Soler
Established Member
Originally posted Thursday, 16 December 2004 9:12 AM
FUSSBALL CLUB BAYERN MÜNCHEN
2nd Group C (6-3-1-2); 1st German Bundesliga (17-10-4-3)
The moment Group C was completed Franz Beckenbeur and Felix Magath would have been preparing for Bayern's assault on the knockout stages. Juventus would provide formidable opposition for Die Bayern, but they wouldn't face much trouble from a depleted and shadow of its former self Ajax, and competition wide minnows Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Second place was already guaranteed for the Germans before the first Matchday providing they didn't suffer any catastrophic results going against them, which, they did not.
The hardest away trip of the lot, however, was to the minnows like it so often is. Bayern began their campaign away to the Israeli champions Maccabi Tel-Aviv in what was the first ever UEFA Champions League match ever staged in the ancient land of Israel.
The match saw new Bayern coach Felix Magath deal with a long list of absentees, notably forwards Claudio Pizarro, Roque Santa Cruz and Vahid Hashemian, so Roy Makaay was left alone up front. Sebastian Deisler and Owen Hargreaves came into a five-man midfield in place of Hashemian and Andreas Görlitz, with Hasan Salihamidzic filling in at right-back. Zé Roberto drew a foul from Maccabi in the penalty box, from which Roy Makaay coolly slotted home.
A crushing 4-0 defeat of Ajax at home, in the Olympiastadion in Munich, followed that up on Matchday 2. Germany's biggest club put in a five-star performance against a dismal Ajax side that looked like nothing but part-timers as Roy Makaay scored a hat trick and Zé Roberto added one to leave Bayern equal first in the group going into the big clash with Juventus.
But the big clash in Turin against the Old Lady saw the Italians triumph, as Bayern suffered their first of two defeats in the competition. Bayern were out-of-sorts and never really clicked into the right gears to display the football they played against the Dutch champions. Pavel Nedved, so often the saviour of Juventus, latched onto a through ball curtesy of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The return tie weeks later saw Bayern defeated by the Bianconeri a second time. Bayern coach Felix Magath was forced to reshuffle his side with Brazilian Zé Roberto injured, so Schweinsteiger started at left-midfield, while Owen Hargreaves patrolled the middle with Michael Ballack. Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro returned to the European stage to play alongside Roy Makaay.
But the return of a flu stricken Alessandro Del Piero decided the match in the favour of the black and whites, as Juventus, once again, won the match with a goal to nil. This defeat, however, saw Bayern play properly with flowing, attacking football as opposed to the off pace dish served in Turin – but it just wasn't enough to break down a Capello side.
Second place was already guaranteed before a ball was kicked, even if Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv were only a game behind. Bayern solidified their second position by destroying the Israeli's at home, 5-1 with Pizarro, Salihamidzic, Frings and two from Makaay wrapping second up.
The 2-2 draw on Matchday 6 against Ajax was meaningless for the Germans who had nothing to play for, and finished on a ten points – had they been in our group, they would have been group winners because I'm sure they wouldn't have dropped points like Arsenal did.
Arsenal has already met Bayern Munich before. Before our first trip to the Quarter Finals in the Champions League, Arsenal was placed in the same group as Bayern Munich, along with Lyon and Spartak Moscow. Then, Arsenal managed to draw 2-2 with Bayern at Highbury but a tenth minute Elber goal sunk Arsenal in Munich.
It's this reason why I hope Arsenal don't play Bayern again, because we've already 'been there, done that' with Bayern. I'm sure if drawn against them again, that it'd still be a fantastic tie, but I like the magic of playing somebody new ... unfortunately, Bayern Munich are my red hot tip to the team Arsenal draw for the knockout stages.
Their brand of disciplined and static football would, however, prove a real test for Arsenal and a victory over Die Bayern would certainly give Arsenal a real, confident boost in a feeble attempt to win the Champions League.
SPORT VEREIN WERDER BREMEN
2nd Group G (6-4-1-1); 4th German Bundesliga (17-8-4-5)
Last season's Bundesliga champions enter the Champions League for only the second time since its inception. Werder, naturally given direct qualification to the Champions League were placed in the fourth pot for the draw held last August, and were placed in Group G: Valencia CF, FC Internazionale and RSC Anderlecht joined the relatively unknown Germans in that group. As expected, Werder were the odds on favourite to parachute down into the UEFA Cup with the Spanish and Italian giants duking it out for first, but how different it turned out to be ...
Werder's second ever Champions League appearance couldn't have started on a worse note: away, in the San Siro, they conceded a penalty after just five minutes, and Valérien Ismaël was sent off. However, Christian Vieri missed from the spot and shot straight into Andreas Reinke's waiting arms. The Bremen goalkeeper's heroics inspired his team and Inter initially struggled to make their one-man advantage count.
But the game took a decisive turn in the 34th minute when, in a near-repeat of the Ismaël incident, Adriano was tripped just inside the penalty area. This time it was Juan Sebastián Verón with the pass though Michel deemed Frank Baumann's challenge worthy of a yellow card. Replacing Vieri as penalty-taker, Adriano delivered a clinical strike that sent Reinke the wrong way.
A fiery encounter at the Weserstadion between the German and Spanish champions brought Bremen level with Valencia in the group standings in second place. Valencia shocked the large home crowd by going ahead after only 90 seconds through Vicente Rodríguez. Bremen came back in the second half, however, and following the dismissal of Carlos Marchena deservedly equalised through Miroslav Klose, before winning the match six minutes from time when the unmarked Angelos Charisteas turned in a pinpoint cross from Ivan Klasnic.
Werder Bremen took full use of the fact that the two big guns of the group – Valencia and Inter – would be playing each other in Matchday 3 while the Germans would travel the short distance to Brussels to play Anderlecht. A 5-1 hammering of Valencia care of Inter left Bremen sitting clear second following their 2-1 win over Anderlecht.
Ivan Klasnic proved to be the hero on the night, scoring two goals after Swede Wilhelmsson put the Belgians in front. The score reflected the sort of game it was: tight, cagy and close, but Bremen had far too much quality to fend off the lively Wilhelmsson and his endeavours to bring Anderlecht level.
The return tie in Germany further gave the Germans a stake to be in the second phase of the competition. Werder smashed Anderlecht 5-1 while Inter and Valencia played out a stalemate in the Fashion capital of Europe; the Germans had one foot in the next phase already with nine points as opposed to Valencia's disappointing haul of four. On that night, Ivan Klasnic scored a hat trick and Klose and Jensen chimed in with late goals as well.
A draw in Germany against Inter set the Germans up quite nicely to progress. Ismaël's penalty and Martins' equaliser had Werder sitting pretty with ten points, whereas Valencia only had seven. On Matchday 6 Valencia only had to win 1-0 to draw level with Werder and progress on head-to-head by virtue of having scored an away goal.
Despite the fact Ranieri's team had been regaining form prior to this match and were able to field familiar names like Mista, Pablo Aimar and Miguel Ángel Angulo it was clear that, as Ranieri had predicted, Bremen were the more smoothly oiled machine. Bremen performed as the ex-Chelsea boss had predicted and Nelson Valdez sent Werder into the second round.
Heartbreak for Valencia happened when Valérien Ismaël's long ball was missed by Emiliano Moretti and Valdez rounded Cañizares to score. Trouble broke out at the end when former Arsenal target Angulo received a red card for his bad foul on Valdez and then a fight broke out during with both Ismaël and Vicente trading punches, both players were only booked. After the free-kick was finally taken, Tim Borowski crossed for Valdez to score his second.
Like Bayern and Barça, we get a sense of déjà vu if we're drawn against SV Werder Bremen. Arsenal and the team from northern Germany met during our almost successful 1999/00 UEFA Cup campaign, oddly enough following elimination from the group that contained FC Barcelona!
It was a fifth round tie when Arsenal faced off against Werder. Both sides comfortably had progressed to the next stage: Arsenal 6-3 Deportivo La Coruña (agg.); Parma 2-3 Bremen (agg.). At Highbury, the then-young Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg gave Arsenal a 2-0 leverage over the Germans. In Germany Henry was on target again, but so was Ray Parlour who chimed in with three goals, Henry was also sent off in the 63rd minute for serious foul play. But like Barcelona, that is a completely different Werder Bremen team compared to then. Thomas Schaaf is still the manager, but the playing staff is still the same.
Should the English and German champions meet, the match would an interesting one. Both teams like to play flowing, open football with an emphasis on attack minded play. It's a different Werder from the one we beat 6-2 on aggregate five years ago, just like it's a different Arsenal.
FUSSBALL CLUB BAYERN MÜNCHEN
2nd Group C (6-3-1-2); 1st German Bundesliga (17-10-4-3)
The moment Group C was completed Franz Beckenbeur and Felix Magath would have been preparing for Bayern's assault on the knockout stages. Juventus would provide formidable opposition for Die Bayern, but they wouldn't face much trouble from a depleted and shadow of its former self Ajax, and competition wide minnows Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Second place was already guaranteed for the Germans before the first Matchday providing they didn't suffer any catastrophic results going against them, which, they did not.
The hardest away trip of the lot, however, was to the minnows like it so often is. Bayern began their campaign away to the Israeli champions Maccabi Tel-Aviv in what was the first ever UEFA Champions League match ever staged in the ancient land of Israel.
The match saw new Bayern coach Felix Magath deal with a long list of absentees, notably forwards Claudio Pizarro, Roque Santa Cruz and Vahid Hashemian, so Roy Makaay was left alone up front. Sebastian Deisler and Owen Hargreaves came into a five-man midfield in place of Hashemian and Andreas Görlitz, with Hasan Salihamidzic filling in at right-back. Zé Roberto drew a foul from Maccabi in the penalty box, from which Roy Makaay coolly slotted home.
A crushing 4-0 defeat of Ajax at home, in the Olympiastadion in Munich, followed that up on Matchday 2. Germany's biggest club put in a five-star performance against a dismal Ajax side that looked like nothing but part-timers as Roy Makaay scored a hat trick and Zé Roberto added one to leave Bayern equal first in the group going into the big clash with Juventus.
But the big clash in Turin against the Old Lady saw the Italians triumph, as Bayern suffered their first of two defeats in the competition. Bayern were out-of-sorts and never really clicked into the right gears to display the football they played against the Dutch champions. Pavel Nedved, so often the saviour of Juventus, latched onto a through ball curtesy of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The return tie weeks later saw Bayern defeated by the Bianconeri a second time. Bayern coach Felix Magath was forced to reshuffle his side with Brazilian Zé Roberto injured, so Schweinsteiger started at left-midfield, while Owen Hargreaves patrolled the middle with Michael Ballack. Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro returned to the European stage to play alongside Roy Makaay.
But the return of a flu stricken Alessandro Del Piero decided the match in the favour of the black and whites, as Juventus, once again, won the match with a goal to nil. This defeat, however, saw Bayern play properly with flowing, attacking football as opposed to the off pace dish served in Turin – but it just wasn't enough to break down a Capello side.
Second place was already guaranteed before a ball was kicked, even if Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv were only a game behind. Bayern solidified their second position by destroying the Israeli's at home, 5-1 with Pizarro, Salihamidzic, Frings and two from Makaay wrapping second up.
The 2-2 draw on Matchday 6 against Ajax was meaningless for the Germans who had nothing to play for, and finished on a ten points – had they been in our group, they would have been group winners because I'm sure they wouldn't have dropped points like Arsenal did.
Arsenal has already met Bayern Munich before. Before our first trip to the Quarter Finals in the Champions League, Arsenal was placed in the same group as Bayern Munich, along with Lyon and Spartak Moscow. Then, Arsenal managed to draw 2-2 with Bayern at Highbury but a tenth minute Elber goal sunk Arsenal in Munich.
It's this reason why I hope Arsenal don't play Bayern again, because we've already 'been there, done that' with Bayern. I'm sure if drawn against them again, that it'd still be a fantastic tie, but I like the magic of playing somebody new ... unfortunately, Bayern Munich are my red hot tip to the team Arsenal draw for the knockout stages.
Their brand of disciplined and static football would, however, prove a real test for Arsenal and a victory over Die Bayern would certainly give Arsenal a real, confident boost in a feeble attempt to win the Champions League.
SPORT VEREIN WERDER BREMEN
2nd Group G (6-4-1-1); 4th German Bundesliga (17-8-4-5)
Last season's Bundesliga champions enter the Champions League for only the second time since its inception. Werder, naturally given direct qualification to the Champions League were placed in the fourth pot for the draw held last August, and were placed in Group G: Valencia CF, FC Internazionale and RSC Anderlecht joined the relatively unknown Germans in that group. As expected, Werder were the odds on favourite to parachute down into the UEFA Cup with the Spanish and Italian giants duking it out for first, but how different it turned out to be ...
Werder's second ever Champions League appearance couldn't have started on a worse note: away, in the San Siro, they conceded a penalty after just five minutes, and Valérien Ismaël was sent off. However, Christian Vieri missed from the spot and shot straight into Andreas Reinke's waiting arms. The Bremen goalkeeper's heroics inspired his team and Inter initially struggled to make their one-man advantage count.
But the game took a decisive turn in the 34th minute when, in a near-repeat of the Ismaël incident, Adriano was tripped just inside the penalty area. This time it was Juan Sebastián Verón with the pass though Michel deemed Frank Baumann's challenge worthy of a yellow card. Replacing Vieri as penalty-taker, Adriano delivered a clinical strike that sent Reinke the wrong way.
A fiery encounter at the Weserstadion between the German and Spanish champions brought Bremen level with Valencia in the group standings in second place. Valencia shocked the large home crowd by going ahead after only 90 seconds through Vicente Rodríguez. Bremen came back in the second half, however, and following the dismissal of Carlos Marchena deservedly equalised through Miroslav Klose, before winning the match six minutes from time when the unmarked Angelos Charisteas turned in a pinpoint cross from Ivan Klasnic.
Werder Bremen took full use of the fact that the two big guns of the group – Valencia and Inter – would be playing each other in Matchday 3 while the Germans would travel the short distance to Brussels to play Anderlecht. A 5-1 hammering of Valencia care of Inter left Bremen sitting clear second following their 2-1 win over Anderlecht.
Ivan Klasnic proved to be the hero on the night, scoring two goals after Swede Wilhelmsson put the Belgians in front. The score reflected the sort of game it was: tight, cagy and close, but Bremen had far too much quality to fend off the lively Wilhelmsson and his endeavours to bring Anderlecht level.
The return tie in Germany further gave the Germans a stake to be in the second phase of the competition. Werder smashed Anderlecht 5-1 while Inter and Valencia played out a stalemate in the Fashion capital of Europe; the Germans had one foot in the next phase already with nine points as opposed to Valencia's disappointing haul of four. On that night, Ivan Klasnic scored a hat trick and Klose and Jensen chimed in with late goals as well.
A draw in Germany against Inter set the Germans up quite nicely to progress. Ismaël's penalty and Martins' equaliser had Werder sitting pretty with ten points, whereas Valencia only had seven. On Matchday 6 Valencia only had to win 1-0 to draw level with Werder and progress on head-to-head by virtue of having scored an away goal.
Despite the fact Ranieri's team had been regaining form prior to this match and were able to field familiar names like Mista, Pablo Aimar and Miguel Ángel Angulo it was clear that, as Ranieri had predicted, Bremen were the more smoothly oiled machine. Bremen performed as the ex-Chelsea boss had predicted and Nelson Valdez sent Werder into the second round.
Heartbreak for Valencia happened when Valérien Ismaël's long ball was missed by Emiliano Moretti and Valdez rounded Cañizares to score. Trouble broke out at the end when former Arsenal target Angulo received a red card for his bad foul on Valdez and then a fight broke out during with both Ismaël and Vicente trading punches, both players were only booked. After the free-kick was finally taken, Tim Borowski crossed for Valdez to score his second.
Like Bayern and Barça, we get a sense of déjà vu if we're drawn against SV Werder Bremen. Arsenal and the team from northern Germany met during our almost successful 1999/00 UEFA Cup campaign, oddly enough following elimination from the group that contained FC Barcelona!
It was a fifth round tie when Arsenal faced off against Werder. Both sides comfortably had progressed to the next stage: Arsenal 6-3 Deportivo La Coruña (agg.); Parma 2-3 Bremen (agg.). At Highbury, the then-young Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg gave Arsenal a 2-0 leverage over the Germans. In Germany Henry was on target again, but so was Ray Parlour who chimed in with three goals, Henry was also sent off in the 63rd minute for serious foul play. But like Barcelona, that is a completely different Werder Bremen team compared to then. Thomas Schaaf is still the manager, but the playing staff is still the same.
Should the English and German champions meet, the match would an interesting one. Both teams like to play flowing, open football with an emphasis on attack minded play. It's a different Werder from the one we beat 6-2 on aggregate five years ago, just like it's a different Arsenal.
