Watching "The group of death" in the Champions League every season is something every footy fan looks forward to, whilst hoping thier beloved clubs do not end up as participants in this concoction of excitement. The 4 teams finding themselves caught in the clutches of this group are the English side Arsenal, the Germans Borussia Dortmund, S.S.C. Napoli from Italy and finally from France, Olympique de Marseille. The reason this is called the group of death is because any two of the teams could progress to the further stages. There are no outright favourites.
Some might see this as some sort of deja vu. Yes. This was the exact same group back in the 2010-11 Champions League season with Napoli replacing the Greek side Olympiacos. Lets take a look at how the teams stand as we're about to enter first week of Champions League Group stage ties.
ARSENAL
League Position: 1st
Latest Result: Sunderland 1 - 3 Arsenal
Top Scorer: Olivier Giroud (4 Goals)
Man In Form: Aaron Ramsey
Best Summer Aquisition: Mesut Ozil
Style Of Play: Possession, Attacking through the middle.
Another frustrating summer in the market began with the signings of Yaya Sanogo (21) from the Ligue 2 side Axerre and Matthieu Flamini (29) from AC Milan (both) as free agents. The fans were gloomy and downtrodden until the transfer deadline day when everything changed. Arsenal beat their local arch rivals Spurs. Also, Emiliano Viviano (27) signed on loan from Palermo and Mesut Ozil (24) signed for the club record fee of around £42,500,000 from Real Madrid and life was good again.
The gunners went top of the league with their 3-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Debutant Ozil set up Giroud early on in the half and they pretty much cruised through the first half and should've been out of sight before the break but their missed opportunities restrained the lead to only one. Sunderland drew level again and would have taken the lead but luck was on Arsenal's side. Eventually, Ramsey with his sublime finishes ensured 3 points for the gunners with a 3-1 away win.
Watch Highlights here:
http://rutube.ru/video/bf932bd6022d5c9e23a9b94ee960f1ac/
Arsenal, the only club in this group needing to go through the qualifying round, will be without a host of key players (8 to be precise) as they travel to Stade Vélodrome and it will be interesting to see the squad that Arsene Wenger will choose.
OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE
League Position: 4th
Latest Result: Toulouse 1 - 1 Marseille
Top Scorers: André-Pierre Gignac,Dimitri Payet (3 Goals)
Man In Form: Mathieu Valbuena
Best Summer Aquisition: Dimitri Payet
Style Of Play: Dribbling, Attack through the wings.
Marseille spent roughly £38,000,000 to try keeping up with free spending PSG and AS Monaco. Their notable signings were Lille's duo Dimitri Payet (26) and young super talent Florian Thauvin (20), Giannelli Imbula (21) from Guingamp and young Left Back Benjamin Mendy (18) from Le Havre.
Marseille lost their 2nd spot to PSG and Saint-Etienne following the draw away to Toulouse. It was a fairly open game with both sides creating ample scoring opportunities throghout the game. It was Toulouse who finally broke the deadlock when Marseille's defence was split with ease. Marseille could only equalise 3 minutes before time when central defender Lucas Mendes headed home (his second goal in as many games) from a Valbuena free kick from the right. Marseille were awarded 1 point and slipped to 4th place.
Watch Highlights here:
http://www.tvgolo.com/match-showfull-1379175555---44
Marseille are the only team in this group that does not lead its respective league before the champions league run in. They host Arsenal on the 18th and know it will not be an easy task to keep at bay a team that plays such attacking football.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
League Position: 1st
Latest Result: Dortmund 6 - 2 Hamburg
Top Scorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (5 Goals)
Man In Form: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Best Summer Aquisition: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Style Of Play: Dribbling, quick passing, shooting.
In the wake of young startlet Mario Gotze's departure to bitter rivals Bayern Munich (to whom they lost in the champions league finals last season), the wounds were soothened by the brilliant signings of Henrikh Mkhitaryan (24) from Shakhtar and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (24) from Saint-Etienne. They also bolstered their defence by replacing Felipe Santana (Leaving for Schalke) with Sokratis Papastathopoulos (25) from Werder Bremen.
Dortmund cruised through the game to put it mildly and Rene Adler was the only reason the score looks embarrassing and not super embarrassing. BVB had a lot of opportunitites and went two goals up mid way through the half with goals from new signings Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang. A scorcher from Lam pulled one back for Hamburg and captain Heiko Westermann equalised at the start of the second half. At this point the scoreline definitely did not reflect the dominance that dortmund had all game. Adler was finally beaten in the 65th minute, once again by Aubameyang and that began the goals galore as BVB scored another 3 before the end of the game.
Lewandowski too bagged a brace and Reus finally got on the score sheet. The game ended 6 - 2 in favour of the home team and the 3 points kept them at the top of the table.
Watch Highlights here:
http://www.tvgolo.com/match-showfull-1379175334---43
It will be Dortmund who travel to Naples to face Rafa Benitez's high flying Napoli and it will be a great match up to watch these two sides with great talents amongst their ranks, face off.
S.S.C NAPOLI
League Position: 1st
Latest Result: Napoli 2 - 0 Atlanta
Top Scorer: Marek Hamsik (4 Goals)
Man In Form: Marek Hamsik
Best Summer Aquisition: Gonzalo Higuain
Style Of Play: Possession, short passing.
Rafa Benitez was appointed as the new manager at the start of the season. With the sale of star man Edinson Cavani it remained to be seen how they would re-invest the funding from the deal. The fans weren't disapointed. Many stars were brought to the club including Real Madrid's trio Jose Callejon (26), Raul Albiol (28) and Gonzalo Higuain (25). They signed many other players, most notably Liverpool's Pepe Reina (31), Udinese's Pablo Armero (26) and Belgian Dries Mertens (26) from PSV.
Napoli was one of the 5 teams in Serie A with a cent percent record this season. The match between Inter and Juventus would mean atleast one would drop points. Napoli enjoyed plenty of possession throughout the game but it was only in the second half that they managed to score their first goal. Gonzalo Higuain slotted home on the 71 minute mark and exactly 10 minutes later Callejon too got onto the score sheet. The 2 - 0 victory ensured Napoli kept their 100% record intact and saw them climb to the top of the table.
Watch Highlights here:
http://www.tvgolo.com/match-showfull-1379188429---42
As Napoli hosts the bees on the 18th, it will be interesting to watch how the two sides that employ the same brand of football manage to edge each other out.
FIXTURES LIST
18 September 2013
Marseille v Arsenal Venue: Marseille, France
Napoli v Borussia Dortmund Venue: Naples, Italy
1 October 2013
Arsenal v Napoli Venue: London, England
Borussia Dortmund v Marseille Venue: Dortmund, Germany
22 October 2013
Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund Venue: London, England
Marseille v Napoli Venue: Marseille, France
6 November 2013
Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal Venue: Dortmund, Germany
Napoli v Marseille Venue: Naples, Italy
26 November 2013
Arsenal v Marseille Venue: London, England
Borussia Dortmund v Napoli Venue: Dortmund, Germany
11 December 2013
Napoli v Arsenal Venue: Naples, Italy
Marseille v Borussia Dortmund Venue: Marseille, France
Author:
-Kartik Reddy.
Follow me on Twitter - @FeXperimen
or
email us at - tbegame@gmail.com or follow us at @tbegame
Some might see this as some sort of deja vu. Yes. This was the exact same group back in the 2010-11 Champions League season with Napoli replacing the Greek side Olympiacos. Lets take a look at how the teams stand as we're about to enter first week of Champions League Group stage ties.
ARSENAL
League Position: 1st
Latest Result: Sunderland 1 - 3 Arsenal
Top Scorer: Olivier Giroud (4 Goals)
Man In Form: Aaron Ramsey
Best Summer Aquisition: Mesut Ozil
Style Of Play: Possession, Attacking through the middle.
Another frustrating summer in the market began with the signings of Yaya Sanogo (21) from the Ligue 2 side Axerre and Matthieu Flamini (29) from AC Milan (both) as free agents. The fans were gloomy and downtrodden until the transfer deadline day when everything changed. Arsenal beat their local arch rivals Spurs. Also, Emiliano Viviano (27) signed on loan from Palermo and Mesut Ozil (24) signed for the club record fee of around £42,500,000 from Real Madrid and life was good again.
The gunners went top of the league with their 3-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Debutant Ozil set up Giroud early on in the half and they pretty much cruised through the first half and should've been out of sight before the break but their missed opportunities restrained the lead to only one. Sunderland drew level again and would have taken the lead but luck was on Arsenal's side. Eventually, Ramsey with his sublime finishes ensured 3 points for the gunners with a 3-1 away win.
Watch Highlights here:
http://rutube.ru/video/bf932bd6022d5c9e23a9b94ee960f1ac/
Arsenal, the only club in this group needing to go through the qualifying round, will be without a host of key players (8 to be precise) as they travel to Stade Vélodrome and it will be interesting to see the squad that Arsene Wenger will choose.
OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE
League Position: 4th
Latest Result: Toulouse 1 - 1 Marseille
Top Scorers: André-Pierre Gignac,Dimitri Payet (3 Goals)
Man In Form: Mathieu Valbuena
Best Summer Aquisition: Dimitri Payet
Style Of Play: Dribbling, Attack through the wings.
Marseille spent roughly £38,000,000 to try keeping up with free spending PSG and AS Monaco. Their notable signings were Lille's duo Dimitri Payet (26) and young super talent Florian Thauvin (20), Giannelli Imbula (21) from Guingamp and young Left Back Benjamin Mendy (18) from Le Havre.
Marseille lost their 2nd spot to PSG and Saint-Etienne following the draw away to Toulouse. It was a fairly open game with both sides creating ample scoring opportunities throghout the game. It was Toulouse who finally broke the deadlock when Marseille's defence was split with ease. Marseille could only equalise 3 minutes before time when central defender Lucas Mendes headed home (his second goal in as many games) from a Valbuena free kick from the right. Marseille were awarded 1 point and slipped to 4th place.
Watch Highlights here:
http://www.tvgolo.com/match-showfull-1379175555---44
Marseille are the only team in this group that does not lead its respective league before the champions league run in. They host Arsenal on the 18th and know it will not be an easy task to keep at bay a team that plays such attacking football.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
League Position: 1st
Latest Result: Dortmund 6 - 2 Hamburg
Top Scorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (5 Goals)
Man In Form: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Best Summer Aquisition: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Style Of Play: Dribbling, quick passing, shooting.
In the wake of young startlet Mario Gotze's departure to bitter rivals Bayern Munich (to whom they lost in the champions league finals last season), the wounds were soothened by the brilliant signings of Henrikh Mkhitaryan (24) from Shakhtar and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (24) from Saint-Etienne. They also bolstered their defence by replacing Felipe Santana (Leaving for Schalke) with Sokratis Papastathopoulos (25) from Werder Bremen.
Dortmund cruised through the game to put it mildly and Rene Adler was the only reason the score looks embarrassing and not super embarrassing. BVB had a lot of opportunitites and went two goals up mid way through the half with goals from new signings Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang. A scorcher from Lam pulled one back for Hamburg and captain Heiko Westermann equalised at the start of the second half. At this point the scoreline definitely did not reflect the dominance that dortmund had all game. Adler was finally beaten in the 65th minute, once again by Aubameyang and that began the goals galore as BVB scored another 3 before the end of the game.
Lewandowski too bagged a brace and Reus finally got on the score sheet. The game ended 6 - 2 in favour of the home team and the 3 points kept them at the top of the table.
Watch Highlights here:
http://www.tvgolo.com/match-showfull-1379175334---43
It will be Dortmund who travel to Naples to face Rafa Benitez's high flying Napoli and it will be a great match up to watch these two sides with great talents amongst their ranks, face off.
S.S.C NAPOLI
League Position: 1st
Latest Result: Napoli 2 - 0 Atlanta
Top Scorer: Marek Hamsik (4 Goals)
Man In Form: Marek Hamsik
Best Summer Aquisition: Gonzalo Higuain
Style Of Play: Possession, short passing.
Rafa Benitez was appointed as the new manager at the start of the season. With the sale of star man Edinson Cavani it remained to be seen how they would re-invest the funding from the deal. The fans weren't disapointed. Many stars were brought to the club including Real Madrid's trio Jose Callejon (26), Raul Albiol (28) and Gonzalo Higuain (25). They signed many other players, most notably Liverpool's Pepe Reina (31), Udinese's Pablo Armero (26) and Belgian Dries Mertens (26) from PSV.
Napoli was one of the 5 teams in Serie A with a cent percent record this season. The match between Inter and Juventus would mean atleast one would drop points. Napoli enjoyed plenty of possession throughout the game but it was only in the second half that they managed to score their first goal. Gonzalo Higuain slotted home on the 71 minute mark and exactly 10 minutes later Callejon too got onto the score sheet. The 2 - 0 victory ensured Napoli kept their 100% record intact and saw them climb to the top of the table.
Watch Highlights here:
http://www.tvgolo.com/match-showfull-1379188429---42
As Napoli hosts the bees on the 18th, it will be interesting to watch how the two sides that employ the same brand of football manage to edge each other out.
FIXTURES LIST
18 September 2013
Marseille v Arsenal Venue: Marseille, France
Napoli v Borussia Dortmund Venue: Naples, Italy
1 October 2013
Arsenal v Napoli Venue: London, England
Borussia Dortmund v Marseille Venue: Dortmund, Germany
22 October 2013
Arsenal v Borussia Dortmund Venue: London, England
Marseille v Napoli Venue: Marseille, France
6 November 2013
Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal Venue: Dortmund, Germany
Napoli v Marseille Venue: Naples, Italy
26 November 2013
Arsenal v Marseille Venue: London, England
Borussia Dortmund v Napoli Venue: Dortmund, Germany
11 December 2013
Napoli v Arsenal Venue: Naples, Italy
Marseille v Borussia Dortmund Venue: Marseille, France
Author:
-Kartik Reddy.
Follow me on Twitter - @FeXperimen
or
email us at - tbegame@gmail.com or follow us at @tbegame
A very informative n interesting article.
ReplyDeleteHats of! to your article... Made me enter the game arena!
ReplyDeleteGood to know the Game lover... like me!
ReplyDeleteEnriched my knowledge of the game "Foot Ball"
ReplyDeleteVery well written, keeping the sentiments of each team in mind... Cannot wait to see The Gunners - (Arsenal) go for it & take over this Season..!!!
ReplyDeleteBryan Cadd
P.S. Thanks for Updating The Fixtures
OMG..! Its soo Amazing... Its Arsenal all The Way...
ReplyDeletegood work :)
ReplyDeleteNYC WORK BUDDY!
ReplyDeleteGroup of death looks perfectly poised though the gunners have an added advantage :)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to it...
good start for a new blogger :)
ReplyDeletegud work
ReplyDeleteARSENAL! :3
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the lovely comments everyone:)
ReplyDeletedamn i hope rooney comes to arsnel :/
ReplyDeletenice blog :)
ReplyDeletenice blog atb!
ReplyDelete