldo? Messi plays for Barcelona and Ronaldo plays for Madrid. The reason I’m explaining this is because it gives me a chance to tell people that FC Barcelona is the best team and Messi is the best player in the world. Of course, if you talk to a Real Madrid fan, they will say that Madrid is the best team and Ronaldo is the best player in the world but I think they’re just confused. However, they may say the same thing about me.

Soccer is a lifestyle in many Hispanic and/or Latina/o countries, so I thought I  would give you a small insight into these two teams.

Moving on…

Spanish is spoken by many countries but each country has a distinct way that they speak it. The dialects that you heard are only a small portion spoken in these countries. It’s important to realize that because you can lump nationalities under the term Latino or Hispanic, it doesn’t mean that they are the same thing. Language is one of the most important aspect of culture. It is unfair to minimize that by simply saying, “They all speak Spanish so whats the difference?” There is a huge difference and hopefully this small dialect tour gave you some insight into the Spanish language.

(I also hope you decide that Barcelona is better than Real Madrid, but you know. Whatever you want. No pressure.)

This is the fifth article of the column titled “Living in White America.” Every month there will be a new article discussing how one immigrant group, Hispanics/Latinos, live in America. This column will have articles dealing with anything and everything that concerns Hispanics/Latinos, this could include political and social talks. Some articles may discuss a culture of a different Hispanic/Latino group and interviews with a variety of Hispanics /Latinos will be added as well as interviews with non-Hispanics asking for their opinion. Discrimination against Hispanics and Latinos has gone on long enough and now it’s time people get a look into a world they dislike so much.

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