Champions League 2022-23 draw

Seasons have started and football is on the go. I have nevertheless had busy months, with a lot of things in my head (both good and bad), and football has come a bit in the background, and I have not seen much, although been following the news and the start of the new leagues, interesting changes and discussions.

Sometimes we just go through these stages in life.

But as a warm up to an exciting new season we today had the draw for the Champions league:

Group A: 

• Liverpool
• Ajax Amsterdam
• Glasgow Rangers
• Napoli. 

An exciting group where Liverpool would appear as the favourites, but the English side has not started the season well, while Napoli and Ajax Amsterdam are looking to progress as well.

Group B: 

• Atletico Madrid
• Bayer Leverkusen
• FC Porto
• Club Brugge

Atletico Madrid are the natural favourites in a group where the defending Portuguese champions are favourites to go along with the Spaniards, with Brugge and Leverkusen looking to cause an upset.

Group C: 

• Bayern Munich
• FC Barcelona
• Inter Milan
• Viktoria Plzen

This appears as the group of death, with Bayern Munich and Barcelona looking for another of their many epic clashes, but also with the Italian giants with good options to progress. The Czech champions will not be given many odds by many, so they can only surprise.

Group D:

• Eintracht Frankfurt
• Marseille
• Tottenham Hotspurs
• Sporting Lisbon

Eintracht Frankfurt will look to continue European success from the Europa League in the Champions League in a group where all the other teams nevertheless are ambitious and have options at continuing to the next round. They will all compete.

Group E:

• AC Milan
• Chelsea
• RB Salzburg
• Dynamo Zagreb

AC Milan and Chelsea are the likely winners of the group, but both the Austrian and Croatian champions could create an upset. 

Group F:  

• Real Madrid
• RB Leipzig
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Celtic

The defending champions of Real Madrid have gotten a group that they will surely be happy about. Although there are no easy groups in the CL, the Spaniards are huge favourites, with all three other teams looking to fight for the runner-up position.

Group G: 

• Manchester City
• Sevilla
• Borussia Dortmund
• FC Copenhagen

An interesting group with three giants and FC Copenhagen. The Danes have caused surprise before, but will have to do their best to fight against these three giants. Manchester City may again appear the favourite, but the experience of Sevilla and Dortmund may take either side on the first spot.

Group H: 

• Paris St. Germain
• Maccabi Haifa
• Juventus
• Benfica

PSG are to try yet again ina group where Benfica and Juventus will be difficult teams to face. Nobody will expect anything from the Israeli champions, who will play with no pressure.

Champions League 2021-22 Groups

I have been disappointed that Brøndby did not manage to qualify to the Champions League after two defeats to Red Bull Salzburg. It was probably for the better, as Brøndby has started the season really bad, and may struggle both in the Danish League, as well as in the Europa League (which they will play). Despite this, there are now many reasons to look forward to the Champions league following today's group draw:

Group A:

• Manchester City
• Paris St. Germain
• RB Leipzig
• Club Brugge

Messi's new club, PSG, against Guardiola's Manchester City, in its continuous search for European glory, alongside always-strong RB Leipzig and a Club Brugge that can only surprise!

Group B:

• Liverpool
• Atletico Madrid
• AC Milan
• Porto

There is no way around it: this is a group of giants; AC Milan, who is finally back in the CL for the first time since 2014, alongside Liverpool and the Spanish champions of Atletico Madrid, who always have ambition for the title, and Porto, who can always defeat anyone. This group will be impossible to predict.

Group C:

• Sporting Lisbon
• Besiktas
• Borussia Dortmund
• Ajax Amsterdam

Not likely that the future champions will come out from this group, but an interesting group nevertheless, where Borussia Dortmund are probably favourites (still with Erling Haaland?), but with all other teams surely with a chance, all champions of their respective leagues in Portugal, Turkey and the Netherlands.

Group D:

• Inter Milan
• Real Madrid
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Sheriff Tiraspol

Two giants from Inter and Real Madrid are huge favourites in this group, where Shakhtar and Sheriff will hopefully be able to upset the two giants.

Group E:

• Bayern Munich
• FC Barcelona
• Benfica
• Dynamo Kiev

Another group with only giant clubs. The "new" Barcelona will likely struggle to show how good they are without Messi. Bayern Munich are surely huge favourites in the group, as the others appear quite even in terms of fighting for the second spot in the group.

Group F:

• Villarreal
• Manchester United
• Young Boys
• Atalanta

The two finalists from the Europa League will face one another again, with Manchester United appearing as a team that has become stronger since then (and soon with Cristiano Ronaldo). Atalanta though, is a team that has shown that they can defeat anyone. Young Boys may struggle to compete.

Group G:

• Lille
• Sevilla
• RB Salzburg
• VfL Wolfsburg

The French champions from Lille and ever-ambitious Sevilla appear as the favourites in this group, but in particular Wolfsburg could surprise.

Group H:

• Chelsea
• Juventus
• Zenit St. Petersburg
• Malmo FF

It is great to see good ole' Jon Dahl Tomasson back in the Champions League, although this time as manager of the Swedish champions of Malmø, who will have to play their best in this group against the defending champions of Chelsea, the Russian champions of Zenit, and mighty Juventus

Champions League 2017-18: group stages

Living in El Salvador time difference has made it challenging for me to follow the Champions League live. But I have watched matches after the fact, trying not to hear results beforehand (which is why I have been off Twitter during matches). Today I saw Liverpool’s trashing of Spartak Moscow, to give them a slightly surprising first place in the group. All in all, English teams have been doing better in previous years, even leading to some slight surprises.

• Group A: Manchester United under Mourinho has been excellent albeit in a relatively easy group, where Swiss Basel took second place (and were the only team that managed to defeat United). CSKA Moscow took third place, while the Portuguese giants of Benfica were a huge disappointment with 0 points.
• Group B: The least surprising group with Paris St. Germain and Bayern Munich cruising through, only taking points from one another, but PSG winning the group on goal difference. Everything the minnows of Celtic and Anderlecht did will quickly be forgotten.
• Group C: Roma were slightly surprising as they won a group for the first time since 2008. Back then, it was also ahead of Chelsea. Both teams were better than the disappointment of Atletico Madrid, who were basically eliminated by the Azerbaijani debutantes from Qarabag, who got their only two points by two draws with the Spanish giants!
• Group D: Another group without surprises with Barcelona cruising to first place and Juventus taking the second spot. Sporting took third place, completely unthreatened by a disappointing Olympiakos. 
• Group E: One of the four undefeated teams in the CL is Liverpool. With their trashing today, they are the second most scoring team after PSG (who is nevertheless not undefeated). They won the group in style ahead of a Sevilla side who in the 2016 Europa League final had been one level above Liverpool. All credit to Klopp, who has a long term plan for Liverpool. Spartak Moscow still took third place, while Maribor managed to finish with a draw against Sevilla.
• Group F: Manchester City only lost the last match, when they were already group winners, and should be a team to look out for this season. In the meantime Shakhtar Donetsk were a slightly surprising runner up, ahead of Napoli, who had probably expected to make it. Feyenoord took all hopes from the Italians by winning their last match with nothing to play for.
• Group G: The big surprise was in this group by Besiktas, winning as one of the four undefeated sides.   Many will not expect much from them, but one must watch out for a team with such experienced players as Pepe, Gary Medel, Ricardo Quaresma or Alvaro Negredo. This may not be the last surprise they make. FC Porto took second place just ahead of German Leipzig. In the meantime last years’ semifinalists from Monaco were a shadow of themselves having lost so many of last season’s stars.
• Group H: The other big surprise winners were Tottenham. Not because they are bad, but more because everyone was expecting Real Madrid to win the group. Instead Tottenham took first place undefeated, including a memorable win against the Spaniards. Tottenham are unstable though, and cannot be considered favourites. But Real Madrid of course still are. In the meantime Borussia Dortmund are in the Europa League where they will be considered favourites. Apoel trailed them all.

Champions League 2017-18 Groups

After the draw the groups are as follows:

Group A: Manchester United is back and probably favourites ahead of Benfica, with two difficult outsiders with Basel and CSKA.

• Benfica
• Manchester United
• FC Basel
• CSKA Moscow

Group B: Everyone will be watching Paris St. Germain with Neymar, and their ambitions to make it all the way. In particular against Bayern Munich, who as always are favourites for the title. Celtic and Anderlecht are there to fight for the Europa League.

• Bayern Munich
• Paris St. Germain
• Anderlecht
• Celtic

Group C: Chelsea is back as champions of the PL, and with ambitions to get far, alongside with Atletico Madrid. Roma could threaten either side, while the debutantes of Qarabag will be happy for any points they can get, and the experience of playing Champions League.

• Atletico Madrid
• Chelsea
• Roma
• FC Qarabag

Group D: Juventus and FC Barcelona have had some amazing clashed in the last seasons of the CL, and will likely fight for the top-2 of this group. Olympiacos continues to be a great home team that can take points from everyone, while Sporting also could take some points.

• FC Barcelona
• Juventus
• Sporting CL
• Olympiacos

Group E: Last seasons' Europa League finalists are in the same group, and again Sevilla should be considered favourites, despite Liverpool always having more confidence than quality, but under Kopp may achieve something. Spartak Mrioscow could fight for one of the spots, while nobody expects much from Maribor.

• Sevilla
• Liverpool
• Spartak Moscow
• Maribor

Group F: Manchester City are favourites in this group, but it is not an easy one! Napoli surely has the quality to take on the English, while Shakhtar and Feyenoord are solid and experienced sides that should never be underestimated. This could be one of the closest fought groups.

• Manchester City
• Napoli
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Feyenoord

Group G: Big expectations to the Monaco side, that has nevertheless lost some its key players. RB Leipzig are debutantes that will be interesting to see, and could cause upsets. Of course, FC Porto is a side that can beat anyone, while Besiktas is always difficult with their strong home fans.

• AS Monaco
• FC Porto
• Besiktas
• RB Leipzig

Group H: Defending champions of Real Madrid are surely favourites, with Dortmund and Tottenham fighting for second place. Whoever of them takes points from the Spanish may have a good shot. In the meantime the Cyprus champions of Apoel may be there to annoy some of these big teams.

• Real Madrid
• Borussia Dortmund
• Tottenham
• Apoel

Champions league 2016-2017

The draw has been made for this next season's UEFA Champions League, the greatest football tournament of all. And the groups are as follows:

Group A:

• Paris St. Germain
• Arsenal
• Basel
• Ludogorets

Ambitious bur underperforming Paris St. Germain and Arsenal are the off-hand favourites, but in particular Basel has before been known to pull some surprises

Group B: 

• Benfica
• Napoli
• Besiktas
• Dynamo Kiev

An interesting group with Napoli and Benfica at very similar level, and Dynamo Kiev being their usual power. Personally I will be supporting Napoli.

Group C:

• FC Barcelona
• Manchester City
• Borussia Monchengladbach
• Celtic

This group will have great expectations as Guardiola's Manchester City will be face to face with the club he gave greatness, FC Barcelona. Monchengladbach could surprise, but don't bet on it, and expectations are likely low to Celtic.

Group D:

• Bayern Munich
• Atletico Madrid
• PSV Eindhoven
• Rostov

Two of the greats of recent years, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, make this a great group. Add PSV Eindhoven and a yet to show its strength Rostov, and we have a very interesting group.

Group E:

• CSKA Moscow
• Tottenham
• Monaco
• Bayer Leverkusen

Basically all teams have a good chance of going through in this group, but I am expecting something from Bayer Leverkusen.

Group F:

• Real Madrid
• Borussia Dortmund
• Sporting Lisbon
• Legia Warsaw

Two of the greatest teams of recent years, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, will likely be guarantee of a great clash, and one has to tip both to go through.

Group G:

• Leicester
• FC Porto
• Club Brugge
• FC Copenhagen

The surprising English champions of Leicester had a good draw for their first Champions League, but they will indeed have to be as good as they can be, notably against FC Porto. Club Brugge and FC Copenhagen are in the tournament to make surprises (and I am not too thrilled about the Danish team).

Group H:

• Juventus
• Sevilla
• Olympique Lyon
• Dinamo Zagreb

The Italian champions and the Europa League champions are favourites although the Spaniards have traditionally had difficulties in this tournament (and then go on to win the Europa League). Olympique Lyon can always be a threat but are far from what they were 10 years ago. And be sure for a good fight by the Croatians.

Champions League 2015-16 Groups

This last month has been full of travels and work and I have not had much time to dwell much on a fantastic start of the season in Europe as well hugely interesting transfers. This will be another fantastic season, and not least in the Champions League where the draw took place today.

Group A:

• Paris St. Germain
• Real Madrid
• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Malmo

A very interesting group, where many eyes will be on Real Madrid versus Paris St. Germain, and in particular one Angel Di Maria. While they are the favourites by far, Shakhtar Donetsk is an experienced side in the tournament, and are usually very strong in Ukraine (although they may not get to play in Donetsk). Malmo is one of the surprise teams in the tournament after eliminating Celtic in the qualifiers. This will be their second CL participation in a row, and will play without pressure for more upsets.

Group B:

• Manchester United
•  PSV Eindhoven
• CSKA Moscow
• Wolfsburg

Manchester United and in particular Wayne Rooney made it to the CL in style with a heavy victory against Brugge. They will surely be happy about the draw; no easy side, but none Manchester United should not be able to defeat either. The Dutch champions from Eindhoven should be small favourites to follow United, but CSKA and Wolfsburg are both interesting sides, notably Wolfsburg, with a young side that surprised everyone in last season's Bundesliga.

Group C:

• Atletico Madrid
• Benfica
• Galatasaray
• FC Astana

Atletico Madrid are by now a very experienced CL side that is looking towards at least another semifinal. The Portuguese champions of Benfica had a bad CL last season and will be looking not to end last in their group this time, and the same is the case for the Turkish champions of Galatasaray, who last season not only were last in their group, but also conceded a terrible 19 goals. Finally, FC Astana, the Kazakh champions, are the Cinderella of the CL this season. Everything they do will be a surprise.

Group D:

• Juventus
• Manchester City
• Sevilla
• Borussia Monchengladbach

In my view this is the most interesting group, with last years finalists from Juventus looking to repeat the feat but without the legendary Andrea Pirlo, although with a fantastic team anyway. Manchester City enters the tournament with the same hopes as ever; and perhaps the experience of being humiliated by Barcelona last season will help them in this difficult group. Sevilla are one of five Spanish teams thanks to having won last season's Europa League. Just for that, they are a side to reckon with. Finally, Borussia Monchengladbach are in the CL after taking 3rd spot in the Bundesliga last season. They will look to create surprises with a young interesting side.

Group E:

• Barcelona
• Bayer Leverkusen
• AS Roma
• Bate Borisov

Not much to say about the defending champions of Barcelona, who must be candidates to be the first side to retain the title. AS Roma are probably not favourites, but will look to better their dreadful CL from last season that saw defeats at home to Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Bayer Leverkusen beat another Rome side, Lazio, to make it to yet another CL. Last year they made it to the last-16 only to be narrowly defeated by Atletico Madrid, and they certainly remember Lionel Messi from a legendary CL match in 2012. Finally, Bate Borisov participated in last season's tournament where they conceded an awful 24 goals (but did manage a victory against Athletic Bilbao), and perhaps that experience will help them this season, but don't bet on it.

Group F:

• Bayern Munich
• Arsenal
• Dinamo Zagreb
• Olympiakos

Many are already talking about the Bayern Munich-Arsenal clash. I think the Germans are big favourites, with Arsenal set not to show yet another disappointing European performance. This should be Arsenal's year if any! Olympiakos are not to be underestimated. Last season they won all their home matches in a difficult group, but lost all away matches. Just a slight improvement there should see them through. The Croatian champions are back in the CL after two years.

Group G:

• Chelsea
• Dynamo Kiev
• FC Porto
• Maccabi Tel Aviv

Chelsea will not be disappointed about the draw, although it may be special for Jose Mourinho to return to the club he first time took to the Champions League title (that is, if anything is ever special for Jose Mourinho!). The Portuguese made it to the quarterfinals last season and were full of hope after defeating Bayern Munich in the first leg, only to be destroyed 6-1 in Germany. Still, they should be favourites with Chelsea. Dynamo Kiev are back in the CL after two years absence after becoming Ukranian champions. With their experience and strong home record they should not be underestimated. In the meantime Maccabi Tel Aviv made it to the Champions League after eliminating always-experienced Basel. It will be surprising if they can do anything in this group!

Group H:

• Valencia
• Zenit St. Petersburg
• Olympique Lyon
• Gent

My preference is for Valencia so I am very happy they are back in the CL after defeating Monaco in a nail-biter. They will surely want to show their best, and this group does not look terrifying, but difficult certainly. Zenit St. Petersburg are Russian champions and have experience in the tournament, with a third spot in their group last season, while the formerly mighty French Lyon are back in the CL for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Gent, last season's Belgian champions, will be hoping to scrape a few points in the group.

And some other Champions League results

It has been another great round of Champions League matches, where all teams but three have managed to get points after two matches. CSKA Moscow are the only bad team, while Ludogorets Razgrad have been unlucky to lose to Liverpool and Real Madrid. In the meantime, Benfica, with two losses, must be the biggest disappointment so far.
In this round Malmo FF defeated Olympiakos, and while Atletico Madrid defeated Juventus, all teams in that group A have a victory, making it a very exciting and surprising contest. In Group B FC Basel today defeated Liverpool, who is performing far below (their own) expectations. FC Basel has been a giant killer for many years, and Liverpool seems to have forgotten... So in Group B Basel and Liverpool are trailing Real Madrid, but do not discount Ludogorets just yet!
In Group C, where I had the pleasure of seeing Anderlecht and Dortmund play, the Germans from Dortmund seem to be the team to beat. In the meantime Arsenal rose from the ashes to trash Galatasaray 4-1, with three goals of their new star, Danny Welbeck.

Champions League 2014-15: finally some football!

Wow! The World Cup is only a faraway memory of drama and mediocre football when one can look forward to the 2014-2015 Champions League, whose groups were drawn today.

Group A:

• Atletico Madrid
• Juventus
• Olympiakos
• Malmo

Zlatan's old team of Malmo are a welcome Swedish return to the Champions League after many years. Atletico Madrid will be looking to repeat (or improve) last year's final, while Juventus and Olympiakos could in the end be the winners in this group!

Group B:

• Real Madrid
• Basel
• Liverpool
• Ludogorets

The surprising Bulgarians, who could easily become the neutral's darlings, face the defending champions, as well as the darlings of many, Liverpool. Basel has before shown that they must never be understimated.

Group C:

• Benfica
• Zenit St. Petersburg
• Bayer Leverkusen
• Monaco

Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen are two teams that play entertaining football, and are bound to be worth seeing. Zenit St. Petersburg is always a difficult team, while the Monaco fancy boys are not likely to win friends (at least not me).

Group D:

• Arsenal
• Borussia Dortmund
• Galatasaray
• Anderlecht

One of my favourite groups, with four fantastic teams. Always had a soft spot for Dortmund, while Arsene Wenger's Arsenal continues to be interesting year after year. Galatasaray will always create atmosphere with their fans while Anderlecht... Well, Anderlecht sucks, but I hope to get to watch them!

Group E:

• Bayern Munich
• Manchester City
• CSKA Moscow
• AS Roma

Manchester City continues to look for success in the Champions League, and this year may be their year. Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola is still an awesome side, but not as awesome as yesteryear. AS Roma should not be underestimated and are a welcome return to the CL, while CSKA Moscow will be quickly forgotten.

Group F:

• FC Barcelona
• Paris St. Germain
• Ajax Amsterdam
• Apoel Nicosia

Barcelona and Paris are without a doubt favourites in this group, where their clash will be one of the ones to watch in the tournament. Ajax Amsterdam are a nice team, always worth a good match, and Apoel Nicosia have before caused trouble. And I like them because they eliminated Aalborg!

Group G:

• Chelsea
• Schalke 04
• Sporting Lisbon
• Maribor

Mourinho's Chelsea look like favourites in this group, and Chelsea could get far indeed. Schalke 04 are solid but can be shaken, and the same for Sporting Lisbon, who seems set to fight for second spot with the Germans. Maribor eliminated Celtic, and it is great to have a team from beautiful Slovenia in the Champions League!

First time ever I will support Real Madrid

The draw for the 2013-2014 Champions League took place yesterday. Real Madrid ended in Group B with Italian champions Juventus, Galatasaray and the champions of the great Danish league, FC Copenhagen. I sincerely hope Juventus will win the group. However, more notable than that, I have come in a situation where, for the first time in my life, I will be supporting Real Madrid. In the fixtures against FC Copenhagen I will be celebrating each Madrid goal as it were of my own team, just because I want to see Copenhagen crushed.
The Champions League draw looks as follows:

Group A:

• Shakhtar Donetsk
• Manchester United
• Real Sociedad
• Bayer Leverkusen

Group B:

• Real Madrid
• Juventus
• Galatasaray
• FC Copenhagen

 Group C:

• Benfica
• Anderlecht
• Olympiacos
• Paris Saint-Germain

Group D:

• Manchester City
• Bayern Munich
• CSKA Moscow
• Viktoria Plzen

Group E:

• FC Basel
• Schalke 04
• Chelsea
• Steua Bucharest

Group F:

• Borussia Dortmund
• Arsenal
• Olympique Marseille
• Napoli

Group G:

• Atletico Madrid
• Zenit St. Petersburg
• Austria Vienna
• FC Porto

Group H:

• Ajax Amsterdam
• FC Barcelona
• AC Milan
• Celtic

Valencia and Bayern Munich through

In the economic crisis Valencia has been in for years they need any penny they can get, so to get as far as possible in the Champions League is part of this.  In the CL Group F they were today playing at home against Bayern Munich. A tie would put both teams through as Bate Borisov lost to the last-placed Lille at home, diminishing their own chances to go through. With a victory, Valencia could even look at winning the group, so it was a disappointing start to the game as Valencia's first real chance only came 30 minutes into a pretty lame match, where both teams at first seemed happy with a tie. However, when Antonio Barragan got a red card for Valencia, it seemed that 10 men played better than they had before! Fifteen minutes from the end Valencia went ahead on a goal by Sofiane Feghouli, and understandably Valencia celebrated like crazy. But only a few minutes later Thomas Muller equalized for Bayern.
Valencia could still go through on first spot by defeating Lille and hoping Bayern does not defeat Bate Borisov at home, but that seems unlikely, and Valencia should just be delighted to be in the next round to keep those Euros flowing in...

The surprises

The last round of matches of the group stages of the 2011-12 Champions League had a couple of surprises.

Firstly, Manchester United was elminated for the first time in the group stages of the tournament since the 2005-06 season. More surprising than this fact is nevertheless that it happened against the underestimated FC Basel in the last match of the tournament, where the English side needed only a tie to follow Benfica to the next round. However, the Swiss side was much more efficient, when they went ahead 1-0 early in the match they played a controlled defensive that kept United away for most of the match. Add a bit of luck and a late strike, and Basel managed to win 2-1 to complete Manchester United's sensational exit. In group A, Manchester City was also, less surprisingly, eliminated in spite of their win against Bayern Munich, so there will be no more CL football in Manchester this season.

Another surprise was that Olympique Lyon managed to follow Real Madrid to the next round in group D, after they needed to win with six goals away to Dynamo Zagreb to overtake Ajax Amsterdam (who losing to Real Madrid, could have solved it for themselves). Lyon won 1-7 in Zagreb, but the odd thing is how it happened: One man down, Zagreb nevertheless took the lead, only to see the French equalize before halftime on a gross defensive mistake. In the second half the home side fell mysteriously apart when Lyon scored six goals to take the ticket to the next round. French authorities are now looking into the match for the suspision of it being fixed, a thought that I think must have crossed many football fans' mind, including my own. Sadly, the fixing of matches at this level is not unheard of... It involving French sides is not unheard of neither.

That said, it may be wholly fair, and in that sense, one must congratulate Lyon, but the surprise simply looks too suspicious not to be looked into. I hope it was not fixed though.

The usual story

Every year, around these dates, which incidentally includes my birthday, the Champions League is entering the last round of the group stages. And often, around my birthday, my favorite team of Valencia is eliminated from the Champions League.
Yesterday was no exception; leading up to the match much of the talk had been about the pressure on Chelsea. I must admit, that I never saw it that way. Chelsea were surely favorites against a Spanish side that has not been convincing in the tournament until last rounds trashing of Genk. And my bad feeling about the match were totally confirmed, as Valencia had no chance against Chelsea in the 0-3 defeat, where Didier Drogba scored two of the goals, and former Valencia star, Juan Mata, played a great match against his former teammates.
The difference between the two sides is also an expression of the different levels of the Spanish and English leagues: Number four in the Premier League is far better than number three in La Liga, where the two top teams are really also the only competitive sides in the Champions League.
Another birthday present from Valencia...

Another one!

Manchester United-Valencia is for personal reasons one of the most classic matches in CL football, for the simple fact that I support Valencia, and I have seen them play the United times many times, including a match in 2000 in Valencia, where I saw them draw 0-0, and both were through, and I then got drunk with a bunch of United fans.
Today, many years later, I was in Caracas, watching them in a bar, as they were playing another "irrelevant" match, fighting for 1st and 2nd place in the group. Valencia needed a victory, and admirably really went for the victory in a match that is probably the most entertaining between the two sides.
1-1 is a fair result of a match that puts Manchester in the first spot of the group, while Valencia can look forward to an interesting (and very difficult) draw.

Champions League Group Stages: 4th round

Fourth matches of the 2010-2011 Champions League Group stages have just been played, and we are beginning to see the contours of each group.

• Group A: Tottenham Hotspurs managed to defeat the defending champions of Inter Milan 3-1, and are now leading the group on better goal difference than the Italians. In the meantime FC Twente surprisingly won 0-2 away to Werder Bremen. They have five points, and if they manage to upset Inter in Milan in the next round, we would be looking at a sensation! Still, I believe Inter should carry the day in the end, and progress together with Tottenham (and wonderful to see an English team that is not Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal...).

• Group B: In group B Olympique Lyon had been looking awesome with three straight wins until their match against a reawakened Benfica in this round. In an exciting match, the Portuguese won 4-3 and now has two wins, and it only one point behind German Schalke 04 on second spot, who disappointingly only managed 0-0 with Hapoel Tel Aviv (the Israeli's first point). Benfica will be facing the Israelis in the next round while Shalke will be hosting Lyon. But it all could come down to an exciting last round match in Lisbon between Benfica and Scalke 04!

• Group C: Manchester United cruised through a 0-3 away victory to Turkish Bursaspor, and are now on first spot with 10 points, one victory away from making it to the next round. Their next match with take the Reds to Glasgow. Rangers will desperately be needing a victory after they lost 3-0 to Valencia, who seems heading steadily to second spot. However, note that with some strange results, we could be looking at a nervewrecking (for me) Manchester United-Valencia in the last round!

• Group D: A major surprise in group D was that FC Copenhagen managed to get a 1-1 draw with mighty FC Barcelona. Copenhagen are now on second spot one point behind Barcelona with 8 points. Although Barcelona should be able to put through a first spot on the group, things are looking very good for the Danes who have Rubin Kazan away and Panathinaikos at home in their last two matches. These last two teams tied 0-0 in their encounter, and both seem poised for an early exit. But do not underestimate Rubin Kazan! (I am a Brøndby fan, and therefore I have very mixed feelings about Copenhagen. However, I have to congratulate all my FCK friends, in whose place I would love to be right now!)
  

• Group E: Bayern Munich defeated CFR Cluj 0-4 away, and are with Chelsea the only team with four straight victories in the CL. In fact with today's victory, the chance of them not winning the group is very slim. This would have to happen by the hands of an AS Roma side that has not been convincing at all this season. They won 2-3 against Basel, but will have to defeat Bayern Munich and CFR Cluj by large margins if they are to take first spot. Although Roma seems in a better position, a defeat to Bayern Munich in the next match could mean that CFR Cluj and Basel could be playing for a possible second spot in the next round!

• Group F: Chelsea is looking awesome this season, and with a 4-1 victory against Spartak Moscow took their fourth straight win. With a score of 12-2, and the way that they have been playing, it seems unlikely that Chelsea can be threatened on first spot. In the meantime, the fight seems poised for the second spot: Spartak Moscow remains there with six points, but Olympique Marseille took a huge jump on goals (before tonight they had only scored one in the three previous matches) by a 0-7 away win against pathetic Zilina. Next round, Marseille is travelling to Moscow to try to repeat Spartak's 0-1 victory in southern France. It will be a nerve-wrecking match. In the meantime Zilina, with four defeats and a score of 1-15 probably just want this to be over with. Just not good enough for this level!

• Group G: Real Madrid was looking to completely close down the group in Milan, but in an exciting match they managed to equalize AC Milan's 2-1 lead in the last minute (where famous World Cup final referee, Howard Webb, had yet another match of controversial calls...). With ten points, Real Madrid are nevertheless certain to progress. AC Milan, on second spot with 5 points can theoretically threaten the Spaniards, but they should instead be looking behind them: Ajax Amsterdam are one point behind them, but only two points behind them French Auxerre came alive after defeating the Dutch side 2-1. Auxerre-AC Milan in the next round is bound to be interesting, as will Ajax-Madrid, as all three teams are fighting for the second spot!

• Group H: Arsenal had three straight wins, and when going ahead early against Shakhtar Donetsk were looking for their fourth. However, the Ukranians, playing at home, fought back to win 2-1, and the top of the group is now looking very exciting, with Arsenal and Shakhtar both with 9 points, and Braga just behind them on third with six points after defeating Parizan Belgrade 0-1 in Belgrade. Braga started the tournament by losing 6-0 to Arsenal, but when they receive the English side at home in the next round, they are hopefully going to be better motivated, seeing that they can completely turn around the group. However, as both Shakhtar and Arsenal have one match each against the poor Partizan side, it is most likely that both of them will progress to the next round.

Some teams are already bound for the next round, some are out, but still need to fight to get there, and the coming matches will be much more exciting!

Champions League 2010-2011 Groups

Today was the draw for the Group stage of the 2010-11 Champions League which will start in a couple of weeks, and look like this:

Group A:

• Inter Milan
  
• Tottenham Hotspur
  
• Werder Bremen
• FC Twente

Group B:

• Olympique Lyon
• Hapoel Tel Aviv
• Schalke 04
• Benfica

Group C:

• Manchester United
• Valencia CF
  
• Glasgow Rangers
• Bursaspor

Group D:

• FC Barcelona
• Panathinaikos
• FC Copenhagen
• Rubin Kazan

Group E:

• Bayern Munich
• AS Roma
• FC Basel
• CFR Cluj

Group F:

• Olympique Marseille
• Chelsea
• Spartak Moscow
• Zilina

Group G:

• Real Madrid
• AC Milan
• Auxerre
• Ajax Amsterdam

Group H:

• Arsenal
• SC Braga
• Partizan Belgrade
• Shakhtar Donetsk

Group G is looking very interesting, with a repeat of last year's encounters between Real Madrid and AC Milan (where Milan won in Madrid and tied in Milan), but also Drogba's return to Marseille in a Chelsea shirt will be interesting, as well as Bayern Munich's visit to Roma. On a personal basis I am delighted to see Valencia back against some teams they have had previous experience with, including Manchester United and Glasgow Rangers.
Some of the smaller teams and newcomers will be looking to set their mark: Braga is in a group where they should have chances, while Zilina is set to make another mark for Slovak football this season. For Danes, seeing mighty Barcelona come to Copenhagen will be interesting - but be sure that in spite of all my FCK friends, I will be cheering for the Catalans!
Exciting days coming up!

Champions League 2009-10: Group draw

After the last qualifiers have been played, UEFA today made the draw for this season's 2009-10 Champions League. These are as follows:

Group A:

• Bayern Munich
• Juventus
• Bordeaux
• Maccabi Haifa

Group B:

• Manchester United
• CSKA Moscow
• Besiktas
• Wolfsburg

Group C:

• AC Milan
• Real Madrid
• Olympique Marseille
• FC Zurich

Groupd D:

• Chelsea
• FC Porto
• Atlético Madrid
• Apoel Nicosia

Group E:

• Liverpool
• Olympique Lyon
• Fiorentina
• Debrecen

Group F:

• FC Barcelona
• Inter Milan
• Dynamo Kiev
• Rubin Kazan

Group G:

• Sevilla
• Glasgow Rangers
• VfB Stuttgart
• Unirea Urziceni

Group H:

• Arsenal
• AZ Alkmaar
• Olympiakos
• Standard Liege

There are clearly some very interesting matches, and most people have already noticed the Spanish-Italian encounters in the form of Real Madrid-AC Milan and FC Barcelona-Inter Milan, where some rather prominent new players will be playing against their former teams.

Bayern Munich-Juventus, Olympique Lyon-Liverpool, and Chelsea-FC Porto are all quasi-classical encounters in the Champions League (where Lyon and Chelsea are the only team that has not won the CL!). Some other teams that will be very interesting to follow are Dynamo Kiev, Rubin Kazan (the Russian champions, who will be making their first CL appearance ever), Wolfsburg (the German champions, who will also be making their first appearance ever), and Olympique Marseille, the ex-champions and new French champions.

Arsenal and Manchester United both seem to have gotten quite easy draws, but of course, in this Champions League there are no easy teams... Or are there...? It will be be interesting to see whether this new format, with more teams from "small" countries, will be succesful, or if teams such as Apoel Nicosia, Debrecen and Maccabi Haifa will just be in it for the experience!

But anyway, I cannot wait for the Champions League to start on September 15th!

Champions League 2008-09 group draw

The draw for the 2008-09 UEFA Champions Legaue took place last night with the foolowing groups:

Group A: Chelsea is likely to win, and no tips on the runner-up. The Romanians will be interesting to watch.

• Chelsea (England): Last season's finalists enter the tournament as big favourites under a new coach. Will be exciting to watch them, and they are certainly contenders again as well as favourites in the group.
  
• AS Roma (Italy): The Italians are always strong, and AS Roma is an example of it. They won't get my support though...
  
• Bordeaux (France): The team coached by former French super-star Laurent Blanc will be interesting to watch, since they are relatively unwritten at CL level.
  
• CFR Cluj (Romania): These are the Romanian and should thus not be underestimated. Still, without knowing much about them, they are a completely unwritten team.
  

Group B: Inter Milan, as a serious contender to the title, is by far the favourite. The surprising Cypriots will be interesting to watch as well.

• Inter Milan (Italy): Under the new coach José Mourinho, and an already star-filled team, they should this season be even more serious contenders for the title.
  
• Werder Bremen (Germany): Not as strong as in previous years, but I still is the safest bet to follow Inter to the next round.
  
• Panathinaikos (Greece): Will have to hold up the flag for Greek football after Olympiakos sensational elimination against Famagusta.
  
• Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus): The surprising Cypriot team is in after a sensational win against the Greek champions of Olympiakos, but will have their hands full!
  

Group C: Barcelona is by far the favourite, and could get a flying start to the tournament. I think the other three teams will be fighting for the crumbs...

• FC Barcelona (Spain): A renewed Barcelona under Pep Guardiola will be interesting to watch, now without Deco and Ronaldinho, but with Messi playing a much more important role.
  
• Sporting Lisbon (Portugal): Portuguese teams are always hard to play against and so will Sporting (don't check their web-site though: it is crap!).
  
• FC Basel (Switzerland): Their second CL appearance, the Swiss will be interesting, but I don't think they will make it far.
  
• Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine): The defending Ukrainian champions are becoming a common team in the CL. Last season they finished last in their group, let us see what they can do this time!
  

Group D: This group has some of the most interesting encounters in the group stages! Liverpool-PSV is a classic encounter, and Fernando Torres facing his old club Atlético will surely also cause talk!

• Liverpool (England): Always better at European level than in the Premier League, they will probably be hard to beat again, although the group surely looks difficult!
  
• PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands): Dutch champions doesn't that say it all?
  
• Olympique Marseille (France): Good to have the southern French giants back in the CL!
  
• Atlético Madrid (Spain): Hungry for European success, they will be hard to beat, as well as good to have them back in the CL!
  

Group E: Manchester and Villarreal usually have some good clashes, and the Scots always put up an entertaining fight. However, Manchester United should be considered the favourites by far.

• Mancherster United (England): Defending champions, they will surely be the team to beat, and will have to fight very hard to win again.
  
• Villarreal (Spain): The "yellow submarine", siilver winners in Spain last season, are in the second CL; in their first one, two years ago, they tied Manchester United twice and reached the semi-finals...
  
• Celtic (Scotland): Awesome champions of the Scottish league, Gordon Strachan's team will as always be liked in Europe, but will have to fight much more for the points!
  
• Aalborg B (Denmark): The Danish champions are in their second CL ever, but will probably have an early exit.
  

Group F: Olympique Lyon and Bayern should be fighting for the top-spot in this group, and I would give the Germans the edge. Nevertheless, the two other teams are strong outsiders and may tease the other two.

• Olympique Lyon (France): Continuing as the most awesome team in French football (seven titles in a row now), and having played well in the previous CL's, success has nevertheless eluded them. Will this be their year...?
  
• Bayern Munich (Germany): Good to have the Germans back after their notable absence last season. They are German champions, and under Jurgen Klinsmann, I would consider them a contender for the title.
  
• Steaua Bucharest (Romania): The most traditional Romanian club has been in the CL many times, and won highest European honours in 1986. The participate as Romanian runners-up this season, but should nevertheless not be discounted (and an addition here: great for Romanian football!)
  
• Fiorentina (Italy): Hard to beat, boring to watch... Farewell!
  

Group G: Difficult group where all have an option, perhaps with FC Porto and Arsenal with a slight edge. I tip the Portuguese to go on top.

• Arsenal (England): Arsene Wenger's team came closest to European success when they reached the final two years ago. This season the team looks less strong, and I doubt they can reach that far, although they can never be discounted.
  
• FC Porto (Portugal): Portuguese champions and two-times winners of the CL/Champions Cup (1987 and 2004) they are again a potential outsider for the title.
  
• Fenerbahce (Turkey): Turkish runners-up last season, but managed to qualify for the CL with an experienced and capable side which surely will be hard to defeat.
  
• Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine): The traditional Ukrainian side ended second in Ukraine last season, but qualified to the CL after destroying Spartak Moscow in a Soviet-era traditional clash.
  

Group H: Probably the hardest group as both Real Madrid, Juventus and Zenit St. Petersburg must be considered some of the best teams in Europe. Every match will be interesting. Borisov will be facing some expensive first-hand training....

• Real Madrid (Spain): Spanish champions and as always, serious contenders for the title.
  
• Juventus (Italy): "The old lady" is back in Europe after their forced relegation in 2006, and they are very welcome! They will be interesting to watch, and will surely want to show they belong in the CL top! A serious outsider for the title.
  
• Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia): The defending UEFA Cup champions and Russian champions are playing their first CL, and will be a team to count on, and will give everyone a serious fight. Another outsider for the title!
  
• BATE Borisov (Bielorussia): I know nothing about these Bielorussian champions besides the fact that they are sensationally in the CL after defeating Levski Sofia.
  

The Champions League draw

I have said before that I cannot wait for the CL knockout stage, starting on February 22nd. After the draw yesterday, I feel like a little child eagerly waiting for Santa Claus, like Romeo waiting for Juliette, like a shipwrecked waiting to be rescued, or like a blossoming tree waiting for summer.
Surely any good football fanatic is counting the days!

What a draw! Three of the games will be between two former winners of the tournament:
Real Madrid-Juventus: Two legendary teams, with some of the best players in the world. A repeat by the way, of the 1998 CL final, won by Real Madrid.
Manchester United-AC Milan: Both teams have an amazing record both at home and in Europe. AC Milan won the CL only two years ago, while Man U won in 1999. Still they have not faced one another in an important game since the 1960s.
FC Porto-Inter: A hard one for the defending champions, who will have to display some of their finest attacking football to upset a strong Inter defence, with a scary attacking force.

And there is more:
Bayern Munich-Arsenal: The South Germans are looking to return to the strength of former times, and look good this season. Arsenal is still searching for success in Europe. With both strong teams, this will be a hard fight which can go to either side.
Barcelona-Chelsea: Two of the teams that are looking best this season, both in their respective leagues as well as in Europe. Both play amazing attacking football, with an awesome striking force. This could surely become a game to go into the history books.
Werder Bremen-Lyon: Two of the surprises this season. None are to be underestimated, and both have the potential of going all the way. Particularly Lyon is having a great season, with a very strong team.
PSV-Monaco: The young and talented PSV side may continue surprising with their good skills. Monaco will have to display some of the force that got them to the final last season. But with their very skilled players, this will also be a game to watch.
Liverpool-Leverkusen: Matches featuring English and German teams are always good for a spirited fight. Liverpool showed a lot of spirit beating Olympiakos, and will have to show the best against a very strong Leverkusen side, that has already shown how to humilliate Real Madrid this season.

I will not come with my predictions just yet, but just say that there will be emptiness while waiting for February 22nd.

Champions League first round wrap up

At the start of this season's champions league I made some predictions as to how the groups would fare.
After a fascinating last round, the result of my predictions are as follows:

Group A: The group was closer than I thought. But as I predicted, Monaco won, after destroying Deportivo in La Coruna. Deportivo has been a great disappointment, and must be tired of humiliations from Monaco. Liverpool was extraordinary in the last game against Olympiakos, managing to get 3-1 after being down 0-1. With that result, they took the second spot, just as I had predicted.
Group B: I predicted Real Madrid would win. This looked far-away at one point, but with good fight, Real Madrid managed to get the second spot. Leverkusen was a revelation. They played very fine, and deservedly won the group after defeating Dynamo Kijev. The Ucranians were very strong as I had thought, and it must be disappointing for them to play the UEFA. I had predicted Roma to go on, but thankfully they did not: they were pathetic and uncharming.
Group C: Juventus won the group, as I had expected. They will be very hard to beat, but they are not entertaining. Bayern Munich was much stronger than I thought, and played well to get the second spot. I had predicted Ajax Amsterdam for this, but the youngsters were far from the glory of former times.
Group D: I am proud to say that I had predicted Lyon to win. The French side is amazingly strong this season, and any team will be wrong to believe it will be easy to beat them. They can get very far... Manchester United got the second spot. Just as I had predicted, they were the unchallenged winners of the group.
Group E: Arsenal won the group, which I had also predicted, although they fought harder for it than I thought. I had thought PSV would be second, but they were much stronger than I thought, in particular defeating Arsenal in one of the games. PSV is also a team to watch, and I still think Arsenal will have an early exit again this season.
Group F: AC Milan and Barcelona were unchallenged winners of the group, just as predicted. Celtic and Shakhtar both showed spirit, but Barcelona and Milan are very strong, and look as strong contenders for the title.
Group G: One of this season's disappointments have been the Spanish champions of Valencia. They were very bad in this round, and did not progress after their pathetic loss 0-2 to Werder Bremen. I had wrongly predicted them to win the group. Winners were Inter, whom I also had predicted for the second spot. Werder Bremen have been very strong, and deservedly got the second spot after defeating Valencia both at home and away.
Group H: I had predicted that Chelsea, under Mr. Mourinho, would win the group. They also did, and are looking strong, both in the Premier League and here in the CL. They can indeed get very far. FC Porto edged through on the second spot. The defendign champions have not been looking as strong as last season, but I had expected them to go through.

My biggest mistake was not expecting the German teams to do well. Actually, I had predicted they would all be out after first round. Instead, they are all through. I guess I fell into the old football trap of underestimanting the Germans. Never do that in football...

My UEFA Champions League League Fantasy team, Abruniohene, had a lousy round, and looks to get worse, as many of the teams the players are on, are out. Oh well, at least I was good at predicting...

Cannot wait till February 22nd 2005!!!!

Champions League Matchday 2: My team

The champions league has really gotten off to an excellent start, and this second round already showed some memorable games.
AS Roma continued deepening its crisis against a Real Madrid team, that was looking pathetic when down 0-2, but showed that the primadonnas are able to fight back. Maybe this victory will be crucial for Madrid's season.
Other teams continued showing strength: Bayern Munich is looking a strong contender, led by an amazing Roy Maakay, and Manchester United is building up a new strong team with Super-Rooney at the forefront. Chelsea defeated the defending champion from FC Porto, and is looking a strong contender to the title.
Two of the strongest contender to the title, Barcelona and AC Milan, both continued victorious against Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic respectively. Playing a different kind of football, the next matchday will see these two great teams facing each other, in what could become an early final...
Dynamo Kiev and Lyon both showed that they are teams to be seriously reconned with: Dynamo Kiev defeated the Leverkusen team that had humilliated Real Madrid, while Lyon got an excellent result from the strong home-team Sparta Prague. At the same time as some of the greater teams disappointed: Arsenal only managed to tie in Norway against Rosenborg, and Valencia lost to Werder Bremen.
The CL has started great, and it will be even more excited!

Now, on a more personal account, it was not such a great round. My team in the UEFA Fantasy football, Abruniohene, did rather badly, considering that I had started off quite well. Some of my players scored, like Saviola and Eto'o. Others did fine, like Nedved and Kaká. But all in all, I could not compete with teams who had Luis Figo or Roy Makaay. One player, goalkeeper Rütsu, even got minus points, after the lesson he received against Manchester United.
Oh well, there are many rounds ahead, and victories for Abrunioehene!