CL '09/'10 -- Group Stages

its hard to detect the toughest group....Milan's group is alright...Real Madrid is good but at least they lack defense...however, we'll have our mouth full with their Attack...Also, its very weird to see kaka against AC Milan, Ibra to play against Inter and Eto'o against barca...very weird indeed..

All staged again isn't it ?

Yes i wanted rm or chelsea.. This is great. We willl finish 1st or 2nd in this group.

Who do we play on the first matchday???

Originally Posted by Jeff

Why not? What's the problem?

Originally Posted by El Fre

It's no problem, we need 2 weak teams and that's it

I would have liked to have easier teams this year as Leonardo is a new coach. RM this year will be unpredictable because they have many top players in their team. One moment of individual brilliance from any one of their players can be enough to defeat any team.

Marseille is more stable than RM but it is the top 2 team in pot 3. It is also a good team with Ben Arfa, Niang and the likes. It is also a premier feeder club with good players coming from their team just about every year.

Zurich is the only consolation.

Technically, we have the second toughest group on the paper. I hope this serves as an incentive for Galliani to buy the players Leo wants. Anyway, I am excited about playing in UCL this year. Forza Milan

These are really good team but if Milan are on their A game, we should be able to beat these teams comfortably...

When will we know the fixtures?

I was hoping to draw Real Madrid. Can't wait to kick their sorry butts.

Dates for Matchdays http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/k...id=836938.html

02/03 we qualified having not been in CL the previous season as well. We faced Real as well in the group stage that year, albeit it being last 16 (old format).

Champions League Dates

September 15: Olympique Marseille - Milan
September 30: Milan - FC Zürich
October 21: Real Madrid - Milan
November 3 : Milan - Real Madrid
November 25: Milan - Olympique Marseille
December 8: FC Zürich - Milan

Wow, that's probably the worst schedule we could have possibly hoped for... Or is it? It puts a lot of pressure on the first game. If we win, we're basically through. If we lose, it gets a lot harder. More so than if it was against Real.

Also, Marseille could be playing their sixth game against a Real that has already qualified.

Thanks Rick!

That's a very weird fixture list. I thought as group leaders we would play the first match at home. It makes no sense. We play our first and our last match away. No advantage at all.

Anyhow...it is what it is. It is a very very tough group.....but it could have been worse then this too. We need to beat Marseille in the first game and start off with 3 points........given that we should be able to beat Zurich as well. It is important that we play the 2 consecutive matches with Madrid with less pressure. So going into those games with 6 points will be great and a lot less pressure against Madrid.

Originally Posted by nefremo

Thanks Rick!

That's a very weird fixture list. I thought as group leaders we would play the first match at home. It makes no sense. We play our first and our last match away. No advantage at all.

Anyhow...it is what it is. It is a very very tough group.....but it could have been worse then this too. We need to beat Marseille in the first game and start off with 3 points........given that we should be able to beat Zurich as well. It is important that we play the 2 consecutive matches with Madrid with less pressure. So going into those games with 6 points will be great and a lot less pressure against Madrid.

No problem!

Yeah, I don't know how they figure it all out. But in the end you have to play them all. If Milan wins the first one in France, that will turn the schedule into a huge advantage.

Yup, from what I can see, the first game is far more important than it usually is. It's not make-or-break, but it's close. A win would be great, but a draw is just as good.