OT: UEFA Champions League Group Draw
From Steve Goff's WashPo Soccer Insider blog:
GROUP A: Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Spurs, Twente
GROUP B: Lyon, Benfica, Schalke, Hapoel Tel Aviv
GROUP C: Manchester United, Valencia, Rangers, Bursaspor
GROUP D: Barcelona, Panathinaikos, Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan
GROUP E: Bayern Munich, Roma, Basel, Cluj
GROUP F: Chelsea, Marseille, Spartak Moscow, Zilina
GROUP G: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre
GROUP H: Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, Partizan BelgradePlay begins Sept. 14-15 and ends Dec. 7-8.
Americans: Onyewu (AC Milan), Edu (Rangers), Jones (Schalke).
Thoughts on the most difficult groups? G, C and A?
August 27th, 2010 at 10:17 PM ^
I'm thinking C,E,F - Then again, I could be batsht nuts.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:08 PM ^
you could be. Just because of Chelsea? Definitely G, C, and I could see your thought on E as well. Lovin' Barça in D, though, and the answer is no, I'm not on a bandwagon of jersey-wearing-but-not-knowing-any-players-or-other-teams-names "fans". It's kind of a long story (that is partly hinted at in my sig).
August 27th, 2010 at 10:19 PM ^
Wow...Ajax got boned. Group G is murder.
August 27th, 2010 at 10:20 PM ^
Five clubs have won the Champions League/European Cup four times or more, and three of them are in this group. Real Madrid has 9 titles, AC Milan has 7 and AFC Ajax has 4. Based solely on reputation and history, that is a stacked group.
August 28th, 2010 at 2:15 AM ^
Those three teams have won more than a third of the European Cup/Champions League competitions ever (20/55). Can't wait to see how it shakes out.
August 27th, 2010 at 10:24 PM ^
I'm interested in group C as a supporter of Rangers and Valencia (bound to be disappointed somehow since ManU will advance for sure) but honestly Rangers aren't that great even with their new signings and Burpsasor doesn't worry me, even if they are Turkish champions, mostly because I have never heard of them. G is batshit crazy (Milan, Real Madrid+Jose Mourinho, Ajax and a team from a major league). Twente are good and the other three teams in group A are from big leagues, so that one's threatening as well. I like Arsenal, so I'm glad to say group H strikes me as really weak.
August 27th, 2010 at 10:41 PM ^
Never underestimate the Turkish teams. Western teams rarely make it out of Turkey with all three points.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:15 PM ^
but Bursaspor has to be one of the weakest Turkish champions... ever.
This isn't one of the big three Istanbul teams. They won't be around long.
August 27th, 2010 at 10:28 PM ^
Chelsea and Man U got pretty good draws. Chelsea is my team so im glad to see it
August 27th, 2010 at 10:30 PM ^
Predictions (Winner, Runner-Up):
GROUP A: Inter Milan, Spurs
GROUP B: Schalke, Lyon
GROUP C: Manchester United, Valencia
GROUP D: Barcelona, Panathinaikos
GROUP E: Roma, Bayern Munich
GROUP F: Chelsea, Spartak Moscow
GROUP G: Real Madrid, Ajax
GROUP H: Braga, Arsenal
August 27th, 2010 at 10:46 PM ^
let's go Olympique Lyonnais!
August 27th, 2010 at 10:47 PM ^
WOOOOOOOOO ARSENAL all the way. Great draw
August 27th, 2010 at 11:24 PM ^
Agreed. Loving this.
August 28th, 2010 at 11:37 AM ^
that is an e4xcellent group for them
August 27th, 2010 at 10:48 PM ^
Group A: Holy crap. The title holder, top team from the second pod, top team from the third pod, and second-highest (based on the UEFA club coefs) from the fourth. They're from the leagues rated 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 10th (and I'm really surprised the Eredivisie is rated that low). That is freaking stacked.
Group B: Mid-level on quality, but it should be competitive at least - Lyon is the lowest top seed, Benfica and Schalke are both middle of their pods, and Hapoel Tel Aviv is the top team in the fourth pod.
Group C: Man U is going to win the group; could be interesting between Valencia and Rangers for the other spot, but Scottish teams have really had trouble in Europe of late, so I'm going with Valencia there. Bursaspor ... uh, welcome to the Champions League; it's not going to be a long stay.
Group D: I'll be surprised if Barcelona ends up with less than 16 points (although Rubin Kazan actually beat them in the group stage last year). Pana and Copenhagen are both at the bottom of their pods; somehow Barcelona always seems to get a wimpy group.
Group E: Shouldn't be a lot of drama here; Bayern and Roma should have little difficulty with Cluj and Basel.
Group F: Another one that should be a total domination for the top team; Marseille, Spartak Moscow, and Zilina are all in the bottom two in their pods.
Group G: Pretty well stacked, with all representing top leagues (2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th). Bad luck for Ajax to get Real Madrid as their second-pod team; I'd say the same for Auxerre but they weren't going to do anything anyway.
Group H: Not ridiculously weak, but if Arsenal manages to screw this draw up they ought to be embarrassed. Shaktar might take the top spot from them, maybe, but it would be a major shock to see Partizan or Braga get through.
A and G should be the toughest; B and C are more likely to have a fair bit of drama (although in C that will likely be confined to the race for 2nd/3rd).
August 28th, 2010 at 2:29 AM ^
Rangers are going to get their shit pushed in by everyone in the group. I will be absolutely amazed if they finish above fourth place. 40 year old David Weir and chubby-ass Kenny Miller does not equal a Champions League roster.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:06 PM ^
August 28th, 2010 at 2:23 AM ^
Guessing that is what you meant since there was no Euro 2006.
Still have to disagree since Spurs would be watching from North London if the Rodney Dangerfield of English football (Crouchaldinho) hadn't bagged a hat trick against their Swiss opposistion in the second leg of their qualifying round tie. If the Russian features prominently, THFC will be going home after the group stage.
August 28th, 2010 at 11:12 AM ^
August 27th, 2010 at 11:41 PM ^
Poor Auxerre. I've liked them for some time now, but I don't see them getting out of that group. They'll pull off an upset though, just can't even begin to say which team.
August 28th, 2010 at 2:05 AM ^
I agree I love little Auxerre, they're a fabulous club, but I actually kind of like the draw they got. Hosting 3 absolute giants will be fantastic occasions for them, they should be able to at least finish above Ajax and make the Europa league, They will be fantastic matches for their fans.
August 27th, 2010 at 11:49 PM ^
Real, Ajax, and Milan. Good lord. That'll be a tough one for Ajax to get out of.
Arsenal got a cake draw and should be ashamed if they don't advance. Same with Chelsea.
Lyon could be the side in trouble. Benfica and Schalke will push them.
A is a tough group too. Any one of Inter, Spurs, and Bremen could advance.
Not sure how I feel about Group C. It's the most interesting group by far. Turkish sides are notoriously tough outs and neither Valencia nor Rangers will lay down for Man U.
August 28th, 2010 at 2:41 AM ^
has the easiest group out of everyone, for sure. Kazan and Panathinaikos will be tough to play at home thanks to the latter's defensive discipline and the former's wintry homeground advantage, though Barcelona will surely be wary of underestimating the Russian champions after last year. The Catalans will run away with the group, though, and should have a chance to run out some of the emerging cantera kids in the latter games. Copenhagen's a bit of a wild card, but you've gotta think it'll be Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos fighting it out for the second qualifying berth.