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Champions League Thread


Madmax
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First off our group could have been a lot easier - we only have to look at United and Arsenal's annual free pass into the knock-out stages!

Shakhtar is a horrible place to go to, particularly late in the year with the cold weather and long travelling. The squad will have to be used to it's maximum with premier league games in between this. If we don't sign another striker I'm really hoping Sturridge can step up to the plate in supporting Torres.

Juventus is a bit of an unknown quantity. They were obviously excellent in Italy last year, although I think Serie A is probably at the weakest it's been for years. The lack of recent experience in Europe and having Conte suspended also I think will make them a little easier to play, although it will be extremely hard to go over to Italy and win. Playing them at home first game is probably good to get it out of the way and hopefully get a win. We will be buzzing first game as holders and Juventus may take a couple of games to get into their stride in the group.

Nordsjaelland with the greatest respect is probably the easiest team on paper we could have drawn from pot 4.

Yes, it's a tough group and the teams deserve great respect, but let's not kid ourselves - we should be winning this group! Teams may well be 'gunning' for us as holders, but on the flip side knowing the mentality of our squad, we will play this season in europe with a touch of swagger and arrogance, and should be showing we were worthy winners last year.

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http://www.football-italia.net/24506/conte-juve-belong-champions-league

Juventus Coach Antonio Conte commented on the Champions League draw that pits them against Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk and Nordsjelland.

“First of all, I can’t help but be happy to see the name Juventus in the Champions League groups again. This is the right place for a club that has and will continue to make history for Italian football and beyond,” said the tactician.

“We will fight it out against Chelsea, the reigning champions in a fascinating double challenge, albeit very difficult.

“Playing in England is always exciting and we’ll find an electric atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.

“The games with Shakhtar and Nordsjelland will also be anything but simple. Ukrainian football is a reality in recent years, just look at their UEFA coefficient and the fact both Dinamo Kiev and Shakhtar were in Pot Two.

“They will be very ‘physical’ challenges against the Danes and we must absolutely not underestimate them, as all opponents are of a high level in Europe.

“Last year we won in Italy after a triumphant run that saw us end the Serie A season unbeaten. It’ll be even more difficult in the Champions League, but the prize up for grabs is of the highest prestige and we are very motivated.”

Conte will not be able to sit on the bench in the Champions League or Serie A games, as he was handed a 10-month ban due to his part in the betting scandal.

Juventus and Conte have appealed against the ban at the TNAS tribunal.

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I didn't quite understand how the draw worked sometimes. It's bullshit how there is "the red side" and "the blue side" of the draw and because of some television contracts teams couldn't be drawn into just any of the remaining groups where there were no teams from the same country. For example, only Dortmund and CFR Cluj were remaining from Pot4 and the only two groups without the fourth team were D (Real, City, Ajax) and H (United, Braga, Galatasaray) and as you can see, neither of those groups have any teams from either Germany or Romania so there should be no problem. However, instead of a fair draw UEFA just straight up decided that Cluj goes to H and Dortmund goes to D and the teams weren't even drawn. The red side of the draw already had one German team in Schalke04 and the other side had Bayern Munich, so in my opinion there shouldn't have been any reason as to why Dortmund couldn't go to either side of the draw. For some sketchy reason they were forced to join Group D so that UEFA could get their sexy Group of Death to sell to the fans.

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Regarding that City fixture, well, they play Madrid away while we are away at Juventus. Fair enough I suppose.

@, sorry mate. Saw the fixture wrongly. We play Juventus away on Matchday 5 and City are at home, not away, to Madrid.

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I didn't quite understand how the draw worked sometimes. It's bullshit how there is "the red side" and "the blue side" of the draw and because of some television contracts teams couldn't be drawn into just any of the remaining groups where there were no teams from the same country. For example, only Dortmund and CFR Cluj were remaining from Pot4 and the only two groups without the fourth team were D (Real, City, Ajax) and H (United, Braga, Galatasaray) and as you can see, neither of those groups have any teams from either Germany or Romania so there should be no problem. However, instead of a fair draw UEFA just straight up decided that Cluj goes to H and Dortmund goes to D and the teams weren't even drawn. The red side of the draw already had one German team in Schalke04 and the other side had Bayern Munich, so in my opinion there shouldn't have been any reason as to why Dortmund couldn't go to either side of the draw. For some sketchy reason they were forced to join Group D so that UEFA could get their sexy Group of Death to sell to the fans.

Well, the reason is Dortmund and Bayern attract more TV viewers than Schalke, therefore those 2 couldn't be drawn in the same "side".

This is kind of bullshit tho.

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LMAO here comes the cheating Juve fans. Sad team. Hopefully we raped them at their stadium, those cheating bastards. I feel bad for City they always get the hard groups and Utd get the easiest group ever

Wow, nice way to talk, i bet you feel very strong now ! lipsrsealed.gif

Apart from this, hello everyone, i'm a Juventus fan from Italy.

The draw was very interesting, we look forward to play you at Stamford Bridge and at our new Juventus Stadium.

I read some positive comments from you guys about our team.

Some others instead seem to understimate us... maybe you shouldn't: after the 2006 relegation we've gone trough some difficult seasons, but when our former captain Antonio Conte joined us as a manager last year, things finally changed... the DNA of the old Juve came back, the spirit of never give up came back... like you probably know we won the league with ZERO defeats, we also reach the final of the Italian Cup and this year we already won the Italian Supercup (the equivalent of your Community Shield).

Another thing that Conte brought to this team is a very high quality football, the best in Italy, and i'm not saying this because i'm a fan.

If you look at some stats from last season games, you will notice that we always had a lot of ball possession (3rd team with more ball possession in Europe last year, see here: http://tinyurl.com/czz3bde), we never throw away the ball, not even when it's near our box.

Our defence was also very good last year (just 20 goals conceded in 38 games, best of the league), but in my opinion the strongest zone of our team is the midfield.

Pirlo, Vidal and Marchisio all had a magical season, and this year we add Isla and Asamoah, who had a very good start of the season (a goal in the Supercup, an assist in the first Serie A match vs Parma).

A greeting to all of you and sorry if my english wasn't 100% correct !

Stefano, Italy.

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RDM's reaction to the group stage draw.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/2905316/title/chelsea-tv-exclusive-robbie-reacts

'It's not an easy group, it's going to be tough,' he said, speaking at the Stade Louis II Stadium in Monaco. 'Juventus I know very well, champions of Italy. They play some high tempo football, some good football, and have some good players.

'Shakhtar because of the connection with our club doctor Paco Biosca, who spent seven years there, we know a lot as well. Nordsjaelland are probably the weakest team in the group, but I think we will have to be at our best from the first game with juventus at home.

'It's going to be a big one just after the international break as well, so hopefully all our players come back in good shape from their national teams. Before it we have a big derby against QPR as well, so it's going to be a busy week.'

The manager, a former Italian international, expects Juventus at Stamford Bridge in just over a fortnight to be the pick of the games from the group.

'We like to be involved in the big games and our players respond very well to the big games, they are used to taking responsibility and I think they prefer those games,' he commented. 'But on the other hand they have had a good season, a good team, and hopefully we can start the campaign with a win at home.'

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Well, the reason is Dortmund and Bayern attract more TV viewers than Schalke, therefore those 2 couldn't be drawn in the same "side".

This is kind of bullshit tho.

Yes, I know the reason behind it but that doesn't make it any less sketchy and it simply shows that UEFA don't care about having a fair competition where everyone gets an equal chance but instead they only want to make more money. If they're treating some of the teams unfairly at these draws so that the bigger teams get more TV coverage (= more money for the teams and uefa), then why should we believe for a second that they are treated equally in the games and that the most marketable teams don't get an unfair advantage with the referees or something?

It was simply an unbelievable feeling to finally win this competition after many, many years of coming so close only to fail but in the last few years I have even grown to dislike the whole idea of the Champions League or at least the fact that it is run by those corrupt UEFA cunts.

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A greeting to all of you and sorry if my english wasn't 100% correct !

Stefano, Italy.

your English is very, very good mate, welcome to TalkChelsea. I think it could be a very interesting 2 games between us. Your team is a lot stronger than when we last played you and your new stadium is lovely by the way. Lucio and Chiellini will be difficult to get past, Marchisio and Pirlo are very good midfielders and Giovinco and Vucinic look like quality players. We will have to play very well to beat you :)

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your English is very, very good mate, welcome to TalkChelsea. I think it could be a very interesting 2 games between us. Your team is a lot stronger than when we last played you and your new stadium is lovely by the way. Lucio and Chiellini will be difficult to get past, Marchisio and Pirlo are very good midfielders and Giovinco and Vucinic look like quality players. We will have to play very well to beat you :)

Thanks a lot mate. ;)

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