UEFA Champions League Review

THE NEWCOMERS

Vive le France!

Though Olympique Lyonnais enjoyed the success that comes from winning their domestic league, certainly the French team-led by possible future U.S. national team head-Gerard Houllier would believe that grouped with Real Madrid they'd falter. Yet that was far from the case, because in both matches Lyon showed the poise they are known for and got the result they needed in Matchday 1, winning 2-0. They followed it up with a 2-2 draw at Madrid. And for the first four matchdays, not only were Lyon the talk of the tournament, but also riding the kind of high you get when you've shut out your first four opponents. In terms of class Lyon were head and shoulders above the rest in Group G. They ended on 14 points in six matches played and scored 12 while only allowing three goals. Not even the Galacticos of Madrid could keep up with the pace the French champions were setting.

And then the unbelievable happened on the last fortnight of the competition when in Group H Lille upset AC Milan in Italy by the score of 2-0. What makes this even more improbable is that up until the fifth fortnight it was Lille who had only scored four goals in four nights and were not exactly an offensive superpower. With players like Swiss midfielder Daniel Gygax and Ivorian Kader Keita, both of whom played large roles in the last World Cup, you'd think the low scoring was a fluke. And it was once Lille got off the horse and started putting in goals, four to be exact in the last two fortnights, which was good enough to move on to the knockout round of the competition.

The United Kingdom sends five teams through

No less than four teams in the English Premier League were tops in their groups and another-Celtic FC of Scotland-did just enough to get through. While some-like Manchester United and Arsenal-did just enough to give their fans cases of acid indigestion throughout the tournament, others-like Liverpool and Chelsea-got a jump on their counterparts early on and coasted the rest of the way. In fact, if not for a rebound on the last fortnight Man U. would have been on the outside looking in-and seen Benfica take their spot in the knockout round in Group F.

As for Arsenal, they ended up tied with Porto on nine points in Group G, but that wasn't the real reason for their struggle. Russian club CSKA Moscow on successive fortnights gave the Gunners all they could handle and the Gunners were nearly leapfrogged if not for the Russians' back-to-back defeats on the final fortnights of the group stage.

As for Liverpool in Group C, the Reds struggled just to get into the group stage, barely getting past Maccabi Haifa of Israel in the third qualifying round then dominated through the first several fortnights before losing on the last day.

And Group A Chelsea's place in the knockout stage was hardly in doubt throughout, though a draw at Barcelona and a loss at Werder Bremen almost made it possible for the surprise German side to sneak into the spot Chelsea was holding. That didn't happen as the Blues beat Levski Sofia 2-0 to remain on top, two points clear of Barca and three on Bremen.

Royal treatment

It seemed that at the beginning of the tournament things in Group E for Real Madrid were in flux, particularly after the 2-0 loss at Lyon. But a 5-1 thrashing of Dynamo Kiev followed by a 4-1 pasting of Steaua Bucharest cemented hopes of a successful showing. Then just as soon as the Galacticos showed their attacking prowess came the downfall, as Real barely defeated Steaua 1-0 on the fourth fortnight and drew Lyon and Kiev to end the group stage. Their 11 points on six games was good enough to advance, but only in second position behind Lyon.

The other darling in Spain is Barcelona, home to Ronaldinho, the Brazilian icon known for his improvisational style of attacking and deft ball skills. Unfortunately they also shared top billing with Chelsea in Group A, the group of death. And Barca struggled mightily at first, getting only one win in its first four matches before finally awakening from their slumber and posting two consecutive 2-0 wins to end the group stage, including the final match at Werder Bremen, the team Barcelona was in a dogfight with for the second spot. So hopefully Barca can show better in the next stage.

But the real surprise came from Valencia CF, who didn't lose a game in Group D until the final day, once they had all but locked up a spot into the next round of competition. So they'll be tough to bargain with, even for a seasoned European club like Inter Milan in the next phase.

Not exactly Italian stallions

There weren't many teams from Italy who ended atop the standings when all was said and done, yet AC Milan did survive a tough group and ended number one.

And as indicated, the Italian giant has gone through the scandal and the repercussions-and they certainly went through the ringer in Group H, a group they were expected to have run away with. That didn't happen, and little-known Lille almost pulled off the stunner, only to lose 2-0 on the final day to secure Milan's passage as the No. 1 team.

Inter Milan also had 10 points, but in Group B that was only good enough for second spot, though they'll go through also. And just to make things more weird, AS Roma also finished on 10 points in Group D and also finished second, making the Italians' time in the group stage seem like déjà vu all over again.

Deutschland demise

Though Bayern Munich easily won Group B on 12 points, their Bundesliga counterparts Werder Bremen and Hamburg finished farther down the totem pole.

Bayern did not lose a match during the group stage, though they had three draws in their last three. That shouldn't mean too much as they now prepare for Real Madrid in the fourth round of the competition.

Bremen did not qualify for the fourth round of Champions League, though they will be seen in the UEFA Cup by virtue of their third-place finish in Group A. On 10 points that would have been good enough to pass on in the CL, but not with the likes of Chelsea and Barca.

And Hamburg was as good as hamburger in Group G with Arsenal and Porto and it showed as the team only won their final match at home versus CSKA Moscow in a game that was meaningless in terms of the final standings.

Portuguese pride

Both Porto and Benfica gained deeper entry into the tournament season-and Sporting Lisbon came up just short of making it three-for-three. Yet the only team to make it further in the Champions League was Porto, who tied Arsenal in Group H on 11 points but lost head-to-head, giving them second place.

Benfica were in the hunt for the nest round of Champions League as well, however they lost 3-1 at Manchester United on the final day to receive a UEFA Cup berth instead of the second spot in Group F. And Sporting Lisbon had a chance to gain UEFA Cup entry on the final day versus Spartak Moscow at home, yet were unsuccessful, losing 3-1.

UEFA Cup on the Eastern Bloc

Though it's not what the clubs were hoping for, two Russian clubs-Spartak Moscow and CSKA Moscow-as well as Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukraine and Steaua Bucharest of Romania will all go the UEFA Cup having taken third spot in their respective groups.

For the two Muscovites it was Spartak who surprised many in Group B by overtaking Sporting Lisbon on their 3-1 victory in Portugal. As for CSKA the 2005 UEFA Cup holders nearly had a Champions League spot in their hands, but two poor performances in their last two sealed their fate and so they'll return to claim UEFA Cup glory once again. Right away-and especially after getting eight points in a group of Porto, Arsenal and Hamburg-you would have to consider them favorites.

And Steaua Bucharest in Group E were able to wrest third spot from Dynamo Kiev of the Ukraine while Shakhtar Donetsk finished Group D with a 2-1 record in their last three to hold third spot and secure passage to the UEFA Cup. The final team from the region, Levski Sofia of Bulgaria, had no points in Group A and were the only team shut out of the points in this round of the tournament.

Other notables

AEK Athens were the only team outside of the afore-mentioned regions to move on-and will do so at the UEFA Cup, having finished third in Group H. Olympiakos of Greece and Galatasaray of Turkey were knocked out of the tournaments and will head back to their domestic leagues for redemption.

Next up for the teams still alive in Champions League is the knockout round from Feb. 20-March 7. It will be a home-and-away series with each winner moving on to the quarterfinals.

The third-place teams from the just-completed group stage will now join the UEFA Cup Round of 32 and will combine with the top 24 teams in that tournament. That round will take place from Feb. 14-Feb. 22.