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Finally... its back!

The talking is over and matchday 1 of the Champions League 2008/09 is upon us. Groups A-D kicks us off on Tuesday night with Groups E-H getting the attention on Wednesday night. Last season a few teams bombed out of the competition after strong starts, with Shakhtar Donetsk grabbing six points from their first 2 games and still finished bottom, so whilst a good start would be welcomed by the clubs; it is not the be all and end all.

Home ground blues in Donetsk
Speaking of Shakhtar, they are involved on Tuesday night as they travel to Basle to open their campaign in Group C. The memories of last season will be fresh in the sides memory and no doubt they will know it is their home form that needs to improve. An impressive away victory against Benfica was nullified by home defeats to AC Milan and Benfica. Of their three home matches in last seasons Champions League, Shakhtar only defeated Celtic, and they are a team who really don’t travel well in the Champions League. Therefore, a point or more in their trip to Basle will be a great start for the Ukranians but it is how they perform at home that will truly define their European adventure this season.

Their other group rivals start in the Camp Nou as Sporting Lisbon travel across the border from Portugal into Spain to face the Catalan giants, Barcelona. The third round qualification stage offered no difficulties to Barcelona but the club are still awaiting victory in their La Liga campaign. An away defeat in their opening match has been followed up with a 1-1 draw at home which sees the Guardiola revolution stalling on the starting grid. Samuel Eto’o still remains at the club with no one willing to buy for the money that Barcelona were looking for or pay the striker the wages he was demanding. If Eto’o regains his fine goal scoring form (and he is a great scorer of goals, regardless of what his attitude is like) then Barcelona will start to pick up all three points on a regular basis but at the moment they are still toiling.

Sporting have found good form
Sporting Lisbon have only played two games of their league season as well but they have triumphed in both of them and currently sit joint top of the Portuguese League. If they can transfer this form into an opening night victory in Barcelona, the pre-tournament expectations of Group C may be turned on its head.

Group A sees Phil Scolari taking charge of his first Champions League game but for those who still seek romanticism from their football, the other match in this group will be the one they seek out. Yes, three nations provide 4 teams each in this seasons Champions League which makes the familiarity of the competition even more evident which makes it all the sweeter when a small team makes it through for their entry into the top tournament in club football.

Romance they key for Romanian champions
Current Romanian champions Cluj head to Italy for a match against Roma and any point gained by the Pot 4 ranked team would send reverberations around Europe. The Champions League is a tournament enjoyed by neutrals and general football fans and no doubt many people would be delighted to see Cluj give one or two of the bigger nations a bloody nose at some point in this tournament. For a number of clubs, this years campaign is all about the road to Rome as this is where the final is being held in May next year but the road to Rome that Cluj are taking at the moment is just as important for them as hopes of the final are for the usual suspects.

Belarusian’s in the Bernabeu
A similar scenario exists on Wednesday night in Group H where FC Bate will become the first Belarusian team to play in the Champions League. This would be exciting enough in its own right but the fact that they will be travelling to Madrid to take on Real in the Bernabeu will give their players an experience of a lifetime. Similar to Cluj on Tuesday, there will be a collective will behind Bate on Wednesday and it would be fantastic to see them take any form of positive result from one of Europe’s most illustrious clubs.

There is little doubt that by the time March and April 2009 rolls around, the same teams will be involved at the business end of the Champions League so any opportunity for one of the smaller and unfancied teams to get a positive result would be tremendous and perhaps show that the unexpected can still happen in the Champions League. The importance of money and television rights has caused the current situation in top class football and it doesn’t hurt to see the smaller teams get a piece of the fame and attention at times. Although fans of any clubs who suffer a surprise loss to a smaller club may not be in agreement with that sentiment, there is a definite need for some shocks or surprises to occur in the Champions League this season.

Two teams with something to prove
Returning to the Group H action, the match between Juventus and Zenit St Petersburg has the potential to be one of the most interesting and exciting matches on show. Both teams have an abundance of quality players and there will be expectations and hopes from the fans will not be associated with other clubs who have not featured in the Champions League of late. For different reasons for both clubs, this is going to be an interesting season for both clubs as they set out to reaffirm their position in the hierarchy of European football.

With the champions and many past winners on show on Wednesday night, the realization that Champions League football is back will be music to the ears of all football lovers and perhaps this year could be the opportunity for some romance to return to Europe’s top flight. Hopefully the anti-football that rose to prominence in recent years will take a back seat and attacking football will be back in fashion.

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

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