UEFA Champions League Group Draw

[Balmer Bomber]

The groups were drawn today and there are some intriguing match ups.

Group A:
Chelsea (Eng)
Roma (Ita)
Bordeaux (Fra)
CFR Cluj (Rou)

I see Chelsea gliding through the group and Roma going through over BoreDaux due to a better GD.

Group B:
Inter (Ita)
Werder Bremen (Ger)
Panathanikos (Gre)
Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyp)

Inter and Bremen go though with Anorthosis Famagusta coming in third despite being 2nd in the group until the last day.

Group C:
Barcelona (Esp)
Sporting Lisbon (Por)
FC Basel (Sui)
Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr)

Barca and Sporting moving on to the knock out round with Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk finishing up tied.

Group D(eath):
Liverpool (Eng)
PSV Eindhoven (Ned)
Marseille (Fra)
Atletico Madrid (Esp)

Liverpool can't afford to wait until the last match day to secure advancement to the group stage. I drink the Red Kool Aid and I am picking Liverpool and Atletico Madrid. YNWA.

Group E:
Manchester United (Eng)
Villareal (Esp)
Celtic (Sco)
Aalborg BK (Den)

Christiano Ronaldo looks to miss the first 2 games of the group stage, but that shouldn't slow down the defending champs as they and their group mates from last year, Celtic, move on in a case of deja vu.

Group F:
Olympique Lyonnais (Fra)
Bayern Munich (Ger)
Steaua Bucharest (Rou)
Fiorentina (Ita)

The top seed of the group, Lyon, will falter as Bayern Munich and Fiorentina move on.

Group G:
Arsenal (Eng)
FC Porto (Por)
Fenerbahce (Tur)
Dynamo Kiev (Ukr)

Arsenal just squeak by onto the next round as Porto win the group (maybe by paying some refs) as Fenerbahce is denied knockout glory once again by an English team.

Group H:
Real Madrid (Esp)
Juventus (Ita)
Zenit St. Petersburg (Rus)
BATE Borisov (Blr)

Juventus returns to European competition with a group runner up as Real runs away with the group, and Zenit shows signs of promise for next year.

Stay tuned as the next four mouths in Europe can be pretty hectic. The only thing that would make this tournament better would be if they played all six games in a 9 weeks span instead of 14 weeks.

[GeorgiaBird]

As a Celtic fan I am happy with the draw. I think they go through and have a chance at winning the group as ManU tries to get its house in order.

[gallden]

As a Celtic fan I am happy with the draw. I think they go through and have a chance at winning the group as ManU tries to get its house in order.

Weren't you in a group with Celtic last year?

[Balmer Bomber]

Weren't you in a group with Celtic last year?

I think you mean ManU, and yes they were in the same group last year. Just as we were in the same group with Marseille last year.

[Baltimoron]

A great post on a favorite topic.

Random thoughts-

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I'm a huge fan of Roma, the midfield is so stacked and they a youthful core rounding into form. Lost Mancini but add Bapitista and Riise. He has some help but Totti is the key, I really have a what if regarding their Manu matchup in last years CL.

Oh yeah, please do not "de rossi" it again this year.

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Very excited Barca appears to not be headed towards train wreck status because they are a favorite club and I, like everyone else, loves Messi.

The big name player losses didn't really play last year except G.Zambrotta and they replaced him with the world's priciest right back. Although D is a soft spot the captain was tremendous this summer for la furia roja and yaya's back injury is right. I think Henry was used poorly last year and am very excited about better usage of him and the ridiculous attacking pieces they have assembled. Bojan!! And what form from Xavi this summer.

---

Aguero, aguero aguero.

Liking (no duh) of the Keane move- pool look strong.

---

Group E:
Manchester United (Eng)
Villareal (Esp)
Celtic (Sco)
Aalborg BK (Den)

The Yellow Submarine!! Throwing love to a very disciplined defensive squad with 2 young strikers who grew up in the States. Giuseppe Rossi is a tremendous young talent coming off a dominant Olympics- hoping for big things on the CL stage. And he hurt his ankle so chance Jozy may seem some time in La Liga this weekend.

----

Bayern is loaded, Podolski/Bastian showed growth on the big stage stage this summer, toni can finish for this team and the 08 footballer of the year will be back mid September

Benzema is a scorer but Fio too much, Gilardino is a nice add and Mutu is establishing himself as a world class offensive option.

--

Aresnal is quite talented but so young and maybe a litte green. Cesc is coming back but Flamini was a big hidden force and Hleb a nice piece, can RVP fullfil the promise? I am short on the gunners making a deep run but am bullish long term.

--

Spurs apparently losing out on Arshavin makes Zenit a force and Amauri gives a big scorer up top for Juve to complement the aging Trezquet and Del piero. Good stuff there.

[gallden]

I think you mean ManU, and yes they were in the same group last year. Just as we were in the same group with Marseille last year.

Right thats what I mean Celtic always seem to get the Manc Scum.

[Baltimoron]

Beginning bump!

Looking forward to these 4 big matches tomorrow:

Juventus - Zenit
Lyon - Fiorentina
Man. United - Villarreal
Porto - Fenerbahçe

[gallden]

I think the mancs are going to lose tomorrow.

[GeorgiaBird]

I think the mancs are going to lose tomorrow.

At home? That would be a story. Granted they are not playing great and I think they are no gimmie to get through, but I would be shocked if they lose today.

Villarreal and United to me are two teams that have taken a step back since last year. Then again, I am biased towards another team in the group so what do I know.

[GeorgiaBird]

United certainly is the more aggressive side in the first half. It appears if there is to be a winner it is likely to be them. Personally I would love a draw, assuming Celtic can eventually capitalize on their 60% possession and 2/1 shot advantage and get one in against the Danes.

[Baltimoron]

Villarreal and United to me are two teams that have taken a step back since last year. Then again, I am biased towards another team in the group so what do I know.

Biases aside, if I may, please explain re: Villarreal.

My thoughts are Cazorla renewed, Senna stayed and they added Jozy (a nice long term move, not so much a "now move" but he may surprise). Perhaps most importantly, Rossi appears to be coming into his own, which is huge for what is already a fairly strong and well organized defensive side in need of a striking power. What am I forgetting?


Clearly injuries/current form are currently a issues, but their roster is strong vis-a-vie last year, no?

And they just tied ManU on the road with their best player (Senna) out, no Rossi and Cazorla only getting half a match as he works his way back (but he played very well in the 2nd half). Evans had a chance and Tevez's seeming goal was nicely saved by Rodziquez but on the other hand Franco should have put it away early to for the submarine.

[GeorgiaBird]

Biases aside, if I may, please explain re: Villarreal.

My thoughts are Cazorla renewed, Senna stayed and they added Jozy (a nice long term move, not so much a "now move" but he may surprise). Perhaps most importantly, Rossi appears to be coming into his own, which is huge for what is already a fairly strong and well organized defensive side in need of a striking power. What am I forgetting?


Clearly injuries/current form are currently a issues, but their roster is strong vis-a-vie last year, no?

And they just tied ManU on the road with their best player (Senna) out, no Rossi and Cazorla only getting half a match as he works his way back (but he played very well in the 2nd half). Evans had a chance and Tevez's seeming goal was nicely saved by Rodziquez but on the other hand Franco should have put it away early to for the submarine.

I think both sides are down because of injuries. I will admit I am probably overstating it, and it could well be moot now that Celtic was not able to grab the full 3 at home yesterday, but going into the group I thought both were more get-able than they were last year. I thought going into yesterday that between the two there was a pretty good chance that one would stumble and miss out on the next round.

That said... they played an impressive game yesterday, especially in the second half. ManU got the better of them in the first but did not get a goal, and Villarreal to their credit really came on. I will admit they surprised me, and will now somewhat regrettably agree that they and ManU are most likely going through, and even say Villarreal are probably the best bet to win the group if they can get a win at home vs. Manchester.

[Baltimoron]

Group stage
21 October 2008
Zenit - BATE
Bayern - Fiorentina
Fenerbahçe - Arsenal
Juventus - Real Madrid
Man. United - Celtic
Porto - Dynamo Kyiv
Steaua - Lyon
Villarreal - AaB

Group stage
22 October 2008
Atlético - Liverpool
Basel - Barcelona
Bordeaux - CFR Cluj
Chelsea - Roma
Internazionale - Anorthosis
Panathinaikos - Bremen
PSV - Marseille
Shakhtar - Sporting

Big games for Lyon and Cluj.

[Balmer Bomber]

Group stage
21 October 2008
Zenit - BATE
Bayern - Fiorentina
Fenerbahçe - Arsenal
Juventus - Real Madrid
Man. United - Celtic
Porto - Dynamo Kyiv
Steaua - Lyon
Villarreal - AaB

Group stage
22 October 2008
Atlético - Liverpool
Basel - Barcelona
Bordeaux - CFR Cluj
Chelsea - Roma
Internazionale - Anorthosis
Panathinaikos - Bremen
PSV - Marseille
Shakhtar - Sporting

Big games for Lyon and Cluj.

I'm not sure the reason for the bolding, but Atletico got lucky they get to play their game against Liverpool in Madrid instead of 300km away like what was originally handed down by UEFA for their fans making racist comments at Marseille players.

I'm a tad worried about Liverpool with Torres out, but Kuyt has been the one scoring the late winners (in Euroupe and in the league).

[Baltimoron]

I'm not sure the reason for the bolding

They are the games I think will be particularly good, largely because they involve big clubs.

Athletico perhaps got lucky, but Liverpool's complaints about their fans' travel plans had a lot to with it.

I dunno about stuff like that - racism is horrible, but is punishment of clubs the right way to handle it? I dunno. Especially in a place like Spain, which is a pretty culturally backwards place. Racism is commonplace and accepted in that society, so I dunno how much culpability we can place on AM, nor do I envision AM being able to do much about it. Maybe they can police their fans better?

Its a shame Torres won't be their for his return, but the pool should roll, especially if they play tight in back and lock down Kun Aguero.

Nice to see Luis Garcia too.