Champions League winner Chelsea will begin the defense of its title at home to Italian giant Juventus, while Real Madrid will face Manchester City in the tournament's toughest group.Today's draw for the group stage pitched the holders against a Juventus side that stormed to the Serie A title and was unbeaten in all competitions last season apart from the Italian Cup final. Group E also includes Shakhtar Donetsk and Champions League debutant Nordsjaelland of Denmark.
Madrid has been handed the toughest draw - with three league champions in Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax in Group D. The Spanish champion beat Ajax 3-0 both home and away in last season's competition.
It begins its bid for a record 10th title at home to Premier League champion City.
"We didn't have much luck but I'm sure our rivals will think the same," Real Madrid director and former playing great Emilio Butragueno said. "It's a very tough group, all of the games are going to be very close, very competitive, very tense.
"We have to prepare. We're Real Madrid and we aspire to reach the end of this competition."
With all four teams winning their respective leagues last year, it is no surprise Group D has been pinpointed as the toughest group.
"This group is a fantastic story. It gives you goose bumps, cramps your nerves," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. "Of course Real and City deal in (financial) sums that we cannot match. But this is not going to inhibit us.
"We want to be an uncomfortable opponent. We don't want to compete in the sense who is prettier, who is bigger, who is more expensive."
Juventus should qualify for the knockout stage, along with Chelsea, which knocked the Serie A side out of the competition in 2009.
"We're happy to be back on this stage," Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta said. "All in all we're satisfied with this group, although we're full of humility and we've got total respect for our opponents."
Meanwhile, Nordsjaelland is expected to do little more than make up the numbers in Group E, but the team is keen to enjoy its time in the competition.
"It is a great group," midfielder Mikkel Beckhmann said. "It has got to be the second hardest group, but also the second greatest, so I am pleased. Juventus are my favorite team, and I am really looking forward to the away match there and the one against Chelsea. "
Bayern Munich, last season's runner-up, is in Group F with Valencia - which it beat on penalties in the 2011 final - as well as Lille and BATE Borisov.
"We were in the final last season, we have to advance from the group stage," Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said. "I see Valencia as our toughest rival but our duty is to advance and to be first in the group."
Four-time winner Barcelona faces Benfica, Spartak Moscow and Celtic.
"It looks like a footballing group, with historic teams and teams with different styles," Barcelona sport director Andoni Zubizarreta said. "It might not have the big names like the other groups but it's still interesting."
Manchester United, which failed to clear the group stage last season, also has a relatively weak group with Braga, Galatasaray and Cluj.
"We have the experience of playing against Galatasaray in the past and we will always remember the 'Welcome to Hell' banners," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "So it's always a difficult type of match.
"Obviously, we've never played Cluj before but, after the experience of last year, we don't want to make any stupid errors this time. We will play our strongest team to make sure we get through."
Seven-time winner AC Milan was drawn with Zenit St. Petersburg, Anderlecht and Malaga - another Champions League debutant.
Milan has had a difficult offseason with the departure of several star players, but should still progress to the knockout stages.
"They are three difficult teams, we have to be careful not to undervalue these opponents," Milan director Umberto Gandini said. "Milan is a squad which needs self-esteem and these kind of opponents can help it and make it grow.
"They should be faced with the right attitude. We are a different AC Milan, but we are always AC Milan."
French champion Montpellier makes its debut in the competition against Arsenal, Schalke and Olympiakos. Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored 21 goals for Montpellier last season, finishing as the joint top scorer in the French league.
Montpellier winger Anthony Mounier said: "The group features teams with a lot of experience and it won't be easy. Arsenal are obviously frightening but we were expecting to come up against big teams."
Arsenal beat Olympiakos 2-1 at the same stage last season before losing the final group game 3-1. It also met the Greek team in 2009-2010.
Big-spending Paris Saint-Germain returns to the Champions League after an eight-year absence and will play Porto, Dynamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb.
"We will do our best to reach the last 16. It's a new experience for the club," PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "Teams like Porto, Kiev and even Zagreb have a certain amount of international experience.
"All the matches are special in the Champions League, there is a lot of motivation, a lot of commitment. I hope we reach the last 16 and why not finish first in the group."
Group A
FC Porto (Portugal), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine), Paris Saint-Germain (France), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
Group B
Arsenal (England), Schalke (Germany), Olympiakos (Greece), Montpellier (France)
Group C
AC Milan (Italy), Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Anderlecht (Belgium), Malaga (Spain)
Group D
Real Madrid (Spain), Manchester City (England), Ajax (Netherlands), Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Group E
Chelsea (England), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Juventus (Italy), Nordsjaelland (Denmark)
Group F
Bayern Munich (Germany), Valencia (Spain), Lille (France), BATE Borisov (Belarus)
Group G
Barcelona (Spain), Benfica (Portugal), Spartak Moscow (Russia), Glasgow Celtic (Scotland)
Group H
Manchester United (England), Braga (Portugal), Galatasaray (Turkey), Cluj (Romania)
Written by Adewunmi Akinpelu
We are Creative Blogger Theme Wavers which provides user friendly, effective and easy to use themes. Each support has free and providing HD support screen casting.
0 comments:
Post a Comment