Real Madrid out to break holders’ jinx in Champions League

Published September 16, 2014
Real Madrid's coach Carlo Ancelotti takes his seat before a news conference on the eve of their Champions League match against Basel at Valdebebas training grounds in Madrid September 15, 2014. — Photo by Reuters
Real Madrid's coach Carlo Ancelotti takes his seat before a news conference on the eve of their Champions League match against Basel at Valdebebas training grounds in Madrid September 15, 2014. — Photo by Reuters

LONDON: Real Madrid ended a 12-year wait for La Decima — a 10th European Cup — by winning the Champions League last season.

Now, the Spanish aristocrats have a new target: Achieving what no team has managed in 25 years — retaining the trophy.

The Champions League returns this week with its first set of group matches on the long road to a climax at Berlin’s Olympiastadion next June.

And Real’s all-star line-up is seemingly the team to beat again this season even after their underwhelming start to the La Liga campaign ahead of their first match at home against FC Basel on Tuesday in Group ‘B’.

Even without AC Milan and Manchester United, 10-times winners between them, in this year’s draw, there is predictability to what will eventuate.

It is no coincidence that the four favourites this season — Real, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Chelsea — are also the last four heavyweight winners of the trophy.

No team has successfully defended Europe’s most prestigious club title since Milan in 1990, before the competition underwent a facelift and turned into the financial beast that is the Champions League.

With four strong teams involved, Spain is aiming to continue its run of outperforming the other major European leagues in the Champions League.

Spain put two teams into last year’s final, when Real beat cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid 4-1 after extra time, and have had two sides in the semi-finals for the past four seasons. Barca won the title in 2011.

Carlo Ancelotti claims his Real squad “is stronger than it was last year” and if Real retain their title, the Italian would be the first coach ever to win ‘the Cup with the big ears’ four times.

“I feel like a coach that has to fix things with the team just like last season,” Ancelotti, whose side’s poor start to their La Liga campaign continued on Saturday when they were beaten 2-1 at home by champions Atletico, said.

“This match arrives at the right time because any game can be good for the team to react. We have a lot of desire for this competition, we want to be competitive and try to win it again.

“It is a motivating factor to be competitive in the most important competition in the world. We have good memories of last season’s competition and we will fight to repeat it this season. I wouldn’t change this squad for any other in Europe.”

Like Real, Atletico begin their campaign on Tuesday at Olympiakos in Group ‘A’. On Wednesday, Barcelona play APOEL in Group ‘F’ and Athletic Bilbao host Shakhtar Donetsk in Group ‘H’.

If the start of the Premier League season is anything to go by, Chelsea will be England’s most competitive side in the Champions League. Especially if Diego Costa keeps up his stunning form. The Spain international’s seven goals in four games have guided Chelsea to four straight wins and first place in the Premier League.

Chelsea have been given the most benign-looking group of England’s four representatives, too, placed with Schalke 04, Sporting Lisbon and NK Maribor.

Chelsea start at home against Schalke on Wednesday in Group ‘G’.

Manchester City advanced from their group last season for the first time, losing in the last 16 to Barcelona. The English champions, who travel to Bayern on Wednesday, will be expected to progress further this season but will have to repel both Serie A runners-up AS Roma and Russian champions CSKA Moscow in a highly competitive Group ‘E’.

“We know we have to improve further against Manchester City,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said. “They are a top team, they are English champions and we want to start the competition well. We are still missing a bit of rhythm.”

On Tuesday, Arsenal are away to Borussia Dortmund in Group ‘D’ and Liverpool’s first match in the Champions League in five years are at home against newcomers Ludogorets in Group ‘B’ — the same group as Real.

“I have heard a lot about the European nights at this club,” Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho told reporters. “We are confident we can make it to the next stage but we know it will be tough.”

New Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri may have started winning over his doubters with two wins out of two in Serie A, but the real test will come in the Champions League.

Under Antonio Conte, Juve won a third straight Italian league title last season but exited Europe’s elite club competition at the group stage.

And having dropped into the Europa League last season, where the Italians were ousted by Benfica at the semi-final stage, midfielder Claudio Marchisio believes new-look Juve have to aim a lot higher.

“In the Champions League we have to start each game believing it’s a final,” said Marchisio. “We’ve got even more quality in our side compared to last year.”

At Milan, Allegri won just 11 of his 34 Champions League matches in charge, drawing another 13, and never went past the quarterfinals.

Juventus, who host Malmo in Group ‘A’ on Tuesday, started their domestic campaign with a 1-0 win at Chievo Verona and a 2-0 victory at home to Udinese on Saturday.

Swedish champions Malmo were beaten European Cup finalists in 1979, losing to Nottingham Forest, but this is their first appearance in the Champions League group stage.

France’s two Champions League teams — Paris St Germain and Monaco — have experienced strikers facing their former clubs in the first round of fixtures.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be in action when PSG play Ajax in Group ‘F’ on Wednesday while Monaco’s Dimitar Berbatov will be up against his former team Bayer Leverkusen, where he made his name in European football.

Zenit St Petersburg and Benfica are the others in Group ‘C’.

Fixtures (all kick-offs 1845GMT):

Tuesday:

Group ‘A’: Juventus v Malmo, Olympiakos Piraeus v Atletico Madrid.

Group ‘B’: Liverpool v Ludogorets, Real Madrid v Basel.

Group ‘C’: Monaco v Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica v Zenit St Petersburg.

Group ‘D’: Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal, Galatasaray v Anderlecht

Wednesday:

Group ‘E’: AS Roma v CSKA Moscow; Bayern Munich v Manchester City.

Group ‘F’: Ajax Amsterdam v Paris St Germain, Barcelona v APOEL Nicosia.

Group ‘G’: Chelsea v Schalke 04, Maribor v Sporting.

Group ‘H’: Athletic Club v Shakhtar Donetsk, Porto v BATE Borisov.

Published in Dawn, September 16th , 2014

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