The Champions of Europe await their opponents
82 days ago FC Barcelona claimed their fifth Champions League trophy and today they will be one of the main attractions at the draw for the group stages of this season's competition
The current champions of Europe will find out this Thursday in Monaco their opponents in the group stages of this season’s Champions League. FC Barcelona will be in pot 1 of the draw, allowing them to avoid other top seeds Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Juventus, PSG, Benfica, Zenit and PSV. The blaugranes will also avoid fellow la Liga sides Real Madrid, Atlético, Valencia and Sevilla.
As such, there are 20 sides who could come up against Luis Enrique’s team with the draw taking place just 82 days after the historic night in Berlin when Barça added another title to their list of honours with a 3-1 over Juventus in the final. Rakitic, Luis Suárez and Neymar were the scorers that evening, adding a second treble to the list of the Club’s achievements.
Barça, who have been top seeds more than anyone, could face Premier League sides Manchester City, Manchester United or Arsenal, as well as other famous names such as FC Porto, Shaktar Donetsk, Olympique Lyonnais or AS Roma, rivals in the Gamper Trophy game just a few weeks ago. The draw itself begins in the Grimaldi Forum at 5.45pm CET.
Recognition for five wins
The gala will feature plenty more aside from the draw. The Club will be honoured for its five Champions League victories, just the fifth team to achieve such a feat. Zubizarreta, Belletti, Puyol, Abidal and Iniesta will be there to represent each of the blaugranes’ victories in the competition.
Furthermore, Luis Suárez and Leo Messi will battle for the title of UEFA Player of the Year. Cristiano Ronaldo is the third candidate for an award that the Argentine won back in 2011.
Source: http://ift.tt/1JxjKOX
Post a Comment