With World Cup qualifying coming to a finish, all eyes have turned to the UEFA Champions League. The Champions League is a tournament that takes the best clubs of Europe and pits them against one another until only one remains.
Last year, Bayern Munich won the silverware over Borussia Dortmund in the final, but every club has a chance to lift the trophy this year. Only 32 squads are left as we enter the second half of the group stage, and I am here to separate the contenders from the pretenders in each group.
A United Front: In Group A, points are spread out between Manchester United (7) and Bayer Leverkusen (6). Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk follow behind with 4, and Real Sociedad have none. United lead the group thanks to an impressive play by Wayne Rooney and Shinji Kagawa, but new manager David Moyes is having a rough time filling Sir Alex Ferguson’s shoes. If Manchester United keeps their act together, then they should hold down the top spot and leave Donetsk and Leverkusen fighting for the second spot to advance. This race could be settled in the crucial matchup between the two on Nov. 5 in Ukraine. Donetsk are led by Brazilians Fred and Alex Teixera and have a better squad than Leverkusen, so don’t be shocked to see them squeeze into the next round.
The Real Deal: Real Madrid dominate Group B with 9 points after three straight wins, and Cristiano Ronaldo has finally proven he can perform on the big stage by leading the tourney in scoring with 7 goals. Madrid are one more win away from securing a spot in the next round. Fighting for the second spot in the group is Juventus, the Italian giants, and Galatasaray, the champions of Turkey. Juventus may be the better team on paper, but they are anything but on the pitch because they only have 2 points from two draws and a loss. Juventus spent big on striker Carlos Tevez during the offseason, but he has yet to score, and they have had to rely on Andrea Pirlo and strong defense to save them. On the other hand, Galatasaray lack a strong defense. But they spent plenty on an offense of Felipe Melo, Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba and have tallied 4 points so far. The two clubs meet on the final matchday on Dec. 10 in Istanbul, and Juventus should be able to get their act together by then in order to advance.
Zlat’s The Way: Zlatan Imbrahimovich led Paris Saint-Germain to the top of Group C with three wins for 9 points. Imbrahimovich was a monster in his last match and exceeded his hat trick with four goals. PSG are one win away from clinching, and they should easily defeat bottom of the table Anderlecht. The second place race is between Olympiacos of Greece and Benfica of Portugal. Both have 4 points after they played to a draw in Lisbon, and the race will come to a turning point when they face each other on Nov. 5 in Greece. Benfica are the biggest disappointments in the tournament, so look for Olympiacos to come out on top thanks to captain Avraam Papadopolous’s heroic efforts, which rival the Greek Gods themselves.
Munich, Manchester, and Moscow: Bayern Munich have 9 points and lead Group D over Man City (6), CSKA Moscow (3) and Viktoria Plzen (0). Munich have yet to lose, and the team has proven they can still win without Miroslav Klose or Mario Gomez. David Alaba and Franck Ribery, who won the Best Player in Europe Award, are leading Bayern Munich to a return trip to the finals. Manchester City look to overtake Bayern for the top spot but must win-out to do so. City will begin this quest at home against CSKA Moscow on Nov. 5. Moscow must win this match to stay alive, and Keisuke Honda need help on the pitch. This is a match that Man City should win after beating CSKA on the road in Russia. Despite a poor pitch and claims by Yaya Toure of racist chants by the crowd to throw City off their game, they still pulled out the victory.
Chasing Chelsea: Chelsea have the best squad in Group E, but they are tied with Schalke 04 with 6 points. Behind them with 4 points are the Switzerland champions, Basel. Chelsea and Schalke may be equal on the table, but Fernando Torres and Chelsea have scored twice as many goals and defeated Schalke on the road in Germany, 3-0. Another win on Nov. 5 over Schalke should put Chelsea in a comfortable spot, but Schalke won’t make it easy with Julian Draxler coming into form. Schalke 04 have a tough schedule, and Basel is a well-rounded squad, which could upset Schalke and overtake their runner-up position.
Surviving the Group of Death: Group F is the toughest group this year with Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, and Arsenal all having 6 points and Marseille at the bottom with no points. Arsenal look to be the best of the trio as Mesut Ozil have blended well with poacher Olivier Giroud. Arsenal would be leading the group had it not been for a late goal by Robert Lewandowski for Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund is on level pegging with Arsenal thanks to that goal, but the gap in the Dortmund midfield left by the departure of Mario Gotze is overwhelming. Napoli took advantage of that absence in their 2-1 win over Dortmund. Napoli may be the underdogs of the group, but Lorenzo Insigne and Gonzalo Higuain lead a strong attack that will test Dortmund on Nov. 26.. Napoli should not be taken lightly, and I fully expect them to make it out alive with Arsenal.
The Other Madrid: Much like their more notable neighbors, Atletico Madrid will secure their spot in the next round with just one more win. They lead Group G with 9 points, and although newly acquired David Villa has yet to score, he is opening space and creating chances for others. Zenit St. Petersburg and Porto meet on Nov. 5 in a turning point match for the runner-up position. Porto is only one point behind Zenit but are struggling without their previous star Hulk, who has ironically joined Zenit. Zenit St. Petersburg looks poised to advance and are a dark horse once German phenom Axel Witsel gets experience with teammates.
Cleaning Up a Messi Barcelona: Barcelona sit at the top of Group H and are playing to their usual standards. They have the two most exciting forwards in the game with Lionel Messi and Neymar and a fantastic supporting cast of Xavi and Iniesta to back them up. The most stellar component of Barcelona remains in a backfield with center backs Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol who have only allowed one goal so far. That goal came from AC Milan who are second on the table and drew with Barca in a matchup giving Milan near security to advance, barring meltdowns against upset-minded Celtic and Ajax. Milan brought Kaka back home from Real Madrid, and he is creating incredible chances for Mario Balotelli and Italian sensation Stephan El Shaarawry.
The road to the finals in Lisbon is coming to a dead end for some while it’s getting closer for others as heroes and villains are taking form and group rivalries intensify. Real Madrid and PSG look to be early favorites while Manchester United and Juventus could be in for a rough series in the next round. Once the group stage finishes in December, the eight winners will be randomly drawn against the eight runners-up in home away aggregate legs with only the winners moving on.
Marcus Mitchell can be reached at mitchell.marcus31@yahoo.com.