Join Now  | 
Home About Contact Us Privacy & Security Advertise
Soccer America Daily Special Edition Around The Net Soccer Business Insider College Soccer Reporter Youth Soccer Reporter Soccer on TV Soccer America Classifieds
Paul Gardner: SoccerTalk Soccer America Confidential Youth Soccer Insider World Cup Watch
RSS Feeds Archives Manage Subscriptions Subscribe
Order Current Issue Subscribe Manage My Subscription Renew My Subscription Gift Subscription
My Account Join Now
Tournament Calendar Camps & Academies Soccer Glossary Classifieds
UEFA Champions League group stage
August 30th, 2012 7:04PM
Subscribe to Soccer America Daily


MOST READ
TAGS:  uefa champions league


[DRAW] One group stands out as the toughest -- by a wide margin -- following Thursday's draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League that begins Sept. 18-19. Group D consists of four league champions: Real Madrid (Spain), Manchester City (England), Ajax (Netherlands) and Borussia Dortmund (Germany).

Real Madrid will be the heavy favorite in the group. It has played and beaten Ajax on four occasions (by a margin of 12-0) in the last two seasons. Neither Manchester City nor Borussia Dortmund advanced out of the group stage in 2011. Indeed, Borussia Dortmund's poor record in the Champions League meant that it was placed in the fourth pot with the eight weakest teams, making the Group D draw possible.

The only tougher draw would have been if Juventus -- the Italian champion -- was drawn in place of Ajax out of the third pot. That would have meant the champions of Europe's four biggest league would have been drawn together.

DRAW:
Group A
Porto (Portugal)
Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
Paris SG (France)
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Group B
Arsenal (England)
Schalke 04 (Germany)
Olympiakos (Greece)
Montpellier (France)

Group C
AC Milan (Italy)
Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia)
Anderlecht (Belgium)
Malaga (Spain)

Group D
Real Madrid (Spain)
Man. City (England)
Ajax (Netherlands)
Bor. Dortmund (Germany)

Group E
Chelsea (England)
Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Juventus (Italy)
FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark)

Group F
Bayern Munich (Germany)
Valencia (Spain)
Lille (France)
BATE Borisov (Belarus)

Group G
Barcelona (Spain)
Benfica (Portugal)
Spartak Moscow (Russia)
Celtic (Scotland)

Group H
Man. United (England)
Braga (Portugal)
Galatasaray (Turkey)
Cluj (Romania)



1 comment
  1. Taiwo Adewale Noah
    commented on: August 31, 2012 at 2:41 a.m.
    Our group is the thoughest group which is group d


Sign in to leave a comment. Don't have an account? Join Now


AUTHORS

ARCHIVES
FOLLOW SOCCERAMERICA

Recent Soccer America Daily
Important games on tap for Montreal and Portland    
[MLS SCHEDULE: Week 17] The surprise teams of the season so far face tough tests Wednesday ...
The 'Special 1' as you've never seen him before     
[VIDEO PICK: Special 1] Jose Mourinho opens up for a heartfelt chat where the coach talks ...
Ticos look to move closer to World Cup berth    
[HEXAGONAL] Following a 1-0 win over Honduras and 0-0 tie at Mexico, Costa Rica looks in ...
A six-pointer that really matters    
[USA-HONDURAS] For all the talk about the U.S. road success in recent World Cup qualifying cycles, ...
FIFA rulings could change picture in three groups    
[WORLD CUP QUALIFYING: Africa] Ethiopia and Tunisia were among five teams that qualified over the weekend ...
Besler leads player ratings through Day 5    
[USA MEN] Jurgen Klinsmann has already used 26 players in the Hexagonal, and the USA is ...
What They're Saying    
"Pep did it as he always -- obsessively. Every day four hours, like a mad man. ...
Rapids trade veteran Mastroeni to Galaxy    
[MLS SPOTLIGHT] The Oscar Pareja makeover of the Colorado Rapids continues. A mainstay of the Rapids ...
Tahitian joy in the midst of defeat    
[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] As expected Nigeria trounced Tahiti, 6-1, in their Confederations Cup match Monday in Belo ...
More troubles for Mexico    
[CONFEDERATIONS CUP] Mexico's 2-1 loss to Italy to open play at the Confederations Cup was its ...
>> Soccer America Daily Archives