Lyon, Arsenal, Stuttgart, Panathinaikos, and Sporting CP
By: Al | August 6th, 2009
…our possible opponents for the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League.
Which one of these teams should we be afraid of? All of them? Some of them? They are all 3rd-4th place teams just like us…
Let’s go down the list:
Lyon: Third place in France last year, crashed out of the Champions League by Barcelona (not surprised), and signed a bunch of good players this summer in Gomis, Lisandro Lopez (he gave us hell last season), Michel Bastos, and Cissokho. They have no Benzema (we’ll be seeing him instead in the Madrid derbies) and no Juninho, but are still probably the second toughest team to draw.
Arsenal: One word: Arshavin. They don’t have Adebayor anymore, but have Van Persie, Eduardo and that choad Bendtner, and a bunch of other good players. They raped Twente in 3rd round qualifying last year and I’d be afraid of getting in their way this season. Please, no Arsenal! I’m begging.
Stuttgart: Third place in the German Bundesliga last season, and slightly less dangerous now that Mario Gomez has departed for Bayern. They signed Pavel Pogrebnyak and no-shooter Alex Hleb (on loan). Solid team but definitely not of Lyon or Arsenal calibre.
Panathinaikos: They were amazing last year in the Champions League, kicking the hell out of Werder Bremen and Inter Milan, but unfortunately got eliminated by a solid Villarreal squad. If they are anything like they were last season in the Champions League, we’re in for some trouble.
Sporting CP: 0-5 and 7-0. Nuff said. They’re probably better than I think they are, though.
We’ll find out for sure tomorrow who we’ll draw. Stay tuned.
Category: Team News
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if you guys can be drawn against fiorentina….youre in for some trouble.
Posted from
Israel
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Got going to lie, all of these teams can knock you out. Maybe Sporting and Pana will need a hint of luck, but the other teams, especially Lyon and Fiorentina are very good clubs with Champions League pedigree, not unlike Atletico of course. But this year’s Champions League will be very very competitive, one of the best in recent years, and I am very excited for it.
Posted from
United States -
Panathiakos. Doable, but it won’t be easy.
Posted from
United States -
I am a Panathinaikos fan and I have to tell you that playing Athletico de Madrid will be perhaps the end for the Athenians this year. An elimination for Pana will bring about an economic crisis for the club as well. Having spent more than $25 Mil. in new additions, Pana has no Plan B if they do not make it to the UEFA CL group stage. There are other problems as well, such as the coach Henk Ten Kate that seems to be hanging by a thread. In summary, it seems to me that Panathinaikos has already a steep mountain to climb from a psychological point of view, putting aside the the two clubs comparative qualities. I think Athletico has the edge here.
Posted from
United States
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