Real Madrid vs Marseille: 3-0

I wish the viewers and readers could see a smile on my face after Champions League matchday 2. Real Madrid downed Olympique Marseille 3-0 in a very mature performance for such a very young team as far as the new personel at the club. It was a complete performance front to back in my eyes. It will be one that I will always remember for years to come. Could this be the day the Galacticos II came together, the beginning of a dynasty? I may be getting a bit carried away but the win pushes a lot of positives torward the white shirts. There are plenty of talking points so let's get started.

So why is this performace such a big deal? It wasn't exactly a pretty first half. The first half looked more of playing for position more than playing for posession. Real Madrid generated a couple of chances torward the end of the half through a couple Ronaldo blasts, the Benzema acrobatic display and the "shoulda scored" chance where Benzema found himself in 1v1 with the goalkeeper. Those were warning shots that forshadowed a wave of goals in the second half, but up until then, the game was very choppy. It had a good pace about it but often times bogged down in midfield. There are plenty of rumourig questions around the Real Madrid back line. Many question their ability at the back. Today was one of the few times this season where we saw the preseason projected backline. Ramos looks to be fully recovered from his achilles injury. Pepe has just finished serving his suspension in La Liga and started today in the Champions League. Albiol has been the most often displayed centerback this season so far. And Pellegrini decided to go with young Brazilian Marcelo. They, as a unit were acceptable today. Of course Marseille had a couple chances but they are respectable side, and even quesitonable sides create one or two chances. It's a luxury to have Sergio Ramos bombing down the right wing again especially when the squad is sporting the 4-3-3 look because when the forwards are interchanging and the midfield is creating from the center of the pitch, the main wing play comes from the outside backs. Ramos and Marcelo were very active and very affective. However, Madrid throws lots of bodies forward which could lead to being countered but thats the nature of their stle of play. Sometimes when Marcelo is on a quest up the left flank, Ramos is already cheating forward, anticpating a switch a visa-versa on the other side. But, when the ball is lost, it's nice to see both full backs, thrundering torward their own goal and tucking in. When looking at the Marseille line up, the first place I checked was up top. There was no Brandao in the line up. Obviously they were not looking to hold the ball but to get beyond los blancos' back line with speed of Mamadou Niang. I seemed to be spot on. Niang was Marsielle's most dangerous player. The French club often opted to play long through balls for him to run onto and when he had the ball at his feet, his first option was to run at players. He succeded a few times . His best chance arose when he used his pace to skip around a mistimed Pepe challenge on the corner of the area and scampered into the box only to be stumped by Casillas who played like a genious tonight. One more point on defending in general I was pleased with was the amount of set plays given away in dangerous areas were limited compared to previous performances

The attacking line to start was enough to scare even Batman. It read: Ronaldo on the left, Benzema up the middle, and Ricky Kaka to his right. So you would expect that the three of them would just run at players, take defenders on and get shots away because those are their strengths. That was not the case. After the Galacticos Dos battled for position on the field, they began to play torward the end of the first half and throughout the second half. I was a bit skeptical of Pellegrini when I saw that Gago was Lass's replacement for the match because I never know what kind of performance he is going to produce. Would I see the Xerez Gago or would I see the Villareal Gago? Delightfully I saw niether. I saw the Marseille Gago that played the best match I may have ever seen out of him. Despite the one give away in the first half in the "Do Not Lose It" part of the pitch. He was a tackling moster and just distributed small contructive balls that glued together the possession. He is always going to charge around from defender to defender applying pressure even in places that don't exactly need it but I've learned to accept that's never going to change. However, Gago was great today. It wasn't only Gago that made hte midfield special today. The presence of Xabi Alonso and Guti were heavily noted. Xabi alonso did a similar job to Gago while Guti wore his creative boots all game creating trouble for the Marseille back line.

Not unlike most of the games los blancos partake in, their goals came in waves. Ronaldo was outstanding a played a key role in all 3 goals. The first of the onslaught came from a simple ball over the top from big Pepe onto the foot of CR9 who tucked the ball away at ease underneath French international keeper Mandanda in the 58th minute. This triggered one of the many levels of Madrid's high gears. Just two minutes later the Portuguese wonder kid found his way into the penalty area near the endline on the left side. After beating one defender, Ronaldo was fouled for a penalty when Diawarra came flying into him two-footed. That challenge ment the end of Diawarra's night because the tackle earned him a second yellow card. Kaka sent to goalkeeper the wrong direction and tucked the ball easily into the bottom left corner. There was one goal yet to come for los blanco's and it would be a work of art and the prettiest of the night. After a series of good interplay Benzema and Kaka combined for a 1-2 which put the young Frenchman into the right sector of the box unmarked. He casually slotted the ball accross to none other than Cristiano Ronaldo who banged in the bal lfrom close range. The goalkeeper was out of position and thats all she wrote because the game all but over at this point. Madrid could have had several other goals. Chances through substitute, Gonzolo Higuain, went begging.

On other notes, Kaka wasn't exactly on top of his best form today. despite scoring from the spot. He made an impact though because he continued to work hard even when things weren't going to his way. Very admirable trait from the Brazilian. It was nice to see a standing ovation from la casa blanca when Fernando Morientes was substituted. I too clapped from my living room. Have to give respect to a man who was a soldier in the Madrid Army.

Overall, this performance could be the tip of the iceberg for what is to come this season from Real Madrid. They are perfect on points in La Liga and the Champions League. We'll see this weekend if the momentum from this match against OM will carry over to the La Liga clash against Sevilla who are also coming off a monumental victory away at Rangers 4-1 yesterday in the soggy rain of Scotland.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading from FTF,

Bobinho

Villarreal vs Real Madrid: 0-2

Whenever Real Madrid goes on the road to a typically tough opponent such as Villarreal, it's an automatic big game. So when they take max points from the occasion, then faces begin to crack smiles. Villarreal have enjoyed decent outings in the last several campaigns of La Liga and I wasn't expecting an easy match, despite their slow start. This match says a lot to me. If there were ever a game that spoke and had messages to send it was this one. I'll get to those messages throughout the article but let's talk about the match itself.

First of all, I'd like to let everyone know that I thought Gago was much (much, much, much) better in today than he was at the weekend. He kept things simple, he just sat in, won balls and distributed them to the easiest outlets. If he's going to do that, he looks a real good player. He didn't try to be a hero. He let Granero and Guti do the crafty work in the midfield. To be honest I think he got a bit lucky. With the injury to Garay in warm ups I don't think he was in the initial XI. Sergio Ramos was moved into the center back spot which pulled Lass out of midfield and into right back (I actually found it humorous that a player wearing the number 10 was playing right back. Just seems unfitting.) Gago took his second chance well tho and played monumentally better than he did against Xerez. He still has a bit of work to do on his 1v1 defending though. He too often gets beat or fouls. However, impressed with him today compared to the last La Liga match.

Doesn't it seems like Madrid have been gifted a handicap goal in the last two games? Ronaldo has scored twice in the last two matches before some spectators even reach their seats. This goal was not to dissimilar to the last opening goal he scored. He skipped by a couple of defenders and just tucked the ball low and hard into the bottom corner. Now here is where I want to begin one of my talking points. When does Real Madrid play their best football? When they patiently hold the ball and open up defenses with passing. That's not always the case though is it? I think Madrid have a habit of making things hard on themselves. After defending an oppositions attack, the team quickly looks to break through Ronaldo, or Kaka, or one of the strikers, Benzema, Higuain or who ever it maybe. Who ever is carrying the ball rushes forward up the pitch dusting everyone, including their own teammates. When they finally reach the opposing penalty box where they are confronted by the other team's defenders, they have two choices. Take them on and look for a shot or look for a pass which is limited because no one is there to support them yet. This creates a viscous cycle at times because in this situation we often times lose the ball, which just heaps another attack on the back line. Then the ball is won back and it starts over again. Another thing that bothers me about Madrid's play at time is that it is very casual and lackadaisical. I feel like they can reach higher gears but they are so calm and so composed on the ball they tend to kill the rhythm and flow of the match. Now that isn't always a bad thing when we are up a goal and trying to protect a lead especially away from home, but with the attacking talent the team possesses and being up a man, the squad needs to go straight for the jugular. Kill off the team, send a message, and boost your goal differential. Because in a tight race with Barcelona, goal differential will be key knowing the way they can score at will.

Gonzolo of Villarreal really shot his team in the foot by being sent off. The Yellow Submarine really didn't have any significant threats on our goal with 11 players let alone 10. Casillas probably looks back and can't remember dealing with a whole lot of danger. There chances were limited. That tells me a few things. Often times Real Madrid's defending qualities are criticized. Today los blancos seemed to have things under control at the back even though the back line was a bit make shift. Pepe returns from his suspension this weekend which will surely boost the defending options, seeing as Garay left todays warm up and Metzelder isn't expected back for a couple weeks. This was the team's first big test against a respectable side. It's a confidence booster for the team who is still growing and learning to gel with each other.

Today just wasn't Higuain's day. He really did fail to impress. His only clear chance, he sent out of the stadium. In the last two games, the center forward job hasn't been played extremely well by "Pipita" or Benzema. Although Benzema scored in the last match, he was practically invisible until then. I don't expect that to be an ongoing problem. Both of them are class strikers and hard workers. I'm sure things will work themselves out. It was nice to see Kaka score his first official Real Madrid goal even if it was from the penalty spot. Ronaldo's first official goal was from the dot as well and just take a peek at how he is up in running. I'm glad he is off the mark. Hopefully, there is more to come. Van der Vaart made his first appearance of campaign. I think VdV still has a lot to offer. It's a shame that such a good player has really been pushed to the side. I think he can be a great midfielder. He just needs to find his way into more playing time.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with the start to the season, 12 points from 12 points possible. Madrid, as everyone knows and never fails to mention, still have to adapt to each other and gel but things look promising as of right now based on results. All the things that are potential problems are very easily curable. I'll be looking forward to the match at the weekend. Most likely, players will be rested with Champions League next Wednesday, but as long as there is a team wearing a white shirt, there will be a Real Madrid.

From us hear at FTF, thanks for reading,

Bobinho

Real Madrid vs Xerez: 5-0

Don't be fooled by the dramatic scoreline. Against a more quality side, with all do respect to the visitors, Real Madrid, should probably have lost. It seems like a bold statement for me to make but I have plenty of evidence to back it up. If you caught the match you'll understand exactly what I mean.

Madrid opened the scoring within the first minute. Ronaldo blew by a series of Xerez defenders and drilled one low across the goal line at the near post. I was astonished. With such a quick start, Madrid had it wrapped up before it started practically. I couldn't be more wrong. For the next 7 or 8 minutes. Madrid was toying with the minnows playing keep ball in the attacking half. The game could have been put out of reach in 6th minute when Ronaldo's rebound fell to Raul, who managed to hit the goal keeper from inside the six. That rebound then fell to Kaka who miraculously missed from about 8 yards.

Now you are starting to ask yourself so what seems to be the problem here? Well it starts about now. Xerez seemed to get into a bit of a groove. Completing some passes and formulating their own attacks. For a team that costs hundreds of millions of dollars playing against a team that Ronaldo could buy himself, Xerez possession statistics were lofty in the first half. The started to dominate the play in a good middle portion of the first half. Perhaps Madrid scored a little too early and was resting on the one goal lead after 10 minutes of play. It was very discomforting for any Madridista. After the first goal came so quickly and other chances went begging in the opening minutes, everyone was in the mood for a show that did not arrive. So I began to look at where it was breaking down. What is they key to keeping possession and creating chances? The center midfield. So my focused turned to Lassana Diarra and Fernando Gago who was filling in for an injured Xabi Alonso. I didn't have to look very hard to find the problem. I've never been one to hide my attitude torward Gago. He simply just gives the ball away time after time. It was so evident that he was coughing up possession that my college teamates who I was watching the match with began to count the amount of times Gago lost it. I was strictly disappointed when I saw he made the starting XI instead of one of personal favorites, Mahamadou Diarra. However, Gago wasn't the only center mid who was blowing up. Lass had a dreadful game by his standards. The commentator even said he looked a bit rusty (although he has nothing to be rusty from...). Though, completing significantly more passes than his partner, the ball seemed to trickle off his foot very often. Okay, so everybody has a bad game. I understand that, but there is no excuse for stupidity. It's not so much that Xerez created many chances. Lass just gave them the chances by fouling time after time. What is Real Madrid's biggest weakness? Set plays. Lass gave them at least three chances by himself in the first half to launch a bomb into our penalty area. The first foul he gave away on the top of the box, knicked the joint of the cross bar before Casillas reluctantly watched it go out for a goal kick.

It was obvious that Madrid needed a change. I was hoping it was going to come as early as halftime. I was let down again. Finally, in the 60th minute Granero was standing at the midfield line. I was overjoyed. "This is exactly what we need, a midfield change" I thought to myself. Instead Pellegrini decided to take off Raul. I'm a huge fan of Granero's works but Raul wasn't who I wanted to come off. So the game dragged on a little bit longer. I thought Granero added something to the game. He always does. We got this guy for 4 million? That's a steal... It's almost 70 minutes at this point. Guti is now the one that appears at the midfield line. "It must be Gago. Guti can sit a little higher than Lassana and create." The electronic number board goes up and it shows 14 for 8. Kaka? Bewildered again. I sighed and slouched back into the couch.

Clearly against the run of play Madrid finally broke open Xerez's jugular when CR9 headed home a delicious corner ball delivered by the "pirate," Granero. I was a little relived. In the second half up until this point Madrid had been outworked. The poor Xerez right winger derived close to 6 crosses, all of the awful. With some decent service the strikers might have made a meal out of the back line. However, the second goal seem to break the backs of this minnow side. Three mores goals were punched in between the 78th minute and final whistle. Guti took advantage of a Benzema whiff, smashing the ball through the Xerez goalkeeper on the volley from around the penalty spot. Benzema who was bothersomely silent up until this point, recieved a ball on the edge of the area. He scissored right, went left and struck a bullet that took a deflection before reaching the far corner of the goal. Finally Ruud van Nistelrooy made his La Liga return a memorable one when he nutmegged the keeper in the closing moments of the match. He replaced Ronaldo in the 79th.

Also noted in this game was the return of star right back Sergio Ramos. He was notably not his best but still solid at the least. The Xerez keeper did well to parry away his thumping header from a corner in the first half. I have to give a lot of credit to Xerez who were not intimidated by big names. They were very hard working. They attacked with confidence and in numbers and worked as a unit to get back, at least 9 players behind the ball on every Madrid onslaught. It's a mystery to me why they have failed to even produce a goal this season. It will surely come for them. This match means Madrid have taken the max points available to them in their opening three matches. As a Madrid fan I enjoyed the result, but not exactly the performance.

Thanks from us here at FTF,

Bobinho

FC Barcelona 5-2 Atletico Madrid

The first tough test of the newly born La Liga season has ended in a comfortable home win. Barca started the match firing fast with a TiTi Henry shot hitting the bar. Atleti couldn't hold the blaugrana's smooth movements for long as Ibrahimovic put away the first goal of the night with a cheeky finish. Messi then decided to join the fun with another trademark finish. After Barca scored for the 2nd time atletic started to for an attack. They created a couple of opportunities that probably should have ended in goals. But they were off at both sides of the pitch. Barca were put on their heels for a 10 to 15 minute period, but were bailed out by a decent Dani Alves free kick. The mattress makers substitute 'keeper showed why he was 2nd team as he was indecisive in dealing with the long free kick. Barca's 4th was their greatest of the night. A beautiful piece of play from Ibra led to Messi giving Keita a simple tap in. After the that gol, most cules were already looking forward to tuesdays match at Santander. But Argentine star Kun Aguero, taking advantage of a poor Busquets header, made us all focus on the present as he finally put away one of Atleti's many chances. Going into the half the score was 4-1.

The 2nd half began with Barca content on keeping the ball and getting touches. They even sparked a few ole's from the Nou Camp faithful. Messi try to establish himself even more in the 2nd half as he created numerous chances for him and his teammates. Barca's 2nd half confidence led to some promising 2nd half counter attacks for atletico. But similar to the 1st half they were unable to put anything in the net. Last seasons top scorer changed that with a crucial finish from just inside the box. The Nou Camp became slightly nervous at this point. After the goal, the Blaugrana took their foot off the pedal and slowed down the tempo. But before leaving with the 3 points, Messi decided to add to his total by grabbing his 2nd and Barca's 5th of the night.

The win gave Barca a perfect 9 of 9 points and a goal difference of 8 with none conceded. Now I wanna talk about some things that made me smile and some things that disgust me.

Let's get the bad part out of the way first. Here are some things that need to be fixed.

• Chygrinskiy might be the slowest center back in Spain

"If you see a player sprinting....that means he left too late" a quote from barca legend Johan Cruyff. Chygy must of left late every time. He was chasing almost the whole game and couldn't catch a soul. I have no idea how he's gonna handle the likes of Ronaldo running at him.

• Sergi Busquets

He can be good at time and he can be shocking at times as well. Tonight showcased that well. He started the night with a perfect set-up for Ibra but then sent Aguero through for Atleti's 1st. He has to become more consistent before he is called to replace Yaya during the African Cup of Nations.

• Wasteful....AGAIN!!!

The blaugrana got 4....but should of had at least 7. We have to start putting more of these chances into the net. Selfish play in the 2nd half led to Barca's lacking the scoring power they had in the 1st half

Now to the good

• Orgasmic football

No team in Europe can play as visually pleasing as Barca at times. The first 15 minutes were a true display. Ibra and Messi were linking up well

• Thierry Henry (First Half)

He looked at his best during the first 45. The Atletico full back had no chance. Titi showed a new pair of heels on every occasion. He disappeared in the 2nd half which was disappointing.

• This isn't even the starting 11

The fact that we could play this type of football without a player that wayne rooney called the greatest in the world is outstanding. Iniesta and Yaya are vital to what we do and it will be exciting to see Barca at their best and with their best with-in the next couple of weeks.

All and all I was very happy to see a win against what I liked to call a spanish "Big 5" club. Next up is a big midweek fixture, which are always tricky, against Racing Santander. These are the games we must win to be called champions.

Guelinho & Bobinho

Debate: What will be Milan's Reaction to Kaka's Return to the San Siro?

This topic sparked my interest tonight as I was reading Goal.com's article, "Kaka: I Am Smiling Again." It was just a simple article about how he has regained the joy of football with his new team. I began reading the comments posted about the write-up by readers. Here is what I discovered accompanied by my reaction:

Comment: "My man Kaka this is just the beginning cos you are going to be smiling more than this. the good old days are coming back to you. hala Madrid"
Reaction: An obvious Madridista, no doubt. He excited to see Kaka returning to form and to happiness. This is what I expected most of the comments to look like and for the most part I wasn't to far off.

Comment: "this guy is deceitful.he deceived milan that he wants to be the captain.....he is no hero but was still instrumental for milan."
Reaction: This is the counter however. I'm going to take a wild stab at this one and guess he is a Milan supporter. It is understandable. Kaka once said he wanted to be at Milan for his entire career. It's no wonder that it looks bad when he leaves for Madrid on €67 million move.

Comment: "He just never forgets to mention Milan.. Love that coming out from him!"
Reaction: The commenter is referring to the part in the article that reads "I want to play like I did with Milan, here I have regained my smile." Everyone knows that Kaka still has a soft spot for the Rossoneri. (There is a little thumbs up or thumbs down button for every comment. This was the only comment out of endless pages that I came across that had zero tallies thumbs down.)

Comment: "kaka... you were in the history of the great rossonero... now you turned into the opposite camp.. but still you will always have a place in our heart....waiting for the clash real - milan ..... forza milano"
Reaction: It's touching isn't it? In my eyes just because a player leaves a club he has pledged allegiance to, doesn't mean he is a traitor or bad person. Of course their could be certain exceptions. I'm sure there isn't a soul in Catalonia who isn't pissed off about Figo. The fans have to thank Kaka for what he has done for Milan.

Comment: "you'll cry after the classico.That's for sure.BARCA FOR EVER!!!"
Reaction: Typical... There was always gonna be one. (The only comment with no thumbs up, humorous.)

So naturally, after reading these intriguing comments, I contacted my partner in footballing knowledge, Guelinho. I simply texted him is a mildly provocative way "kaka feels in debt to real Madrid for helping him regain his smile." I wasn't expecting a friendly response in all honesty. More or less I was looking for a different angle on the matter and there is no more different angle from a Madridista, than a Barca supporter. "Kaka is also a fake....But that's another story." I chuckled to myself before we started debating about his controversial move to the Bernabeu. Good points were made from both sides.

Guelinho's points of notation:
-Kaka stated that he loved Milan and wanted to stay there for life.
-Kaka had the final say in his move to Madrid
-If Kaka wanted was really faithful he would have stayed. Milan would have made a better effort to keep him because his relationship with the club and the supporters was so strong.

My points of notation:
-If Kaka was interested in the money he would have taken the more lucrative deal to Manchester City 6 months previous. His move was driven by prestigious football rather than cash
-Kaka wanted to remain at Milan but through negotiations the club and player decided it was best for both parties that he should move to Madrid.
-Kaka isn't the first player to leave a club that he would like to have remained at for life.

In the end, it is impossible for me to decide who is right. You obviously know my view. I look at it this way. People fall in love and tell each other that they will love that person forever. Still break ups and divorces happen. In a lot of cases it's not that the people don't love each other anymore, it's just things didn't work about between the two of them. It is obvious that Kaka still has love for Milan. Of course I am subject to ridicule. Being a Real Madrid supporter, it is natural for me to rush to the defence of my players. Here at FTF we want to know what you think. Chime in and let us know what your take on the issue is. I can only hope that the Milan faithful will give the Brazilian play maker a warm ovation on his return to his former home.

Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid,

Bobinho

Matter of Time and More to Come

Everyone knows that Cristiano Ronaldo has trained himself to become one of the most lethal free kick artist in the game today. You can see kids trying to mimic his actions in his trade mark wide stance before approaching the ball straight on with tiny steps, then finally dipping the ball over the wall and into the goal with blistering pace. His first bullet was highly anticipated by the Madridistas he entertains for a living nowadays. However the new CR9 struggled from set piece situations threw out the preseason, hitting shots agonizingly wide and off target.

Ronaldo was under a lot of pressure. He was and still is expected to be for Madrid as he was for the Red Devils if not more. Even one of the greatest players in the world finds a transition like this difficult Goal scoring is purely about confidence. You'll never meet a world class striker with confidence issues. If they are struggling with confidence issues, you won't see them scoring goals. It's more important than technique or getting into goal scoring positions. People have grown impatient waiting for these wondershots to reappear. I even heard of those doubting their return to existance, claiming he'll never be the same. That is nothing but nonsense. I sat back patiently (sometimes) and waited for the first freekick to sink. I knew as soon as Ronaldo put the first one away. There would be a monkey, no, a gorilla off his back. It's all mental. As soon as one realizes they still got it, confidence begins to grow again. I preached many times. As soon as the first one falls, the rest will come flowing right in. In Ronaldo's case, what better time to bag your first freekick with your new club in the Champions League open away in Switzerland? He opened the scoring from a freekick and even added another freekick, though poor effort on the goalkeepers part, in the 89th. Madrid won 5-2 over FC Zurich. I hate to say I told you so, but a little confidence is all that a player of CR9's caliber needs, a very small spark to put his set pieces in motion.

Now having written this, with the way the good Lord loves to play with my luck, the Portuguese international will go on a freekick drought. I'm only playing. Now that Ronaldo has his form back on freekicks, he will be level headed over the dead ball and even more eager to score from set plays.

Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid

Bobinho

Champions League Group Stage Breakdown.

The moment we've all been waiting for, Europe's premier club compeition has finally arrived. The group stage draw has raised some interesting questions and planned out some intruiging match ups. Eto'o, Ibrahimovic, and Kaka to make quick returns back to their former employers. Will they be well recieved? There are certain ties can decide who gets through to the next round and who bids an early farewell to a piece of prestigous silverwear. There is always a struggler. Who will miss out on the knock out stages? We all remember when the mighty Manchester United crashed from the group stage straight out of Europe a few years back. It could happen to anyone. Let's break down group by group and see whats brewing amongst Europe's best.

Group A:
Juventus
Bayern Munchen
Bordeaux
Maccabi Haifa

Okay, so on paper the giants, Juventus and Bayern Munchen, are going through here. The only reason they are evening meeting at this stage of the competition is because of Bayern's poor form in recent years in the tournament and their failure to even show up last time. Bayern Munchen look to be strong this season. They have transformed their squad with a bucket load of new names, Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben to name a few. They scalped Manchester United in the preseason after a 0-0 match went to penalties and have a lot of reputation to make up after being humiliated by Barcelona, last season's eventual champions, throttled them 5-1 on aggregate in the second knock out stage. Juve have also bolstered their squad with Brazilian editions of Diego and Felipe Melo. They look to be the only team that will realistically challenge Inter Milan in the Serie A and took down a monster of their own in preseason beating the Galacticos II 2-1 in the Peace Cup semifinals. Obviously the key match up is between the two. They meet on September 30th in Germany and again on the last match day fo the group stages December 8th. Both teams have tricky tests against the remaining members of the group. Bordeaux finally dethrowned the Lyon dynasty that dominated Ligue 1 for the last several years and have made a habit of putting themselves into the Champions League over the last few seasons. The away trips to Maccabi Haifi will be uncomfortable for oppositions. Little countries such as Isreal are difficult to go into and get a result because of the unfamiliar conditions the visitors will have to endure there. However, I, as many, pick them to finish at the bottom of group A.

Group B:
VfL Wolfsburg
Manchester United
Besiktas
CSKA Moscow

Manchester United, Wolfsburg, and Besiktas won't be looking forward to traveling to the Russian Captial. Making the trip to Russia is a painful experience. The distance is so far that the game has to be played earlier than the matches in Western Europe because the timezone difference is so great. Manchester United will be looking to get back to the final, but everyone knows they will have to do it without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlitos Tevez. Will their less star studded squad be able to use their experience to rise to European glory? I personally don't think we'll see them lifting the trophey but they will no doubt top the group. Wolfsburg managed to hold onto Dzeko in the transfer market and acquired Nigerian hitman, Martins, from sunken Newcastle. Besiktas is marred by the reputation of being humilated by Liverpool a couple of seasons back. I'll keep the scoreline to myself to save their blushes.

Group C:
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Marseille
FC Zurich

Group of Death? I'd think so if AC Milan wasn't being called the worst Milan team in 25 years. I'm not going to be labeling them that but their team needs work. Enough said. They have the potential to be great, they just need to put the ingrediants in the pot in the right order. Real Madrid found themselves in the second pot during the draw because their failure to exceed the knockout stage 5 years in a row now. Madrid and Milan meet October 21st and November 3rd Milan at the San Siro where Milan fans will have to watch former golden boy, Kaka, attack the goal that the Rossoneri are defending. He is expected to be well recieved and remains in good terms with the Milan faithful for his contributions to their club at his stay there for 6 years. Madrid have the most European Cups with 9 and will be looking for their 10th this season when the final is set to be held in Madrid at Real's home stadium, Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Milan are the second most successful team in the competition sporting 7 tropheys of their own. owever, don't rule out the French side, Marseille in this group. Traditionally, they are a power house in their domestic league and have surprised teams like Liverpool in recent years in the Champions League. FC Zurich should finish bottom on paper. The Austrian side simply do not have the strength to compete in this group despite being one of the more respectable sides that started off in the fourth pot durring the group stage draw.

Group D:
Chelsea
FC Porto
Atletico Madrid
APOEL

This group sure is an interesting one. Chelsea are the obvious candidate to top the group but the Porto vs Atletico is key here. The two sides met in knockout round last year in this competition where the Portuguese side went through on away goals only to be pushed out by Manchester United in the next round. Porto have lost key attacking power like Lopez to Lyon to be a potential replacement for Karim Benzema. Hulk will be their main attraction this season. His frame and speed are boosting him into more and more popularity amongst European monster club scouts. You can never rule out the Real Madrid city rival. They've been known to stir up some problems for Liverpool in the past. Their attack ranks skyward on the lethal scale with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan. APOEL should drift away like nobodies' business just like most of the teams in Pot 4. It will just be a kink in the other teams' plans to have to make a trip their. APOEL is just an inconveniance.

Group E:
Fiorentina
Lyon
Liverpool
Debrecen

I'll be keeping a good eye on this group. Liverpool has been either hit or miss so far this season in the EPL. They've already dropped 6 points and it's only mid way through September. Everyone knows the Prem is the strongest league in the world. Therefore it is not uncommon for someoneto say that teams like Aston Villa and Spurs (the two teams the Reds have conceded to) are just as good if not better teams that the likes of Fiorentina and Lyon. England only has so many spots for this competition. So maybe Liverpool will struggle against the former French Champions and La Viola. Lyon have lost their swagger so one may say. They are currently running the show in France's Ligue 1 but it's still very early in the season. We all know after many years in 1st place they were knocked off last season. They also lost last term's leading scorer in France in Karim Benzema to Real Madrid. Are they still as much as a threat? Every year a pretigous Italian team craps the bed in Serie A and fails to qualify for the Champions League. Last year that team was Roma and La Viola cashed in on it. They are a quality side and I know as well as the other teams in the group that they can not be taken lightly. Debrecen stand little chance of making the knockout stages. All they have going for them is no pressure to succeed. Who knows? Maybe they will sneak some points.

Group F:
Internazionale
Barcelona
Dynamo Kiev
FK Rubin Kazan

UEFA couldn't have planned a juicier tie than Inter vs Barcelona which will take place as early as tomorow. The Spanish Champions take on the Italian Champions. It's a brilliant match up all by itself, but we all know there is more to it than that. This summer, Inter and Barca swapped strikers Eto'o and Ibrahimovic. Who knew they would return to their former employers so soon. Samuel Eto'o is regarded almost as a god in Catalonia, winning more titles than I can count off the top of my head in his 5 year spell there. Zlatan was Serie A's leading scorer last year and lifted his fair share of trophies with the blue side of Milan. They will cross paths again. We know Eto'o can perform in Europe but we are still waiting for Ibra to make his mark. Obviously the clash of the two titans will decide who will win the group. Inevitably, both are going through. Dyanmo Kiev and FK Rubin are respectable sides but stand very little chance of topling over the towers called Barca and Inter. The two European power houses will have to focus on not over looking the parties from pot 3 and 4.

Group G:
Sevilla
Rangers
Stuttgart
Unirea Urziceni

This is a fun group for me. Notice there is not any mega teams in this one. This is due to Real Madrid's and Bayern Munchen's failures in Europe during recent times, knocking them into Pot 2, moving Sevilla up into Pot 1. With the exception on Unirea Urziceni, I rate the remaining three on the same plain of football. Perhaps one could argue the case that Rangers actually won their league last year apposed to the others who did not. However, the Scottish Premier League isn't the strongest league in Europe and I'd be willing to say Sevilla, though finishing 3rd in La Liga is just as good a side, as goes for Stuttgart. Sevilla have a great power in Luis Fabiano. You might expect the current Brazil number 9 to be playing at a bigger club. I mean don't think AC Milan didn't try to snatch him up this summer. He was brilliant in this summers Confedrations Cup. None of the other teams in this group have a striker of his caliber but I believe this one is up for grabs.

Group H:
AZ Alkmaar
Arsenal
Olympiakos
Standard Liege

Finally the last group, but last is not least in this case. It's facsinating in this Champions League from a Dutch perspective. Perhaps a shift in power? No Ajax. No PSV. We do however have AZ Alkmaar. Arsenal are expected to take the group and are boosted by succeeding in their appeal of the infamous Eduaro "witch hunt" dive incedent against Celtic a couple weeks ago. Standard Liege are tournament debuants and Olympiakos are always known to be stirring up trouble. The second place spot is anyone's really. Seeing as the teams that will be competing against the Gunners in this stage of the competion aren't as dangerous compared to those in other groups. I wouldn't be surprised if Wenger tries out some 6 or 7 year olds in the line up.

And there you have it ladies and gentlemen. The group stage preview. I'm sure there are many floating opinions out there so I hope to hear what you have to say. The Champions League is a truely magical tournament. One way or another, history will be made between now and May. I'm determined to whitness it.

Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid ;-)

Bobinho