Champions League 08/09 Group Drawing

Thank goodness it’s back! And so am I…

Here are the results for the group drawing for Champs League 08/09
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=566834&sec=uefachampionsleagu...

Let me try to break down my perspective and please tell me yours…

Group A
Chelsea by no way or form will place less than first. Supersquad this year, older and wiser, under new management, and whether or not Robinho will trade the Spanish royally white for the Russian oligarchial blue/black , Chelsea will be a strong continental contender for this lucrative winner’s purse. I always hate Italian teams so I will favor Bordeaux over Roma, not just without reason: Bordeaux placed a commendable top 3 domestic league finish in the past 2 out of 3 years, behind the indomitable Olympique Lyon. And I think F.Cavenaghi (Bordeaux) will end up with more goals than F.Totti (Roma) and J.Baptista (Roma) combined. And I’ve never heard of the 4th team representing Romania.

Group B
Inter and Werder Bremen without a doubt. Panathinaikos is weak without playmaker Rivaldo, who left to AEK Athens a couple years back who then got angry and cheated then took 10 million dollars to play for 1 year in Uzbekistan recently, at 36 years old. Inter with new signings Mourinho and S.Muntari will most likely dominate. S.Muntari is the perfect answer to complement an aging P.Viera to control the mid for Z.Ibrahimovich, D.Suazo, and a fit and sober Adriano. Also, lets not forget to mention a deadly J.Cruz and an always lethal H.Crespo.

Group C
Can a revamped Barca contend against the likes of Sporting Lisbon, Basel, and Shakthar Donetsk? Maybe… I definitely think Basel lost a big reinforcement in young striker/beast E.Derdiyok – who put up a great display at this past summer’s Euro 08 Championships. Lisbon might (I said miight) take first because they show the most consistency in their domestics. But lets be real here – Barca is a new Barca. Shaken and stirred, the club has been reshaped from the inside out. As a lifelong Barca fan, I cannot say that the quality of players brought in equates to the quality of players exported. But then hopefully, Pep Guardiola can keep unity in his team and S.Eto’o and L.Messi healthy. And damn, why didn’t we get R.van der Vaart instead of Madrid?

Group D
I call this one the quintessential group of DEATH! Yes sir… Liverpool, PSV, Marseille, and Atletico Madrid? Or maybe not the group of Death because I can see PSV and Marseille being the only ones dying here. Bad draw for PSV and for Marseille. Perhaps if a new young Brazilian comes along in the footsteps of Romario and Ronaldo, can PSV dream to survive this year’s competition? Maybe not, sadly, the only Dutch team gets to place fourth. Liverpool and Atletico will produce some great football and I’m excited to watch both of them advance through the ranks to the finals.

Group E
Man Utd on top and let Celtic fight against Villareal. The Irish are known for their fighting spirit but dont try to convince underdog Villareal they are not cut up for the battle. Who knows, maybe the Celts can put one over the Mancunians. Villareal is a team about control and they surely will need all of it. Actually Villareal should be a team Americans should root for since CA-born Guiseppe Rossi and recent transfer Josmer Altidore earn their paychecks there.

Group F
Lyon and Bayern, bar none. Fiorentina might make a statement, but a boring one at that. Steaua Bucharest is a kind of team who always play spoiler as playing an away game at their home always proves difficult for even the best of teams. Maybe its the weather…

Group G
Arsenal, Porto, Fenerbahce, and Kiev. Wow – I think this one might actually be the group of death. Arsenal is Arsenal – think what you will. Strong in England but terrible in Europe is always the chant against them. Porto always has young stars and who cannot root for a team that has a guy named Hulk playing for them? No first name, only Hulk. I swear! Fenerbahce without Kezman and Appiah, but with SuperTurk Emre. Eh, I dont think so. I hope Guiza can continue his goalscoring touch, Kazim Kazim can stamp himself as one of Europe’s top young strikers, and Demirel continue to make it known that he’s Turkey’s number 1. I dont have much faith in Kiev, especially with another cold war looming.

Group H
Real Madrid, Juventus, and Zenit St. Petersburg. Real Madrid to the finals. Juve and Zenit duke it out. Maybe Arshavin is happy and reinvigorated with all the zillions he signed for instead of taking a European adventure.

So thats it folks…
Enjoy this year’s Champs League and may the best team win.

F.uck Man Utd