Drawing Champions League 2008

[Bemsims]

First Group : Chelsea , Manchester Utd, Arsenal , Liverpool, Barcelona, R.Madrid, Lyon e Inter

Second Group : Roma, Oporto, Sp.Lisboa, W. Bremen, Villareal, Atl.Madrid o Schalke 04, B.Munich y PSV

[BocaFan]

First Group : Chelsea , Manchester Utd, Arsenal , Liverpool, Barcelona, R.Madrid, Lyon e Inter

Second Group : Roma, Oporto, Sp.Lisboa, W. Bremen, Villareal, Atl.Madrid o Schalke 04, B.Munich y PSV

Replace Juventus with Atletico Madrid and I think it'll be correct what you have listed.

Potential group of death: Chelsea, Bayern, Zenit and Athletico Madrid.

[geego]

Atletico Madrid goes to pot 4. Whatever group they are drawn is the group of death. So probably the luckier teams for tomorrow's draw are Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villarreal.

[BocaFan]

Atletico Madrid goes to pot 4. Whatever group they are drawn is the group of death. So probably the luckier teams for tomorrow's draw are Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villarreal.

It's funny isn't it? I mean, why even bother with seeding if your seeding formula is so daft that the 3rd best team in Spain is in the same pot as a club from Belarus that I never heard of until about a month ago. :p

Don't get me wrong. Aside from having no seeding at all, having a dumb seeding formula is the only way you'll get interesting match-ups early in the Champions League campaign. So I like it. But why not just dispense with the seeding altogether so that when Chelsea wind-up in the same group as Barcelona, we don't have yet another reason to mock UEFA??

[Fiorentina lives!]

1- How did that Cyprus club get in there??? :eek: Anorthosis (sp?) beat Olimpiakos. Y'Ouch!

2-According to Marca, Fiorentina is in the fourth tier! Wha? Whoa, we are goin' to have one HELL of a DEATH group. :eek: Chelsea, Bayern, Fiore, and say Marseille or Fenerbache? :eek:

[geego]

It's funny isn't it? I mean, why even bother with seeding if your seeding formula is so daft that the 3rd best team in Spain is in the same pot as a club from Belarus that I never heard of until about a month ago. :p

Well, Atletico and maybe Fiorentina are the only obviously misplaced teams. And maybe I'd swap Zenit and Sporting. But in general the pots are what should be.

[BocaFan]

Well, Atletico and maybe Fiorentina are the only obviously misplaced teams. And maybe I'd swap Zenit and Sporting. But in general the pots are what should be.

So the 2nd placed Spanish team "should be" seeded below a team they finished well above last season? Err ... okay.

(At least half the teams are in the wrong pot :cool:)

[Borussia]

Famagusta, Borisov and Aalborg - that's 3 real surprises! :eek:;)

Congrats!

[socceraction]

Here's the official seeding:

Pot 1
1 Manchester United FC (ENG, holders)
2 Chelsea FC (ENG)
3 Liverpool FC (ENG)
4 FC Barcelona (ESP)
5 Arsenal FC (ENG)
6 Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
7 FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
8 Real Madrid CF (ESP)

Pot 2
9 FC Bayern München (GER)
10 PSV Eindhoven (NED)
11 Villarreal CF (ESP)
12 AS Roma (ITA)
13 FC Porto (POR)
14 Werder Bremen (GER)
15 Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
16 Juventus (ITA)

Pot 3
17 Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
18 FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)
19 FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU)
20 Panathinaikos FC (GRE)
21 FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA)
22 Celtic FC (SCO)
23 FC Basel 1893 (SUI)
24 Fenerbahçe SK (TUR)

25 FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
26 ACF Fiorentina (ITA)
27 Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
28 FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
29 CFR 1907 Cluj (ROU)
30 Aalborg BK (DEN)
31 Anorthosis Famagusta FC (CYP)
32 FC BATE Borisov (BLR)

Remember, no team can meet another from their own association.

Draw: Thursday, 28 August - 1800 CET

SA

[Oddpac87]

The way I see it, if any combination of:

Any group 1 team
Any group 2 team
Marseille/Zenit/Celtic/Fenerbahce
Shakhtar/Fiorentina/Atletico

get drawn into a group, we could be in for some serious fireworks.
Serious possibility of 3 legitimate 'group of death' candidates.

I'm excited.

[Fiorentina lives!]

Dude, poor Anorthosis if they end up with say ManU, Bayern, and Celtic.

Heck, they'd be lucky to get ONE point no matter what.

BTW, Cluj is also a surpirse here.

[BocaFan]

Dude, poor Anorthosis if they end up with say ManU, Bayern, and Celtic.


Celtic??

The way I see it, if any combination of:

Any group 1 team
Any group 2 team
Marseille/Zenit/Celtic/Fenerbahce
Shakhtar/Fiorentina/Atletico

get drawn into a group, we could be in for some serious fireworks.
Serious possibility of 3 legitimate 'group of death' candidates.



Celtic??

Did they make some big signings over the summer that I might have missed? They're probably the weakest team in Pot #3. :cool:

[Kingsley Zissou]

Celtic??



Celtic??

Did they make some big signings over the summer that I might have missed? They're probably the weakest team in Pot #3. :cool:
Celtic and Fener are the only two teams in that pot that made it out of the group stage last year, Celtic went through the year before too. I don't see them as being legitimate threats to win it all but I agree with everybody else, they are easily one of the better teams in pot 3.

It's all about their home play in the CL, the ground is really intense (6W-0L in group play the last two CLs including wins over AC Milan and Man Utd).

[goliath74]

One thing is for sure, if Zenit and Dynamo Kyiv end up in the same group - expect fireworks. Dynamo had to eliminate one Russian club, Spartak Moscow, 4-1 and 4-1 in the previous round. Now, Zenit will have a chance for vengeance (or not). Anytime Russia meets Ukraine on the pitch - expect fireworks.

[Tetsuo]

Dude, poor Anorthosis if they end up with say ManU, Bayern, and Celtic.

Heck, they'd be lucky to get ONE point no matter what.

BTW, Cluj is also a surpirse here.

well actually Cluj isn't a surprise. they are directly in the group stages as champions of Romania. for the first time Romania has two teams in the group stage :)

[Lusankya]

Atletico is rightfully placed in the 4th pot. They were shit for ten years and now decided to spend 180 Million € for new players to get into the CL, because they don't need to care about debts or anything.

[Reignking]

Well, AM did sell Torres and invest the money wisely...

Poor Schalke, too; AM was at the top of pot #2 in the qualifiers and ended up drawing them.

[Reignking]

The draw has started...

[Reignking]

Group F is tough -- Lyon Bayern Steaua Fiorentina
Panathinaikos and Anorthosis in the same group
Group D is the group of death -- Liverpool, PSV, Marseille, AMadrid
Barcelona's group was easy until they drew the highest in pot 4, Shaktar.

[socceraction]

Group A
Chelsea
Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj

Group B
Inter Milan
Weder Bremen
Panathinaikos
Anathosis Famagusta

Group C
Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon
FC Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk

Group D
Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Marseille
Atletico Madrid

Group E
Manchester Utd.
Villareal
Celtic
Aalborg

Group F
Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina

Group G
Arsenal
FC Porto
Fenerbahce
Dinamo Kiev

Group H
Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St. Petersburg
Bate Borisov