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!
