Who will win the Champions League this season? ('14-'15)
 

Right - the Champions Leagues is about to kick off and it's all Deja Vu it seems.

Bayern vs. City
Dortmund vs. Arsenal
Chelsea vs. Schalke
Barcelona vs. PSG

All the same as last year's?

Anyhow - this time I won't write a detailed analysis because I am pretty much certain Bayern will take it home! The final is in Berlin. With Lewandowski and Xabi Alonso they got just the players they still needed. Benatia brought some additional class in defense. And yes, Martinez and Thiago are injured, but, they'll be back for the second half of the season. I can't possible see beyond them. And neither can the bookies :D. Top favourite again. Hope they're right!!!

Bayern will win, but I'd love to see Atletico Madrid win in Berlin. That'd be fantastic for Diego Simeone who certainly deserves a UCL title to his name. Even after losing key players to Chelsea, Atleti were still able to bring the sparkly Real to shame.

Aside from the Simeone, Arsene Wenger is another one who thoroughly deserves the UCL (although I'm biased towards my club, Arsenal). Overall very excited this year :D

My predictions:

Bayern 2-0 City
Dortmund 1 - 2 Arsenal
Chelsea 3 - 0 Schalke
Barca 1-1 PSG

Very poor performance from Liverpool tonight. That wasn't the way I wanted us to play our first game back. It was the win I wanted of course, but the performance was extremely poor.

Balotelli is a signing I am made up with. He has huge potential and on his day is unstoppable but he doesn't fit our style of play (at the moment) We need the Suarez/Sturridge sort of player to open up the defence but Balotelli doesn't do that. He is very central and lets the defenders organize themselves.

Borini actually opened them up a bit when he came on and that is what we needed and it worked for the team.

I hope we put in a better performance than that in our next game because they are the weak ones in our group and we was at home and just about got the result.

That was super lucky from Liverpool. Their goalie just messed it up.
But the team to watch yesterday was Dortmund. My god those boys play football. They need to do something about their conversion rate though - they should have scored 4 or 5 easily.

Really excited about Bayern - City tonight though :D

Agreed. We didn't look anything like the team we was last season. We haven't at all yet, really. Glimpses against Spurs.

It's not just Liverpool though. It might be a little early but again - I can't see any English team in the top 4. If they don't play against each other before, I feel it's between Real, Barcelona, Bayern and Dortmund. Of course there's potentially the odd surprise - which could be Chelsea, PSG or Atletico - but again, under normal circumstances, it won't happen. These 4 are just too strong for Europe.

Bring on City now. No Robben, no Ribery, no Alcantara, no Schweinsteiger, no Javi Martinez...still, I expect a solid 2 goal difference result :D

I don't know. I'm not saying that teams wont make it to the finals because I think that Chelsea at the moment look strong enough to go all the way in every tournament.

In terms of Liverpool, I think we have changed our team far too much after what was our best season for years. Their are 6 or 7 players who have barely played with eachother before all playing now. For me, that's too much as it's over half of the starting 11. Even the subs are players who are new or who have barely played.

Solid performance against City. In the end it was lucky - but totally deserved :D. So happy it's Champions League time again :D

What can I say? Just absolutely shocking from the start. We need Sturridge back ASAP. Someone who will do Balotelli's job because he will not move! He is a great player WHEN he tries. A really great player, even.

I fear Real Madrid now. I didn't, but I do now.

I'm just glad that you ended up with Balotelli and we bought Welbeck. After all the majority of Gooners would've preferred the former ;)

1-7! 'Nough said! I love this team and at the moment, it's just pure and utter joy being their fan!!!

Hate Arsenal with a passion anyway, but last night just made it worse...

On the plus side, Liverpool looking as spectacular as ever. And Brendan Rodgers had the cheek to say that they "wouldn't do a Spurs", yet it's pretty much exactly what they are doing!

You a Spurs man? Well the Gunners saved some face, but it was an absolutely lacklustre performance. These last-gasp winners are not ideal. I'd be satisfied with them getting out of the group and not progressing any further. I wish they performed in the BPL and FA cup again;) We certainly don't deserve to make the UCL final.

The Liverpool-Real game was quite spectacular. Liverpool played fairly well I thought, but Real outclassed them. Balotelli's current form is atrocious - I reiterate my relief for Arsenal not signing him.

I guess that's what unlimited money buys in the footballing world!

Unlimited money? You do realise Bayern has no 'owner' like a Russian billionaire or a Sheikh or who knows what (unlike Chelsea, City or PSG). The club is owned by the fan associations! I am basically an owner of that club myself! All the money has come organically. We have ONLY spent 50 million Euros on transfers this summer. Compare that to Real or Barcelona. It's even less than Dortmund spent. So where does this whole 'unlimited' money theory come from? It's just an extremely well run club. "We are who we are" :D

I'm not saying that they are simply successful due to the riches of their owner (like Man City or Chelsea). Yes they're run extremely well, which has earned them a huge amount of money which they have spent well. They now have star names in pretty much every position. They have a huge fan base and huge wages for their players. Most importantly their players are fairly loyal and you have stars like Lahm, Muller, Robben and Ribery who have been at the club for a while, and are continued to be paid generously. Dortmund have had to spend big as their stars get poached by other big clubs (including Bayern) as they are seen as more ambitious or prestigious.

So in other words, Bayern have more than earned their spending power, and their success in domestic competitions and the UCL have enabled them to retain top quality players. They ain't called FC Hollywood for nothing! ;)

KS

That is a very different story from 'unlimited' money. This squad was not built with infinite money but with a great youth academy (Schweinstriger, Lahm, Mueller, Alaba, Badstuber,) and very well targeted transfers, that rarely cost more than 25 million (only exceptions are Goetze, Martinez and Benatia). Our total transfer fees over the last 10 years were less than Liverpool's for example.

The reasons they WERE called FC Hollywood in the late 90s was not necessarily because of the many stars, in fact there weren't that many, but mostly because of the ego of a few. Specifically Juergen Klinsmann and Lotthar Matthaeus. They used to clash and fight and behave like divas so the press labeled them FC Hollywood. Those days are long over though.

I understand that they're in a totally different boat to the rest in that regard, but teams like Liverpool have to pay very large sums for players that Bayern could get for much less as Bayern are considered to be one of, if not the best team in the world at the moment. Everyone wants to play for them. That, coupled with the fact that they are very successful in every competition and that they have a strong and committed fans' association, results in a club that may as well have unlimited money as they can buy any player they want and poach talent from rivals.

I was over-exaggerating in my initial comment. What I was trying to say is that Bayern are in a position that, if they screw up it's definitely not that they lack player quality in any area ;) unlike my poor old Arsenal :sad:

This is going in totally different directions now ... I still think you don't really make sense.
How could Bayern get players for much less? Maybe if we speak about salary, yes, a player would prefer to play for Bayern for 2 million less a year than for Liverpool simply because of the prestige and so on (look at Guardiola, he coaches Bayern for 6 million euros a year less than Chelsea/ ManU would have offered).But when we talk about transfer fees - why on Earth would a team sell a player for less money to Bayern? That does not happen. On the contrary. As I mentioned, two of our highest signings were totally overpriced simply because it was Bayern Munich. Specifically Martinez. I think Martinez was so important when we bought him that he was worth every single cent of those 40 million Euros, but his market value at the point of transfer was estimated at 25 mil. We still paid 40.

Anyhow - coming back to the original point. This IS NOT what unlimited money buys you. Unlimited money bought Real Madrid the champions league title in 2002 with the Galacticos. Bayern won it in 2001 with about a 10th the transfer expenses of Real. That's where the difference is nowadays too, hence my anger about statements like that.
If you said 'this is what a glorious history, top management, an amazing coach and one of the best youth academies in the world gets you' - I would have nodded my head and we could have spared this discussion. I am sure you agree though so all good :)

Though the statement 'that's what money buys you' isn't strictly true, I guess I meant that they have the buying power to do anything, unlike many, many other club. They've been very wise (for the most part) with the money they have too.

Sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry/upset :)

Your right in that I agree. I may not like Bayern (as I follow Dortmund in the Bundesliga), but I respect them a hell of a lot. And knowledgable fans like yourself give your club a good name :) Unlike half the Chelsea/City/Real fans out there at the moment.

I think sometimes you should stay away from making biased predictions. Only a few months ago, you were confident that they would be the first team to retain it lol

Remember, it's Champions League.....a competition with many surprises.

If anyone deserves to be the first team to retain it, it should be Real imo (due to their History in the competition). But I don't see it happenin' this year. Desperately wanted Atletico to win that Final last year.

Anyways, for now, I'm already gonna rule out Barcelona. Just don't think the team is the same anymore since Guardiola left.

Surprise Factor this year will go to Chelsea. Wouldn't rule them out on nicking this. It's what Mourinho's desperate for (winning it with 3 different teams). And they're currently flying in the Premier League.

As for my beloved Arsenal.......well, I'm gonna choose not to say anything for now lol

Ahhh ... another fellow Gooner. Hard work isn't it? ;)

TBH, I just want Wenger gone, but a lot of Gooners disagree with me 'cause they think the sun shines out of his backside lol

Sorry man, long-time Wenger supporter here. I can understand the frustration, but I honestly see the post-Emirates stadium transitional period over, and a better financial position on the horizon. I mean, I wasn't huge on the signings of Alexis, Chambers and Welbeck, but they've worked out splendidly thus far.

If we don't win anything this season, and there isn't a defensive player signed in January then I think it'd be time for Wenger to make the decision to move on.

Despite the rocky start, I honestly do think this is the best Arsenal side in 5 or so years. They just need a CDM, CB and I wouldn't mind another CF ;)

KS

While it's biased indeed as much as it's my favourite team for 19 years now, I think Bayern is top favourite in everyone's book. If anything, it's the most realistic prediction at the moment. It's still a cup competition, I agree, so in theory, anyone could snatch it, but by no means is it any far-fetched assumption to bet on them (which I won't because they always lose when I bet!)

Also, last year I was pretty close, no? And if you look at the history of this thread, I never said they'd win it in the mid 2000s...when I knew we were underdogs at best.

Right now, we are the most complete side in Europe. Period. No bias there. Just pure objective assessment.

Bayern - Donetsk
Real - Schalke
Chelsea - PSG
Barcelona- City
Arsenal - Monaco
Leverkusen - Atletico
Dortmund- Juventus
Porto - Basel

Winners in bold! I will bet £10 on these all to happen :D

Damn it PSG. Really happy for you but this would have made me $$$ Anyhow, Arsenal will go out too so I wouldn't have had a chance anyhow...

What games though. What god damn games. Schalke yesterday and PSG today. Kudos to these two teams!

I think that if Schalke proved anything, it's that anything's possible - Arsenal ain't out yet. Or maybe it's wishful thinking - although downing Man Utd in the FA Cup is great for the confidence.

Chelsea had it coming - what horrible sportsmanship and behaviour. The ref was terrible! Blanc's tactics were superb.

A bit off-topic, but what did everyone make of the Chelsea-Racism fiasco? Is it a football issue or a society issue?

Where I work (as a Steward at a few Football Matches in and around London) most people believe that Chelsea have had a history of Racism.....

Both. It's happening more and more at football matches and it's happening more and more as a society.

I hate racism. I hate it with a passion and I think anyone who even thinks it's remotely funny to call people racist remarks deserves everything they get (as a punishment.)

Whether it be someone white, black, chinese, asian etc.. It is happening everywhere lately and it's quite frightening.

Aha...so what is going on with that 'best league in the world'? Third year in a row with no English team in the quarters?

Bayern and Barca looking very strong. Looking forward to the draw tomorrow...

So what exactly constitutes 'best league in the world'?

The English like to think their league is the best because they pay the highest wages and it's close at the top and so on. But the reality is, the football played on the island (despite the insanity of the wages) has been mediocre for a long time. Even Chelsea's CL victory a few years ago was a very strange accident. Since the all English final in 2009 it's been all but going down.

I definitely agree that Chelsea's UCL victory was an unfortunate anomaly. Their negative brand of football is quite horrendous to watch. I believe that the English premier is second in terms of quality to the Bundesliga, and possibly La Liga. However, it's the most exciting to watch because of the contrasting styles, and the fact that it's so open. There are 6-8 teams that are all extremely competent and close in terms of ability, and I believe that each year it's becoming more balanced. La Liga has been dominated by Real and Barca for years, with Atleti becoming more competitive very recently - maybe Valencia too. The Bundesliga is a brilliant league, but I do feel that the fact that Bayern overall supremacy damages the quality of the league - I really do feel sorry for BvB Dortmund. Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Monchengladbach are far inferior to Bayern.

I believe that though the best teams currently in the EPL can't compete with the best around Europe, the balance and competitive nature of the league makes it the best to watch.

Nah - I disagree with that. The 6th league in Switzerland is way more competitive and spectacular. The games, the action, the goals, the fights....pfff.

I'm talking about a balance of skill AND competitiveness.

I know. I was kiddin' ;) But you get the point

Haha yeah I get it ;) The EPL is overrated, but I love watching it (if only when Arsenal wins) :P

EPL is far more competitive than the Bundesliga. Why do you think Pep went to Munich? He knew he couldn't guarantee himself the league title in England...whether he manages Man City or Chelsea. He took an easy route (in my opinion) in choosing to manage a team that....(correct me if I'm wrong)....just won the Treble at the time?

If you look at statistics (if they ever do get released) the EPL could be the most watched competition in the World. It is by far the most competitive.

(However, the most watched match, apparently, is the El Clasico).

I remember when I went to Malaysia in 2007. Most Sportswear stores only had Man UTD, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona and a couple of Serie A shirts. I'm sure that's changed now with the insurgence of Man City and the recent German dominance in the CL, but there's no doubt that the EPL Brand is Huge in the Asian market.

With regards to the CL, I'm not making any excuses here, but I'm sure if we did have a winter break, we would be more competitive. The winter fixtures here in England are a Joke. Maybe they'll only scrap it on the year of the Qatar World Cup lol

Well, no....that was Carlo Ancelotti guiding them to a Domestic Double with his smart tactics. No idea why they sacked him the season after, but Chelsea have always had that sort of reputation of firing managers after one bad season. And there's no denying his quality as a manager, eventhough some may argue Real were lucky to win the CL against Atletico.....but let's not forget; they did thrash Bayern Munich 5-0 over the 2 legs in the Semi-Final.

EDIT: Oooops, just realised you were referring to Chelsea's CL Victory, not PL :D *slaps himself*

Correction: that was 2008 :)

2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 & 2012 have had at least 1 English team in the UCL Final. That's 3 years since the all-English Final in 2008. Since the turn of the Millennium, Germany have been in the final for 5 years (compared to the 7 I've mentioned for England).

Statistics don't lie :)

2008 - that's true :)
Otherwise - I am saying 'what is happening with it'? I don't deny that it was by far the strongest league in the world pretty much from 2005 to 2008 or 2009. Ever since, it's pretty much living off its previous reputation. The fact that it's still the most watched league has less to do with it's competitiveness as it has to do with it's amazing overseas marketing. Bayern & Dortmund for example, only started focussing on Asia in the last 3 years.

But talking about stats, Germany and Spain have had at least one team in the semifinals from 2009 onwards (and it will certainly be the case this year as well). England doesn't even make it to the quarters anymore despite having by far the highest salary bills and budgets. That should hint that there's something wrong structurally. And I am sure it's the youth work. Only 30% of the players in the PL are English. Germany and Spain have 50% or more. If you look at the big teams such as Real, Barca and Bayern - half the team comes from the youth academies, they have the club's philosophy in their DNA. How many are from the youth academies of ManU, Chelsea or City? The great squad of United was founded of amazing youth work. With the huge money that came into the league, the focus went from youth work to buying big names and it affects all teams because they have to pay hugely inflated wages, even for average players. That isn't the case in Spain and Germany.

At the end of the year, the PL will fall on 3rd in the UEFA 5 year ranking. Behind Spain and Germany. The 5 year ranking reflects performance in both European competitions over the last 5 years. As you mention - statistics don't lie. And with an average club budget twice that of the other two leagues, surely you can't blame the winter games (which Spain has as well, btw)