I admit to having watched every minute of Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006 and not all football fans would admit to that. Most would have been turned off by the boring games served up after the media played up the hype of the best-of-what-we-have-versus-the-best-of-what-you-have and deemed that a perfect setting for football played for the Gods.

When else but at World Cup time can you savour the Zidanes, the Henrys, the Ronaldinhos and the Kakas playing side by side? The truth is, however, that international games hardly ever live up to the hype. When country plays against country, a certain conservative philosophy dominates strategy. Winning isn’t everything but not losing is, and everything else is secondary. This becomes more pronounced when teams reach the dreaded knock-out stage, where even a simple mistake could mean the death of a campaign.

The worst thing to happen to football was Greece winning Euro 2004. It set the precedent that boring defensive football actually works. And Brazil’s failure at World Cup 2006 showed that a collection of superstars does not always meet expectations of a football fiesta.

And so it is as the European Champions League returns. Ever since the knock-out stage was reintroduced for the second round, teams have become noticeably more conservative in their approach towards games. In the run up to the finals last season, even Arsenal – renowned for their free-flowing game - unabashedly opted for a 4-5-1 formation, standing by a strategy of defend like hell and win by the odd goal.

This, of course, is not new. Throughout the history of the tournament, whenever teams play in knock-out games, they inevitably turn cautious. And the closer they get to the final (and even in the final), teams will become super-conservative. Too many European Cup finals have ended in penalty shoot-out wins or victories by the single goal.

Of course, there was the odd super-game like Bayern Munich v Manchester United or Liverpool v AC Milan, but those are becoming more the exception than the rule of Champions League finals.

So as we approach the next round of Champions League matches, are there any spectacular games to look forward to? All 16 teams have the pedigree and talents to spark even the dullest of imaginations. And pairings like Real Madrid v Bayern Munich or Barcelona v Liverpool, or even the sentimentality of Porto v Chelsea, get the football juices flowing.

Whereas teams in the World Cup had no option but to play safe because the tournament is only every four years, the redeeming feature about Champions League football is that it is an annual event, and teams who meet in the last 16 are the usual suspects who play each other regularly and know each other’s play inside out. In leagues across Europe, when teams get the measure of the other, they tend to play better and not become inhibited by reputation or even anticipation, allowing for the likes of PSV to almost upset AC Milan.

It also allows for managers to refine their imagination in approaching games. Take the recent FA Cup replay between Bolton and Arsenal. After losing so many times to a Bolton familiar with Arsene Wenger’s team tactics, the wily Arsenal manager turned the tide by changing his team’s thinking and style of play. This new adapted strategy upset the familiar routine which Bolton had become familiar with and forced Sam Allardyce’s men into submission.

In the Champions League, managers of “smaller clubs” willing to be adventurous and change their way of thinking have sprung many a surprise and reaped great rewards because of it. Jose Mourinho did it at Porto, out-foxing seasoned campaigner Sir Alex Ferguson along the way. And Wenger did it last year by dumping out Real Madrid and Juventus.

The difference between international competitions and the Champions League is the anticipation that some maverick manager could (and probably would) pull off a 'Porto' this year. My money is on Gordon Strachan, whose Celtic side face AC Milan, but I wouldn’t bet against another previous Manchester-United-killing manager, PSV's Ron Koeman, doing the same to Arsenal.

Which is your 'outside bet' to win the Champions League? Send your views to Sportingo.