3x3: Shakhtar Donetsk, Sebastian Giovinco and the Champions League

Australian Roma fan Michael Barbaro and vice-president of Roma Club Montreal Nicholas Longo join founder of Roma Club Montenegro Nikola Scepcenko as they are put on the spot with three topical football questions…

The Roma Question: What were your initial reactions when Roma drew Shakhtar Donetsk?

Nikola / @schepchenko: “When we drew Shakhtar I was not really excited, probably because I still remember those two matches from 2011 (2-3 and 3-0). Shakhtar is a good team, with a lot of Brazilians, fast players, good technique and they play attacking football. We can expect goals, that is for sure. It won't be easy, but I would say this is our 'now or never' chance for the quarterfinals of the Champions League.”

Michael / @michaelbarbz22: “I was initially relieved about the draw as we didn’t draw Barcelona or Bayern Munich. But Shakhtar Donetsk are a very strong team – they have beaten Napoli and Manchester City already this season, so it will take Roma’s best to progress to the next round.”

Nicholas / @asromamtl: “When Roma drew Shakhtar Donetsk, I was happy. The incentive of getting them is that they knocked us out of the Champions League in the past. For this reason, the team should get fired up. These last few weeks we have started to see, through Dzeko’s body language, that he is disappointed in his performances as he is not scoring. I feel like he needs to get back in his groove, as this is having an effect on the confidence and ‘mojo’ of the other players.”

The Serie A Question: Following his Major League Soccer championship win, should Sebastian Giovinco return to Serie A?

@schepchenko: “I have always liked him as a player – short guy but has very good technique and is agile, quick, with very good ball control. Even now I do not know why he went to MLS at his age. He could have gone to any Italian or European club to compete at the highest level, but I am not really sure about his return. I would like to see him back but I am not sure if any of the top clubs would take him or if he would accept an offer from some lower-table team.”

@michaelbarbz22: “Giovinco has proven himself to be a fantastic player since joining Toronto. He’s been pivotal to Toronto’s success and I think he could be a handy acquisition to any Serie A team. He is 31 in January so a move would have to happen quite soon if it were to come to fruition.”

@asromamtl: “With an MLS championship in Giovinco’s pocket and his performance these last few years with Toronto FC, you would think there would be a path back to Serie A, but I just don’t see it. There is this old school mentality for leaving to go play in a less competitive league and it's unfortunate as this year alone the Italian national team could have really used ‘La Formica Atomica.’ With this performance in the MLS, he shows he could have been the free kick maestro for the Azzurri, as we were lacking this year. With all the confidence he has gained these last few years, I would think it has made him a better player. The other thing that comes to mind is the salary he is making in the MLS – I don’t think any team would pay this in Europe.”

The General Football Question: Predict all eight quarterfinalists of the Champions League.

@schepchenko: “Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Besiktas, Chelsea, Sevilla, Juventus and of course Roma.”

@michaelbarbz22: “Roma, Juventus, Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United will qualify. The prospect of a Roma-Juventus matchup in the Champions League is exciting.”

@asromamtl: “Juve should be able to hold off Harry Kane and Tottenham. However, Higuain shows up once in a while in the Champions League, and without Bonucci I don’t feel like the defence is as effective as they were. Manchester City will have a walk in the park against Basel. Liverpool should be able to knock out Porto, as Porto is not the same team as last year. Manchester United is on fire right now and will knock out Sevilla – not without trouble though.

Roma should get back to their winning ways and knock out Shakhtar, finally getting their revenge. Chelsea is having some trouble these past few weeks and will not pass, as Barcelona seems to be consistent in the Champions this year. Bayern to knock out Besiktas easily.

And finally ‘la piece de resistance.’ PSG seems to be having fun but haven’t really been challenged yet. Neymar will definitely help in the locker room to give the team some confidence, as he has played Real many times, but I don’t think it will be enough for them to take out Real.”