ZanSnake 1,211 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Aguero actually coming to the bridge, yes!!Well as a Athletico player, but next season.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubber bullets 1,183 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 If Athletico get knocked out in the group stages, then I think we could have a good chance of signing Aguero in January Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanSnake 1,211 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 The return of Nuno Morais whose seeking revenge, muhahahaha!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanSnake 1,211 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Chelsea chiefexecutive Peter Kenyon was satisfied with the draw for the UEFAChampions League group phase after landing games against Porto,Atletico Madrid and APOEL Nicosia. Last season's semi-finalists and 2008 runners-up werethe top seeds in Group D and avoided being paired alongside the likesof former manager Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan side, Real Madrid and Juventus.Kenyon was not getting carried away by the draw, but expects Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti to be pleased with the outcome."We'restarting again and we're always looking to go one step further, whichmeans we've got to get through this stage," Kenyon told Sky Sports News."We have to be generally pleased with the draw. There's no easy games and no easy groups."Overall, there's not too much travel and I guess we've managed to avoid one of the big ones."HistoryChelsea faced Porto in 2004/05 and 2006/07, and have close ties with the club with Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Jose Bosingwa and Deco all having played for the Portuguese giants.Kenyon added: "We've played them before and Porto players have been an important part of Chelsea's history."I think we know them all, but Porto probably better than most."With the transfer deadline approaching next Tuesday, Kenyon also confirmed there are no plans to add to the signings of Yuri Zhirkov,Daniel Sturridge and Ross Turnbull."I think at this stage probably not," replied Kenyon when asked about possible new signings."We concentrated very much on re-signing the players we wanted and that's been really successful."We've had a great start to the season and Carlo, before he joined us, was very happy with the squad."We'vestrengthened that with Zhirkov and we're very happy with the squad.We've had a good start and we all believe this year we can go one stepfurther."Source: SkySports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
We Hate Scouse 10,332 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Just booked my flights and hotel to Madrid! Cannot wait!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Term-X 7,891 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 wish we had got inter and then all average teams, instead of boring old porto yet again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco 1 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 where are the dates for these matches at ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLion. 21,491 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 First match will be the 15th/16th of next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLion. 21,491 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Tuesday 15 SeptemberChelsea v PortoWednesday 30 SeptemberAPOEL v ChelseaWednesday 21 OctoberChelsea v Atlético MadridTuesday 3 NovemberAtlético Madrid v ChelseaWednesday 25 November Porto v ChelseaTuesday 8 DecemberChelsea v APOEL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EskWeston 696 Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 This is by no means an easy draw for us. Porto and Athletico will be tough prospects, especially away from home. Would have liked an easier group but at least we avoided Inter and Real Madrid..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laylabelle 9,539 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 May look easy on paper but that means nothing.Last seasons look easyish and we made a right balls up of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray. 217 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 What's our past history like with these teams, I'm assuming we must have played them at some point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kez 2,727 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 The only team we have played in the past is Porto in 04/05 just after Jose left them to join us.We had them in the group stage and beat them 3-1 at home and lost 2-1 away although we had already qualified for the knock out stages.We have also met them in 06/07 season in the last 16 of the competition drawing 1-1 away and beating them 2-1 at home.As for the other 2 its the first meetings of the 2 clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLion. 21,491 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 We're very lucky to have Didier and Bosingwa back from their bans for the Porto and Atletico away matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray. 217 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 The only team we have played in the past is Porto in 04/05 just after Jose left them to join us.We had them in the group stage and beat them 3-1 at home and lost 2-1 away although we had already qualified for the knock out stages.We have also met them in 06/07 season in the last 16 of the competition drawing 1-1 away and beating them 2-1 at home.As for the other 2 its the first meetings of the 2 clubs.Thanks Kez, OK so we've played Porto before and looks like a win for us should be possible. Should be interesting to see how we match up against the other 2. Out of those 2, I guess Atletico Madrid is the one I've heard of before. I don't think by any means they'll be easy matches. As long as we put in the right training and know which palyers from the opposing are a threat we should be OK. What do I know, i'm still learning.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kez 2,727 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Athletico will be a tough match i think, and i reckon it will be Aguero that'll do the damage. As for Apoel i've never heard of them before it's their first time in the competition so hopefully a safe 6 points there but you never know in football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane 2,275 Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 The only places we should drop points are Porto away and Athletico away, We should be well able to beat Apeol home and away, and Porto and Athletico at home. We need to send out a marker to Real and Barca that this year is OUR year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLion. 21,491 Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Group Stage Round-upAtlético de Madrid finished 4th in La Liga last season, and overcame Panathinaikos in the Third Qualifying Round to secure a mark in the group stage. Their talented front-line usually consists of two forwards; Kun Aguero and former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan, with Portuguese winger Simao and Argentine wide-man Maxi Rodriguez or José Antonio Reyes; formerly of Arsenal operating on the right flank. Their defence is very, very tight, with Czech Republican and Spanish centre-backs Ujfalusi and Jaunito forming the heart of their backline. They also have the likes of Santana, Sinama-Pongolle and Raul Garcia on the books, and young Sergio Asenjo is an excellent goalkeeper.Whilst having a wonderful season last year, in their first game of this campaign, Atlético were trounced 3-0 away to Malaga, who finished 8th last term. It should be warned that their potent strike partnership of Aguero and Forlan notched an incredible 55 goals between them last season, and though the new campaign has not got off well for the Spaniards, they will be the hardest team to beat in the group.FC Porto won the Portuguese Liga last season and have already claimed a 2-0 victory in the Supercup over Pacos de Ferreira. However, the Portuguese side have seen over thirty players leave the Estadi do Dragao this summer on either loan or being sold, including the likes of Lucho Gonzales to Marseille and Lisandro Lopez and Ahly Cissokho to Lyonnais. Porto's biggest signing of the summer is Fernando Belluschi, who cost the club €5 million from Olympiakos, and will operate alongside Hulk as a second striker; replacing Lisandro. Alvaro Pereira, formerly of CFR Cluj and a player who played against Chelsea last term for the Romanian side, has also joined the club, along with Radamel Falcao García, Diego Valeri, Sebastián Prediguer and Maicon fron Nacional, who is a talented young defender in the mould of former Porto star Pepe.The club have had an excellent start to the season, claiming seven points from nine and sit second in the Liga Sagres behind Braga. They have yet to concede a goal at the Dragao and have scored three goals in each of their last two fixtures, and coach Jesualdo Ferreira seems set on playing a 4-1-2-2-1 formation that closely mirrors the Christmas Tree of Chelsea. With Hulk injured for the first part of the season, top scorer Falcao has began the season in fine form, operating in front of two widemen; Silvestre Varela and Gonzales Mariano, who broke into the first team last term after signing a permanent contract. Fernando operates as the holding midfielder, behind Belluschi and Raul Meireles, who scored against Chelsea in a 1-1 draw at the Dragao in 2007. Alleged Chelsea target Bruno Alves is their defensive linchpin, but with Lucho, Lisandro and Cissokho all leaving, the side have lost a lot of pace and power in their attack as well as creativity and guile in the midfield.APOEL Nicosia are the Cypriot champions after cruising to the title last term, claiming 82 points from a possible 96 whilst losing only twice all season. APOEL won the Cyprus Super Cup a couple of weeks back but lost 4-3 in their opening league match. Little is known of the Cypriot side, but they do have a number of talented youngsters on their books, including former Chelsea starlet Nuno Morais, who had since blossomed into a promising defensive midfielder for APOEL. Nenad Mirosavljević, a Serbian forward, is the club's star player, and he has scored 21 times for the club since joining, and already have four goals to his name this campaign. APOEL also have a talented youngster called Demetris Kyriakou who is certainly one for the future, but I know little else of the club - let's just hope they're not too much of a surprise to Ancelotti's troops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry26 6 Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Haha i want to go to the APOEL gamewouldn't mind myself after finding out Nuno Morais plays for the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Term-X 7,891 Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 (edited) boring old porto yet again.. mehthe athletico tie should be good though. Edited September 3, 2009 by Terminator X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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