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GUS WHO'S BACK
Gus Johnson Returns to the Pitch to Call UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals Alongside Eric Wynalda
Manchester United faces Bayern Munich on FOX Sports 1;
Former United Defender Mikael Silvestre Joins In-Studio As Guest Analyst
Los Angeles - Next week, the UEFA Champions League takes center stage with the highly anticipated quarterfinal between struggling Barclays Premier League side Manchester United and recently crowned German champions Bayern Munich, live on Tuesday, April 1 (2:00 PM ET) on FOX Sports 1. Play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson is set to call the match alongside FOX Sports analyst and former Bundesliga player Eric Wynalda from Old Trafford in England.
Tuesday's second quarterfinal commences almost simultaneously on FOX Sports 2 and FOX Soccer Plus with an all-Spanish affair, as Lionel Messi and Barcelona battle Atletico Madrid, who is in the quarterfinals for the first time in 17 years. The two clubs are separated by one point at the top of the domestic La Liga standings.
Wednesday's action features another high-profile matchup on FOX Sports 1 (2:00 PM ET) with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea against the unstoppable Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paris Saint-Germain. Over on FOX Sports 2/FOX Soccer Plus, FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid take on last year's finalists Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabeu. The second legs of the four UEFA Champions League quarterfinals kickoff the following week, Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday April 9, with Johnson on the call for one of the games.
Rob Stone hosts pregame, halftime and postgame coverage from the FOX Network Center in Los Angeles with analysts Warren Barton and Brian McBride. Tuesday's coverage welcomes guest analyst and former Manchester United defender, Mikael Silvestre, in studio. Silvestre has five Barclays Premier League titles to his name during his 10 years with the Red Devils and won the prestigious UEFA Champions League title in 2008. Former Chelsea defender and Dutch international Mario Melchiot joins the lead broadcast team on Wednesday.
Johnson returns to the soccer booth for the first time since calling the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup final between USA and Mexico, which was the most-watched telecast in FOX Soccer history with 1.1 million viewers. Before that, Johnson was the play-by-play man for several prominent UEFA Champions League games, most memorably the all-German final last year between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on FOX. Wynalda teams up with Johnson again with the pair having called games together throughout the Gold Cup tournament in the summer. Wynalda is the first American-born player to play for a top level German club and was the Bundesliga's best newcomer in the 1993-94 season.
The FOX Sports GO and FOX Soccer 2Go apps live stream the entire quarterfinal round to authenticated online, mobile and tablet devices. Fans can also follow minute-by-minute commentary via the @FOXSoccer and @FOXSoccerTrax Twitter accounts, using #UCLonFOX.
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