In this year’s Champions League, it’s Group G, which is comprised of Spanish giants Real Madrid, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s AC Milan, Dutch powerhouse Ajax and, well, Auxerre.
Either way, one of the first three teams will not advance, and that is a shame for the knockout stage. But such is the fickle nature of soccer. Just ask the Ivory Coast team that got stuck with Brazil and Portugal at the World Cup in June.
To refresh, the league has 32 teams in eight groups. Every team plays six games and the top two in each group advance to the knockout stage. On Monday, we previewed Champions League Groups A through D. Now we turn our attention to Groups E through H:
GROUP E
Bayern Munich Without the injured Arjen Robben — whose damaged hamstring will likely keep him out for the entire group stage — last season’s runner-up is good but not great.
Key man Bastian Schweinsteiger proved at the World Cup that he is a terrific two-way midfielder, capable of cutting out attacks with timely tackles and springing the offence with an incisive dribble.
Roma Claudio Ranieri’s team is entertaining, but Roma never wins the big prize. Francesco Totti and company are always Italy’s nearly-men.
Key man Daniele De Rossi leads by example. He is a perceptive runner, a clever passer and a lethal striker.
CFR Cluj Cluj has replaced both Dinamo and Rapid Bucharest as Romania’s top team. But they’ll finish bottom in Group E.
Key man Cristian Bud tends to float inside the penalty area and wait for the right to pass to bury into the net
Basel The Swiss champions will not be easy to beat. From goalkeeper Franco Costanzo to defender Samuel Inkoom to midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, Basel will pounce on complacent opponents.
Key man Alexander Frei
: Even though the Swiss marksmen is on the wrong side of 30, he is still a terrific striker.
GROUP F
Marseille Manager Didier Deschamps has molded a French champion that likes to play the ball quickly through the middle. Let’s see if Marseille can tilt the field against Chelsea or Spartak Moscow.
Key man André-Pierre Gignac Gignac is strong, precocious and committed. French football needs a young hero, and here is the man.
Spartak Moscow Their game plan is simple: smother the opponent with passes, then find Brazilian striker Welliton.
Key man Aiden McGeady
: The most expensive Scotsmen to leave Great Britain moved to a tougher league to prove his worth.
MSK Zilina This is team is plucky and likes to work the ball down the field’s edges. But all you need to know — besides the fact that Zilina is the Slovakian champion — is that this team will not do well in Group F.
Key man Stefan Zosak
is a quick right winger who delivers great crosses
Chelsea Chelsea has a vice grip on the English crown, but everyone in West London blue wants the brightest European jewel.
Key man Frank Lampard is the man at the wheel of Chelsea’s decisive, possession-driven system. He can always be counted on to deliver.
Best of six Chelsea will not enjoy trips to Slovakia or Russia, but this group shouldn’t be a problem. Marseille will have tough time fighting off Spartak for second.
GROUP GAC Milan The summertime acquisitions of Robinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Mario Yempes make Milan a favourite to win it all. But this team has an Achilles heel: in 16 seasons, Christian Abbiati has never proven himself to be a bona fide No. 1 goalkeeper.
Key man Clarence Seedorf:
With 142 European appearances and four Champions League titles with three different teams, no one has achieved more in this competition than Seedorf.
Auxerre Much like Arsenal, Auxerre plays the ball tight and quick on the ground and often scores stunning goals. But Auxerre isn’t Arsenal and doesn’t have a pedigree in this competition.
Key man Benoit Pedretti
: Auxerre’s captain doesn’t mind keeping his cleats up when he slides into opponents, and he’s always accurate with his passes. This season, he seems to have found his scoring touch, with three goals in five league games.
Real Madrid Real is bursting with talent, but it’s all about Jose Mourinho. Can he do the impossible and win three Champions League titles with three different teams? You wouldn’t bet against Jose, would you?
Key man Mesut Ozil We’re only in the first chapter of Ozil’s Madrid story, but it looks like a heavenly match. Every time this kid touches the ball he creates, effortlessly.
Ajax The four-time European champions are not a continental force anymore. but with the likes of defender Gregory van der Wiel, midfielder Christian Eriksen and forward Luis Suarez, Ajax is young and capable of upstaging old European rivals.
Key man Even after a great World Cup, Maarten Stekelenburg is still one of the Europe’s underrated goalkeepers.
Best of six Real Madrid and AC Milan should get through. Hopefully their matches are exciting as last season’s tussles.
GROUP H
Shakhtar Donetsk The 2009 UEFA Cup champion perfectly represents Ukraine’s coal and steel capital: ugly, strong and tough to break down. To contrast that, Donbass Arena, Shakhtar’s home, is one of the most eye-catching stadiums in Europe.
Key man Darijo Srna:
Many would not put this Croatian amongst Europe’s best right sided players, but he’s first-class.
Partizan Belgrade A European night is Belgrade is mean and loud, and that is pretty much the only thing Partizan has in its favour.
Key man Sasa Ilic:
The Serbian midfielder doesn’t mind being raising an sharp elbow to break away from a defender, and he has some nice skill, to boot.
Arsenal Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, after 14 years as Arsenal’s manager, Arsene Wenger finally won the one trophy he hasn’t lifted? A European victory in London, of all places! It won’t happen. His teams always look so good, but are never good enough.
Key man Defender Alex Song has delicate strength. Opposing players find it hard out-muscling him, but his touch on the ball is always graceful.
Braga Braga surprised all of Portugal last season with a very strong campaign. But the loss of World Cup standout goalkeeper Eduardo is a big blow to the defence.
Key man Albert Meyong
is a goal poacher inside the penalty box who especially loves to throw his head at the ball.
Matchday 2 games you can’t miss:
1. Ajax at Real Madrid, Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. (Sportsnet)
Real starts its pursuit of European title number 10. One fact to remember: the Spanish powerhouse has not been passed the quarter-finals since 2004.
2. Braga at Arsenal, Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. (Setanta)
Braga’s Champions League education starts at the Emirates, against one of Europe’s most colourful, most offensive powers. Pity them.
3. Roma at Bayern Munich, Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. (Sportsnet ONE)
This match will go a long way to determining who wins Group E. Bayern has a slight edge because of home field advantage, but Roma has the offensive muscle to steal a point.
Read more: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2010/09/14/champions-league-preview-pt-2-real-faces-group-of-death/#ixzz0zYpQBqWf
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