Nothing excites a fan more to watch his favorite club compete for the european challenge. UEFA CL again resumes this year after that famous victory for the Red Devils over the Blues. some moments are still fresh in the memories like John terry and Ronaldo's penalty miss, Drogba's send off and the whole lot of transfer saga. Lets look at the clashes and highlight few key players and issues that can make us enjoy watching our game better.
Day 1:
Group A:
1. Chelsea Vs Bordeaux @ Stamford bridge: Chelsea's unbeaten home record extends way back to february 2004 where they lost to arsenal 2-1. with a record of 77 unbeaten home games behind them, it really would take the 8th placed french team ( as of now) to play the match of their lifetime to match their opponents. Coach Laurent Blanc too feels the same as bordeaux have already lost 2 matches and lost some ground to pose a serious title challenge.but with players like Cavenaghi ( 3 goals in current season), Gourcuff, Gouffran and Bellion, they have players who can shock the opponents on their night. As for chelsea, the return of Drogba against city would mean a lot in bolstering their final shot.with full backs Cole and Bosingwa swinging in those crosses, Drogba will fancy his chances of putting the ball at the back of the net. All said and done, Chelsea have been consistent in the tournament for past few years at this stage of the tournament. with Deco and lampard in ominous form, the blues will try to take control of the match and Big Phil will have his first taste of Europe against a talented bordeaux side who are looking for a stellar performance to get back on track for their title challenge as well as the champions league.
2.Roma Vs CFR Cluj - Napoca @ Stadio Olimpico : Roma have started the season badly with a draw and a loss from two games giving doubts about their title challenge in the absence of the their big guns from last year. the romanian champions CFR cluj better known as the " The Railway Men" coached by an Italian Trombetta make their first ever entry into this format of europe. with not many star players in their ranks, the team is made up of few portuguese and argentinians who could be exciting to watch on their day. except for their striker, Y.Kone ( previously for Rosenberg) who has had some CL experience , CFR would hope that the bad form of the Gialarossis continue in their match too where they can salvage something out of the game. Roma would seriously look to get back into their winning ways and time can't come any better than an opponent who is making his debut in the CL. With the final in Rome this year, coach Spaletti admits that they have to push much harder to realise the dream of their Totti lifting the cup. the oppurtunity for a rollicking start lies ahead for Roma or will the little known Railwaymen pull off something out of this game ?
GroupB:
3.Panathinaikos Vs Inter Milan @ Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium : The " Prasinois" combination of Coach Ten cate, Ex arsenal man Gilberto and the Pillar of greek midfield Karagounis combined with the likes of 18 year old greek prodigy Ninis and Striker Salpigidis, the Panathinaikos a.k.a Prasinoi can cause some early panic in Mourinho's camp if they get off to a rapid start and force their say on the game. though it will be tough for the greek club club to play a dominating game, a home ground support can add lots to their confidence in playing a hard match against inter, for whom the start this season has'nt been upto their standards. For the Nerazzurris, this could be a game to kickstart their 36 year CL drought for the team as well as coach Mourinho's recent chase for the CL trophy with the blues. with the summer signings of Mancini, Quaresma and Muntari led by a strong Ibra upfront, Inter will keep creating chances before its a matter of time to take the lead. with the tactician clearly signalling his intent to bring the CL this year, Inter would like to sound their arrival to the league of CL winners from the yesteryears. Must say this should be a hard fought midfeild game.
4.Werder Bremen Vs Anorthosis Famagusta @ Westerstadion: The Bundesliga runners up have played consistently well over the last few years reaching the second round in 04 and the 05 editions. Coached by Thomas Schaaf, the Werder boasts of a challenging line up in the likes of midfield grafter Deigo, Frings and Claudio Pizzaro ( on loan from Chelsea). the other players to watch out for would be Striker Marcus Rosenberg, Vranjes and their two center backs Naldo and Mertesacker. As for their opponents as the champions of Cyprus, who defeated olympiacos to reach this stage, the team will rely a lot upon the experieced 32 year old defender Trianos Dellas and Former Madrid man 34 year old Savio. also to watch out would be the speedy french winger Laban who tormented his opponents to bring his team here to this stage of the CL. but lacking in experience, reality will look to show its ugly side to them in their CL clash. the Cyprus champs will have to take this chances if they want to salvage any bit of pride from this game unless until werder gives it away on their own.
Group C:
5. FC Basel vs Shakhtar Donetsk @ St.Jakob Park: The swiss champions have had their glory days in 2002 -03 when they defeated celtics and juventus to reach the second round and also have held Man utd and Liverpool to draws.but apart from that they dont have any special attribute to boast about. after the exit of playmaker Hakan Yakin, the swiss champs have found it hard to compete at the CL level and have faced the habit of getting knocked out in the early stages. This time around with the likes of Safari, Marko Streller etc they do have players who are skillful and at the same time can make the most out of some oppurtunities. for Shakhtar donetsk, the ukraine champs, the record has been much cleaner as they have never progressed beyond the group stages. on paper with the likes of Fernadinho, the much talked about striker from bolivia Moreno, Side backs Srna and Rat, this team looks much solid to grind their opponents in terms of experience and skills, the nicknamed " Miners" from ukraine have a little bit of Brazilian Style about them. expect some fancy footworks to keep you interested while watching.
6. Barcelona Vs Sporting Lisbon @ Nou Camp: Pep guardiola has lately found that the art of coaching is seemingly getting difficult day by day. At Nou Camp, when they start their CL bid, they take on a notorious opposition known for causing upsets . without the likes of Ronaldinho,Deco and Henry ( who sat out against Santander) , Barca might find it difficult to stop the odd fast paced counter attacks from the sporting wings. At the same time, the likes of Messi, Bojan, Iniesta, Xavi ,Alves, Eto etc might be too hot to handle for the portuguese runners up. The Barca line up looks the best on paper but performances on field cannot be said the same as seen from their La liga matches till date which had very little of the barca grace in it. As for the Leons, the presence of Brazilian Leidson upfront, Postiga, Fabio Rochemback's return to former club, Joa Moutinho and Miguel Veloso they have a portuguese line up ready to make some swift counter attacks. but against Barca, will that be enough for sporting which has failed to go a notch above. Finally will we get to see the true Barca game in this?
Group D:
7.PSV Eindhoven vs Athletico Madrid @ Philip Stadium: All picture does not look rosy for a PSV side after the exit of Hiddink followed by few of their star players. the dutch fringe internationals like Kovermans, Allefay and skipper Simons will need to take charge if at all their side has to prove something in this encounter. For Athletico, the deadly duo of Forlan and Aguero flanked by Simao will make life difficult for the Dutch team to handle. with the experienced gregory Coupet between the posts backed by heitinga and ujfalusi, it will take some creative play for the Dutch men to register a score. also backing them will be argentinian maxi rodriguez, Paulo Assuncao, luis garcia etc. with this line up, the athletico side looks a lot handful in terms of their current form and skill. it will take some hard tackles and ball winning abilities for PSV to make their presence felt in this game.
8.Marseille Vs Liverpool @ Stade Velodrome: Coach Eric geret's mission of constructing something precious will get a reality check when they face Rafa's liverpool. OM has always staggered behind and conceded the limelight to OL who have performed thoroughly and consistently over the past few years. With the likes of Ben Arfa in their ranks , Kone and Niang in the lead role, Marseille can hope to create and convert those odd chances into magic moments. what remains to be seen is their back line with no solid face in it. on the other hand, liverpool are coming here on the back of a sensational victory over the red devils. the confidence is sky high, Gerrard is back, Babel will cause problems , Keane will keep moving and upon that the menace of EL Nino. what else can Rafa ask for. a solid midfield of Gerrard, Alonso and the magnificient Mascherano will keep pushing in those passes and any sniff of the goal would mean torres getting his name in the scoresheet.tough to say that this match will not be a one sided encounter, it remains to be seen as to whether Rafa does something supremely confident in team selections to give a chance to OM.
Day 1:
Group A:
1. Chelsea Vs Bordeaux @ Stamford bridge: Chelsea's unbeaten home record extends way back to february 2004 where they lost to arsenal 2-1. with a record of 77 unbeaten home games behind them, it really would take the 8th placed french team ( as of now) to play the match of their lifetime to match their opponents. Coach Laurent Blanc too feels the same as bordeaux have already lost 2 matches and lost some ground to pose a serious title challenge.but with players like Cavenaghi ( 3 goals in current season), Gourcuff, Gouffran and Bellion, they have players who can shock the opponents on their night. As for chelsea, the return of Drogba against city would mean a lot in bolstering their final shot.with full backs Cole and Bosingwa swinging in those crosses, Drogba will fancy his chances of putting the ball at the back of the net. All said and done, Chelsea have been consistent in the tournament for past few years at this stage of the tournament. with Deco and lampard in ominous form, the blues will try to take control of the match and Big Phil will have his first taste of Europe against a talented bordeaux side who are looking for a stellar performance to get back on track for their title challenge as well as the champions league.
2.Roma Vs CFR Cluj - Napoca @ Stadio Olimpico : Roma have started the season badly with a draw and a loss from two games giving doubts about their title challenge in the absence of the their big guns from last year. the romanian champions CFR cluj better known as the " The Railway Men" coached by an Italian Trombetta make their first ever entry into this format of europe. with not many star players in their ranks, the team is made up of few portuguese and argentinians who could be exciting to watch on their day. except for their striker, Y.Kone ( previously for Rosenberg) who has had some CL experience , CFR would hope that the bad form of the Gialarossis continue in their match too where they can salvage something out of the game. Roma would seriously look to get back into their winning ways and time can't come any better than an opponent who is making his debut in the CL. With the final in Rome this year, coach Spaletti admits that they have to push much harder to realise the dream of their Totti lifting the cup. the oppurtunity for a rollicking start lies ahead for Roma or will the little known Railwaymen pull off something out of this game ?
GroupB:
3.Panathinaikos Vs Inter Milan @ Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium : The " Prasinois" combination of Coach Ten cate, Ex arsenal man Gilberto and the Pillar of greek midfield Karagounis combined with the likes of 18 year old greek prodigy Ninis and Striker Salpigidis, the Panathinaikos a.k.a Prasinoi can cause some early panic in Mourinho's camp if they get off to a rapid start and force their say on the game. though it will be tough for the greek club club to play a dominating game, a home ground support can add lots to their confidence in playing a hard match against inter, for whom the start this season has'nt been upto their standards. For the Nerazzurris, this could be a game to kickstart their 36 year CL drought for the team as well as coach Mourinho's recent chase for the CL trophy with the blues. with the summer signings of Mancini, Quaresma and Muntari led by a strong Ibra upfront, Inter will keep creating chances before its a matter of time to take the lead. with the tactician clearly signalling his intent to bring the CL this year, Inter would like to sound their arrival to the league of CL winners from the yesteryears. Must say this should be a hard fought midfeild game.
4.Werder Bremen Vs Anorthosis Famagusta @ Westerstadion: The Bundesliga runners up have played consistently well over the last few years reaching the second round in 04 and the 05 editions. Coached by Thomas Schaaf, the Werder boasts of a challenging line up in the likes of midfield grafter Deigo, Frings and Claudio Pizzaro ( on loan from Chelsea). the other players to watch out for would be Striker Marcus Rosenberg, Vranjes and their two center backs Naldo and Mertesacker. As for their opponents as the champions of Cyprus, who defeated olympiacos to reach this stage, the team will rely a lot upon the experieced 32 year old defender Trianos Dellas and Former Madrid man 34 year old Savio. also to watch out would be the speedy french winger Laban who tormented his opponents to bring his team here to this stage of the CL. but lacking in experience, reality will look to show its ugly side to them in their CL clash. the Cyprus champs will have to take this chances if they want to salvage any bit of pride from this game unless until werder gives it away on their own.
Group C:
5. FC Basel vs Shakhtar Donetsk @ St.Jakob Park: The swiss champions have had their glory days in 2002 -03 when they defeated celtics and juventus to reach the second round and also have held Man utd and Liverpool to draws.but apart from that they dont have any special attribute to boast about. after the exit of playmaker Hakan Yakin, the swiss champs have found it hard to compete at the CL level and have faced the habit of getting knocked out in the early stages. This time around with the likes of Safari, Marko Streller etc they do have players who are skillful and at the same time can make the most out of some oppurtunities. for Shakhtar donetsk, the ukraine champs, the record has been much cleaner as they have never progressed beyond the group stages. on paper with the likes of Fernadinho, the much talked about striker from bolivia Moreno, Side backs Srna and Rat, this team looks much solid to grind their opponents in terms of experience and skills, the nicknamed " Miners" from ukraine have a little bit of Brazilian Style about them. expect some fancy footworks to keep you interested while watching.
6. Barcelona Vs Sporting Lisbon @ Nou Camp: Pep guardiola has lately found that the art of coaching is seemingly getting difficult day by day. At Nou Camp, when they start their CL bid, they take on a notorious opposition known for causing upsets . without the likes of Ronaldinho,Deco and Henry ( who sat out against Santander) , Barca might find it difficult to stop the odd fast paced counter attacks from the sporting wings. At the same time, the likes of Messi, Bojan, Iniesta, Xavi ,Alves, Eto etc might be too hot to handle for the portuguese runners up. The Barca line up looks the best on paper but performances on field cannot be said the same as seen from their La liga matches till date which had very little of the barca grace in it. As for the Leons, the presence of Brazilian Leidson upfront, Postiga, Fabio Rochemback's return to former club, Joa Moutinho and Miguel Veloso they have a portuguese line up ready to make some swift counter attacks. but against Barca, will that be enough for sporting which has failed to go a notch above. Finally will we get to see the true Barca game in this?
Group D:
7.PSV Eindhoven vs Athletico Madrid @ Philip Stadium: All picture does not look rosy for a PSV side after the exit of Hiddink followed by few of their star players. the dutch fringe internationals like Kovermans, Allefay and skipper Simons will need to take charge if at all their side has to prove something in this encounter. For Athletico, the deadly duo of Forlan and Aguero flanked by Simao will make life difficult for the Dutch team to handle. with the experienced gregory Coupet between the posts backed by heitinga and ujfalusi, it will take some creative play for the Dutch men to register a score. also backing them will be argentinian maxi rodriguez, Paulo Assuncao, luis garcia etc. with this line up, the athletico side looks a lot handful in terms of their current form and skill. it will take some hard tackles and ball winning abilities for PSV to make their presence felt in this game.
8.Marseille Vs Liverpool @ Stade Velodrome: Coach Eric geret's mission of constructing something precious will get a reality check when they face Rafa's liverpool. OM has always staggered behind and conceded the limelight to OL who have performed thoroughly and consistently over the past few years. With the likes of Ben Arfa in their ranks , Kone and Niang in the lead role, Marseille can hope to create and convert those odd chances into magic moments. what remains to be seen is their back line with no solid face in it. on the other hand, liverpool are coming here on the back of a sensational victory over the red devils. the confidence is sky high, Gerrard is back, Babel will cause problems , Keane will keep moving and upon that the menace of EL Nino. what else can Rafa ask for. a solid midfield of Gerrard, Alonso and the magnificient Mascherano will keep pushing in those passes and any sniff of the goal would mean torres getting his name in the scoresheet.tough to say that this match will not be a one sided encounter, it remains to be seen as to whether Rafa does something supremely confident in team selections to give a chance to OM.
