The road to Lisbon begins this week with the UEFA Champions League group stage kicking off, featuring 32 of European club soccer’s best teams.
It seems like only a few days ago that Bayern Munich was hoisting the trophy aloft at Wembley following a dramatic victory over Borussia Dortmund in an all-German final.
Now the fun is set to begin all over again. Here are eight storylines to keep an eye on this season.
Tuesday programming alert: Watch Manchester United v Bayer Leverkusen (on Sportsnet), FC Copenhagen v Juventus (on Sportsnet ONE), Galatasaray v Real Madrid (on Sportsnet 360) and Bayern Munich v CSKA Moscow (on Sportsnet World). Also, watch these four games exclusively on Sportsnet World Online: Olympiacos v Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica v Anderlecht, Real Sociedad v Shakhtar Donetsk and Viktoria Plzen v Manchester City. Live coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 pm PT. | TV schedule
Wednesday programming alert: Watch AC Milan v Celtic (on Sportsnet), Barcelona v Ajax (on Sportsnet ONE), Marseille v Arsenal (on Sportsnet 360) and Chelsea v Basel (on Sportsnet World). Also, watch these four games exclusively on Sportsnet World Online: Schalke 04 v Steaua Bucuresti, Napoli v Borussia Dortmund, Atlético Madrid v Zenit St. Petersburg and Austria Wien v FC Porto. Live coverage begins at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 pm PT. | TV schedule
Bayern and the champions’ curse
No team has retained the Champions League title in the modern era of the tournament. (AC Milan won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, but that was before the current group stage format was introduced and the European Cup was rechristened the Champions League). Winning the Champions League is hard enough. Repeating has proven to be impossible. But Bayern Munich looks poised to finally do it. The Bavarians are even stronger than they were last season thanks to the addition of midfielder Mario Gotze, and in new coach Pep Guardiola, they boast one of the best tacticians in the game, to say nothing of the fact he’s already won the Champions League twice as a manager.
Bale hits the big stage
Gareth Bale has been here before, of course. He did his reputation no harm when he netted an impressive hat trick against Inter Milan at San Siro during the 2010-11 Champions League. But this is much different. He made the move from Tottenham to Real Madrid so he could play regular Champions League soccer and prove he’s an elite star. Now he has the chance. Combine this with the fact that he’s the most expensive player in history, and that Real Madrid is still desperately seeking la decimal (a tenth title), and the pressure will be on Bale to duplicate his sublime form for Spurs in recent years with los blancos. No pressure, then.
Barcelona looks to rebound
For years, Barcelona was almost universally recognized as the best club on the planet, winning over neutrals with their tiki-taka football and with Lionel Messi’s penchant for scoring lots and lots of goals. Even when they managed to fall short in the Champions League, there was a feeling that they were the uncrowned champions. That changed last season following an embarrassing semifinal defeat to Bayern Munich that saw the Germans win 7-0 on aggregate. Many critics said that series marked the changing of the guard. The Catalans, though, have regrouped and brought in a number of reinforcements over the summer, including Brazilian star Neymar, and they are eager to prove they are anything but a spent force.
English clubs try to restore pride
Last season’s Champions League was not the best advertisement for English club soccer. All four Premier League sides crashed out of the tournament by the end of the second round, marking the first time since 1996 that no English team qualified for the quarter-finals. Manchester City, in particular, was dreadful, as the then-reigning English champions bowed out in the group stage for the second year running. The four Premier League teams in this season’s tournament (both Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Chelsea) went on major shopping sprees during the summer transfer window, and look set to make amends and restore English pride.
Soccer Central: Need to catch up on the latest soccer news from across Canada and around the world? Tune into Soccer Central, hosted by James Sharman and Brendan Dunlop, airing Monday to Thursday and Sunday on Sportsnet World and Sportsnet ONE at 7pm ET. Also, be sure to catch Soccer Central Roundtable, Friday’s at 9:30pm ET on Sportsnet World.
PSG flexes its muscles
You don’t spend €64 million on striker Edinson Cavani without expecting a major return on your investment. Paris Saint-Germain lured Cavani, and a host of other marquee summer signings, to the city that never sleeps in the expectation that they will propel the French champions to the next level in European club soccer. Last year PSG succumbed to Barcelona on the away goals rule in the quarter-finals, but there was a feeling that the French were the better side over the two legs. Now with Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic featuring in one of the most expensive rosters ever assembled, PSG will be looking to assert itself on the biggest stage in club soccer and become a dominant force in Europe.
Is Juventus for real?
Juventus put in a decent account of itself last season, winning another Serie A crown and topping a difficult Champions League group before being eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The Italian giants already had one of the best midfield cores in Europe, boasting the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio. But with the summer additions of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente, the bianconeri bolstered their attack with two noted goal scorers, both of whom have a point to prove. All other teams have been warned: Beware of Juventus.
Cinderella Celtic
What can Celtic do for an encore? Last season the Scottish champions earned a historic upset victory over Barcelona at home, a result that helped them survive a tough group and advance to the knockout round. Then in this season’s third-round qualifiers they overcame a 2-0 deficit versus Shakhter Karagandy of Kazakhstan and earned a dramatic 3-0 win at home in the return leg to book their spot in the group stage. All eyes will be on Celtic again to see what kind of magic they will be able to wield. Grouped with Barcelona again, as well as AC Milan and Ajax, the Hoops will have plenty of chances to make their diehard fans dream.
No goal-line technology
The English Premier League has employed goal-line technology since the start of the season. Goal-line technology will also be used at next year’s World Cup in Brazil. But the Champions League won’t avail itself of the service when judging contentious goals, as UEFA president Michel Platini remains opposed to the technology. Instead, UEFA will continue to use an alternative system of having two extra linesmen, one on each goal-line. Interestingly, Premier League teams playing Champions League matches will have to switch the system off. Let’s hope for Platini’s sake we can make it through the entire tournament without any “Frank Lampard vs. Germany” moments.
The Soccer Show with Nigel Reed: Tune in to Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s every Thursday at 8pm ET to listen to The Soccer Show, Canada’s foremost soccer weekly co-hosted by Nigel Reed and ex-NASL champion Bob Iarusci. For more details and to listen to past shows, CLICK HERE