2009-10 UEFA Champions League Group D Preview
European Football's Premier Tournament Enters the Group Stage
Sep 14, 2009
UEFA’s 2009-2010 Champions League season is here. The groups have been drawn amongst much fanfare, the matches are set, and the competition to be crowned champions of Europe is ready to begin.
This is a breakdown of the teams in each of the eight groups. Two teams will advance from each group into the quarterfinal knockout stages of the Champions League.
Group D
APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Chelsea (England), FC Porto (Portugal)
Group D features one tournament favorite in Chelsea, two exciting sides that can challenge the elite in Atletico Madrid and FC Porto, and a little know club, APOEL, from the island nation of Cyprus.
APOEL Nicosia
APOEL makes their Champions League group stage appearance after previous entries failed to get them past the qualification rounds. Unfortunately for the Cypriot League champions, they have been drawn into a group with three quality teams making points hard to come by. APOEL’s trio of Polish playmakers Kamil Kosowski, Adrian Sikora, and Marcin Zewlakow lead the attack while Greek goalkeeper Dionsis Chiotis mans the net. Ivan Jovanovic’s team comes to the Champions League as a relatively unknown to the rest of Europe, and unfortunately they will not be around very long to increase their publicity.
Club Atletico de Madrid S.A.D.
Atletico Madrid are no strangers to the Champions League and feature Uruguayan Diego Forlan up top as a prolific scoring threat. Los Colchoneros should challenge FC Porto for the second qualification spot from this group and thus need to secure all six points with their match versus APOEL and hope to defend the points in their home matches versus Chelsea and FC Porto. The real question for Abel Resino’s side is how well their defense can hold up versus tough competition. Signing promising young Spanish keeper Sergio Asenjo was an attempt to pump fresh legs into the defense, but the real test will be when Asenjo faces the likes of Drogba and Faclao bearing down on his goal.
Chelsea F.C.
After a season full of speculation, Carlo Ancelotti finally arrived at Stamford Bridge as the latest Chelsea manager to try to bring European glory to London. Chelsea’s imposing lineup of quality veterans are lead by playmaking catalyst Frank Lampard at midfield and their venerable skipper John Terry anchoring the back line. Didier Drogba and Nikolas Anelka feature in an attack that is well organized and lethal. The Blues should challenge for the Champions League title and will have no problem with this group. Age is becoming a factor with many of Chelsea’s stars, and with FIFA handing down a ban on any transfers over the next year, the pressure on Ancelotti to win now has increased significantly.
Futebol Club do Porto
Similar to group rivals Atletico Madrid, FC Porto comes into this group expecting to advance to the knock-out stages by securing the second qualification spot behind Chelsea. Also similar to Atletico is the need to defend their home pitch, maximize points versus APOEL, and hope to steal a point or two while visiting Madrid or London. For any chance for this to happen Falcao must be able to fill the shoes of departed stars Lisandro and Lucho Gonzalez and manager Jesualdo Ferreira must find the players to support him. With a player who goes by the name Hulk (Givanildo Vieira de Souza) on their side, perhaps FC Porto can knock down their competition.
Prediction
There is not much doubt that Chelsea will win this group and that APOEL will struggle to find a point. The real question will be if FC Porto is retooled enough to claim this group’s second ticket to the knock-out stages over Atletico Madrid. The two group rivals will square off first in Portugal at the end of September and then the return match is early December in Madrid. Atletico’s experience getting through a tough group last year will help them advance past Porto.
Group D Results:
Match Day 1 - September 15, 2009
Other Group Previews
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