There were two major reasons why focus was at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco yesterday. The UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw and the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.
GROUP A
Manchester United FC (ENG)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)
Real Sociedad de Fútbol (ESP)
Really don't know what to think about this group. Just as long as Manchester United make it through to the Last 16. It appears to be tough though.
GROUP B
Real Madrid CF (ESP)
Juventus (ITA)
Galatasaray AŞ (TUR)
FC København (DEN)
A pretty tough group. Each one of these clubs will put up a good fight, but it is expected for the first 3 clubs to relax in their encounters with FC København. However, the first 3 clubs will be fighting for a spot in the Last 16. This group will be worth watching.
GROUP C
SL Benfica (POR)
Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
Olympiacos FC (GRE)
RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
It's possible for this group to remain this way at the end of the group stage matches. However, Olympiacos FC will be looking to go through too.
GROUP D
FC Bayern München (GER)
PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
Manchester City FC (ENG)
FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
Title holders Bayern Munich is grouped with a couple of resilient clubs. However, in previous seasons Manchester City have failed to make it to the Last 16. Could this be their year? I doubt it. Even if City go through to the Last 16, they won't get very far. This isn't child's play.
GROUP E
Chelsea FC (ENG)
FC Schalke 04 (GER)
FC Basel 1893 (SUI)
FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU)
It's pretty obvious who the top two clubs are in this group. This is another group which may look exactly like this at the end of the group stage matches. Hopefully for Chelsea supporters, they won't be relegated to the Europa League like last time.
GROUP F
Arsenal FC (ENG)
Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)
SSC Napoli (ITA)
Arsenal must be in the toughest group of all, especially since they haven't won any silverware in an embarrassingly long time. Olympique de Marseille, Borussia Dortmund and Napoli will almost be impossible to beat. In previous years Arsenal has gone through to the Last 16. However, this season looks bleak.
GROUP G
FC Porto (POR)
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
FC Zenit (RUS)
FK Austria Wien (AUT)
Another challenging group. FC Porto may be the table toppers in the end, but Atlético Madrid and FC Zenit will be fighting for second place.
GROUP H
FC Barcelona (ESP)
AC Milan (ITA)
AFC Ajax (NED)
Celtic FC (SCO)
This is exhausting! Every season Barcelona and AC Milan meet. If Messi gets injured again, hopefully Barca won't just give up like they did against Bayern Munich last season. Anyway, Celtic FC pressed hard in the group stages last season, with Victor Wanyama taking his place at midfield.
The opening UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures will take place on 17 and 18 September, with the final in Lisbon scheduled for Saturday 24 May.
It's so disturbing how the last club in each group is always the weakest club. Hopefully one of the smaller clubs can cause an upset. It wouldn't be surprising if it happened to Manchester City.
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award
Franck Ribéry
FC Bayern München forward Franck Ribéry was awarded the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in Monaco.
Ribéry beat the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to receive the award given by UEFA President Michel Platini, in a live vote by journalists through an electronic voting system.
Ribéry is the third player to win this award after Andrés Iniesta (2011/12) and Lionel Messi (2010/11).
"It's always nice to win this trophy; it's a special moment for me to be here this evening. I want to thank all my team-mates and the directors at Bayern, and the supporters. We've had a fantastic year, and a big hello to all my family, my children and my wife."
"It is a special thing to win trophies like this, knowing that you are one of the three nominated players along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It is flattering to be alongside those two great players."
"It was an extraordinary year for us, we'd wanted that trophy for so long and to play at Wembley was fantastic. I think Bayern deserved to win the cup after such a long time."
I'm just glad Messi didn't win it. He can't win everything you know. Besides, Ribéry deserved it. Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League and German Cup all in one season and he was part of it all. Congratulations!
Last night, Old Trafford honoured the lives of Jack Crompton, Brian Greenhoff and Ron Davies with a minute's applause.
Manchester United: De Gea, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Jones, Cleverley, Carrick, Welbeck, Valencia, Rooney and van Persie.
Subs: Anderson, Giggs, Smalling, Lindegaard, Young, Kagawa, Buttner.
Chelsea: Cech, Cole, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Oscar, Hazard, Lampard, Ramirez, De Bruyne and Schurrle.
Subs: Essien, Torres, Mata, Obi Mikel, Lukaku, Schwarzer, Azpilicueta.
Referee - Martin Atkinson
Many wanted to see whether Rooney will start on the field or on the bench. Well, he started on the field. Maybe Moyes did it on purpose, to dangle Rooney in front of Mourinho or maybe he did it to revoke his statement or the misunderstanding of him saying Rooney will be second choice.
The first half ended with a stalemate. Oscar was behind most if not all of Chelsea's chances. I missed the team sheets before the start of the match and the whole time during the first half I didn't even know Hazard was on the field.
However, Wayne Rooney was at the heart of every Manchester United play at Old Trafford. He was taking shots, setting up, defending, he was doing it all, except for goal keeping. He epitomised United's performance. United hadn't been defensively strong, but they managed to keep Chelsea at arms length.
Chelsea fans were singing "We'll see you next week to Rooney," in which Rooney responded by elbowing Terry.
In the second half Manchester United were as impressive as they were in the first. They created chances but lacked that vital final touch. Chelsea was another reason why Manchester United couldn't score - they blocked most of Rooney's shots to stop the Englishman from scoring.
I'm just waiting for Rooney to say: "I'M STAYING!"
This time, van Persie was in Rooney's shadow.
Schurrle took a great shot which hit the crossbar but he was way offside. Chelsea had a few chances with the ball, but De Gea was very alert at goal, stopping Oscar's shots before they landed in the back of the net.
There were a few penalty shouts, but not enough to make Martin Atkinson point to the penalty spot. Moreover, United gave a few handball shouts against Chelsea, but again, Atkinson did not budge (only once, outside the box).
The last 15 minutes were disappointing ... It seemed that none of the clubs were aiming to win the match, but also didn't want to lose it, so they both settled for a draw. Honestly, Manchester United was the better club ... Is the better club.
Mourinho: "I think the result is fair...I told the players before the game: we play to win, but if we don't win, we don't lose."
Moyes: "I thought we played well, I'm disappointed we didn't get a goal from it. It was tough, Chelsea defended well."
When it came to The Chosen One and The Special One, they behaved themselves. While standing near the touchline, The Special One was looking for his pen to scribble in his notebook and started to do the Pata Pata Dance - he looked pretty funny. At some point, The Special One appeared to be sulking a few minutes after De Bruyne's yellow card for his tackle on van Persie.
Man of the Match: Wayne Rooney (for the Duchess).
Petr Cech reached his 200th Chelsea clean sheet.
Last night was United's first goalless draw at home in the Barclays Premier League since May 2009 (v Arsenal).
Chelsea held Manchester United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford to remain undefeated from 3 games and stay top of the log.
It wasn't the best match but also not the worst, it's still early days, only 3 matches played. It's too soon to tell the journey these two clubs will make as time goes on. Nevertheless, it was too early in the season for these clubs to meet, their encounter should at least have taken place after 7 or 8 matches.
Former Premier League referee Mark Riley; former Chelsea striker Hernán Crespo; Everton manager Roberto Martinez; Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini; England manager Roy Hodgson, and many more were at Old Trafford last night.
I'm not sure anymore. Was the match boring or not? If it was boring, I would've been drowsy or even worse, fallen asleep but I didn't. I watched the whole match including the match analysis at the end.
Tonight the Theatre of Dreams holds its first match of the English Premier League season. And what an amazing way to try out the new pitch than with a match of such magnitude. The Chosen One will come face-to-face with another challenge as Manchester United manager when he takes on The Special One.
Look at it this way:
The man who wanted to be the manager at Old Trafford will be sitting as the manager of the visiting team instead of the home team. The Special One did not become The Chosen One because The Chosen One was chosen by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Moyes v Mourinho
Played - 8
Moyes - 0
Mourinho - 5
Draws - 3
The stats are against Moyes. However, this time he is Manchester United manager, a club more successful than Everton.
So far Moyes has only signed 1 player if I'm not mistaken, while Mourinho has signed ±3 players and is looking to place a 3rd bid for Rooney after tonight's encounter. Will Rooney start the match on the field or on the bench? It would be interesting and beneficial to Manchester United if Moyes has Rooney in his starting line up, paired him up with van Persie. It's not everyday you find a football who scores as well as creates goals.
Key Players
Manchester United - Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney
Chelsea - Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard (according to Avram Grant)
Manchester United will be without Rafael, Nani, Ashley Young and Hernandez due to injury or due to lack of fitness.
When the two sides met last season, Chelsea won 3, Manchester United won 1 and they shared the spoils in the other.
Javier Hernandez has managed to score in 6 of his 9 appearances against Chelsea in all competitions.
At Old Trafford, Mourinho has won W3 D2 L2.
Juan Mata has scored in each of the last three Premier League games between Chelsea and Manchester United.
Many people think Manchester United are indestructible when they are in the Theatre of Dreams, I don't think so.
No disrespect but I really wished it was Sir Alex Ferguson v The Special One. Old Trafford will be full but empty without the presence of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Who will win this encounter?
The Chosen One,
The Special One
Or
No-one
Pre-season is where all eyes were on the 'new' managers - their squads, substitutes, transfer window activity and even how they dress.
But let us not forget - victory in one club doesn't necessarily mean victory in the next one.
However, before we get ahead of ourselves, who will lead their club to titles this season? Who will resign? And who will be sacked? I think the sacking part is the fun part ... I'm sure Roman Abramovich agrees with me!
ALL EYES ON:
Bayern Munchen - Pep Guardiola
Managing Bayern will be a bit challenging especially after winning the treble last season under the leadership of Juup Heynckes. It will be tough to fill those shoes, but with Bayern being such a well oiled machine, it shouldn't be that hard. It won't be easy for Pep this season, he has to keep Bayern winning titles and all will be good.
Pep has already thrashed Barcelona during a friendly match. So he's off to a good start. The Bundesliga has begun, so let's hope he keeps it up.
During his reign at Barcelona, Pep won a total of 13 trophies. Can he match or exceed that at Bayern?
Chelsea - José Mourinho
If Mourinho wanted to be a Chelsea manager, why did he leave in the first place? Anyway, since he has already been manager of Chelsea, his role could be an easy one, but with Roman Abramovich sacking managers every now and then, he better be careful. Like every other manager, Mourinho will be looking to win titles, especially after leaving Madrid with nothing last season. However, when it comes to Chelsea, they do at least win one title every season. If Rafael Benitez can do it, so can anyone, and so can the Special One. Chelsea supporters love Mourinho, that was evident during Rafa's reign. Mourinho 'lives' for touch line bans, so he has to put his ego and temper aside so he can make Chelsea successful. At Madrid he spent more time banned than the number of titles he won at the Bernabeu.
With a total of 18 titles across Europe, Mourinho can make Chelsea a force to be reckoned with.
Manchester United - David Moyes
One man has the world on his shoulders - Moyes. Can he continue the historical legacy of Sir Alex Ferguson? How would you handle taking over a man as great as Sir Alex Ferguson? With no major titles under his belt, just a long serving manager, how will he make it at Old Trafford? 20 English Premier League titles and they dropped to 2nd place on the Forbes list. Can Moyes keep United winning titles, or retain their number one spot on the Forbes list? Besides Moyes winning titles with United, can he win the hearts of Red Devils all around the world? Major love for Fergie doesn't just disappear.
Only one title, in the second division, in 2000 and he lost his first match (summer tour) in charge. However, he redeemed himself by leading United to their first title this season, the FA Community Shield last Sunday.
Manchester City - Manuel Pellegrini
It came as a shock for some football enthusiasts to hear that Pellegrini took over City. It was surprising because the last time Pellegrini was in charge of a big club (Real Madrid), he looked like a zombie, never smiled and resembled Arsène Wenger whenever Arsenal were in trouble. He was more a puppet than a manager. The Chilean had his glory days at Málaga CF when he led them to the Champions League quarter-finals. Anyway, Pellegrini said he will lead City to overtake Manchester United in the Premier League. City supporters will be looking forward to that. However, Pellegrini started on a bad note when City lost 2-0 to SuperSport United and 2-1 to Amazulu in South Africa during the Football Invitational in Support of Mandela Day 2013. Once again, City have been the big spenders in the Transfer Window. Which reminds me, didn't the same thing happen when he was at Real Madrid and led them to a then 96 points record and no title?
A tough challenge lies ahead for Pellegrini.
Everton - Roberto Martinez
After leading Wigan Athletic to FA Cup glory and relegation, Martinez will be in the Premier League as Everton manager. Can Martinez keep Everton in the top 10? Or will he push them towards relegation like he did Wigan? However, relegation is a major doubt since Everton is a strong team, stronger than Wigan obviously. With Everton referred to as stagnant (according to the supporters), hopefully Martinez can lift them higher and take Everton to the winners circle with a title or two or more.
Real Madrid - Carlo Ancelotti
What will the Italian bring to Madrid? Ancelotti recently led Paris-Saint Germain to a league title, while Madrid won absolutely nothing. With a star-studded club, victory should be inevitable. Sadly, Madrid lost to Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals, lost La Liga to Barcelona and lost to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Cup. It's a long shot, but maybe Ancelotti can keep the peace between Madrid and Barcelona during El Clasico matches. Most importantly, can he lead Madrid to Champions League glory and regain La Liga from Barcelona?
*Figures are a rough but close estimate.
Other 'New' Managers
Malaga CF - Bernd Schuster
Napoli - Rafael Benitez
Paris Saint-Germain - Laurent Blanc
Stoke City - Mark Hughes
Wigan Athletic - Owen Coyle
Most news stories and press conferences consist of the same or similar reports ... Manager will bring success to club ... I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
