Roscoe may still prefer the lower-league brand of football (soccer) to the big-city game, but he’s not unmindful of the major international club tournaments. The matches are always filled with drama and excitement (perhaps more than someone of Roscoe’s years can handle). Last week, 32 of Europe’s best began the arduous process of determining which squad will be the European Club Champion.

To be selected, a team (obviously) needs to be an elite team in their particular national league. Moreover, UEFA uses a complicated coefficient formula to determine how teams are seeded (best described here). Over the summer months, the vetting process eliminates all but the best 32 divided into eight groups. Group play continues until the new year when the knockout stages ultimately lead to the final which is scheduled at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 21 May 2008 where the winner will hoist the European Champion Clubs' Cup (not to be confused with the WWE Heavyweght Tag-Team Champion’s Belt in order of importance).


Not only do these teams have their regular league table in which to compete, they also play in UEFA Champion’s League, as well as the very best players occasionally departing for national squad duties. There really isn’t an “American” sporting comparison to the Champion’s League. Short of national-team tournaments, it’s about as good a brand of football as there is. These are the 32 teams that will battle it out over the next eight months:

Group A
FC Porto (PRT)
Olympique Marseille (FRA)
Liverpool FC (ENG)
Besiktas Istanbul (TUR)

Group B
Valencia CF (ESP)
Chelsea FC (ENG)
Rosenborg BK (NOR)
FC Schalke 04 (DEU)

Group C
Real Madrid (ESP)
Lazio Roma (ITA)
Olympiakos Piraeus (GRC)
Werder Bremen (DEU)

Group D
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
AC Milan (ITA)
Benfica Lisbon (PRT)
Celtic Glasgow (SCO)

Group E
FC Barcelona (ESP)
Glasgow Rangers (SCO)
VfB Stuttgart (DEU)
Olympique Lyon (FRA)

Group F
AS Roma (ITA)
Manchester United (ENG)
Sporting CP Lisbon (PRT)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)

Group G
PSV Eindhoven (NLD)
Fenerbahçe Istanbul (TUR)
CSKA Moskva (RUS)
Inter Milan (ITA)

Group H
Arsenal FC (ENG)
Slavia Prague (CZE)
Steaua Bucharest (ROU)
FC Sevilla (ESP)


These teams feature the very best footballers on the planet (with the notable exception of a midfielder formerly of Man-U and Real Madrid who is presently recovering from leg injuries).

On September 19-20, the First Stage of Group matches were played with the results as follows (winners in bold, draws in italic):

First Phase Group A
Estadio do Dragao
FC Porto 1 - 1 Liverpool

Stade Vélodrome
Marseille 2 - 0 Besiktas

First Phase Group B
Stamford Bridge
Chelsea 1 - 1 Rosenborg

Veltins-Arena
Schalke 04 0 - 1 Valencia

First Phase Group C
Karaiskaki Stadium
Olympiakos 1 - 1 Lazio

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
Real Madrid 2 - 1 Werder Bremen

First Phase Group D
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
AC Milan 2 - 1 Benfica

Shakhtyor
Shakhtar Donetsk 2 - 0 Celtic

First Phase Group E
Estadio Camp Nou
Barcelona 3 - 0 Lyon

Ibrox Stadium
Rangers 2 – 1 VfB Stuttgart

First Phase Group F
Stadio Olimpico
Roma 2 - 0 Dynamo Kiev

Jose Alvalade
Sporting Lisbon 0 - 1 Man Utd

First Phase Group G
Sukru Saracoglu
Fenerbahce 1 - 0 Inter Milan

Philips Stadion
PSV Eindhoven 2 – 1 CSKA Moscow

First Phase Group H
Emirates Stadium
Arsenal 3 - 0 FC Sevilla

Evzena Rosickeho Stadium
Slavia Prague 2 – 1 Steaua Bucurest

Note that only two teams, Valencia and Man-U won their matches on the road.

Roscoe’s Notebook: As interesting as the First Phase matches were, there was big news off the pitch as well. Jose Mourinho stepped down as Chelsea’s coach in the aftermath of the team’s 1-1 draw against Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge earlier in the week. Despite having piloted the club to Premiership titles in ’04-05 and ’05-06, a double League Cup win and one FA Cup, reports in the British press had him feuding over personnel moves with the club’s owner (sounds like George & Billy). Chelsea has not exactly set the world aflame coming out of the box in Premier League play (one defeat, one draw). Having spent close to a reported £200 million in player salaries, the billionaire owner determined that Mourinho wasn’t giving him enough bang for the buck (or pound). In other coaching news, Anatoly Demyanenko stepped down as Dynamo Kiev’s coach following the team’s 2-nil defeat at the hands of AS Roma, where Simone Perrotta and Francesco Totti were the heroes for the home side…

FC Porto and Liverpool played to a 1-all draw, in which the Lads From Liverpool were very fortunate to have come out with a point. Not only did Porto outplay Liverpool, but had to play a man down in the second after Jermaine Pennant was booked for the second time in the match. Lucho Gonzalez put Porto ahead early in the first on a penalty kick, but Dirk Kuyt's header brought Liverpool level. Liverpool’s manager, Rafael Benitez, was very disappointed with his team’s play

Despite losing two players to injury in the first half, Tijani Belaid’s goal in the 63rd propelled Slavia Prague to a 2-1 victory over Steaua Bucharest…2006 Champions League finalist Aresnal had a big afternoon, blowing away FC Sevilla 3-nil on goals from Julien Escude, Robin van Persie (who doubled the lead after the break) and Eduardo Da Silva to cap things off.

In Group C action, Real Madrid downed Werder Bremen 2 – 1 that featured the debut of Real’s Arjen Robben who had missed the team’s first three league matches with injury.

In Group F play, Cristiano Ronaldo scored the lone goal in Manchester United’s victory at Sporting Lisbon, where he began his pro career. It was a slow start for United, who welcomed the return of Wayne Rooney to the lineup.

The Hooligans were made their presence known (and felt) in the Chelsea-Rosenborg match at Stamford Bridge. Ever the welcoming sort, the Big Blue supporters made the afternoon unpleasant for Norweigians. It seems that after the home side went down by a goal, things took a nasty turn in the stands. Were it not for Andriy Shevchenko’s equalizer, who knows what sort of mayhem may have been perpetrated. Still, with all of the drama surrounding Jose Mourinho’s departure, Chelsea is a team in flux.
They will bear watching in the coming weeks.

Roscoe was saddened to hear of Shakhtar Donetsk’s 2-nil triumph over Celtic in Group D play. The Ukrainian squad is a highly paid group that features Mexican Nery Castillo (£14m transfer), whom American audiences should remember from the summer Copa tournaments. Shakhtar had little trouble disposing of the youthful Green squad, as Brandao’s in the 5th and Lucarelli’s in the 8th were all Shakhtar needed.

Barcelona blew away Lyon 3-nil in Group E play, that featured Thierry Henry’s first goal with his new team. However, the play of Messi (one goal) and Ronaldinho were the difference in the match for Barcelona. In the other Group E match, Rangers came back to downed Stuttgart 2-1 on Darcheville’s goal in the 74th before a packed house at Ibrox.

In Group G play, PSV Eindhoven defeated CSKA Moscow 2-1 on goals from Danko Lazovic and Kenneth Perez. Reports indicate that the sides played rough in the first half before PSV opened things up offensively in the second frame. In the other Group G match, Fenerbahce upset Inter Milan 1-nil on Deivid’s goal in the 43rd. Inter’s chances weren’t helped by the suspensions of three of their first-teamers as well as three out with injuries…

In Group H, Slavia Prague defeated Steaua Bucharest 2-1 on goals from Zdenek Senkerik (13) and Tijani Belaid (63). Despite losing two players to injury in the first half, Slavia slowly took control of the match. Bucharest’s Dorin Goian brought the match level in the 33rd on a header, but the second half belonged to Slavia.

The Second Matchdays in the Groups are scheduled for October 2-3.