CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW
The Group stage is set for this year’s Champions League. Here is the result of the draw, followed by my thoughts on the groups:
Group A
Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa
Group B
Manchester United, CSKA Moskva, Beskitas, Wolfsburg
Group C
AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, Zurich
Group D
Chelsea, Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL
Group E
Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debrecen
Group F
Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dynamo Kyiv, Rubin
Group G
Sevilla, Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni
Group H
Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege
Group A is much tougher than it looks. Bayern Munich and Juventus look like the easy favorites to walk out of Group A but it would be foolish to count out French champions Bordeaux. This is one of the more balanced groups of the draw.
Group B won’t be as easy as it looks for Manchester United. They weren’t drawn with any traditional powers but Wolfsburg are the current German champions and will be very difficult to beat. Away games at Beskitas and the icy fields in Moscow will be tough on Sir Alex’s young team.
Group C has one of the most interesting matchups of the group stage. AC Milan v. Real Madrid should be one of the highlights of the first round and will see Kaka make his first competitive debut against his former team. Newcomers Zurich will get a rough introduction into European football.
Chelsea is the favorite in Group D. Atletico Madrid and Porto will be battling it out to see who accompanies Chelsea into the next round. Porto eliminated Atletico in last year’s knockout round, so the colchoneros will be looking for revenge.
Liverpool has been very successful in Europe since Rafa Benetiz took over. Lyon and Fiorentina shouldn’t but up too oposition, but if Liverpool keep going with their current form they might not make it out of the group.
Group F features Barcelona v. Inter Milan which will be one of the better matchups in the first round. Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face their old teams and there should be plenty of drama leading up to this one. Dynamo Kyiv and Rubin don’t really stand a chance.
Group G is a very balanced group, probably the most even across the board of any group. Sevilla and Stuttgart are my two favorites to walk out of the group. Rangers, Scottish champions, will be a tough opponent but should be out classed. Hopefully young American midfielder Maurice Edu gets some playing time for Rangers. The Champions League will be a valuable experience he can bring back to the national team.
Arsenal is going walk through Group H. Arsenal is on fire and, if they can stay healthy, should have no trouble destroying this group. The battle for second place will be interesting. AZ Alkmaar are the current Dutch champions and Olympiacos, Greek champions, need to be on top of their game if they want to qualify.
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