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Thursday, October 01, 2020
The Champions League final was 39 days ago and the next one will start in 240 days. The group stage is on its way to Istanbul in the next two months. The already ambitious schedule is shaking because of Corona. After all, the groups are already drawn.
In the upcoming Champions League season, RB Leipzig will have the most difficult group of the four German participants. Mönchengladbach also has hard lumps on his chest. The European Football Union (Uefa) draw in Geneva, on the other hand, presented defending champions Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund with tasks that can be solved. All the participants now expect a difficult program. The group stage should end in early December and therefore in a good two months. Whether this will work and whether there will be spectators in the stadiums is wide open in view of the corona pandemic.
The Saxons surrounding coach Julian Nagelsmann have to go to French champion and CL finalist Paris Saint-Germain in Group H, England’s record champion Manchester United and Istanbul Basaksehir.
For Borussia Mönchengladbach it goes in a group to register Real Madrid winners Toni Kroos, Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan. For the Gladbach-based company, it’s a return to the big football stage after four years. “It’s a lot,” sports director Max Eberl said. And for coach Marco Rose, the group sounds “really like the Champions League”. At the same time, Eberls set the bar very high: “We started to survive in this group. We want to make the best of it and, if possible, spend the winter in Europe. First and second place are ambitious.”
+++ Read the draw again in the ticker +++
Defending champions FC Bayern Munich, on the other hand, were luckier. The reigning German champions and cup winners will face Atlético de Madrid, RB Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow in Group A. 39 days after Lisbon’s triumph, the Munich team escaped major rivals. Bayern won the final against Paris Saint-Germain with coach Thomas Tuchel 1-0 on 23 August.
“It’s a very interesting group. I haven’t played against two teams, Salzburg and Lok Moscow,” said world champion Thomas Müller, who has played 115 games in CL. “As the current champion of the Champions League, you are already under pressure in the group stage.”
Vice-champion Borussia Dortmund will also face feasible tasks in Group F. The Westphalians have to go to Zenit St. Petersburg, Lazio Roma and Club Bruges. Athletic director Michael Zorc spoke of an interesting group. “We have already had our experiences with St. Petersburg and Bruges in recent years. Our clear goal is to survive the group stage.”
Liverpool, last year’s winner, also received solvable tasks. Coach Jürgen Klopp’s team travels to Amsterdam, Bergamo and to the Danish representative in Midtjylland. The eternal duel between Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus de Turin) in Group G also promises excitement.
Final in Istanbul: concern about risk areas
The goal for all clubs is Istanbul, where the final will take place on May 29, 2021. In the group stage there is a real date hunt until Christmas. The game will be played on 20./21. and 27./28. October 3 and 4 and 24./25. November 1 and 2 and 8/9. December. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there could be more game cancellations, then somehow a new alternate date must be found. UEFA reserves the right to extend the group stage until January 28.
In Germany, it still doesn’t seem clear how to proceed with possible quarantine regulations. “If we compete in the Champions League in a risk area on Wednesday … the foundation must be in place so that we can play in the Bundesliga again on Saturday,” said BVB sports director Michael Zorc, in the FAZ. . Local authorities are responsible, clubs should try to obtain special permits.
If the group stage cannot be completed for “any reason”, the UEFA Executive Committee will decide on the composition of the knockout round, the umbrella association announced. The same rules apply to the Europa League, whose group stage will be drawn tomorrow Friday.
