Champions League Draw Comment Thread

According to UEFA the Champion’s League draw takes place at 11am GMT which is 3am my time so you’ll pardon me if I won’t get up live to see that.  However, some of my European readers have requested a thread to discuss the draw both as it happens and their after thoughts, who am I to deny my loyal readers their 3am PST discussion threads?

Anyway, here’s a breakdown of the 8 teams in the draw and at least one interesting thing about each team which should get you all talking.

Arsenal: You know how I feel about this team! I love them and think they have something really special going for them this year. Half of me is torn between getting an easier draw and getting a tough opponent out of the way right off rather than waiting until the finals. At home they are very tough to beat as evidenced by their 5-0 dismantling of Porto. Away, they have been defensively lapse at times giving up easy goals to soft competition. Cesc is the heart of the team but they need big games from the others (like Bendtner) and to  stay focused in defense to get through to the next round. Could Sol Campbell help lead Arsenal back to the promised land?

Barcelona: I’d say “you need look no further than Lionel Messi” but then I’d be a moron. By most objective accounts the strongest team in the competition and the one that everyone is looking to avoid on their current form. The reason they are so strong is of course down to Lionel Messi but they also have a very experienced back line anchored by Tarzan Puyols and a solid midfield defensive duo in Grandma Toure and Busquets which leaves room for their more creative players like Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and some old dude named Thierry Henry to work their magic. Teams can get at them and it will be interesting to see how they respond to a foul-a minute team like Inter.

Bayern: Chelsea reportedly have their eye on Frank Ribery to add some youth and flash to their pack of losers, cheats, and despicable people this summer but who they should be looking at is getting back their former winger Arjen Robben. The former Chav has been simply superb in the Bayern attack and could prove to be a giant killer. That’s right, I said it, they are underdogs here, lot’s of teams will be hoping to get them in the next round.

Bordeaux: The team that everyone has taken lightly. They have not only gone undefeated since the opening draw away to Juventus, they have won every match. That’s 7 wins on the trot and only 2 goals conceded. They will be missing their captain and volante, Alou Diarra, for their first game after he picked up a red card for a foolish lunge against Olympiacos but they are a resilient team with several attacking options up front. Look out for reported Arsenal summer target, Marouane Chamakh, he’s a good header of the ball.

CSKA: Uhhh… did Arshavin play for them or something? Who do they have now? A guy named Honda? Ok… Look, I don’t know much about them (obviously) but I do know that they play on plastic and I know that no one, NO ONE wants to travel to Russia.

I’ve seen a bunch of Inter games this year, unfortunately, and they are exactly what you’d expect from a Jose Mourniho led team: disciplined, defensive, defenders of defense. In the last round they literally beat up Chelsea who are known throughout the Premier League as the team which normally does the beating. Personally I’d love it if they could play United and get Fergie apoplectic over the fouls they will dish out to Rooney. They could ruin England’s world cup chances there, I think. Also, remember Samuel Eto’o? They guy who scored on Arsenal for Barca? He plays for them. They can be gotten at, though. Domestically I have seen them beaten more than once with the latest coming at the hands of Catania. A lot of people made a big deal of Snjeider’s performance and he may be pivotal. Will be missing several key defenders through yellow cards for the first leg.

Lyon: opinion is starkly divided on this team and here’s where I fall — they beat Liverpool and £250m Real Madrid to get here, they deserve respect. Not only that but they are part of a pack of 6 teams that are all within 3 points of the Ligue 1 title, so they are not small change domestically either. They have the belief that they can beat anyone and a devil-may-care attacking style which is a dangerous combination. Their goal-keeper, Hugo Lloris, is mooted daily as a fan favorite for Arsene Wenger to buy so he must be good, right?

ManU: we already know everything there is to know about this club, they are in the papers every day with a fresh hagiography on why Wayne Rooney is like 3 Messi’s and a Ronaldo plus Captain America and He-Man all rolled into one! The only consolation in drawing them is that we get a chance to avenge the two defeats this season (the first was luck + a dive) and that they would have to play us, then Chelsea (in the league) and then us again and we could get a real boost domestically from that kind of fixture congestion. That and if we did beat them, and beat them in the same diving, cheating, disgusting fashion that they beat us, then I might start believing that there is a god and that it is a just god.

Right, I’m sure I left off a bunch of stuff or exposed everyone to the fact that I  “KNW NOFINK STIUCK TO GRID IRIN FOTTBAL!” But I don’t care, you wanted a thread, you got one, enjoy. I look forward to your comments.

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