Time to kick-start this thread as we have reached halfway point in the Greatest Club Competition in the world.
Reflection of what was
When the draw for this year's competition took place in Nyon we had some interesting pairings to look forward to in the eight groups. England, Italia, & Espaņa all had
4 of their best teams in the league. There were no surprise teams so to speak from these three countries. In Deutschland it was slightly different as Borussia Dortmund missed out on a CL spot giving way to the tricky Werder Bremen side that was the worst POT 4 side in the competition.
Nederland & France had good sides once again to round off the Big 32 in Europe. I personally thought that when the 32 teams entered in the 2002-3 season it was the toughest UCL in History and I mentioned this in September 2002 and not in May 2003 when Maldini lifted the trophy in the Manchester skyline.
Well this year's competition is tougher than that one. This is the toughest UCL ever. Europe's elite clubs,
players and even coaches are there this time around. The big names missing are Del Bosque, Hitzfeld and Lippi for one reason or the other.
I can't recall an important or big name who is/was not a part of this great competition in the 2004-5 edition. To make it even grander the big names were playing for popular clubs as well. e.g.
United signed Rooney right at the death of the window and instead of playing for Everton (who are doing very well in the EPL), he became a part of this competition and announced himself with a fantastic hat-trick!
The captain who has the HONOUR to lift this GREAT TROPHY in Istanbul come May 2005 can look back proudly of what a great feat his side have achieved in this adventure that began in September 2004.
The Surprises & Upsets
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---Valencia CF---
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The biggest shocker will have to be Valencia missing out on the knock-out. They won La Liga and kept hold of their squad with the addition of new names. Change of coach must've hurt them the most. The unfortunate injury to club captain Roberto Fabian Ayala was a shot in the dark for the Spaniard side as they lose purpose after the first matchday. More details to follow once the Ches are reviewed.
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---RC Deportivo La Coruņa---
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I was glad that Deportivo La Coruņa got knocked out in the group stage for once. When La Coruņa started to take this competition by storm with wins over United, Arsenal, Juventus and Bayern in seasons past it looked like a new challenger had entered the arena with the ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with Europe's big guns. But it was more flash than substance. A recurring pattern that I noticed with La Coruņa was that they would make it a point to take out a Big European outfit each season but not work on that success and instead hit the self-destruct button and go out themselves. I don't like sides to not build on their success. Hence for me personally it was a great satisfaction for La Coruņa to go out because the end story would've been the same with them. Take out a big team and then go out to a lesser side.
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---AS Roma---
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Roma's campaign got off to a wrong start and the ship had barely stabilized when it all went from bad to worse to downright ridiculous. A UCL campaign to forget for the Romans.
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---Dynamo Kyiv---
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Lobanovsky (RIP) would be proud to see the emergence of the great Kyiv side that put in some memorable performances. The problem for them was that they were in a very tight group that included the most successful club side in this competition's history i.e. Real Madrid CF, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and AS Roma. A tight group indeed. To make matters worse for them, the German outfit under Augenthaler were up for it this time and made a strong opening statement on Matchday 1 with a powerful demolition of Real Madrid.
Kyiv's efforts must be applauded however for their strong showing and brave efforts. It is extremely RARE for a side to go out after scoring
10 points and under normal circumstances that amount is more than enough to qualify. The other two sides were just a tad bit better than them. They can go out with their heads held high and make a strong challenge in the UEFA CUP. Their showing also reflects Ukraine doing well in the WC qualifiers.
We should expect a rampant Dynamo Kyiv to return next season. It is good to see a strong Eastern European challenge in this competition. Eastern Europe has always played a strong role in this competition and it is GREAT for the competition that there is a rising from Eastern Europe.
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---AFC Ajax---
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Ajax got stuck in a difficult group. The toughest one of them all. With the instability lurking at the start of the season with rumours of Koeman quitting and the results not going their way, it was playing with fire. Ajax stabilized but in this unforgiving competition there are no second chances. The other two European giants were in better shape and form and made the best of what they got while Ajax was just not prepared for the competition.
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---Werder Bremen---
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The team from POT 4 that is surprising other teams. The team that is responsible for the elimination of Valencia CF. The team that everybody looks down upon is causing a stir. The team that has butt-ugly jerseys (colours) is on the verge of making it a QF! Werder Bremen along with Leverkusen and Bayern has made it a German trio in the knock-out matching Italia and superseding Espaņa! Could this be a little German rennaissance in the making after a horror showing in the past couple of seasons by German outfits?
It would be a smart thing to keep an eye on them because most of the people will have their eyes focused on the Italians, English and Spanish whilst these Germans will pop out of nowhere and voila! 2 in the QF! And yet all three could go out. I do think that a German will make the QF this time but it is tough to pick a single side as all three are involved in tricky ties.
England
England has made a strong showing in this year's competition. The first time that they have 4 sides in the knock-outs. A superb feat! It gets tough now as the ties are extremely tough. England and Deutschland face-off in two ties that are evenly balanced. Time will tell whether Sean Archer wins or will Castor Troy make headlines.
The more level-headed English pundits acknowledge the toughness of the draw but for every level-headed objective journalist there will be a dimunitive clown like ANDY TOWNSEND and TERRY VENABLES who have given all four English sides the green light for the QF!!!
I'll give details on those two CLOWNS later on. It is the $hit of all $hit!! :shades:
Italia
Strong showing by all three Italian outfits so far. Now is the business end of it all. I wasn't expecting all three to top their groups but they did it and the groups were not easy. A new day now and a new phase of the competition where the skill will start to take a back seat gradually as the mental strength kicks in for the thrills and the stars to show what they are made up of. This is not for the weak at heart or mind.
Espaņa
Troubled times for the Spanish. Barcelona is the flag-bearer now as they can go the distance and look the real deal. Two of them are out while Real scraped through and are in a tricky tie with Juventus FC. Espaņa has enjoyed good numbers and domination in recent seasons but that is under threat for this season as only BARCELONA is a match for anybody around Europe. Betting on Real in this state is not the smartest thing to do but Real has the names and the history ... not to forget the art of winning these big competitions.
France
It wasn't a fluke last season. Monaco and Lyon are there doing the business again. And both have an excellent chance of a QF qualification yet again. The problem is that they are goldfish in an ocean where the bigger fish this time will not take them lightly as they know they are shark slayers from last season.
So ... here we are at the turn of the year awaiting the big clashes which to my memory's recollection is the BEST DRAW I have seen and I hope DVD recorders were on many people's shopping lists because they will be very handy in February.
One by one I will take a look back at the teams I previewed and see where we stand with Europe's elite and how our adventure is progressing in the QUEST FOR NUMBER 7 which evidently is also the TOUGHEST UCL IN THE COMPETITION'S HISTORY.
The business end starts now. Strap on your seat belts.
