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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Advancing to the Champions League knockout stage kicked off wild celebrations for Wesley Sneijder (center) and his Galatasaray teammates. (AP)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It was the most electric moment so far in this year\u2019s UEFA Champions League, and, to hear Galatasaray\u2019s Wesley Sneijder tell the story, the second-most memorable event in his club career after winning the 2009-10 Champions League crown with Inter Milan. In the dying minutes of December\u2019s group-stage finale in Istanbul, Sneijder\u2019s team needed a goal to eliminate Italian champion Juventus and advance to the UCL round of 16.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The game had already taken on the status of the surreal: a one-day postponement due to a snowstorm; a field that was torn up like thickly plowed farmland; and a small crowd for Day 2 that kept on growing and growing until the Thunderdome of a stadium was nearly filled at the end.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That was when Sneijder ran onto a headed ball from teammate Didier Drogba and hit a shot so dead-solid-perfect in traffic that it seemed like it took the only goal-scoring path possible, barely wider than the ball itself.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Victory. Galatasaray had struck down mighty Juve, setting up a round of 16 berth that commences today, in the lion\u2019s den of Istanbul, against Chelsea.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CIt was crazy, crazy, crazy,\u201D Sneijder told SI.com by phone on Monday from Turkey. \u201CApart from the year we won the Champions League, this was definitely the second-best moment. Because they were two crazy days with the snow. The fans were pushing us to go for the victory, and we believed in it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WILSON: Arsenal digs too deep a hole vs. Bayern in Champions League&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CJuventus was leaning back and just defending, and we were fighting for the goal. In the end, we deserved to make that goal. I was totally shocked that we beat Juventus and went to the last 16, but actually, before we started that game I had a good feeling. Because in our own stadium we can beat anyone. That\u2019s our strength, I think.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;In our own stadium we can beat anyone.&lt;/em&gt; The raucous atmosphere of Turkish stadiums should be on every soccer fan\u2019s bucket list, and Sneijder is hoping it provides an edge in the clash against Chelsea, a team that is managed, of course, by his (and Drogba\u2019s) old coach, Jos\u00E9 Mourinho. Galatasaray got the chance to face Mourinho\u2019s Real Madrid in last year\u2019s UCL quarterfinals but fell short. This match-up provides another chance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CWe have like a special relationship,\u201D Sneijder says of his ties with Mourinho, who coached him at Inter. \u201CWe talk almost every week, and not just about football but about everything in life. Now we\u2019re going to meet each other again in Champions. It\u2019s something special, something different than playing against other coaches.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Though Mourinho has a reputation of favoring cagey tactics, Sneijder thinks the Blues will attack on Wednesday, trying to finish off the tie in the first game. But because Chelsea is the favorite, Sneijder says that allows Gala to play its own game and not get caught up in what Chelsea is doing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This isn\u2019t exactly the same Galatasaray team that reached last year\u2019s Champions League quarters. For starters, there\u2019s a different coach, Roberto Mancini, who started to exorcise his own UCL demons by eliminating Juventus and advancing to this stage. He\u2019d do so even more if he can vanquish Mourinho, one of Mancini\u2019s nemeses.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;LYTTLETON: Manchester United suffers deserved 2-0 loss to Olympiakos&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Then there\u2019s Sneijder himself. A year ago at this time he had just joined Gala after a long playing layoff during his final months with Inter. Now he\u2019s fully fit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CHonestly, I feel 100 percent now,\u201D Sneijder says. \u201CLast year was completely different, because I didn\u2019t play for four months. To stay in form you need to play games, and I was just training every day. Now for a while I\u2019m playing a lot of games. I\u2019m not injured anymore. And I\u2019m really looking forward to this game, because Champions League is the best thing you can do as a soccer player, apart from the World Cup. To show my quality I need to be 100 percent, and I feel that way now.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He\u2019s still a quality player, one who can score goals and see the right passes and play off his teammates. Ultimately, Sneijder, 29, would like to play in MLS (\u201CI love that country. I really want to go there and join that league one day\u201D), but right now he\u2019s still enjoying the games at the top of the pyramid in the world\u2019s greatest club tournament. And if Galatasaray can eliminate Juventus, why not Chelsea?\n\u201CWhy not?\u201D Sneijder asks, with a laugh that suggests he\u2019s not actually having a laugh. \u201CWhy not? We have to believe in it, and I have a good feeling.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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