Champions League Draws – Part 2
With Berbatov playing for United and Paul Scholes finding his form back, Manchester United are definitely going to be a tough side for any club on planet Earth. Moreover, Manchester United has made it to may UEFA Champions League semi-finals. That just adds more pressure on other teams as well. The team that became a part of Group C was Spanish side Valencia. Valencia has recently lost many players and now they would be realizing the “real pressure” on them as they are going to compete in Europe this time round.
Valencia’s “main man” and their “goal scoring machine,” David Villa is now part of the Spanish La Liga Champions, Barcelona. Therefore, Valencia needs to get their act together as they are going to face different European sides in the UEFA Champions League. The next team that is going to worry both Manchester United and Valencia are definitely the Scottish side that can give a tough time to their opponents, the Rangers. Plus, the Rangers are “back in action” and they are definitely going to try and prove themselves. Manchester United is getting another Turkish side in their group, this time it’s Bursaspor. No one is very sure what they are capable of. However, it was the Turkish side who gave Manchester United the toughest time during the group stages and it was all because of their home ground advantage and their “amazing” support in Turkey.
Group D was handed over to Spanish La Liga Champions Barcelona. Barca is a great team and 8 of their players were part of the Spanish team that actually won the FIFA World Cup, 2010. Last time, they were defeated by Inter Milan that was working under Jose Mourinho. However, Barcelona is going to face some tough competition in Europe and their domestic league because of Real Madrid. The Spanish side has spent more than last year and they have bought many new players. Not only do they have a new coach, they also have the “special one” in their ranks. With the Portuguese coach heading the team, he is definitely going to do wonders with it. However, things have turned out pretty well for the Spanish Champions as they have been grouped with Panathinaikos from Greece along with the Denmark side FC Copenhagen.
The Greek team has tasted the flavour of Europe but the Denmark side are new to all this and they are definitely going to try to prove something. The only thing that should worry Barcelona is Russian side Rubin Kazan. It’s as if last season is here once again. Barcelona had to face Rubin Kazan and they were defeated at the Nou Camp as they only managed to draw the game in Russia because of extreme climatic conditions. The match was played under snow and it was hard for the Spanish players to adapt to the environment as they could barely play. However, this time round, Barcelona is a tougher side. They have the likes of the Spanish “goal scoring” machine, David Villa and he is definitely going to do wonders with the ball at his feet. Lionel Messi is also part of the club and he is considered to be “one of the best players” in the world at the moment.
The little Argentinean magician is going to try to take his World Cup frustrations out and he is going to try to win it for his club. Moreover, the young players like Sergio Busquets and Pedro have also earned a lot of experience as they were part of FIFA World Cup’s Spanish squad and they definitely know how to “handle the pressure” of the big competitions. It is definitely going to be “déjà vu” for the Spanish Champions, only this time it is going to be tougher for them because of amazing competition in their domestic league.
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