We are finally down to 16 clubs in the Champions League. Some of these draws look to be very exciting and could go either way, while others promise to be a one-sided affair.
Who will advance? Who will win it all?
Champions League Final will be held on May 19, 2012 in Munich, Germany on Allianz Arena (home field of one of the finalists by the way). We now know that the 2012 UEFA Champions League finalists are Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
Each of the teams have advanced to the final in slightly different fashions. Chelsea, with a lot of heart, textbook team defense (remember, defense wins championships) collective tireless effort and a bit of luck which was certainly needed to beat the raining champions and arguably the best team in the world, Barcelona. Bayern on the other hand, simply played better football and as such has advanced past Mourinho’s Real Madrid.
Now onto the part that bothers me and makes this final less than ideal. Due to archaic and nonsensical yellow cards rule both clubs will have players missing due to suspensions. Bayern will be missing David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Luiz Gustavo, while Chelsea will be without Branislav Ivanović, Raul Meireles, Ramires and John Terry. I among many others urge UEFA to change this rule and change it now (don’t wait until next year). Finals are considered “holidays of football” and as such millions of fans across the world deserve to see two BEST teams play with their BEST players. This should pertain to all of those players except John Terry whose idiotic, self-centered move nearly cost his team the final – for him I have no sympathy. Then again, who knows, he could have “helped” his team by not playing.
Either way, I’m looking forward to the final, one that will be won by Chelsea (2:1).
FC Barcelona wins the 2011 UEFA Super Cup by beating FC Porto 2:0 (Messi 39′ and Fabregas 88′). They are an amazing team and they have started another season with a trophy. Barcelona is definitely the team to beat in Europe this season again and I wonder who will do it.
This puts them one trophy behind the absolute leader of all time, AC Milan.
Groups are set and here they are:
Group A
Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)
PAOK FC (GRE)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)
Group B
FC København (DEN)
R. Standard de Liège (BEL)
Hannover 96 (GER)
FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR)
Group C
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
FC Rapid Bucureşti (ROU)
Legia Warszawa (POL)
Group D
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
S.S. Lazio (ITA)
FC Zürich (SUI)
FC Vaslui (ROU)
Group E
FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
Stoke City FC (ENG)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
Group F
Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
Athletic Club (ESP)
FC Salzburg (AUT)
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Group G
AZ Alkmaar (NED)
FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
FK Austria Wien (AUT)
Malmö FF (SWE)
Group H
SC Braga (POR)
Club Brugge KV (BEL)
Birmingham City FC (ENG)
NK Maribor (SVN)
Group I
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
Udinese Calcio (ITA)
Stade Rennais FC (FRA)
FC Sion (SUI)
Group J
FC Schalke 04 (GER)
FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU)
Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)
AEK Larnaca FC (CYP)
Group K
FC Twente (NED)
Fulham FC (ENG)
Odense BK (DEN)
Wisła Kraków (POL)
Group L
RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
AEK Athens FC (GRE)
FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)
SK Sturm Graz (AUT)
So who do YOU think will advance out of each of the groups to the next round?
Here are my predictions:
Group A – Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG) and FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)
Group B – R. Standard de Liège (BEL) and Hannover 96 (GER)
Group C – PSV Eindhoven (NED) and Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
Group D – Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) and S.S. Lazio (ITA)
Group E – Stoke City FC (ENG) and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
Group F – Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA) and ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
Group G – FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) and Malmö FF (SWE)
Group H – SC Braga (POR) and Birmingham City FC (ENG)
Group I – Udinese Calcio (ITA) and Stade Rennais FC (FRA)
Group J – FC Schalke 04 (GER) and Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)
Group K – Fulham FC (ENG) and Wisła Kraków (POL)
Group L – RSC Anderlecht (BEL) and FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)
Groups are set and here they are:
Group A
FC Bayern München (GER)
Villarreal CF (ESP)
Manchester City FC (ENG)
SSC Napoli (ITA)
Group B
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
LOSC Lille Métropole (FRA)
Trabzonspor AŞ (TUR)
Group C
Manchester United FC (ENG)
SL Benfica (POR)
FC Basel 1893 (SUI)
FC Oţelul Galaţi (ROU)
Group D
Real Madrid CF (ESP)
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
AFC Ajax (NED)
GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Group E
Chelsea FC (ENG)
Valencia CF (ESP)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)
KRC Genk (BEL)
Group F
Arsenal FC (ENG)
Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
Olympiacos FC (GRE)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Group G
FC Porto (POR)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
FC Zenit St Petersburg (RUS)
APOEL FC (CYP)
Group H
FC Barcelona (ESP)
AC Milan (ITA)
FC BATE Borisov (BLR)
FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
So who do YOU think will advance out of each of the groups to the round of 16?
Here are my predictions:
Group A – FC Bayern München (GER) and Manchester City FC (ENG)
Group B – FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) and PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
Group C – Manchester United FC (ENG) and SL Benfica (POR)
Group D – Real Madrid CF (ESP) and Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
Group E – Chelsea FC (ENG) and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)
Group F – Arsenal FC (ENG) and Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Group G – FC Porto (POR) and FC Zenit St Petersburg (RUS)
Group H – FC Barcelona (ESP) and AC Milan (ITA)
Partizan has a way of playing with my nerves and driving me crazy at times and they certainly didn’t “disappoint” this time. They tied Shamrock Rovers in Dublin, Ireland which is actually a fair result considering they played well and dominated the first half and then started messing things up during the second half.
Rematch is on August 25th in Belgrade where I expect Partizan to win in front of some 30,000 fans (Grobari) and qualify into the UEFA Europa League.
Here are the goals from the match: