Champions League Group Stage Draw

All the qualifying has been decide and all the teams were in the hat as the draw for this seasons Champions League Group Stages was made yesterday in Monaco. Among the teams eagerly awaiting to see who they would meet were 6 British clubs, four from England and the two big Glasgow giants from Scotland.

Old Big Ears. The ultimate club prize they all seek.

There were certainly some interesting draws but I would imagine there is one particular clash that Uefa wish they could have avoided. In a cruel twist of fate Manchester Utd were again drawn against AS Roma only a few months after the two teams met in last season’s quarter final which was marred by serious violence, particularly in the Italian capital. You can bet Uefa have already been on the phone to the respective Police Forces!

The Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson said, “I am not concerned at all. What we need to do is do homework and work closely with Uefa and Roma. I am sure lessons have been learnt by Uefa and Roma from last year’s incidents.

Utd , 2 times winners, are in Group F and as well as Roma will also meet Sporting Lisbon and then face the long trip to play Dynamo Kiev.

The 7 times finalists, 5 times winners, Liverpool are in Group A and are paired with the 2004 champions Porto. The other two teams are Marseilles and Besiktas of Istanbul, happy memories for the Liverpool fans there! The Marseilles tie will pit Liverpool against the French striker Djibril Cissé who has recently been sold by Benítez having spent most of last season on loan at the French club. He will want to prove something! Another Liverpool player is now also there, Bolo Zenden who had a very good game in last season’s semi-final against Chelsea, particularly in the second leg at Anfield.

The Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez said, “it’s clear when you look at some of the other groups that ours could have been a little easier. Porto have good experience in the Champions League and have enjoyed a good record over recent seasons. Marseilles are a good side in the French league and they will a lot about us which could make it more difficult. And you always know when you go to Turkey that it will be hard because of the traveling involved and the wonderful support they give their over there.”

Chelsea are in Group B and will again face Valencia. The two teams met last season in the Quarter Final with Chelsea coming out on top. The other teams in Group B are Schalke 04 of Germany and Rosenborg.

Group D sees last year’s Champions AC Milan in another re-match from last years competition. They will again face Celtic who, I thought, were a little unlucky last season to have been beaten by Milan. Strachan’s young team did themselves proud. Making up the group are Benfica and Shakhtar Donetsk.

The fourth of England’s representatives in this year’s competition is again Arsenal, the beaten 2006 finalists, and they will be, I suspect, relatively happy with the draw they have been given. There is in fact still one team to be decided falling the postponement of the Sevilla and AEK Athens 2nd leg game due to the tragic death of the young Sevilla player Puerta earlier in the week. However, I would suspect that when the game is played Sevilla will make it through, which will be Arsenal’s toughest game in the group by far. The other two teams are Steaua Bucharest and Slavia Prague.

The second of the big Glasgow clubs, Rangers have a tough assignment in Group E where they will meet the 2006 Champions Barcelona, as well as the French Champions Lyon and German Champions Stuttgart. Hmm! Rangers’ head of Football Administration said, “It’s not particularly easy but it’s wonderful to be there. I don’t think it could be any tougher but it was always going to be hard.”

How all the groups line up:

GROUP A:
Liverpool (England) Porto (Portugal) Olympique Marseille (France) Besiktas (Turkey)

GROUP B:
Chelsea (England) Valencia (Spain) Schalke 04 (Germany) Rosenborg (Norway)

GROUP C:
Real Madrid (Spain) Werder Bremen (Germany) Lazio (Italy) Olympiakos (Greece)

GROUP D:
AC Milan (Italy) Benfica (Portugal) Celtic (Scotland) Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)

GROUP E:
Barcelona (Spain) Olympique Lyon (France) VfB Stuttgart (Germany) Rangers (Scotland)

GROUP F:
Manchester United (England) AS Roma (Italy) Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)

GROUP G:
Inter Milan (Italy) PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) CSKA Moscow (Russia) Fenerbahce (Turkey)

GROUP H:
Arsenal (England) Sevilla (Spain) or AEK Athens (Greece) Steaua Bucharest (Romania) Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)

I’m sure it will be the “usual suspects” who make it through their respective groups and make it to the all important knock-out stages where the competition really starts to heat up. Can either of Milan and Liverpool make it to Final yet again? I wonder what the odds would be for a third encounter in 4 seasons? Who’s your money on?

The Soccer Blogger