FOOTY FAIR

The UEFA Champions League is Back

2016-08-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

Get ready to take a frosty tall can of Heineken from the fridge, throw some pretzels in a dish, crank up the surround sound, quickly explain to your bored significant other how Ludogorets qualified for Europe and then settle down onto your well worn couch.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, the UEFA Champions League is back.

All eyes were on Monaco on Thursday for the draw and after a lot of backslapping, weak as cat piss jokes, glamorous people looking glamorous and balls coming out of pots, here is how the draw worked out:

Group A: Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, FC Basel, Ludogorets.

Group B: Benfica, Napoli, Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas.

Group C: Barcelona, Manchester City, Borussia Monchengladbach, Celtic.

Group D: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, PSV Eindhoven, Rostov.

Group E: CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham, Monaco.

Group F: Real Madrid, Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon, Legia Warsaw.

Group G: Leicester City, Porto, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb.

Group H: Juventus, Sevilla, Lyon, Dinamo Zagreb.

At a glance it looks like the four English clubs did fairly well on Thursday with Arsenal and PSG, baring a shock, getting out of Group A. fairy tale domestic champions Leicester are in a pretty even Group G with Porto, Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb, but will fancy their chances after avoiding any of the big dogs.

Manchester City will have their hands full with Barcelona, and will likely have wanted to avoid a "Battle of Britain" with Celtic, but they should emerge from Group C.

Tottenham, in the meantime will be fairly happy with how their Group E has shaped up.

Elsewhere, Group H containing Juventus, Sevilla, Lyon, and Dinamo Zagreb looks like the most competitive group. Behind the Turin giants it'll be a real battle between Sevilla and Lyon for the second spot, but don't overlook Dinamo Zagreb. The Croatia side are decent outfit and aren't usually pushovers at home.

Group F, with 2014 and 2016 Champions League winners Real Madrid coming up against Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon, Legia Warsaw should be another interesting group. Madrid will of course be the favourites to win the group, but behind them it will be fascinating to see if Dortmund under Thomas Tuchel can replicate their impressive domestic results in Europe or if they'll come unglued against Sporting or Legia.

One thing we call all agree on though, unless you support either of these two teams, is that it'll be nice to see someone finally stop Real Madrid and Bayern Munich from reaching the last four.

For the past five seasons, both clubs have made the Semi-Finals every year. Time for a change.

The Champions League Final Might Stream Live on YouTube

2016-04-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

British television giant BT Sport are reportedly in talks to broadcast their exclusive live coverage of the Champions League final on YouTube in a bid to boost viewing figures.

In the first season of their £897 million contract, the network's audience have nowhere near what they expected so they have opted to take the radical step of airing the showpiece final as a free-to-air event on the Google owned popular video sharing site.

The network's use of unpopular pundits such as Robbie Savage and Michael Owen haven't helped matters, but another factor has to be the prevalence of streaming sites that many favour over paying for extortionate cable subscriptions or low cost IPTV packages.

Despite efforts to block such technology, they continue to pop up and provide viewers with either free or much lower cost footie fixes.

BT Sport obviously recognize this, so it'll be interesting to see if this YouTube venture comes off and if so, what impact will it have on the future of football broadcasting.

The History of VfL Wolfsburg in 3 Minutes (Video)

2016-04-09T12:00:00.000-04:00

Most football fans were shocked by Wolfsburg's incredible 2-0 win over Spanish side Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League this past week. And despite the German's club fantastic run in Europe's premier competition, many of the tournament's followers are yet to learn much about the side. That's where the German Bundesliga decided to step in, producing this simple but informative video clip about the history of VfL Wolfsburg.

Football's Greatest Sides - Part 4 of 5: Barcelona (2009 to 2011)

2016-03-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Having watched his Manchester United side dismantled in the UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium by Barcelona in 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson later reflected that the Catalans were the best team he had ever faced. "No one," he said, "has ever given us a hiding like that."

Although the final score was only 3-1 for Pep Guardiola's side that day, it was never that close as United had spent most of the night chasing shadows. They had few answers for the incisive passing movement of Andres Iniesta and Xavi in the middle of the park, the clever runs of David Villa and never mind the mercurial little genius known as Lionel Messi upfront.

Having also beaten United 2-0 in the final in Rome two years earlier, Barcelona had made it two Champions Leagues out of three and cemented themselves as a side for the ages.

It's sometimes forgotten that a Ronaldinho-led Barcelona had won the Champions League in 2006 under Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard, a match that saw Messi out through injury, while Xavi and Iniesta looked on from the bench, but by 2008 in-fighting had destroyed that team and changes were desperately needed.

Ronaldinho made his exit, as did Rijkaard, and in came Pep Guardiola who had been a key part of Johan Cruyff's mythical "Dream Team" who had won the European Cup at Wembley in 1992.

Following in Cruyff's footsteps in that he was looking to emulate the Dutchman's ethos of Barcelona playing with a fluid passing style, Guardiola made Messi the focus of his attack, while Xavi and Iniesta were there to supply the ammunition.

Besides Barcelona's "carousel of passing", as described by Ferguson, the side worked incredibly hard to press back opponents all over the pitch, so in the rare instances they lost possession they worked doggedly to retrieve it.

Ringing in Guardiola's changes, the club won a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the aforementioned Champions League title in 2008-2009 and they were just getting started.

They followed that up by winning the league again in 2009-2010, along with the Spanish and European Super Cups, and the FIFA World Club Cup. They would fall to Jose Mourinho's Inter in the Champions League semi-final after a two day bus trip to Milan necessitated by the grounding of all flights following an Icelandic volcanic eruption.

They would return in 2010-2011 with another league and Champions League double to return to the summit of domestic and European football.

Guardiola would depart the next season, but what he put in place at the club is still largely in place. Despite the exit of Xavi, the heart of Pep's side, Barcelona now have one of the scariest front three's ever seen in club football with Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar laying waste to defences throughout Europe.

Although it's easy to get annoyed by the irritating nouveau football fanboys and fashionistas that have attached themselves to Barcelona since Guardiola's time in charge, ignoring their brief steamy love affair with Borussia Dortmund in 2012 of course, this Barcelona side can rightly consider itself to be one of the greatest squads ever and even the most hardcore haters or Madridistas have to admit that.

The Spanish national side have much to thank Barca for as well, as it was their core of players and their approach that helped Spain to victories in Euro 2008 and 2012, along with victory at the 2010 World Cup.

What the European Super League Could Mean to Club Football

2016-03-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Every summer the International Champions Cup (ICC) kicks off in North America which features clubs from the Premier League and other major European leagues, with sides from the MLS and Liga MX making up the numbers.

I've been attending ICC matches for several years, taking in matches in Toronto, Chicago, Washington DC and New York, and have seen the large enthusiastic crowds that these visiting giants draw.

Last week, Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck, Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis, Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano, Manchester United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward and Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre met in London on the pretence of discussing this summer's ICC, it's been leaked that the possibility of a European Super League was on the agenda.

Charlie Stillitano, the chairman of Relevant Sports the group that runs the ICC, confirmed that discussions have taken place regarding a major restructuring of the Champions League.

Essentially this restructuring would include invites to only the largest club sides in the world and entrance into the Super League wouldn't have anything to do with domestic league placement in the preceding season.

Stillitano, who one could argue is showing a rather stunning misunderstanding of the traditions of club football, had this to say to goal.com:

“What would Manchester United argue: did we create soccer or did Leicester create [it]?” Stillitano told SiriusXM. “Let’s call it the money pot created by soccer and the fandom around the world. Who has had more of an integral role, Manchester United or Leicester?

“I guess they don’t have a birthright to be in it every year but it’s the age-old argument: U.S. sports franchises versus what they have in Europe. There are wonderful, wonderful, wonderful elements to relegation and promotion and there are good arguments for a closed system.

“This is going to sound arrogant and it’s the furthest thing from it … but suddenly when you see the teams we have this summer in the ICC you are going to shake your head and say, ‘Isn’t that the Champions League?’ No, the Champions League is PSV and Gent.”

The last time a proposal like this was mooted back in the 1990's, UEFA scrambled to expand the number of club's in the Champions League. The expanded tournament, which allowed in more of the giants of European football as opposed to just the domestic champions, has gone on to be a massive money spinner for all involved. But apparently it isn't enough and one has to fear the outcome of all of this.

If there is no connection between domestic league standings and entrance into the top European competition, then football as we know it will never be the same. Clubs like Leicester City, who could well win the Premier League title this season, would not be rewarded for their terrific season with any glamorous European ties. Which hardly seems fair, or in the spirit of sporting competition.

Where does the greed stop?

Which 2015-16 (Last 16) UEFA Champions League Club Plays Here? (Quiz)

2015-12-13T08:00:00.000-05:00

With the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw coming up, we want to see if you can recognize the stadiums of the clubs left in the competition from their aerial Google maps view.

poll creator

Throwback Thursdays: Monaco 8 - Deportivo de La Coruña 3 "The Evening of Madness"

2015-11-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Back in the first few seasons of the 21st Century, Deportivo de La Coruña perennially competed with Europe's finest in the UEFA Champions League.

Although they were never able to reach a final, they certainly weren't a push over in the competition and could be counted on to be tough opponents for whoever drew them.

So their humiliating defeat on 5 November 2003 to Monaco at Stade Louis II is a result that jumps out not so much as a giant pummeling a first time minnow in the competition, but as a day when everything went right for one side while everything went disastrously wrong for another.

With Deportivo winning the first meeting between the two group stage opponents 1-0 on 21 October, with a goal by Diego Tristán in the 83rd minute, another tight encounter was expected in November.

Any thoughts of that were quickly put to bed in a brutal first half that saw goals from Monaco midfielders Jérôme Rothen (2') and Ludovic Giuly (11'), plus a brace from striker Miladin "Dado" Pršo (25', 29'), celebrating his birthday, which staked the principality side to a shock 4-0 lead.

Trying to force their way back into a match that seemed over by the 30th minute, Deportivo got goals through Tristán (39') and wingback Lionel Scaloni (44') to bring the score to 4-2 just before the break.

But before the Spanish side could head to the dressing room with thoughts of turning the match completely around, that man Pršo found the net again in stoppage time to put Monaco up by three.

After the break, Monaco kept coming as a 47th-minute goal from midfielder Jaroslav Plašil made it 6-2, before Pršo tucked away his fourth goal two minutes later.

Diego Tristán scored his second in the 52nd minute to make the score 7-3, but Monaco midfielder Édouard Cissé found the net in the 67th minute to restore the 5-goal lead and round out an astonishing 8-3 score line.

To this day this is still the highest scoring Champions League match since the competition was reorganized in 1992.

Despite this humiliation, Deportivo would recover to finish second in the group behind Monaco and would advance all the way to the semi-final before losing to Porto.

As for Monaco, they would go all the way to the final before they themselves were defeated by the Portuguese side.

Porto's manager by the way was a young brash character by the name of Jose Mourinho. The football world would be hearing a bit more from him over the coming decade.

The Mighty UEFA Champions League Mindbuster (Quiz)

2015-11-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Before you sit down for today's installment of the UEFA Champions League, why not take a moment to see how well you know the story of this great competition?

Since the 1955-1956 season the European Cup/UEFA Champions League has provided a thrilling spectacle for fans, turned stars into legends, crowned champions and, in recent years, generated a pile of money for club's and sponsors.

Test your knowledge out on the competition's history with these ten skill testing questions.

Quiz Maker

Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Champions League Bosses?

2015-11-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

With Match Day Four of the Champions League taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the quiz today centre's around how well you know the men who will be prowling the touchlines for their respective clubs, urging them on to victory in the next few days.

The quiz is pretty simple, match up the bosses pictured with the club's they manage. Have fun!

Quiz Maker

Dynamo Kiev Offer Bizarre Solution to Problems With Racism in their Ground

2015-10-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

The scourge of racism has been an ongoing problem in some stadiums in Eastern Europe for the past two decades and after the latest ugly incident in Kiev, a stadium director there demonstrated a stunning lack of insight into the issue.

During last week's Champions League draw with Chelsea shocking scenes emerged of four black men being attacked in the home end of the Olimpiyskiy Stadium.

With UEFA currently conducting an investigation into the incident, which could well lead to possible sanctions against the club, Volodimir Spilchenko, the director of Dynamo's home ground came out with this gem:

We are trying, maybe, to make a special sector (for black fans),' Spilchenko said, 'In order to avoid the manifestation of racism.'

So basically they're looking at going back to segregation in 2015.

Speaking about the fans who were attacked, Spilchenko said that after they were abused the fans in questioned were offered the chance to move to nicer seats, but this offer was declined.

You couldn't make this up.

The Harsh Realities of 2015-16 Champions League - Week 2

2015-10-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

This time on The Harsh Realities of the Champions League we take a look at four clubs which did not impress us in this week's action. Two of the sides hail from the Premier League, while the other two are from Turkey and Italy.

Galatasaray

Having to compete in a group which includes Portuguese champions SL Benfica and Spanish side Atlético Madrid, Turkish club Galatasaray were expected to pick up all 6 points from their two meetings with Kazakh minnows FC Astana if they were to have any chance of challenging for the first two spots in group C. This was not the case however when "Cim-Bom" traveled to Astana this week. Going ahead twice in a country that has never seen a domestic club secure a single point in a Champions League competition, Galatasaray conceded via the own-goal each time and settled for a split of the points. For Astana it's a club record as they became the first club from Kazakhstan to not lose a match in the UEFA Champions League, but for the Turks this means just 1 point from their first two matches of the group stages after 2-0 home loss to Atlético in week one of action.

To pile on the misery, things don't seem to get much easier for Galatasaray as their next UCL match is against group leaders SL Benfica. If they don't start collecting points soon, the club from Turkey are looking at a very early exit from the competition.

AS Roma

Any time you can secure a draw against Spanish giants Barcelona it's a pretty good day. Roma managed that feat in the first week of play with a 1-1 tie at the Stadio Olimpico and the club felt confident going into Belarus to face the local side BATE Borisov in week 2. Things got ugly early for the Italians however, and thanks in part to sloppy defense, skillful passing from the hosts and a little to the terrible positioning of AS Roma keeper Wojciech Szczesny BATE was 3-0 up after just 30 minutes of play. The shocked visitors found ways to respond in the second half but Gervinho's 66th minute and Torosidis' 82nd minute goals would not be enough as the home side came out 3-2 victorious.

Now, AS Roma is in last place in group E and will face Barcelona and tough German opponents Bayer Leverkusen twice in their next three matches.

Arsenal

Being drawn in a group with German powerhouse Bayern Munich, it was pretty well understood that Arsenal's chances of finishing first were pretty slim. The bright side of the draw was the fact that the other two opponents came in the form of Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb and Greek club Olympiacos.

Now, after two matches played the Gunners have 0 points, and they haven't faced Bayern yet!

After a shock loss in Zagreb in week 1, it was time for Arsene Wenger's side to bounce back on home soil against Olympiacos. But the Greeks had other ideas and lead the match on three separate occasions for the eventual 3-2 away win. Arsenal will now face group leaders and one of the tournament's favorites FC Bayern in a stretch that could potentially see the Gunners sitting with no points at the bottom of the group after four matches played.

Chelsea

Travelling to Estádio do Dragão where he once was a popular figure, Jose Mourinho was hoping his side could show in the European competition a bit better than their recent domestic performances. But his former club Porto was not going to give in to their former manager and have jumped out in front twice to win the match 2-1.

Perhaps Chelsea's struggle on the road in Porto would not even make this list if it wasn't for the side's dreadful start to the EPL season. Nonetheless, the club looks out of sync and will have to put their best foot forward against Ukrainian opponents Dynamo Kyiv which had managed to split the points against the Portuguese side in week 1.

The Roundtable: Why Are English Clubs Failing in Europe?

2015-09-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

After a short hiatus, the FootyFair Roundtable is back. This feature is where we go beyond the headlines and talk to real football fans about current topics or issues in the football world.

Today the group discussed the struggles of English sides in Europe.

On the round table today we were joined by:

Juan
Parmar
Hawk
Jay
Luka
Iain (me)

Are English clubs not prepared for European competition?

Juan: If this trend continues, England could lose their fourth Champions League spot.

Hawk: There are too many competitions. A player like Rooney has the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Carling Cup, Internationals, and Europe on top of that.

Juan: I think it's because the best players are more spread out now around Europe, there's more competition. I also don't think the English style works in Europe.

Jay: It's not even English style Juan. Not a single team from the top 4 or even top 6 in the EPL play the same style of football.

Juan: Well Jay, I'm not sure, maybe you're correct. However, whatever the style of play is, it doesn't seem to be successful at the European level. In the past several years, since the "fall" of Manchester United, there hasn't been a consistent English performer at the European level. Sir Alex Ferguson didn't win as many European titles as he should have, but at least he could balance the workload between league and European play.

Luka: People forget that United had a 3 year period in the mid 2000's were they didn't make it to the QF's, so this is nothing new, it's just that the dominance of English clubs from the late 2000's has ended. I still think all these clubs will make it out of their groups.

Iain: The problem with English football now is that clubs are completely favouring foreign signings over developing home grown players, even if the foreign players are pretty average.

For a time English clubs tended to compliment their own youth products, or players signed from lower down the domestic pyramid, with quality foreign signings like Bergkamp, Henry, Zola, etc. Now even basic holding midfielders are brought in from abroad, rather than developing good, young domestic players.

The quality of football in the EPL has been on a downward slope for five years and this has also hurt the English national side.

Parmar: My thought is this, English clubs need to learn how to play "defenfuckingsive" football. They can't go toe to toe with the top clubs from Europe playing run and gun; love it or hate it but they can't. EPL is a very different style of football compared to the rest of Europe and English clubs have a hard time adjusting to the style of play from the get go these days. Like it or hate it and I know I'm in the minority with this, there is NOTHING negative about playing defense first and punching your opponent in the throat with a counter. Fuck we did it all the way through the 2011/2012 CL season. You want to be entertained then say a few hail mary's and hope to god your team can score one more goal than their opponent playing run and gun. You want to succeed and progress? Learn to play sound team defense. That's going to piss most of you off I know, but this is a view I have stated to you guys numerous times and do so weekly via BBM or whatever with some of you.

Jay: Can't disagree Parmar.

Hawk: A win is a win. No one cares how it happens. I sure as hell don't

Parmar: No argument from me Hawk, but you get some people that would rather play run and gun and lose than play defensive and play counter attack football. Then when they get blown off planet Earth they complain. Is is boring football? Sure, maybe. But if my team wins I really don't give a shit. Playing defensive counter attack football takes a lot of discipline to execute.

Jay: Yep, I want to watch attractive attacking football first... but you don't get to playing in the best matches against the best teams without putting in a defensive shift. English teams have jumped into the "Complete Fullback" era and forgot that you need to have a hard working CB pairing as well as a strong midfield to compliment. It also requires a lot of work and back tracking from your attacking players. This is something the Spanish teams do very well. Every player on the pitch puts in a shift and you often see them pressing in numbers. Benito Floro is trying to get the CMNT to do this, he calls it the 5 second press. Basically when you lose the ball, or if an attacker comes into your area, you press and hassle them for 5 seconds before dropping off and letting the next player hassle them for 5 seconds. It often causes turnovers, and definitely expends a lot of energy, but if you instill the work ethic into the players, you can reap the rewards. Barca plays a great pressing game when they don't have possession. It's never long before they retain the ball again.

Juan: I have been critical of "negative football", but I will concede that playing only attacking football is a death knell in Europe. You have to be able to play on both sides of the ball.

The Harsh Realities of 2015-16 Champions League - Week 1

2015-09-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

The UEFA Champions League group stages are back and so is our Harsh Realities plug where instead of concentrating on the positives from each week of play, we talk about the struggles of those clubs that can't seem to succeed in the competition.

This week we take a look at three clubs that showcased sub-par performances in the first week of action, and guess what...they are all English!

Manchester United

After a much anticipated return to the competition, United opened their campaign on the road in Eindhoven against Dutch champions PSV. The match started well for the visitors as they were gaining momentum and enjoyed a few good attacking spells, but in the 24th minute the game would take a bitter turn for United as young full-back Luke Shaw suffered a broken leg as a result of a tackle in the opposition 18 yard box. The match resumed 8 minutes after Shaw was brought down and United seemed to be in the drivers seat, especially after going 1-0 up thanks to former PSV member and new acquisition Memphis Depay.

But it didn't take long for the visitors to answer as they leveled the score in first-half stoppage time, albeit against the run of play. In the second half the home side would punish United as Luciano Narsingh put his head on a ear perfect cross to put the ball in the back of the net and secure a 2-1 victory.

Surely it was not the start LVG had envisioned for his side and despite playing away from home United is almost always seen as favorites to beat a side of PSV's calibre. In a group where the club from Manchester will be facing the likes of Wolfsburg and CSKA Moscow there is no reason to push the panic button just yet, but the competition may still prove to be harder for The Red Devils than expected.

Manchester City

United's neighbors Manchester City were in action on the same day as The Red Devils and they too struggled in week 1. Juventus of course is a much more serious competitor than PSV, but it seems to be the same story every year for City. Despite domestic success, Manchester City does not seem to have the mindset to be successful in Champions League action and they showed it once more in their first match of the competition, on home soil.

On Tuesday, against last season's finalists, City looked decent, even pretty strong at times. But after taking a 1-0 lead in the second half The Sky Blues once more succumb to their Champions League misfortunes by conceding twice and losing their first match by a 2-1 final score.

With Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach the other two opponents in the group, City's tournament may once more prove to be frustrating.

Arsenal

Despite what some football fans from Croatia may say, the country's champions Dinamo Zagreb are almost never a worthy competitor for a club like Arsenal. But despite being the heavy favorties going into Zagreb, Arsene Wenger's men managed yet again to underwhelm with their Champions LEague performance against Dinamo. When Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud got his second yellow card and ejected from the match in the 40th minute, Dinamo was already 1-0 up and would score once more before substitute Theo Walcott could get anything for his visiting side in the 2-1 loss.

But a loss to the Croats may not be the worst news for The Gunners. Perhaps the two meetings with German champions Bayern Munich still to come would put the loss in Croatia into perspective. With the German club performing the way they have over the past few years, Wenger's boys are pretty much sure to be playing for the second spot in the group, so a loss to any of the other clubs is not only a bad result, but could be very well devastating for the English club's hopes of qualification to the next round.

Throwback Thursdays: The 1955-1956 European Cup

2015-09-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

This week marks the sixtieth year since the kick off of the European Cup, the greatest prize in European club football.

The competition, which was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League in 1992, started off on 4 September 1955, with a match between Portugal's Sporting CP and Yugoslavia's Partizan. The first goal in European Cup history was scored by João Baptista Martins of Sporting CP with the match eventually ending in a 3-3 draw.

The competition came about thanks to the tireless work of Gabriel Hanot, editor of L'Équipe, who lobbied UEFA to create a continental club competition after reading reports from his journalists on the success of the Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones in 1948 and also being irked by Wolverhampton manager Stan Cullis' claims that his side were "Champions of the World" after victories in several high profile friendlies.

Eventually UEFA saw the potential in Hanot's proposal and in the fall of 1955 a club competition for European nations finally got off the ground.

Sixteen teams participated in the first year of the European Cup: Milan (Italy), AGF Aarhus (Denmark), Anderlecht (Belgium), Djurgården (Sweden), Gwardia Warszawa (Poland), Hibernian (Scotland), Partizan (Yugoslavia), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Rapid Wien (Austria), Real Madrid (Spain), Rot-Weiss Essen (West Germany), Saarbrücken (Saar), Servette (Switzerland), Sporting CP (Portugal), Stade de Reims (France), and Vörös Lobogó (Hungary).

Notably the English champions, Chelsea, were dissuaded from entering the competition by the Football Association who saw the European Cup as an unwanted distraction from league football.

The 1955-1956 final would be contested in Paris between Stade de Reims and Real Madrid. Madrid, led by the magnificent Alfredo Di Stefano came from behind to win their first of five straight titles by a final score of 4-3.

10 Years of Champions League Group Stages and Pots, by the Numbers

2015-08-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

The UEFA Champions League group stages provide football fans with some of the most intriguing action in the world. The draw for the groups is anticipated by supporters all over the world as fans await to see their club's destiny. But how much do the outcomes depend on where each club is seeded before the draw? What are your team's chances if they are drawn from pot #3 for instance?

Here are some interesting facts from the last 10 years of the UEFA Champions League group stage competitions.

1st pot, 1st place

It comes as no surprise that over the past decade clubs drawn from pot #1 finished first most times in their respective groups. As a matter of fact, all four pots have had a higher number of teams finishing in the place corresponding to the pot they were drawn out of. Pot 1 teams have come in 1st place 60% of the time, pot 2 clubs finished 2nd in their group on 42.5% of occasions, pot 3 in third place 41.25% of the time and teams picked out of pot 4 finished last in their group over 50% of the time.

Slim chances for pot 3 & 4

Clubs picked out of pots 3 and 4 haven't had much success over the years, which is understandable given the fact teams are seeded in pots 1 through 4 based on their success rate. Sides picked from pot 3 have only managed a first or second place 23.5% of the time, while clubs from pot 4 managed qualification to the next round of the competition 18.75%.

FC Zenit, a good sign for pot 4 clubs

There were only 3 clubs that managed to finish in first place in their group after being drawn out of pot 4. Cypriot club APOEL did it in 2011-12, Spanish side Malaga accomplished the same thing the following season and Monaco managed the same thing last season. On all 3 occasions the common denominator was Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg which was drawn in every one of these 3 groups.

Pot 2 winner

Italian club Inter was the only non 1st pot club which managed to win the entire tournament after being drawn into their group from pot 2 in 2009-10.

It's all backwards

Last season (2014-15) was the only time the four clubs in a particular group finished the stage in a backward position as oppose to the pots they were drawn out of. In group C, French side AS Monaco who were drawn from pot 4 finished first overall in their group, Germans Bayer Leverkusen finished 2nd and came from pot 3, Zenit in 3rd place was drawn from pot 2 and the pot 1 participant Portuguese club Benfica finished dead last.

Zlatan Ibrahimović to Play Against Boyhood Club Malmö FF in Champions League

2015-08-27T16:00:00.000-04:00

With the recent draw of the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League group stage, Sweden's star striker Zlatan Ibrahimović will face his first professional club Malmö FF with his French side Paris Saint-Germain (given of course he stays with the club through the transfer deadline).

Malmö will join a long list of clubs Zlatan has played both for and against in the Champions League. Last season with PSG Ibrahimović and his team were drawn into a group with two of Zlatan's previous clubs in Barcelona and AFC Ajax. Since leaving Dutch side Ajax Ibra has faced his former team in Champions League play with Juventus in 2004-05 and with Juventus in 2010-11.

Against former club Inter Ibra played both before and after joining the Italians. First, Zlatan faced Internazionale with Ajax in his first Champions League season in 2002-03, in the same CL season he would also face future club AC Milan in the quarterfinal of the tournament. Almost immediately after leaving Inter for Spanish side Barcelona the Swede would take on his former side both in the group stages and the semi-finals in the 2009-10 edition of the tournament, losing out to his former side who would eventually win the trophy.

Whether a side he would later join, or as his former club, in Champions League play Zlatan Ibrahimović has faced five of the seven clubs he had played for. Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain will (for now) remain the two clubs Zlatan hasn't tried to defeat with another club in the CL.

The 3 Debutants in This Year's UEFA Champions League Group Stage

2015-08-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

It seems like every year there are clubs who, despite all the odds against them, manage to squeeze in to the UEFA Champions League group stages and surprise many who would be more than willing to bet against them qualifying to this prestigious stage of the European competition.

Last season there were two new teams to make this stage of the tournament in Swedish side Malmö FF and Bulgarian minnows Ludogorets Razgrad, both of whom could not manage enough points to make the following round or even qualify to the Europa League through the 3rd place in their respective groups.

Malmö managed to repeat the same feat this season as well, but this season however, there are three group stage debutants that will try to get past yet another round to top their already best season in European football.

Borussia Monchengladbach

Perhaps German side Borussia Monchengladbach will be seen as the least surprising debutants. After all, with their immense success in the German domestic league throughout the 1970's Monchengladbach did manage to claim a European Cup in 1977 and two UEFA Cup championships in '75 and '79. But as far as the "Champions League" is concerned, the club from Germany which would have much less success after the 70's has never reached the group stages of the competition in its new format which was introduced in 1992. After an impressive campaign in which they finished in 3rd place in the German Bundesliga last season, Borussia Monchengladbach got a "free pass" directly into this season's UEFA Champions League group stages.

KAA Gent

As in Borussia Monchengladbach's case, Gent qualified directly into this season's UEFA Champions League group stage. Unlike their German counterparts however, in order to get a direct ticket to this stage of the tournament "De Buffalo's" had to win their league, which the Belgian club managed to do for the very first time in the club's 115 year footballing history. Gent's best previous European performances came in back-to-back seasons when the Belgian club managed to lose two years in a row in the "final" match of the now dysfunctional UEFA Intertoto Cup. In 2006 Gent missed out on a co-winner spot after losing a two leg tie to Swiss side Grasshopper Zürich and again the following year to Danish club Aalborg BK.

FC Astana

By far the most impressive and surprising side to qualify to the group stages of this years Champions League is Kazakh side Football Club Astana. Their accomplishment is great on many levels! Founded just 6 years ago, FC Astana has won their first ever Kazakhstan Premier League title last year. After qualifying to the club's first ever UEFA Champions League appearance, "The Blue and Yellows" who had to begin the competition from the 2nd round of play had to go through Slovenian side NK Maribor, Finnish champions HJK Helsinki and Cypriot club APOEL (all of whom have participated in the Champions League group stages previously) in order to reach this prestigious part of the tournament. The 30,000 seat Astana Arena which was built in 2009 is a perfect home for a club playing in the UEFA Champions League group stages, but will the side from Kazakhstan be able to keep the impressive run going against much tougher opponents?

Pigs and Sheep: Celtic and Malmo

2015-08-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

With a place in this year's UEFA Champions League group stages on the line, Malmo travelled to Scotland for a match on Wednesday night for the first leg of their play-off against Celtic.

Malmo's fans wasted no time in trolling the locals when they busted into a foul version of Pink Floyd's classic "Another Brick in the Wall", as they sung "Hey, Celtic - leave those sheep alone" at their bemused hosts.

Celtic won the match 3-2, with two goals from Leigh Griffiths and one from Nir Bitton, but Jo Inge Berget’s goals in the 52nd and 94th-minutes gave Malmo two crucial away goals to take back to Sweden.

Malmo keeper Johan Wiland was certainly unimpressed with the Scottish Champions performance as he blasted:

"They are pigs, all of them, that’s the way it is. You just have to try to stay cool and do what we have to do on the pitch.

Leigh Griffiths, well, I don’t know what to say, he behaved like a child, tugging shirts all the time."

Malmo defender Rasmus Bengtsson added to his keepers sentiments:

"There were some players who talked a lot. You probably know who I mean.

They have a captain [Scott Brown] and a few others who like to talk. But that’s the way it is at this level.

One player who came on [Nadir Ciftci] was not particularly nice. The first thing he wanted to do when he came on was to talk. He had more focus on that than his performance.

And I don’t think it was to their advantage that they were running around focusing on other things."

Malmo have promised to attack from the start in the second leg at home and Celtic will hope that will have to do a bit more than talk if they hope to progress.

Funny Illustrated Champions League Animated Highlight

2015-06-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Italian motion designer Emanuele Colombo created a unique project for ESPN, animating illustrations to reflect the best moments of the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League tournament. The result was both artistically impressive and funny. You can follow Emanuele on Twitter @ema_colombo

Here is the project, including the animations and the description in Emanuele's own words:

"In March 2015 ESPN's creative director Neil Jamieson asked me to create a bunch of .gifs to illustrate some of the greatest moments of Champions League 2015.

Here they are, with their related articles.

Client/Agency: ESPN
My role: illustration, motion design
Creative director: Neil Jamieson
Project manager: Jason Hutton

You can see the complete project at this link: click here

Messi makes Jerome Boateng fall over

It's rare these days for Lionel Messi to do something that takes our breath away. Not because he's losing his touch (far from it), but because everything he does is so stunning that it's hard to keep being amazed.

Then there was Barca's 3-0 win over Bayern Munich in their semifinal, first leg. With just 13 minutes left, it appeared that Pep Guardiola might escape his former Camp Nou home with a 0-0 draw. Then Messi scored a simple goal to break the tension -- 1-0 Barca -- but it was his second goal that truly dazzled.

It was pure playground football: advancing at poor Jerome Boateng near the edge of the box, a quick shimmy put the Argentine clean on goal. All Boateng could do was fall down and watch what happened next. Messi impudently chipped the world's best goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, on his weaker right foot. 2-0 Barca. Neymar would add an even later third to put things beyond doubt.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic says Chelsea behave like 'babies'

Whether it's a new tattoo, an outrageous goal or an unprintable remark, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the straw that stirs football's drink. So when PSG met Chelsea in the round of 16, a late Ibra tackle earned him a red card, but not before Chelsea surrounded poor ref Bjorn Kuipers and begged him to dismiss the dangerous Swede. (He later famously referred to the Blues as "babies.")

Though the Blues got their wish as Zlatan enjoyed an early shower, his PSG teammates got the last laugh with a dramatic extra-time win. It's not the first time John Terry has cried in the Champions League, either...

Bayern batter FC Porto with goals galore

Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich almost feels like an unfair partnership, like the Avengers writ large on the footballing world. Their progress through to the Champions League final seemed almost preordained until they ran aground at Porto in the quarterfinal first leg. Julen Lopetegui's team seized on a slew of uncharacteristic Bayern errors to take a 3-1 lead back to Munich for the decisive game. Could they hold on?

Of course not. It took Bayern just 27 minutes to erase the deficit with goals from Thiago, Jerome Boateng and Robert Lewandowski to prove that a Bavarian "crisis" was pure myth. Thomas Muller and Lewandowski added additional goals for a 5-0 half-time lead en route to a 6-1 final score and 7-4 aggregate win.

Goals galore for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

One of the most enjoyable things in football is the competition between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for all the game's individual scoring records. They played a game of Champions League chicken this season, with each man approaching and then accelerating beyond the great Raul, who notched 550 games for Real Madrid over a glittering 18-year career at the Bernabeu.

The pair are level on 77 goals apiece but Messi still has the final to play in Berlin.

Dimitar Berbatov beats Arsenal

Dimitar Berbatov is so laid-back you'd be forgiven for thinking he was asleep, such is the languid elegance with which he plays the game. When Monaco traveled to Arsenal for their round of 16 first leg, few gave the Ligue 1 side a chance of a positive result.

Tsk, tsk -- they all forgot about the smooth Bulgarian, whose casual finish helped Monaco to a 3-1 win and led to the Gunners' demise.

Luis Suarez nutmegs David Luiz and PSG into oblivion

Executing a perfect nutmeg in football is the ultimate art of humiliation, a clear sign that says "I am better than you and here's why."

Cue Barcelona's trip to PSG for their quarterfinal first leg. You couldn't help but feel bad for Laurent Blanc's side, specifically David Luiz. Brought on unexpectedly after 21 minutes to replace the injured (again) Thiago Silva, he tried gallantly to contain Barca's three-pronged attack but had no answer to Luis Suarez.

With the tie delicately poised at 1-0 with just over 20 minutes to play, Suarez executed the first of two perfect nutmegs on the beleaguered Luiz, each of them resulting in goals that would end up a comprehensive 3-1 win for Luis Enrique and co. Game over, all thanks to Suarez.

Umberto Gandini's Classy Letter to AFC Ajax After 1995 Champions League Final Defeat

2015-05-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Having defeated Barcelona in the 1993-94 UEFA Champions League finals and just missing out the year before after a loss to Marseille, Italian club AC Milan was on a roll having qualified to their third consecutive UCL final in 1995. Their opposition, Dutch super-power AFC Ajax with the likes of Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Edgar Davids, Ronald de Boer, goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and of course former Milan Dutchman Frank Rijkaard.

Milan would go on to lose the match by a final score of 1-0 after second-half substitute Patrick Kluivert slotted the ball into the back of Sebastiano Rossi's net with just 6 minutes remaining in the match. But being obviously crushed about losing their second Champions League final in three years did not stop AC Milan Director of Sports Umberto Gandini from penning a super classy letter (sent via fax) to AFC Ajax's Gerard Holsheimer.

The image of the scanned facsimile is below, together with a transcript of the letter for your reading comfort.

TELEFAX MESSAGE FOR: Mr. Gerard Holsheimer - Ajax F.C.

FROM: Mr. Umberto Gandini - Milan A.C.

Milan, May 26th, 1995

Dear Gerard,

May we congradulate you, your staff and all your club for the conquest of the Champions Cup in Vienna.

It has been a bitter sensation for us, as you imagine, but sincerely it was softer to lose with your club, because of the friendship among the Directors, among the players and for Frankie. (Referring to Frank Rijkaard)

We are glad for him, and I hope you will tell him, because he will always be something special for Milan, as well as Ajax.

Best wishes for the Champions League next year, and please remember to everybody who is Milan (did you see the T-shirt "Who the .... is Milan"?).

Sincerely yours,

Umberto Gandini

Milan A.C.

Barcelona, the Killer of Defending Champions

2015-05-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

After yesterday's emphatic 3-0 semi-final home victory over German side Bayern Munich, last year's La Liga runner-ups Barcelona have shown that the fire of tiki-taka or at least whatever is left of it hasn't been put out completely. After all, it is this impressive win over the defending and repeating Bundesliga champions that has given the Catalan side the impressive achievement of having won against 5 different title holders in this tournament alone.

The UEFA Champions League has been expanding and the inclusion of more clubs in the tournament means that not only the title holders of each European nations enter the league. In some cases up to 4 clubs from one country are allocated a spot in some stage of the competition. But this season, although not the title holders of their own domestic league, Barcelona has managed to defeat quite the collection of clubs that have indeed won their league title the previous year.

Entering directly into the group stages Barca's group F included 3 champions (all clubs except for Barcelona themselves). Although not as impressive a name as the rest of Barcelona's triumphs, Cyprus' title holders APOEL were the Spanish clubs' first victims with a 1-0 win for the Catalans on home soil at the Camp Nou in their very first match of the competition. After losing to French champions Paris Saint-Germain in Paris Luis Enrique's side would claim their second championship holding victim with back to back wins against Dutch title holders AFC Ajax both at home and in Amsterdam. And after winning in Nicosia against APOEL for the second time in the group stage, Barcelona would complete the group F "trifecta" by defeating PSG by a score of 3-1 in the very last match of the group stage.

Drawing England's defending champions Manchester City in the round of 16 the Spanish runner-ups would sweep another champion aside with wins both at home and away to eliminate City from the competition by an aggregate score of 3-1, and although they have already played France's champions Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage they would again defeat the French title holders in the quarter-finals; this time even managing to record a win in Paris.

And then the game at Camp Nou last evening, when Barca showed their class by putting German giants and of course title holders aside with a 3-0 win that has very likely qualified the storied Spanish club for the big final in Berlin.

On their journey so far the storied Spanish club have defeated defending champions from 5 different countries, having won a total of 10 out of 11 matches against title holders of the 2013-14 season. As a matter of fact, Barcelona have yet to match-up against a side that hasn't won their domestic league the previous year. The only way that could happen is if Barca were to meet Spanish rivals Real Madrid in the final.

All that remains now is another match against German giants Bayern in Munich and perhaps the hope that they would meet the only other defending champion still left in the competition, maybe a sixth victim, Italian club Juventus.

5 Fun Champions League Semis Scenarios

2015-04-25T16:00:00.000-04:00

As is the case every single year, at every single stage, in every single sport, fun scenarios and previously noted situations take center stage before the matches discussed actually take place. Today we give you five interesting scenarios as related to the recent draw of the 2015 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

Barcelona versus Pep

Of course the biggest scenario of this year's Champions League semis will be the one where Pep Guardiola takes on his former side Barcelona, or perhaps the other way around where the players of the Catalan club face their former boss. Whichever way you're looking at it, the meeting is mouthwatering. Pep was quoted saying that he is trying to figure out how to stop Messi, while some Barca players are understood to want a bit of revange against their former manager.

2014 World Cup final revisited

Barcelona's Argentine duo Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano will surely have a bit of a deja vu feeling when they look across the pitch at Bayern Munich's squad which is likely to include 6 German footballers that sent Argentina crashing out at the very final game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Bayern's line-up includes goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Germany and Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm and others such sd Thomas Müller, Jérôme Boateng, Bastian Schweinsteiger and the man who scored the winning goal against Argentina, Mario Götze.

When the final is played in Germany

The UEFA Champions League / European Cup finals will be played in Berlin for the very first time this year. In previous years however, when the finals were hosted in any city in Germany the winners were never clubs from Italy and Spain, and just on one ocassions the winner was a German club. From the seven times Germany hosted the finals there were two English winners in Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, two Portuguese clubs in Benfica and Porto, Dutch side Ajax, French side Marseille and the only German side to win the cup on home soil Borussia Dortmund. If history was to continue in this fashion it would effectively eliminate Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona from winning the cup this year, leaving just Bayern with a chance. But we all know damn well it just doesn't work that way.

When they play each other they win the title

Believe it or not, after the last two knock-out stage meetings between Bayern Munich and Barcelona the club who went on to win would go on to claim the competition title. In 2009 (with Pep Guardiola as their coach) Barcelona defeated Bayern over the two-legged affair in the quarter-finals by an aggregate score of 5-1, eventually defeating Chelsea in the semis and Manchester United in the final in Rome. In 2013 however, the roles were reversed when Bayern and Barca met in in the semi-finals. Bayern Munich would go on to win 4-0 at home and 3-0 in Camp Nou for the impressive 7-0 aggregate victory and eventually won against German rivals Borussia Dortmund in the finals. Will either of them win again this year?

Finals combinations

There are four variations of what the finals could look like this year. But out of the four possible combinations only once have two of this year's semi-finals have met in the final showdown. In 1998 Real Madrid took on Juventus in the Champions League final in the Amsterdam Arena in the Netherlands. A second half goal from Yugoslav striker Predrag Mijatović was enough to seal Real Madrid's 7th European club championship title at the time.

UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals 2014/15 (Infographic)

2015-04-09T20:00:00.000-04:00

Our friends at guaranteetickets.com have put together a fantastic infographic showcasing the football clubs that are about to embark on the always tough UEFA Champions League quarter-final quest.

Here is the explanation of the project in the words of the creators, and of course you can visit their site by CLICKING HERE for more outstanding stuff and of course football tickets.

UEFA Champions League is in full swing and now we down to the final eight teams. It's time to see the best teams in the world, the most talented players and the most interesting games.

The quarter-final draw gave us a Madrid derby and one more chance for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to upset Barcelona. We look at who is likely to make it into the last four as English clubs watch on from afar.

Once again we've created a comprehensive infographic about the final team's performance in the Champions League so far. Yeah, we know it's not all about stats and ranking but this could help you see the big picture in this fickle competition.

Concepts: Re-inventing the UEFA Champions League

2015-03-24T20:00:00.001-04:00

UK based designer Daniel Barkle brings forward his proposal of rejuvenating the look of the European Champions League competition. In this project Daniel changes the look of the UCL brand and even goes as far as suggesting custom lettering and numbers for the kits of participating clubs. You can follow Daniel Barkle on twitter @danbarkle

Whether the competition needs a face-lift is arguable, but there's no disputing the fact that this proposal is sharp and the design cleans up the image of the brand. Let us know what you think of Daniel's design by commenting bellow.

From the old to the new

The final proposal

The official new font

The kit numbers

The application

The kits

Daniel also proposes the radical idea of having common lettering and numbering for every participant, kind of like what we see in some of the leagues such as MLS and EPL. Just in case you wonder what some of the kits would look like, here are some examples.

Could Brendan Rodgers Be Sacked By January?

2014-12-11T20:00:00.000-05:00

What a difference a eight months has made for Liverpool and their under pressure manager Brendan Rodgers.
Lauded last season as a tactical genius and the man who looked to be guiding the Merseyside club to their first title in twenty four long years, Rodgers and his side have seen this season descend into chaos after narrowly missing out on the title last spring.

Sitting in ninth place in the Premier League, Liverpool had a chance to lift the gloom at Anfield on Tuesday with a home win over Basel that would have seen them through to the last sixteen of the UEFA Champions League.

But after a turgid first half and a comeback that came far too late, Basel were able to hold Rodgers side to a 1-1 draw that dumped them out of the competition and into the poisoned chalice of Thursday night's in the Europa League.

On a night when Liverpool had to win there was a lack of urgency, until the last twenty minutes, but above all a lack of quality from the five times European Champions.

When all was said and done the Anfield side had taken only 5 points out of a possible 18 in the competition and won only one match, a last ditch win over lowly Ludogorets after a ludicrous penalty conceded in injury time by the Bulgarian champions.

It made a mockery of chief executive Ian Ayre’s bold comment that ‘this is our competition’ when Liverpool qualified for Europe's top competition last season after several years in the wilderness.

So where has it all gone wrong for Liverpool this season?

The obvious answer is that the brilliance of Luis Suarez last season seriously glossed over other issues with the squad, such as a porous defence, but his exit alone is not the only answer for their shocking form.

Daniel Sturridge's battle with injuries this season has also dealt the club a crushing blow, as their attack has lacked the sort of edge he would have surely provided for the majority of the season.

The biggest issue seems to have been Rodgers and those responsible for player recruitment at Liverpool, not appropriately planning for Suarez's exit nor adequately strengthening a defense that certainly cost them the title last season.

Instead they took the Tottenham Hotspur approach after the North London club's sale of Gareth Bale, but splashing out the Suarez cash and buying quantity instead of quality. With eight players signed over the summer, most of whom have flattered to deceive so far, Rodgers transfer policy has left a lot to be desired.

There has been a lot of focus on the perceived folly of signing Mario Balotelli, and yes the former Milan striker has been very poor, but it was obvious to anyone who has watched Liverpool play over the past few seasons, that he surely wasn't suited to their style. The signing of Balotelli smacked of a panic buy.

With the new signings failing to gel into the team, captain Steven Gerrard showing his age and goalkeeper Simon Mignolet suddenly becoming a bumbling disaster it's hard to see how Liverpool can turn this season around.

Even Rodgers, a man who seems quite confident in his own ability and philosophy, seems downbeat in recent weeks. With matches coming up against Manchester United and Arsenal, his future could well be on the line.