Update Schedule for the 2019 Champions League Group Drawing: See, Liverpool in Hell Group?
Aug. 21. 2019 15:45
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Not feel time is rolling so fast. It seems like only yesterday night Liverpool won the Champions League. Uh, suddenly it's going to be drawing Champions League group for this season.
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Quoted from Marca (21/08), drawing is scheduled for August 29, 2019 in Monaco local time. 4 pots that will produce 8 groups, are ready to present the intense competition in this round.
4 pots containing 32 participating clubs. A total of 26 clubs have sealed their tickets. While 6 other clubs are still struggling in the play-off phase, including Ajax Amsterdam.
Interestingly, this time the defending champion is predicted to compete in the hell group. Liverpool who are definitely in pot 1, are predicted to meet between Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in this phase.
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Pot 1: contains Champions League champions (Liverpool) and Europa League champions (Chelsea), as well as 6 champions clubs in the European Top league.
Pot 2: Contains 8 clubs which have the highest coefficient in Europe. Including Ajax if it passes the play-offs.
Pot 3 and 4: also determined by their coefficient ranking among the European Top leagues.
So, as the saying goes from the school exam bench, position determines achievement. Which top club will be lucky to meet easy opponents in the group phase? And will Liverpool really be in the hell group?
Throw a La Liga! Here are the 4 Barcelona Players Transfers 8/20/2019: No 3 & 4 Official?
1. Neymar
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ESPN (8/20/2019) claims that Barcelona are seeking Neymar's return. But their offer was again rejected by PSG. The report claims that in their latest offer, Barcelona submitted a loan scheme for Neymar.
2. Juan Miranda
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Juventus have met with Barcelona management to discuss the potential of the transfer of young left back, Juan Miranda. Goal (8/20/2019) understands that the sporting director of Juventus, Fabio Paratici flies directly to Barcelona to open the negotiation stage.
3. Nelson Semedo
As reported by Marca (8/20/2019) Club La Liga, Barcelona has the potential to lose one of their defenders this summer. Their defender, Nelson Semedo, is officially announced to be joining PSG in the near future.
4. Luis Suarez
Launching from the sports news portal page Calciomercato (8/20/2019) Barcelona is ready to shake up La Liga by officially offering Luis Suarez to Juventus. This is certainly like a windfall for the Bianconeri who are still targeting new players to fix their front lines.
Revealed: The stats that show Premier League is streets ahead for attracting world's best managers
The Premier League is attracting the world's best managers
With Jose Mourinho's imminent return to the Premier League, the managerial scene in England's top flight will be stronger than ever ahead of the 2016/17 season. English clubs may not be dominant when it comes to European competition, but they are still able to attract the world's top managers as the league lives off its tag as 'The Best in The World.' While Mourinho is poised to assume his rivalry with Pep Guardiola in Manchester for the 2016/17 season, Messrs Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte will also be among the main protagonists in the Premier League managerial pantomime. Leicester City's title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri is also worth a mention, while the likes of Ronald Koeman, Slaven Bilic and Walter Mazzarri - another new, well established addition to the Premier League - will all bring their wealth of experience to the table.
Guardiola and Mourinho are likely to resume their rivaly as managers of both Manchester clubsCredit:AFP
With honours comes a heavyweight status, and the glut of achievements amassed by the managers in the Premier Leagues dwarfs those of their contemporaries in Europe's other top leagues. To quantify the comparisons between Europe's top leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France) a manager's ranking index was created. Each manager assuming posts for the forthcoming 2016/17 season received three points for every Champions League won, two points for every League and Europa League won, and a point for a domestic cup.
Jason Burt: 3 challenges facing Mourinho at Man UtdPlay!01:15
The three promoted clubs from Spain's Segunda Division are yet to be confirmed, so for this, the managers from the side's currently occupying the top three places were used for the study. Similarly, the third promotion spot from Italy's Serie B is also yet to be decided, so again, the third-placed side has been used. Both instances proved to be inconsequential nonetheless. With the trophies tallied and points added up, the Premier League finishes top with a substantial index score of 92 points. Had Rafael Benitez not been relegated with Newcastle, the score would have reached 105. Nonetheless, their lead is an emphatic one over second placed La Liga whose index score is 38. Serie A are a close third with 34, while Nice's appointment of Lucien Favre yesterday brings them up 26. Germany's Bundesliga props up the index table with 22 points.
Where the Premier League is concerned, the introduction of Mourinho and Guardiola significantly boosts England's score with four Champions League medals between them. Notwithstanding, it is the Premier League manager's domestic pedigree which is incredibly dense, with league titles won in all of Europe's top six leagues. This figure rises to seven where cups are concerned, when Arsene Wenger's success in Japan is accounted for. It's not a lie when they say the Premier League is very much a global division.
United supporters split over Marmite MourinhoPlay!01:30
Spain
Meanwhile in Spain, Luis Enrique's duo-season success with Barcelona bolsters the index score for La Liga. A host of experienced managers add to the Spanish tally, such as Sevilla's triple-Europa League winning manager Unai Emery. Furthermore, managers such as Ernesto Valverde and Constantin Galca have won titles in Romania and Greece respectively. And of course, there is Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone - of the best young managers in world football - who is poised to win his first Champions League to add to his La Liga and Copa del Rey titles.
Italy
The clubs in Serie A have been a sleeping giant in recent years, but the re-ignition of clubs such as Juventus have helped propel the league to reasonable prominence. Indeed, Maximilliano Allegri helps to inflate Serie A's score, as does former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who has experienced success in three countries. Ex-QPR manager Paulo Sousa is also a tri-country trophy winner.
France
Ligue 1 assume the penultimate spot in the the managerial index league, with their meagre total bolstered by the hegemony of Laurent Blanc and his all-conquering Paris Saint-Germain side. Now all of the domestic boxes are ticked off, the next step for them is the Champions League. Barring Blanc, the honours are sprinkled around the division. Talented pair Leonardo Jardim and Christophe Galtier both have trophies to their name, while Sylvain Ripoll famously won the league with Montpellier in 2012. Furthermore, the aforementioned appointment of former Borussia Moenchengladbach manager lifts the French league off bottom spot, thanks to the titles he won in his native Switzerland.
Germany
The amply-praised Bundesliga are at the foot of the managerial index table, despite Bayern Munich's acquisition of the much-decorated Carlo Ancelotti. The vastly experienced Italian has enjoyed success in three countries, with his score being elevated further by his three Champions League wins in 2003, 2007 and 2014. After him, only three other Bundesliga managers have honours to their name in a league which is rich with young, but inexperienced managers. As always, the Premier League tops its European contemporaries in yet another ranking. Everything but Uefa's coefficient. English viewers are treated to the best entertainment. Now, with the amalgamation of the best managers, it's time for the Premier League to step up and become a force on the European stage once again. *At the time of writing, Everton FC (Premier League) was not included following the departure of manager Roberto Martinez.
A Chelsea fan's view on Jose Mourinho to Man United: We'll miss the good times but not the drama
Mourinho and the fans who used to worship him will now look at each other in a different way, writes Dan Levene
Laurence Griffiths
Mourinho left Chelsea for a second time last season This was supposed to be forever. But, just three years since his triumphant return to Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho is now occupying Sir Alex Ferguson's seat in the Manchester United dugout. And a great many Chelsea fans will be hurting, you can be sure of that. Mourinho fitted in perfectly at Chelsea. He was brash and arrogant but, at least for a while, he walked the walk. He chimed perfectly with the personality of a club that has always been a bit showbiz, and has seldom cared about what anyone else thought of it. And he created his own myth, at the same time as he created one for the first club to ascend football's new internationally moneyed hierarchy.
Adam Davy/PA Wire
Many Chelsea fans will miss Mourinho...
John Walton/PA Wire
...but will Man United fans have the same connection? This is why Mourinho was so adored by Chelsea fans – though it helped that he was devilishly handsome, and as suave as he wanted to be. But if Chelsea fans thought they had a keeper, they were very much wrong. Instead, it was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton all over again: can't live apart, but really can't live together. And now those of a Blue persuasion, find themselves peeping out from behind the net curtains at their ex, parading down the street with the much bigger fella from up the road. Read more:7 issues Mourinho must solve at United
VIEW GALLERY The emotions are many and varied. There is anger, upset, and denial. There is also a good deal of: “So what?” There are those who still insist he can do no wrong. But there are also a great many who express at least a few reservations about the players drummed out of the side by him. Be it Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Andre Schurrle or Juan Mata (and a penny for his thoughts right now), most will admit to reservations about the rashness or one or more of their disposals. Even among those who have limitless respect for his achievements, there are many who will not miss the antagonism with the FA, the occasional criticism of fans, and the histrionics which resulted in the ongoing Eva Carneiro saga. All of that is now United's to deal with.
Mourinho's very first match in charge of Chelsea, back in August 2004, was a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. And, given how the supposedly random Premier League fixture computer likes to chuck-out a classic yarn or two, who would bet against the same fixture cropping-up on opening day 2016? But how will Mourinho go down at Chelsea wearing the club blazer and tie of the Red Devils? Mourinho has been back before, of course. With Inter, who dumped Chelsea out of the Champions League, he was warmly welcomed. Just as, when returning to Porto with Chelsea in those early days, he was again the recipient of positive emotion.
Chelsea, as a club and fanbase, is not about burning shirts or booing alumni. If you have earned your stripes at Stamford Bridge, the lion rampant remains somewhat placid towards you – so long as you don't tug its tail. Gus Poyet was a hugely popular figure in the late 90s Chelsea side that played wonderful flowing football, and so nearly won the league. Though when he crossed London to Tottenham, and kissed the bitter rival's club badge in front of Chelsea's travelling support, he became Public Enemy Number One back at The Bridge. Gordon Durie made the same journey a decade earlier than that, and still almost all Chelsea fans of a certain age refer to him as 'Judas'.
Richard Heathcote/Getty
Mourinho's second spell at the Bridge didn't last as long as expected But both of those examples involve Spurs; and both involve figures that, though loved, were never unconditionally adored in the way Mourinho has been by many. Mourinho is canny when it comes to this side of things. He has never insulted or belittled a former club, and it seems unlikely he will start doing that now when it comes to Chelsea. But however things pan out: Mourinho, and the fans who used to worship him, are going to have to look at each other in a very different way from now on. And that is unlikely to be a simple matter for either to get used to.
Louis van Gaal has been sacked as Manchester United manager
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Louis van Gaal has been dismissed from his position as manager of Manchester United.
Albert Stuivenberg, Frans Hoek and Max Reckers, members of Van Gaal's backroom team, have also been dismissed.
Van Gaal, who led his side to victory in the FA Cup final just two days ago, has lost his job after an otherwise disappointing campaign, which was characterised by a lacklustre, conservative playing style.
United were eliminated from the Champions League group stages in December and then failed to qualify for next season’s edition of the tournament, finishing fifth in the Premier League. However, Van Gaal, who replaced David Moyes in 2014, was always unlikely to see out the final year of his three-year contract at Old Trafford, even if a top-four finish had been salvaged.
Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager, is expected to replace Van Gaal on a three-year contract.
The Portuguese tactician has reportedly offered Ryan Giggs a position on his coaching staff, but the Man United legend is apparently set for the exit after 29 years at the club.
Hopes will be high that Mourinho can restore United to the lofty heights they occupied for the majority of Alex Ferguson's tenure in the Old Trafford dugout, and the ex-Chelsea manager's pedigree in England will encourage supporters that he can achieve just that.
Mourinho won three Premier League titles with the Blues, although he was sacked before Christmas just months after leading the club to league glory after an alarming dip in form that saw Chelsea down near the relegation zone.
This will be Mourinho's eighth club job, after stints with Benfica (2000), Uniao de Leiria (2001-2002), Porto (2002-2004), Chelsea (2004-2007, 2013-2015), Inter Milan (2008-2010) and Real Madrid (2010-2013).
Despite winning league crowns in four countries and two Champions League titles, Mourinho has never coached a club for four or more full seasons.
Antonio Conte will look to wingers to restore Chelsea's lustre, says former team-mate Angelo Di Livio
The Italian is likely to be keen for Eden Hazard to stay at Stamford Bridge despite his recent struggles
Eden Hazard could be restored as the main man at Chelsea
Antonio Conte will look to his wide men to restore Chelsea ’s sheen after a season of misery for the deposed Champions.
All of which could make keeping Eden Hazard at Stamford Bridge priority number one for the Italian when he arrives in England after Euro 2016.
That’s the view of Angelo Di Livio, who knows the new Chelsea boss better than most having played alongside him for both Juventus and the Italian national team.
Hazard has had a miserable season after winning the 2015 PFA Player of the Year award. He cut a disillusioned figure as Chelsea’s fortunes slid in the final days of Jose Mourinho’s second reign as boss and looked a shadow of the player who inspired the club to the Premier League title the previous season.
The 25-year-old’s only goals before April came in a Belgian shirt or in the FA Cup. The previous season he had netted 15 times as Chelsea romped to the title. Hazard was expected to be one of the first players out of the door this summer. But four goals in the club’s last five Premier League matches coupled with a general up-turn in form under Guus Hiddink have led to a reported U-turn by club and player.
Hazard is thought to be keen to work under the Italian – and Di Livio believes the way Conte sets up his teams could make Hazard indispensable. “At the beginning of his career at Juve, he (Conte) told the media that he didn’t like to play out wide and that he didn’t have fun there,” says the former Italy star. “Marcello Lippi publicly scolded him and since that moment Conte embraced his new role despite not liking it. “This says a lot about someone who now emphasises the importance of wide players in his teams.
Valerio Pennicino
Conte will start his new job in the next few weeks “It’s a real lynchpin of his system. When you become a coach, you understand these things even better.” Conte will begin his role at Stamford Bridge following the conclusion of the European Championships in France.
And working for Chelsea could prove some light relief after working with an Italy side which has been in decline since reaching the last European Championships final.
There are plenty of Azzurri supporters who could never look past Conte’s Juventus links. But Di Livio said: “He is having double sessions of English. And despite having problems with most supporters in Italy because of his Juventus allegiance, I am sure that Italians will want him to do well. “In a similar fashion to what is happening now with Claudio Ranieri at Leicester.”
Valentino Rossi returns to Tuscany: Live stream MotoGP Italy or watch on TV with BT Sport
What time does the MotoGP Italy start? How can you watch the ItalianGP on TV or live stream the race? Read our in-depth preview to find out everything you need to know about enjoying Free Practice, Qualification and the MotoGP: Italy races on BT Sport 2, BT Sport Ultra HD, BTSport.com or the BT Sport app.
The MotoGP circus arrives in Mugello for the sixth race of the season this weekend as Valentino Rossi returns to Italy.
Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo takes a five point lead into the ItalianGP, but Repsol rider Marc Marquez is hot on the Yamaha man's heels, with Rossi completing the top three.
Though he has won once at Mugello, it is clear that, historically-speaking, this race could be competed between Rossi (seven wins) and Lorezno (four wins).
But maybe wildcard pick Andrea Iannone cannot be overlooked as the Ducati racer has a circuit top speed record (350.8) amd secured best pole last year.
And Iannone will be confident he can emulate his second-place podium finish from last year and be the one who cracks open the champagne at the race's end, instead of Lorenzo.
Race fans are always in for a treat at the Autodromo del Mugello as the Tuscan countryside provides one of the most beautiful backdrops in the entire MotoGP calender.
The spectators are also revered for their enthusiasm and boistrousness and it has even been suggested that Lorenzo and Marquez have bodyguards when they are away from the paddock!
The safety measure may be in use because of the allegedly controversial nature of the conclusion to last season's championship, with Italian favourite Rossi accusing Marquez of conspiring against him during the battle with Lorenzo.
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