UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2007 (extracted

MOOD : Ecstatic !!!

A1. Chelsea

A2. Barcelona

B1. Bayern Munich

B2. Inter Milan

C1. Liverpool

C2. PSV Eindhoven

D1. Valencia

D2. Roma

E1. Lyon

E2. Real Madrid

F1. Manchester United

F2. Celtic

G1. Arsenal

G2. Porto

H1. AC Milan

H2. Lille

Here is how the top 16 line up. I cant remember when was the last time when all four English teams topped their groups.

Italy fielded only three teams in the main draw:

>Inter

>AC Milan

>Roma

All three are through.

Same with Spain.

> Barcelona

>Valencia

>Real Madrid

All three are through here too.

Of the three German teams:

>Bayern Munich

>Werder Bremen

>Hamburger SV

only Bayern have advanced. Looks like they arent missing the services of Ballack and the injured Hargreaves.

Of the three French teams:

>Olympic Lyonnais (Lyon)

>Bordeaux

>Lille Metropole

Bordeaux could not make it.

Portugal fielded three teams too, the usual culprits

>FC Porto

>Sporting Lisbon

>SL Benfica

out of which only Porto has qualified.

PSV Eindhoven, semi-finalists against AC Milan in 04-05 are maintaining dutch courage alive.

In my perspective the teams to look out for are All four British teams in alphabetical order: Arsenal

Chelsea

Liverpool

Manchester United

AS Roma: Totti could be their talis-man after his heroics in the world cup and allegations against him during Euro 2004.

Real Madrid: Under new coach Fabio Capello a resurgent Real could return to winning ways. Well they have won more European cups than any other team, 9 if I am correct.

Barcelona: Retaining their title will be paramount to them, but Real are snapping at their heels in the La Liga. So it will be a good exercise of football connoisseurism (pardon my Fren-glish) to see how they strike a balance between La Liga and UEFACL.

AC Milan: They have a point to prove after the shocking betting scandal. They are the only team involved in the scandal who are in the UEFACL. Winning it this season will not only hand them their eighth title but will also help them redeem themselves.

Now the British four.

Arsenal : They were runners up last year. This year is a different story. The rumour mills are on overdrive, talking about Henry and Wenger falling out with each other and Gilberto Silva threatening Henry's captaincy. Winning against the best of Europe will not only stop the rumours but will give the perennial under-achievers of Europe the much needed boost they need after being almost there for four seasons in a row.

Chelsea : Behold the new Roman Empire! Set not in the sprawling landscapes of Lazio the Italian province, but in South West London, Caesar is called Mourinho here. They have won the league twice in a row and are a live wire this season. Critics say their best is yet to come with their vast supplies of money and bench power. Bench power certainly will be crucial as we head towards the business end of the season. Can Jose win a second UEFACL title for himself and the first for Chelsea? Will this reinforce the resurgence of English teams once again after Nottingham Forest and Liverpool dominated Europre in the 70s and early 80s? Sure looks like it.

Liverpool : What Bill Shankley started was carried forward by Bob Paisley, Kenny Dalglish and more recently Rafel Benitez. When I saw him at Bramall Lane when Liverpool were trailing Sheffield United by a goal to nil, on the opening day of premiership, there was an extraordinary air of calmness about him. This reminded me of the cyclone's eye. Chaos all around it but calm. With his focus entirely on UEFACL this season, it would be daft to write Liverpool off this season. If Rafalution takes over Anfield, God save their opposition.

Manchester United : One of the top teams in the European league which did not buy any superstars in the June transfer window. All Sir Alex did was buy Micheal Carrick, sell Ruud van Nistelrooij and trust his old warhorses Ole, Giggs and Scholes. He also handed the tremendous responsibility of spearheading the strike to Saha, who knew his role a few seaons ago when he was given the coveted jersey number 9 worn by Sir Bobby Charlton. Today, almost four months into the season, the underdogs are sitting on top with a three point cushion(considering the fact they've played an extra match) in the league and have bounced back to the top of group F in the champions league. Going down and coming back up has always been a United tradition and we will have to see if they go the distance and lift the trophy in Athens next May.

cheers

Raam