Champion League 2005/2006

• Gordonator

  26 Aug 05, 22:37

  
  
  Group A
  Bayern Munich
  Juventus
  Club Brugge
  Rapid Vienna
  
  Group B
  Arsenal
  Ajax
  Sparta Prague
  FC Thun
  
  Group C
  Barcelona
  Panathinaikos
  Werder Bremen
  Udinese
  
  Group D
  Manchester United
  Villarreal
  Lille
  Benfica
  
  Group E
  AC Milan
  PSV Eindhoven
  Schalke
  Fenerbahce
  
  Group F
  Real Madrid
  Lyon
  Olympiakos
  Rosenborg
  
  Group G
  Liverpool
  Chelsea
  Anderlecht
  Real Betis
  
  Group H
  Inter Milan
  Porto
  Rangers
  Artmedia Bratislava
  
• stellazio

  26 Aug 05, 22:57

  Chelsea..
• Orions Belt

  28 Aug 05, 14:24

  One look and Group G stands out. This will be no doubt be the closest group in the group stages.
  
  Few surprises can be expected from the other groups. The usual suspects should have little problem progessing to the next stage.
  
  A wicked twist by nature I must say, putting defending champions Liverpool and Chelsea together in the same group. With all the much talked about drama that has happened between the 2 sides last season starting with the Carling Cup final in Cardiff, controversial Champions League Semi finals to the Steven Gerrard Pre season fiasco, there just seems to be much more to come. Football fans can wait and drool at the sides with the imminent blockbuster clashes.
  
  Steven Gerrard says he will show who he's loyal to, Rafa Benitez says he does'nt fear the English champions, but surely they would have prefered avoiding Chelsea so early in the group stages. Afterall, we are talking about a Chelsea team like never before. The amount of quality at the disposal of Mourinho is riduculous. Their defence is sound, midfield compact, wings are at full speed and the strikers are bagging in the goals one way or another. And to top it all, they've got an arrogant but brilliant brat at helm. Not to mention the unlimited check book thats available 24/7.
  
  If you think its going to be a straightforward 2 way horse race between the 2 English clubs, think again. There's Belgian resistance in the form of their champions Anderlecht, a club with a big history in Europe. Spanish debutants Betis are no push overs either.
  
  The European Champions will have to fight hard in their defence of the title they remarkably won in Istanbul last season.
• so_what

  28 Aug 05, 23:48

  Hey, sooooooo unfair, Liv n Che in the same group !!! Arsenal got the "easier" teams...
• BlUe G@rF|eLd

  28 Aug 05, 23:57

  Quite a fair distribution tis yr, unlike past few yrs! Oly dead group is Grp E! Wonder who will advance...
• F.raon.I.R

  29 Aug 05, 00:35

  past few seasons, the winners were under-dogs(porto liverpol).Never considered as favourites....so this season?
• Gordonator

  29 Aug 05, 20:35

  Originally posted by F.raon.I.R:

  past few seasons, the winners were under-dogs(porto liverpol).Never considered as favourites....so this season?

  exactly, as the saying goes, the ball is round.
• Orions Belt

  29 Aug 05, 20:47

  There is no question that the winners could turn out to be the surprise package.
  
  One thing for certain though, based on history, few teams have successfully defended the European Cup. Liverpool will have their work cut out for them, especially more so now, that they've been drawn in the toughest group of them all.
• ruudboy

  13 Sep 05, 11:46

  After stage 1 , will be like this:
  
  Group A
  Bayern Munich
  Juventus
  
  Group B
  Arsenal
  Ajax
  
  Group C
  Barcelona
  Werder Bremen
  
  Group D
  Manchester United
  Villarreal
  
  Group E
  AC Milan
  PSV Eindhoven
  
  Group F
  Real Madrid
  Lyon
  
  Group G
  Liverpool
  Chelsea
  
  Group H
  Inter Milan
  Porto
  
  
• The man who was death

  13 Sep 05, 11:47

  FC thun will be winners no la i think it's barca
• alan-

  14 Sep 05, 21:19

  either thun or artmedia!
• iveco

  14 Sep 05, 21:21

  Rangers lead the way.
• lamebiskit

  15 Sep 05, 01:58

  Juventus will win, time for the trophy to return to italy...
• MaRcs

  22 Sep 05, 22:47

  Milan wont allow history to repeat again this time round....
• 798

  22 Sep 05, 22:50

  go go gunners!
• BillyBong

  25 Sep 05, 17:53

  i say barcelona...if they dun cock up again...
  
  favourites definitely out would be :
  
  1. Real Mardrid (Screw-ups)
  2. Man Utd (Damn i'm a fan but i dun see them in the semis)
  3. Bayern (Lack of depth)
  4. PSV (Loss of stars will be too hard to replace)
  5. Arsenal (No real replacement for patrick viera)
  6. Inter (always stumble at the penultimate stage)
  7. Werder Breman (no depth in squad)
  
  My Semis are:
  
  Juve, Barcelona, AC Milan, Chelsea with probable potentials Liverpool, Lyon as wildcards.
  
  Would like a Juve Barca final...
• ghimpheng

  25 Sep 05, 18:04

  Last 8 teams would be out of this 11 teams if they don't clash in Earlier Stage
  
  1)Juventus (Winner Most likely)
  2)Bayern Munich
  3)Barcelona
  4)Udinese
  5)Chelsea
  6)Liverpool
  7)Man Utd
  AC Milan
  9)Real Madrid
  10)Lyon
  11)Inter Milan
• oliverpang

  26 Sep 05, 17:13

  Originally posted by BillyBong:

  i say barcelona...if they dun cock up again...
  
  favourites definitely out would be :
  
  1. Real Mardrid (Screw-ups)
  2. Man Utd (Damn i'm a fan but i dun see them in the semis)
  3. Bayern (Lack of depth)
  4. PSV (Loss of stars will be too hard to replace)
  5. Arsenal (No real replacement for patrick viera)
  6. Inter (always stumble at the penultimate stage)
  7. Werder Breman (no depth in squad)
  
  My Semis are:
  
  Juve, Barcelona, AC Milan, Chelsea with probable potentials Liverpool, Lyon as wildcards.
  
  Would like a Juve Barca final...

  Bayern lack of depth? I BEG YOUR PARDON. Bayern is considered one of the best in europe. Please substantiate your point. I take this as an insult.
  Seriously, just because you don;t know their players, you just pass them off .
• BillyBong

  26 Sep 05, 20:14

  Originally posted by oliverpang:

  Bayern lack of depth? I BEG YOUR PARDON. Bayern is considered one of the best in europe. Please substantiate your point. I take this as an insult.
  Seriously, just because you don;t know their players, you just pass them off .

  I know bayern better than you think kiddo..they are OVER-RELIANT on Michael Ballack for midfield creativity and Roy Makaay for goals. Just look at their last match...a sub-standard loss to Werder Bremen.
  
  They are simply overrated in the bundesliga the same way Real Madrid is 'favourite' in La Liga.
  
  btw who considers them the best in europe?
  
  you?
  
  get your facts right before you come post...
• oliverpang

  26 Sep 05, 20:37

  They did'nt play bremen for all i know. Thye lost to hamburg. I am a bayern fan and i know they spread their midfeild well across . They have good players.
  Pizarro scores as much as makaay does. Santa cruz has a good scoring record in previous years too. Yes, ballack is our main man, but i beleive other midfeild players contribute too, especially ze roberto and basti! And we got one of the best defence is europe!
  
  Bayern won the european cup 4 times......how many teams in europe won that many times?
• BillyBong

  26 Sep 05, 20:59

  Originally posted by oliverpang:

  They did'nt play bremen for all i know. Thye lost to hamburg. I am a bayern fan and i know they spread their midfeild well across . They have good players.
  Pizarro scores as much as makaay does. Santa cruz has a good scoring record in previous years too. Yes, ballack is our main man, but i beleive other midfeild players contribute too, especially ze roberto and basti! And we got one of the best defence is europe!

  Apologies, they lost to hamburg not bremen.
  
  My breakdown:
  
  GK: No question on Oliver Kahn
  
  Defence: Lucio tends to be caught once he roams up to attack. Willy Sagnol is a good fullback, but their defence is otherwise young save Lizarazu.
  
  Midfield: They have Owen Hargreaves and Jen Jeremies, both holding midfielders. Mehmet Scholl used to be their creative center but is seldom in the team due to old age and injuries, leaving Michael Ballack the main creative spark. Sebastian Diesler is just recovering from a bout of depression and is slowly finding form. Bastian Schweinsteiger is reliable but lack invention. Ze Roberto is fickle and only occasionally shows glimpses of the form he had at Bayer Leverkusen. Hasan Salihamidzic is only a supersub. Ali Karimi is a good buy from Iran, if he can find form.
  
  Attack: Roy Makaay, Claudio Pizarro, Roque Santa Cruz, José Paolo Guerrero. Correct me if i'm wrong but is their attack a little lightweight? Guerrero is untested at champions league level. Pizarro scores crucial goals no doubt but his frequency varies and is inconsistent. Santa Cruz has been with Bayern for some time but is still a bench warmer. Again he scores crucial goals at times but is still not consistent enough. In fact the only regular goalscorer is Makaay.
  
  Take away Makaay, Ballack, and Kahn and the team is lightweight. Take away any two and the team is severely weakened.
  
  That is what i mean by lack of depth.
• oliverpang

  26 Sep 05, 21:05

  But isn't that your opinion? I don think it is very nice to label clubs as "lack of depth"...
• ghimpheng

  26 Sep 05, 21:05

  Bayern munich is never to be left out but I know that Juventus is the hot favourite to win this yeah UCL
• BillyBong

  26 Sep 05, 23:57

  Originally posted by oliverpang:

  But isn't that your opinion? I don think it is very nice to label clubs as "lack of depth"...

  There is nothing wrong with speaking your mind. I have proven that there are teams that lack the squad necessary to compete on 3 fronts. I do not expect everyone to agree with me, evidently there are always people like yourself who are diehard fans but these are facts.
  
  The more realistic you are, the less disappointed you will be should they be knocked out, whichever stage they reach in the competition.
  
  
• LazerLordz

  27 Sep 05, 00:26

  Originally posted by ghimpheng:

  Last 8 teams would be out of this 11 teams if they don't clash in Earlier Stage
  
  1)Juventus (Winner Most likely)
  2)Bayern Munich
  3)Barcelona
  4)Udinese
  5)Chelsea
  6)Liverpool
  7)Man Utd
  AC Milan
  9)Real Madrid
  10)Lyon
  11)Inter Milan

  Udinese and Inter Milan?I would take Arsenal to go through.The lack of hope from the Premiership might make it Arsenal's year.