who will win this years champions league and who will be the surprise team

[Spartak]

Originally posted by RoyalMan
Arsenal to win it as they have the best starting 11 in Europe in my opinion:

Seaman
Lauren
Campbell
Keown/Cygan
Cole
Ljunberg
Vieira
Edu/Silva/Van Bronckhorst/Parlour
Pires
Henry
Bergkamp/Wiltord/Kanu/Jeffers

Surprise package to be Auxerre or Borussia Dortmund.

That center back tandem of Keown and Campbell is sure to scare every stiker duo in the world.

[Syncope]

This team's pretty good. Look for a 4-3-3 this season. Below is the attacking version, with plenty of firepower and defense on the bench for substitutions. Problem is, we already have a butt-load of injuries(*) to contend with. That never bodes well. Qualitatively I see no other team that is better, although there a a few as good (ManU, Arsenal, Madrid, Milan):

Oliver Kahn*
Sagnol/Kuffour/Kovac/Lizarazu*
Deisler*/Ballack/Ze Roberto*
Salihamidzic/Elber/Scholl

Bench:
- Bernd Dreher (goal)
- Stefan Wessels (goal)
- Thomas Linke (defense)
- Markus Feulner (mid)
- Owen Hargreaves* (mid)
- Michael Tarnat (mid)
- Jens Jeremies (mid)
- Niko Kovac (mid)
- Ciriaco Sforza (goner)
- Pablo Thiam (mid)
- Thorsten Fink (mid)
- Claudio Pizarro (offense)
- Alexander Zickler (offense)
- Roque Santa Cruz* (offense)
_______________________________

Surprise team: Lyon.

[QuakeAttack]

Repeat of Last Year's Final: Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich

With the winner being....Bayern...Prost!

[thepremierleague]

Originally posted by QuakeAttack
Repeat of Last Year's Final: Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich


Eh?

I seem to have missed that one. :D

Deportivo, Man Utd, Bayer and Liverpool were all better than Bayern.

Bayern should be good next time.

[RoyalMan]

Originally posted by Spartak


That center back tandem of Keown and Campbell is sure to scare every stiker duo in the world.

Ok on paper they might not be the most fearsome partnership at centre half but they are both quality defenders. Campbell's problem is that he is awful on the ball whilst Keown has disciplinary problems. If anyone can name me a better partnership at centre back playing in the champions league i would like to see it.

[minorthreat]

Originally posted by RoyalMan


Ok on paper they might not be the most fearsome partnership at centre half but they are both quality defenders. Campbell's problem is that he is awful on the ball whilst Keown has disciplinary problems. If anyone can name me a better partnership at centre back playing in the champions league i would like to see it. Nowotny-Lucio. Hierro-Helguera. Montero-Thuram.

[vflkirwan]

BVB 09

[Liverpool_SC]

Originally posted by C-towner
Nowotny-Lucio. Hierro-Helguera. Montero-Thuram.

Umm Nowotny is not going to be doing much intimidating while he sits out the entire year on the bench.

I agree on Hierro-Helguera. They are top-notch. But don't forget about another admittedly less glamorous pair of H's - Hyppia-Henchoz with a generous dose of Hamann. They have frustrated more than their share of top notch forwards. After all, in the past season, Liverpool beat Bayern Munich (Super Cup - Pizarro, Elber, etc.), Man Utd 3x (Nistelrooy, Solskjaer, Giggs and Scholes), Roma (Totti, Montella, Batitusta), Chelsea (Hassalbaink, Forssel, Gudjohnason) and Bayer Leverkusen (Bierhoff, Neuville, Ballack).

Okay, they also lost to Leverkusen and Chelsea. But those are some good results, no?

[DennisM]

Well, I have to surprise teams both of which did fine last year. They are Lyon and Sparta Prague. As for the biggies, I don't care. I like Bayen Munchen especially with the so-called disappointment of last season. In fact, I would like it to be a team that has never won it before.

[GJ40]

Arsenal will win the CL. Last year's success in England only made them hungrier.

[ugur]

Why not Galatasaray as a suprise team, they beat Auxerre 4 - 1, and Olympiakos 2 - 0, and tied Bayer Leverkusen 1 - 1, in the off season. when some said " dont count your chickens Man U could have been playing Fenerbahce" hell Fenerbahce is not a great team, they have no system, and Gala has one that was put in by Fatih Terim in the mid 90's.

[mactheknife]

united to win, maybe ajax, maybe real madrid.

surprise? arsenal...and i know most wouldnt consider them a surprise, but in the five or so years i've been a fan of the sport, i havent seen them win anything of this magnitude in europe. feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

[soccerfan220]

INTER MILAN OF COURSE!
Toldo; Coco, Cannavaro, Cordoba, J. Zanetti; Recoba, Zanetti, Di Biagio, Conceicao; Ronaldo and VIERI! FORZA INTER
And look at their central defense: Cannavaro and Cordoba.

[soccerfan220]

if i'm right, leverkusen do not have Bierhoff, whoever said that

[Parkhead_Faithful]

Originally posted by Liverpool_SC



Glasgow Rangers - Rangers have an excellent coach, a strong and deep defense and excellent quality throughout their squad. Their new coach is putting pressure on the players who need to feel it (De Boer, Flo) and is encouraging the players who deserve it (Lovenkrends, Arveladze). The addition of Arteta adds a new dimension to the attack and should take some pressure off of Barry Ferguson, making him even more dangerous. Rangers had a strong UEFA cup last year and I think that MacLeish will be far more successful than Advokaat at preparing them for the crucial away games.


Glasgow Celtics - I know that they would never have been considered favorites, but I am predicting an early flame-out for the Bhoys and I think it will make Martin O'Neill unlikely to extend his contract. The Celtic backline is in scary shape. They have injury problems and depth problems. They rely too much on Balde. They fielded a first-choice striker at center-back in the last half of last season. They are unsettling their decent first-choice keeper by bringing in a "back-up" who is making more money, and they may have lost inspirational midfielder Allan Johnston for some time.




Few points
1. Rangers arent in the champions league this year
2. Allan Johnston played for rangers not CELTIC, now at Boro
3. Our Defence is fine

[Clan]

Also i would hold back on predicting early "flame outs" right now, untill the first group stage draw has been completed.

Like any and all cup comps the draw can often determine who will have the best shot at wining or advancing to the next level.

[Foots]

back to back for Real

[Liverpool_SC]

Originally posted by Parkhead_Faithful



Few points
1. Rangers arent in the champions league this year
2. Allan Johnston played for rangers not CELTIC, now at Boro
3. Our Defence is fine

1) Sorry. I remembered reading last year that UEFA was going to give the SPL two slots in the Champions League on account of their performance in the UEFA and Champions League/League Ranking. Maybe this did not happen after all or it won't happen until later.

2) I meant Alan Thompson and wrote Allan Johnston. Sorry.

3) Admittedly I have not watched Celtic very much this year. However, every account I have read has been a description of how many "adventures" the Celtic defenders had allowed to take place.

They have had dreadful injury problems, leading to O'Neill playing midfielders on the back line throughout their pre-season friendlies, which led to some real laughers.

Even their successful tie against FC Basel last night had its fair share of out and out defensive lapses according to the match account.

I know that they signed Ulrick Laurson, who should add depth and help them greatly in League play. But do you really think that their back line is strong enough to make a good run (past first group stage) in the Champions League?

[Matt Clark]

If United can, anyone can! :D

[AFCA]

"AEK, the third member of the Greek big three, regularly gives both these teams a run for their money domestically and should be relishing the idea of what I believe is their first appearance in the European Cup since it switched over to the Champions' League format"

For AEK it's at least their 3rd performance since the Champions League started. Good team (especially at home). Incredible madhouse over there. Anyone ever heared of the "Originals" or "Gate 21"? Good stuff for sure. Seeing a madhouse like that only makes me more angry that the use of fireworks gets you a stadiumban + huge fine over here these days.

If you want crazy fan pictures, look for these guys.