Return to the Continent

Today is the day that top clubs in Europe and Chelsea have been waiting for, in a little over fifteen minutes times the teams will be drawn and all the British clubs will know what challenges await them on the continent. The eyes of the world will be on Chelsea after their famous win in the Allianz Arena last May and expectation at Stamford Bridge will be high, to high given the manner of victory. United and City will both be desperate to improve on last years poor performance in Europe’s premium competition after both teams would crash out at the group stages. Arsenal will also be involved in the draw but after losing some big players in the summer transfer window I can’t see them challenging for the cup and honestly after last years performance in the league the Gunners fans should just be happy they got into the tournament at all.

Looking at it as a United fan I can’t wait for the tournament to get going because there are few things in life better than champions league nights, as long as they don’t go the same way as last years campaign. In Europe last year United never really got going and I can’t really remember a solid performance in a group that they should have comfortably strolled through. Disappointing as the Basel defeat was, it is a good experience for the younger boys in the squad, the likes of Jones, Smalling and Welbeck have now felt the sting of going out prematurely and hopefully will use that experience to push their performances, that’s the plan anyway and as we all learned last year in football things rarely go to plan.

The draw starts and I have to say it is the most protracted affair I’ve ever witnessed, first a team gets pulled out of the pot and then a group is selected for the team to be placed in, every tie this is done it is punctuated with inane comments and observations from a rather creepy little bald fella that looks vaguely familiar. Its done slowly by a host of former stars including Ruud Gulit and Steve Mcmanaman. There were cheers and groans from the crowd made up of representatives as they found out who they would have to face. While the system may have taken far longer than necessary it did add to the suspense and I am sure the suits in the front row clapped themselves on the back for putting on a good show how ever to the players and fans the show means little. It is all about the draw so I will just get on with it.

Group A - Din Zargreb, Dynamo Kiev, Fc Porto, Paris Saint-German

Group B - Arsenal, Montpellier, Olympiakos, Schalke 04

Group C - AC Milan, Anderlecht, Malaga, Zenit St Petersburg

Group D - Real Madrid, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Man City

Group E - Chelsea, FC Nordsjaelland, Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk

Group F - BATE Borisov, Bayern Munich, Lille, Valencia

Group G - Barcelona, Benfica, Celtic, Spartak Moscow

Group H - Braga, CFR Cluj-Napoca, Galatasaray, Man Utd

There are some tasty ties in that draw. In Group A Fc Porto Vs the new found money bags of PSG will be an interesting fixture but I think both of those sides will make it into the knock out stages however Dynamo Kiev could prove me wrong and snake second place if they perform well.

Group B is home to Arsenal, both Olympiakos and Schalke 04 will provide a tough test for the Gunners but I do expect them to progress, I can’t see Montpellier doing particularly well in this group so it will be down to Olympiakos and Schalke 04 to fight it out for the other qualification spot.

The main side to worry about in Group C are AC Millan and I think its safe to say that the giants of Europe will cruise through this year. It’s the first time in the clubs history that Malaga have graced the Champions League proper and I hope the fans are content with just being there as the football is a big step up in terms of football quality and I will be very surprised if they make it through. Anderlecht and Zenit St Petersburg both have a fair amount of Champions League and to be honest I have no clue which one of them will join Bayern out of the group.

Ahh group D, my personal favourite, this one is definitely the group of death. I’m not going to lie I did let a little cheer when Man City were dropped into the melting pot. There is so much talent in this group that literally anything could happen (I mean anything, Carlos but I’m going to be original and say Real Madrid will top this one, past that if you put a gun to my head I would say Ajax to go with them but truthfully that is only because I like how they play their football, this will be the group to watch what ever happens.

Last years champions Chelsea find themselves in Group E and as much as I’d like to see otherwise they should get through however with Juventus also in the group they may well find themselves in second place. Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Nordsjaelland will be tough away trips but I don’t see them having a realistic chance of getting any further.

After losing in the final on home soil I reckon that Bayern Munich will top Group F just to prove a point to themselves how ever it isn’t a certainty with Lille and Valencia provided stiff competition and second place is very much up for grabs and BATE Borisov will look to shock everyone so nothing can be taken for granted.

Celtic have found themselves with a real mountain to climb, they had the misfortune to get picked with the team everyone wants to avoid, Barcelona, not to mention the small matter of Benfica and Spartak Moscow. The Scottish side probably won’t see Champions League football after Christmas and my picks to go through are Barca and Benfica.

Last but by no means least we get to Manchester Uniteds group, Group H. Galatasary will be the toughest games for the Reds and Turkey is a notoriously difficult away trip. Braga will not be an easy game either. When alls said and done I think United will qualify top of the group with Galatasary in second but after last year I know that’s not a given. CFR Cluj-Napoca will relish the opportunity to play against the rest of the group and will love every minute of the experience but that’s al it should be for them, an experience.

So that’s the draw, all that’s left to do now is kick off an personally cannot wait for the best club competition in the world to get going again so we can have more glorious evenings of world class football and here’s hoping we get to see the men in red lift that famous trophy at Wembley nine months time.