Comments on: UEFA Champions League 2008-09 – Group Stage DRAW

By: levis

levis — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:14:34 +0000

Trust me Marco there is no mistake. Ronaldo picked the ball and gave it to the announcer who then showed it to the TV viewers. And then the third person shuffled the 2 balls in the pot and pulled 1 ball out which was Fiorentina, and you could clearly see only 1 ball remaining in the pot. Like I said this will remain an unsolved mystery.

By: Marco Pantanella

Marco Pantanella — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:27:13 +0000

Well did you consider the possibility the announcer might have made a mistake? Maybe he looked at the table wrong…

Who was it that said the “two-group” thing? The guy doing the draw (i.e. the one you saw picking up balls from the pots) or the guy just doing the commentary?

To be honest, I really don’t see what else it could be…

By: levis

levis — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:08:30 +0000

It seems like everyone missed it except me .
Yes even the announcer said theres only 2 possible groups available. The complete video was on youtube but they have removed it. Its a shame that we probably wont get any proper explanation as to why Fiorentina had only 2 possible groups instead of 4.

By: Marco Pantanella

Marco Pantanella — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:05:35 +0000

Well, your calculations seem correct Levis… but who said that when they were drawn, Fiorentina could only have been placed in 2 groups instead of 4?

Did the announcer on the UEFA Livecast say that? Because if he did, I missed it…

By: levis

levis — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:51:02 +0000

Thx Marco for the reply. I guess my main question is why did Fiorentina have only 2 groups they could have been put in INSTEAD OF 4 by my calculations. You see Aalborg was picked first given them 8 possible groups , Fiorentina were picked second thus 7 possible groups MINUS 3 groups which have allready Italian clubs which leaves 4 remaining groups available with no restrictions.
Let me know. Ciao.

By: Marco Pantanella

Marco Pantanella — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:23:47 +0000

I don’t fully understand your question Levis. Yes, by the time Fiorentina were drawn there were only 2 groups they could have been put in, but that’s part of the luck of the draw.

Or rather, it’s due to the fact Fiorentina were seeded so low and thus placed into pot 4. As you saw, there are many disadvantages to that… Given they qualified for the UCL this year, I’m sure if the Viola repeat their performance next year they will be seeded much higher.

Ans yeah, a Mutu-Steaua “derby” should provide plenty of excitement.

By: Levis

Levis — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:51:32 +0000

Hello guys, can anybody explain why Fiorentina had only 2 groups that they could be drawn onto. If you look closely, there’s 3 groups which already have Italian clubs ( Inter, Juventus, Roma) and Aalborg was picked first from pot # 4, so that leaves 4 available groups that Fiorentina could have been in. The reason why I’m asking its because I didn’t want Fiorentina to be drawn onto the same Group as Steaua since Mutu is Romanian ( duh) and him playing vs a Romanian club is just useless tension. If you have any idea please let me know at levisg@gmail.com

By: Liverpool_Fan

Liverpool_Fan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:03:31 +0000

Every group apart from group F has a clear two clubs who are superior. This draw fixing is doing my head in, they paired us with Athletico to make good TV and give us on of the easiest teams in pot B to make sure we still progress.

By: UEFA Champions League 2008-2009 Group Stage Draw | Diamonds Soccer

UEFA Champions League 2008-2009 Group Stage Draw | Diamonds Soccer — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:13:19 +0000

[...] By Ives agrees that Group D is the toughest mCalcio.com has some initial thoughts on the draw and will provide in depth analysis [...]

By: Arsenal

Arsenal — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:22:07 +0000

Porto will be tricky for us, they have a large bulk good players still at the club like Quaresma, Fenerbahce will be tough one after seeing how they nearly KO Chelsea at some point of last years UCL.

Toni to visit his old club, Fiorentina

United face a banana peel here in the form of Villareal, as the last time they face them, The Red Devils did not make it past the group stage.