The UEFA Champions League draw finished earlier today and, for Napoli, things could have been better. After their impressive season and a summer transfer window that saw the Neapolitans bring in some talented players, it was looking as if Napoli could have been a dark horse to go deep in the Champions League. However that might not be the case. Placed in Group A, Napoli face three very tough opponents, all having a good chance of advancing. Manchester City are coming off of another big spending summer and have drawn a lot of talk that they might (emphasis on MIGHT) be able to overtake United in the EPL. Not much has to be said about the runners up in Madrid two years ago. Munich always challenges in the Champions League and expect much of the same this year. The remaining team, Villarreal have as much claim to qualify as the others. The way Giuseppe Rossi has been playing alone could be enough to see the yellow submarine move into the knockout stages.
I am in no means saying Napoli can't advance. They are a very talented team capable of competing against the very best, but no doubt they would have liked a better draw. The need of Napoli advancing is greater now than ever. Because of the shifting coefficient, it is vital that Napoli move on. Serie A fans everywhere should hoping that Napoli can find a way to qualify. The ideal scenario sees Napoli advancing while Munich crashes out.
In other news:
Inter should have no problems winning their group let alone qualifying and Milan will most likely end up second to Barcelona (which is totally acceptable seeing as they are probably the best team EVER).
In relation to the coefficient, the other two Bundesliga teams have difficult roads to the knockout rounds. Bayern Leverkusen will be competing against Valencia for the second spot in group E and Borussia Dortmund are seated in another group that is open to anyone with Marseille, Arsenal, and Olympiakos.
I would also like to apologize to Udinese. In a post a few weeks ago, I wrote about Udinese and how they could end up like Sampdoria. I still believe it will be difficult to be as competitive as last year but after watching their two games against Arsenal, I was very impressed. Imagine if they had kept Sanchez, Zapata, and Inler.
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