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The highest level fights between the strongest clubs in Europe are slowly returning to the old continent's football stadiums, as on Tuesday the 2006/07 season UEFA Champions League group stage tournament begins, where 32 teams will compete in eight groups for tickets to the knockout rounds and later to Athens, where the final will take place next year. In last season's final, "Barcelona" proved their dominance against "Arsenal" and triumphed in the European Champions Cup for the second time in the club's history. However, despite Barcelona being favorites again, history shows that defending their title is much harder than winning it, and no one has been able to do it for 17 years. Exactly the same number (17) of teams will compete in the group stage matches for the second year in a row - only Turin's "Juventus" will be missing from the regular participants, as well as former champions Amsterdam's "Ajax", while teams like "Kobenhavn" and "Levski" will play for the first time. The draw for the first tournament stage paired many European giants, ensuring that we will witness some intense battles. EuroFootball.com will briefly review each Champions League group, starting with groups A, B, C, and D on Tuesday. Group A (Spain) London (England) Bremen (Germany) Sofia (Bulgaria) Schedule "Barcelona" - "Levski" "Chelsea" - "Werder" "Levski" - "Chelsea" "Werder" - "Barcelona" "Werder" - "Levski" "Chelsea" - "Barcelona" "Levski" - "Werder" "Barcelona" - "Chelsea" "Werder" - "Chelsea" "Levski" - "Barcelona" "Chelsea" - "Levski" "Barcelona" - "Werder" It seems like it was meant to happen - "Barcelona" and "Chelsea" will meet for a third consecutive season. However, this time it will be a bit different, as not one, but two teams will take the field. Both favorites in the league, who strengthened their ranks with a few more stars over the summer, will hope to do just that. "Chelsea" has added world-class players with Champions League experience like Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko, while the always strong "Barcelona" strengthened its defense by acquiring Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta from "Juventus". Both superclubs will meet in the third and fourth rounds, and while the matches should be intense, the schedule allows them to gather points until the end of the group stage if needed. However, it may not be so easy for European and English champions this season, as "Werder Bremen", who was eliminated last year due to a goalkeeper's bizarre mistake, looks fairly strong and could make things difficult for their opponents. It's hard to believe they will do it just once, but two or more times. On the other hand, Sofia's "Levski" will likely have to fight for honor against stronger opponents and hope to at least grab a draw at home. Group B Milan (Italy) Munich (Germany) Lisbon (Portugal) Moscow (Russia) Schedule "Sporting" - "Inter" "Bayern" - "Spartak" "Spartak" - "Sporting" "Inter" - "Bayern" "Inter" - "Spartak" "Sporting" - "Bayern" "Spartak" - "Inter" "Bayern" - "Sporting" "Inter" - "Sporting" "Spartak" - "Bayern" "Sporting" - "Spartak" "Bayern" - "Inter" This group appears to be one of the most challenging, but "Inter Milan" and "Bayern Munich" are still considered strong favorites. Inter will have to satisfy their star-studded lineup - the team added Patrick Vieira, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Hernan Crespo, and others, but if they can gel, Inter can not only win the group but also be one of the serious contenders to play in Athens next spring. Bayern, on the other hand, will have to deal with the departure of their leader Michael Ballack to Chelsea, but they have shown in the Bundesliga that they can play successfully without him. Young German talent Lukas Podolski will add variety and spark to Bayern's attack. It's hard to expect that both Lisbon's "Sporting" and Moscow's "Spartak" will challenge the Italian and German champions, especially considering neither team was the strongest in their respective leagues. The trip to the Russian capital will not be easy for the favorites, however, practically, Spartak will battle Sporting for the third spot, allowing them to continue in the UEFA Cup, and will try to take advantage of any opportunity to surprise the favorites. Group C (England) Eindhoven (Netherlands) (France) Istanbul (Turkey) Schedule "Galatasaray" - "Bordeaux" "PSV" - "Liverpool" "Liverpool" - "Galatasaray" "Bordeaux" - "PSV" "Bordeaux" - "Liverpool" "Galatasaray" - "PSV" "Liverpool" - "Bordeaux" "PSV" - "Galatasaray" "Bordeaux" - "Galatasaray" "Liverpool" - "PSV" "Galatasaray" - "Liverpool" "PSV" - "Bordeaux" Successful draws for five-time European champion "Liverpool" - this could describe Group C. The team that triumphed in the tournament in 2005 will not face any of the continent's giants in the group stage and is expected to take the top spot. However, they first must learn from last year's lesson when they were unexpectedly eliminated by Benfica in the quarterfinals. Based on recent results, the second strongest team in the group would be the long-standing Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. However, the club doesn't have their victory smith Guus Hiddink at the helm - Ronald Koeman, who won against Liverpool with Benfica in the 2005/06 season, will lead the team. Inspired by the return of Johan Micoud, Bordeaux, and Galatasaray in Istanbul, the club decided to play their home matches in the Olympic Stadium and are preparing to create a "hellish" atmosphere for their opponents. Despite limited ambitions, both clubs return to elite competition after respective three and seven-year breaks. None of the three clubs are ready to be pushovers and could realistically battle for the second position. Group D (Spain) (Italy) Piraeus (Greece) Donetsk (Ukraine) Schedule "Olympiacos" - "Valencia" "Roma" - "Shakhtar" "Shakhtar" - "Olympiacos" "Valencia" - "Roma" "Valencia" - "Shakhtar" "Olympiacos" - "Roma" "Shakhtar" - "Valencia" "Roma" - "Olympiacos" "Valencia" - "Olympiacos" "Shakhtar" - "Roma" "Olympiacos" - "Shakhtar" "Roma" - "Valencia" One of the groups where there is no clear favorite and an open battle awaits. The stronger teams in the group are returning to the tournament, Valencia and Roma. However, Roma is more hopeful due to the weakened Serie A, while the Spanish team, which added Spanish national team players Joaquin, Asier Del Horno, and Fernando Morientes in the summer, is preparing to perform well on all fronts. If the latter integrates well into Valencia's game, then Valencia and Roma should be considered favorites. However, neither team excels in away games, and the matches at their opponents' stadiums could decide a lot, especially considering the talented legionnaires of Shakhtar Donetsk and Olympiacos, who defeated Real Madrid last season, can cause problems for any opponent and have the ability to surprise.
