A global journey…
The balls have been pulled out of the bowls, and so the Champions League group stages have been decided. The complete list is available all over the internets, but I'm not above a spot of cutting and pasting:
Group A: Liverpool, Porto, Marseille, Besiktas
Group B: Chelsea, Valencia, Schalke 04, Rosenborg
Group C: Real Madrid, Werder Bremen, Lazio, Olympiakos
Group D: AC Milan, Benfica, Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk
Group E: Barcelona, Lyon, VfB Stuttgart, Rangers
Group F: Manchester United, Roma, Sporting Lisbon, Dynamo Kiev
Group G: Internazionale, PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce
Group H: Arsenal, Sevilla or AEK Athens, Steaua Bucharest, Slavia Prague
So who's going to be happiest with this draw? Arsenal look like they could have done a lot worse, with Steaua Bucharest and Slavia Prague in their group. Liverpool can't be too upset either, with Porto looking like the only other strong team in their group. Manchester United don't have their usual cakewalk in the group stages, with Roma looking very impressive in their Serie A opener. Barcelona haven't done too badly, getting a depleted Lyon team from the second pot, which would have been a much tougher proposition in the last few seasons. The toughest draw from the English teams has to be Chelsea. A strong looking Valencia side from the second pot, and a Schalke 04 team who'll be no pushovers either.
But in the end this is all useless speculation. Remember how we all thought England's Euro 2008 qualifying group was so easy it was almost unfair? That didn't work out as planned did it? The reality is that every team that's made it this far is going to be solid. No easy games, just some games that are easier than others. So even when the big guns visit the so-called weaker teams, they'll have a battle on their hands to come away with a respectable result. Especially when the destination is anywhere in Eastern Europe during the winter months, or anywhere in Turkey, ever.
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