HAVING created history in Cardiff just a few months ago, Real Madrid would’ve hoped for some luck in the first phase of their quest to become the first team to win three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles.

No team had been able to retain the European Cup since it was branded as the Champions League in 1992. Until, of course, Real hammered Juventus 4-1 in the Welsh capital in June to follow up their penalty shootout win over city rivals Atletico Madrid in the Milan final a year earlier.

Their reward, as they seek to further aggrandise their reputation as the most accomplished club in the European Cup history, however was being drawn in the proverbial ‘Group of Death’ for this year’s edition of Europe’s premier club competition.

The record 12-time winners were paired with German powerhouses Borussia Dortmund, Mauricio Pochettino’s classy Tottenham Hotspur and Cypriots APOEL Nicosia in the group stage draw in Monaco on Thursday which threw up some intriguing reunions and tantalising matchups.

It means Real’s Welsh wing wizard Gareth Bale will face Spurs, the team that gave him his first taste of the Champions League, for the first time since he left them for the Spanish giants for what was then a world record fee in 2013.

For the second season running, Real will come up against Dortmund who finished above them in the group stage last year.

But this Real side is collectively at the peak of its powers. Their dismantling of Juve was followed by a resounding rout of eternal rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup and they have a side hungry for more as they chase their fourth Champions League title in five years.

‘UNIQUE GROUP’

“We’re on the ideal path, we’re here to make history and break records,” captain Sergio Ramos said after the draw. “We’re a unique group and we come off the back of a very complete year. It is a group with difficult opponents, but to be champions we have to beat the best.”

Real’s recent domination of the Champions League evokes memories of Barca’s period of European supremacy at the start of this decade. But even Barca – the only team to break Real’s Champions League winning streak, clinching the 2015 title – weren’t as supreme as their archrivals.

And their chances of getting their hands back on the trophy with big ears have been hit by the departure of Brazilian striker Neymar for a world record fee of 222 million euros to Paris St Germain.

Shorn of Neymar, the man who masterminded their stunning comeback against PSG in the epic round-of-16 clash last season, the Catalans have been drawn with Juve, Greek champions Olympiakos and Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon.

Barca coach Ernesto Valverde had two highly successful stints at Olympiakos while he will look to help his side avenge last season’s quarter-final ouster at the hands of Juve – the side they beat in the 2015 final.

Juve have come closest to breaking Spain’s modern hegemony of the Champions League and beating Barca again will help them reassert their credentials as the second-favourites behind Real.

“Our tie against Barca will be a strong test and, even if it can’t be compared in terms of importance to the quarter-final of a few months ago, it will answer some important questions,” Juve captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, seeking his maiden Champions League title in his final season before retiring, said after the draw.

ENGLISH QUINTET

Spanish domination has also coincided with English retrogression.

In their era of European domination, Barca had to fend off strong challenges from Premier League sides. But since Chelsea won in 2012, only twice has there been English representation in the semi-finals. However, with five teams this season, including Chelsea and Spurs, the Champions League could see an English winner this season.

Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger gets an immediate reunion with his former employers as they were drawn with AS Roma while they will also face Atletico and newcomers Qarabag who are the first team from Azerbaijan to make the group stage.

Returning to the fray after a season out like Chelsea, Europa League winners Manchester United will face Benfica — the side they beat in the 1968 final to win their first European Cup, FC Basel — the side that sensationally ousted them in the group stage in 2011, and CSKA Moscow.

“This seems familiar,” said Basel on their official Twitter account, in an apparent reference to United who have only beaten them once in four previous meetings.

Unlike United and Chelsea, Liverpool are returning to the big time after an even longer spell out. Having last featured in the Champions League back in 2014, Juergen Klopp’s side renew acquaintances with Sevilla — who beat them in the Europa League final in 2016, while also meeting Russian champions Spartak Moscow and Maribor of Slovenia.

Manchester City complete the English quintet and after a summer of heavy spending in which Pep Guardiola has already spent 130 million pounds on three defenders, he will be expected to guide them to the semi-finals at least.

City face Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord.

NEYMAR EFFECT

City’s spending on three defenders seems to be a bargain considering by what’s been spent by Europe’s other petrodollar-fuelled club PSG on one player.

PSG have brought in Brazilian superstar Neymar to help them cement their place among European aristocracy, and more importantly go beyond the quarter-finals — a stage they’ve failed to surpass since their Qatari owners took over in 2011.

And in their latest bid to lift the Champions League, they start up against 2013 winners Bayern Munich — coached by their former manager Carlo Ancelotti, Celtic and Anderlecht with their two matches against the German giants set to portray how far Neymar can take them in Europe.

“Our objective is of course to progress but PSG is very appealing,” said Bayern defender Mats Hummels. “They’re a spectacular side so bring it on! It’s a chance to test ourselves against some of the best.”

Apart from Ancelotti, the PSG tie will also see Kingsley Coman come up against the club where he won his first of four league titles across three countries in four years.

FC Porto, the 2004 winners, will see several of their former stars coming up against them — AS Monaco duo of Radamel Falcao and Joao Moutinho and Besiktas pair of Pepe and Ricardo Quaresma. The fourth club in the group are German debutants RB Leipzig.

Monaco, who made it to the semi-finals last season, lost to Porto in the 2004 final.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2017