By Fahim Alam.
The Dutch powerhouse have had a disappointing summer, losing some of their most influential players in their former captain Vertonghen, midfield enforcer Vurnon Anita, wing-back Van Der Wiel and veteran midfielder Theo Janssen among others.
They have also reinforced with a number of players, the pick of which would be Dutch winger Ryan Babel and seasoned Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen. Therefore the weight of this Ajax team will be on the young shoulders of free-scoring striker, and current Ajax captain, Siem de Jong and midfield maestro Christian Eriksen.
New signing Niklas Moisander will face the daunting task of defending against the likes of Aguero, Ronaldo, Lewandowski. However, the star of Ajax is their excellent team of talented coaches under the tutelage of their charismatic manager Frank de Boer, upon whom falls the duty to devise a plan to unlock the resilient defense of Real, City and Dortmund.
With the loss of important players, and addition of untested and inexperienced players, they are not expected to progress further than the group stage by many. However, Champions League is always full of surprises, so never say never.
Manchester City
Unsurprisingly, they have splashed cash again to reinforce their midfield, which seemed to lack the presence of a deep-lying playmaker last season - and they still lack one - with Yaya Toure playing as an all-action box-to-box midfielder & Barry doing the dirty work in front of the defense. With De Jong leaving the club, Rodwell was signed in a £12m deal from Everton; while García was signed for £15.8m from Benfica,
PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR: Luka Modric.
Following Chelsea’s shock triumph over
Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, where Chelsea’s dogged performance helped
to hold out a 1-1 score line before the penalties, with Peter Cech’s heroics
and Robben’s penalty miss finally presenting Roman Abrahimovich with his long
cherished ‘holy grail’ – the Champions League Trophy.
This year, the Champions League is back
and it never fails to bring out the excitement among the ardent football fans.
Following the draw, the highlight of which was ‘Group D’ – which inherited the
‘Group of Death’ title, where the Champions of England, Germany, Spain and
Holland will face off each-other, looks to be the most exciting group of the
draw.
Ajax
The Dutch powerhouse have had a disappointing summer, losing some of their most influential players in their former captain Vertonghen, midfield enforcer Vurnon Anita, wing-back Van Der Wiel and veteran midfielder Theo Janssen among others.
They have also reinforced with a number of players, the pick of which would be Dutch winger Ryan Babel and seasoned Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen. Therefore the weight of this Ajax team will be on the young shoulders of free-scoring striker, and current Ajax captain, Siem de Jong and midfield maestro Christian Eriksen.
New signing Niklas Moisander will face the daunting task of defending against the likes of Aguero, Ronaldo, Lewandowski. However, the star of Ajax is their excellent team of talented coaches under the tutelage of their charismatic manager Frank de Boer, upon whom falls the duty to devise a plan to unlock the resilient defense of Real, City and Dortmund.
With the loss of important players, and addition of untested and inexperienced players, they are not expected to progress further than the group stage by many. However, Champions League is always full of surprises, so never say never.
PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR: Siem De Jong
Manchester City
Following their dramatic last-game title
win, thanks to an astounding injury time goal from Aguero, Manchester City
enters the Champions League this season in a bullish mood. Backed by the
limitless wealth of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed, the Blues participated in
their maiden Champions League voyage last season, only to hit the iceberg early
on in the group stage.
Real Madrid, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund bring 14 European Cups between them, with City being the newbies in this group. However, they have a very good shot at progressing from this group this time around. Having an expensively assembled squad with the likes of Yaya Toure, Aguero, Dzeko, Balotelli, Tevez among others, under the leadership of uncompromising captain Kompany, Mancini certainly has a squad capable of competing with the European elites.
Real Madrid, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund bring 14 European Cups between them, with City being the newbies in this group. However, they have a very good shot at progressing from this group this time around. Having an expensively assembled squad with the likes of Yaya Toure, Aguero, Dzeko, Balotelli, Tevez among others, under the leadership of uncompromising captain Kompany, Mancini certainly has a squad capable of competing with the European elites.
Unsurprisingly, they have splashed cash again to reinforce their midfield, which seemed to lack the presence of a deep-lying playmaker last season - and they still lack one - with Yaya Toure playing as an all-action box-to-box midfielder & Barry doing the dirty work in front of the defense. With De Jong leaving the club, Rodwell was signed in a £12m deal from Everton; while García was signed for £15.8m from Benfica,
Despite that, the team may face still a
difficult midfield battle and it remains to be seen how their defense deals
with the likes of Ronaldo, Reus and de Jong. Nevertheless, this new squad will
face their sternest European challenge competing against the former European
Champions, but with a team that has been playing together for more than a year,
they certainly have a chance of progressing further than the group stage this
season.
PLAYER
TO WATCH OUT FOR: Aguero
Borussia
Dortmund
The high-flying young Germans won the Bundesliga title last season, overcoming the challenge of the German giants Bayern Munich, with a young, talented and exciting team, playing some eye-catching attacking football.
A former winner of the Champions league title during the 1996-97, the young team showed great promise and has blossomed under their young coach Jürgen Klopp.
Despite not splashing out big in the transfer market, unlike the Bavarians, Dortmund are known for plucking out rough diamonds out of wilderness and shaping then into some of the finest.
One of their finest and most influential players of last season, Shinji Kagawa has moved on to ply his trade with Manchester United. But this time Dortmund has reinforced with the signing of exciting German youngster Marco Reus for a reported 17.5 million euros along with forward Julian Schieber, and 0midfielders Oliver Kirch and Leonardo Bittencourt have been added to their ranks.
Moreover, they have resisted interests from all over Europe for their star striker Lewandowski. In German internationals Mario Goetze and Mat Hummels, Dortmund boasts some of the finest German talents. However, as exciting and talented the team may look, experience has always been vital in Champions League and they will be highly tested against the champions of some of the biggest leagues in Europe.
The high-flying young Germans won the Bundesliga title last season, overcoming the challenge of the German giants Bayern Munich, with a young, talented and exciting team, playing some eye-catching attacking football.
A former winner of the Champions league title during the 1996-97, the young team showed great promise and has blossomed under their young coach Jürgen Klopp.
Despite not splashing out big in the transfer market, unlike the Bavarians, Dortmund are known for plucking out rough diamonds out of wilderness and shaping then into some of the finest.
One of their finest and most influential players of last season, Shinji Kagawa has moved on to ply his trade with Manchester United. But this time Dortmund has reinforced with the signing of exciting German youngster Marco Reus for a reported 17.5 million euros along with forward Julian Schieber, and 0midfielders Oliver Kirch and Leonardo Bittencourt have been added to their ranks.
Moreover, they have resisted interests from all over Europe for their star striker Lewandowski. In German internationals Mario Goetze and Mat Hummels, Dortmund boasts some of the finest German talents. However, as exciting and talented the team may look, experience has always been vital in Champions League and they will be highly tested against the champions of some of the biggest leagues in Europe.
PLAYER TO WATCH
OUT FOR: MARIO GOETZE
Real Madrid
32nd La Liga title, 100
points, 121 goals – Real Madrid had a record breaking season last season,
finally winning the La Liga title after a wait of four years, and in quite a
spectacular fashion.
However, Champions League has still been their own weakness and once again they have fallen victim to the heroics of Bayern Munich shot-stopper Manuel Neuer in the Champions League final.
This year, they are back, chasing the elusive La Decima. After a summer long drama, they finally got their man and signed Luka Modric from Tottenham and, in the final minutes of transfer season, also secured a loan deal for Michael Essien from Chelsea.
There have also been outgoings from Real, with squad players Altintop, Lass and fan-favorite Granero all exiting the Bernabeu. However, they have had a stuttering start to the campaign with a draw and a defeat in their first two matches.
In order to win the Champions League, they must get back to their best and hope the attacking trident of Ronaldo, Benzema and Higuain are all fit and firing, flanked by assist machines Ozil and Di Maria.
Real Madrid have always been dominant in their group stages, progressing as group champions in most seasons. This time around, they will have a bigger challenge and they will need to stay focused and consistent, and hope that luck is on their side too. Can Real Madrid finally banish their Champions League hoodoo and finally win the La Decima?
However, Champions League has still been their own weakness and once again they have fallen victim to the heroics of Bayern Munich shot-stopper Manuel Neuer in the Champions League final.
This year, they are back, chasing the elusive La Decima. After a summer long drama, they finally got their man and signed Luka Modric from Tottenham and, in the final minutes of transfer season, also secured a loan deal for Michael Essien from Chelsea.
There have also been outgoings from Real, with squad players Altintop, Lass and fan-favorite Granero all exiting the Bernabeu. However, they have had a stuttering start to the campaign with a draw and a defeat in their first two matches.
In order to win the Champions League, they must get back to their best and hope the attacking trident of Ronaldo, Benzema and Higuain are all fit and firing, flanked by assist machines Ozil and Di Maria.
Real Madrid have always been dominant in their group stages, progressing as group champions in most seasons. This time around, they will have a bigger challenge and they will need to stay focused and consistent, and hope that luck is on their side too. Can Real Madrid finally banish their Champions League hoodoo and finally win the La Decima?
PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR: Luka Modric.
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