Paddy Agnew/Euroscene: Not long after midnight last Wednesday, a small group of Deportivo La Coruna fans gathered around a bus just outside La Coruna's Riazor stadium.
Seated on the bus was a subdued Italian press corps that had just witnessed AC Milan being blown right off the planet in a 4-0 Champions League elimination by "Depor".
Bearing in mind that AC Milan happen to be owned by media tycoon and centre-right Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the fans blocked the exit road, surrounded the bus and treated its passengers to a series of leftist ditties such as Bandiera Rossa.
Next morning, down the road in Madrid, the Real fans were in a less celebratory mood in the wake of their side's Champions League exit at the hands of Monaco. When the Real Madrid players turned up at the Las Rozas training centre, they were met with cries of "Less partying, more work, you thieves", whilst Brazilian ace Ronaldo was hailed as "Gordo" (fatso), much to his visible displeasure.
For the fans of Deportivo, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Porto and Monaco, last week was one that will not quickly be forgotten. An utterly refreshing, if unexpected wind of change blew through European soccer last week when the Champions League results turned conventional wisdom and the form book upside down.
It was always possible that UEFA's decision to replace the second phase groups with a straightforward knockout system might breathe new life into the competition. Even the most enthusiastic advocate of cup-tie football, however, could hardly have imagined we would find ourselves looking at a semi-finals line-up that reads Deportivo v Porto, Monaco v Chelsea.
For European football's giants, this has been a humiliating season. AC Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, the teams that have dominated the last decade of Champions League competitions (winning eight of the last 10), have all been sent packing. What is more, they have been seen off by sides whose market value might be 10 times less than that of their star-studded squads but whose will to battle was immeasurably greater.
No one who watched Monaco outbattle Real Madrid and then saw Deportivo run AC Milan off the pitch can have much doubt that last week was one of those salutary moments in football when the will to win mattered more than reputation and economic clout. With the exception of Chelsea and their reliance on the Abramovich millions, this year's Champions League will be fought out by clubs that long ago learned to cut their player cloth according to limited budgets.
As always in the real-politik way of football, last week's results are sure to start off a veritable merry-go-round amongst the coaches. Didier Deschamps' success with Monaco and that of Jose Mourinho at Porto will almost certainly earn both of them new jobs. Deschamps could be headed for Juventus whilst Mourinho could be en route to Spain, perhaps even to Real Madrid, given that coach Carlos Queiroz will likely pay for last week's elimination with a sacking.
Not for the first time, European football's elite will go looking to hire the best they can find. As last week's results showed, however, that does not guarantee success - at least, not always.
pagnew@aconet.it
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