Maybe you can call it karma.
After spending weeks fighting the Olympic call-up of defender Rafinha, Schalke 04 has secured the toughest match-up in the Champions League Third Round draw. The Germans will face Atletico Madrid, who will also be missing an Olympian (some kid by the named of Sergio Aguero).
Barcelona wasn’t punished as badly for its attempts to hold onto Lionel Messi. Barca will have to find away to beat either Beitar Jerusalem or Wisla Krakow without the services of Messi. Let’s just say if they can’t beat either of those teams without Messi then they deserve to be eliminated.
Oguchi Onyewu’s soon-to-be-former club Standard Liege drew Liverpool in what would have been a very interesting match-up if Onyewu wasn’t ready to bolt from the Belgian club (that is what I have heard from multiple sources for months now, though no word yet on just where he might go. If I were a betting man I’d bet on somewhere in France or England).
Speaking of karma, former England manager Steve McLaren and his new club Twente Enschede drew Arsenal. It would be a far more ironic drawing if Arsenal actually had any English players of consequence (well other than Theo Walcott of course).
Here is the full draw for the Champions League third round, which begins play on Aug. 12th and 13th, with second legs being played on Aug. 26th and 27th.
What do you think of the draw? Are there any match-ups you will be especially interested in? Share your thoughts below.
can gooch still play in the game vs. liverpool?
Hey cmon ives, Beitar Jerusalem will beat barca to get into the group states :P…..i hope. Maybe they will move the game to the big stadium in israel, instead of the 20,000 jerusalem stadium
Torres and Keane (pacy, technically gifted strikers) = Onyewu’s worst nightmare (see his 2007 performance for Newcastle against Craig Bellamy for proof)…too bad he didn’t get a shot at Crouch, the one player on the planet he is most suited to dominate…
Very good point, Luis. He COULD go to a CL team if it was a French side, well, Marseille or Bordeaux….he ain’t quite Lyon material.
Galatasaray vs. Steaua Bucharest should be a good match.
Not that Gooch is going to a Champions League team for all I know, but if he were to play against Liverpool he would be cup tied and that diminishes his value.
Does anyone know why Atletico Madrid aren’t throwing a fit about losing Aguero for these matches? The same amount of money from the Champions League group stage is at stake for them. Do they have better players to replace Aguero than Schalke have to replace Rafinha? It’s not a Spanish thing because Barca pitched a fit about losing Messi and didn’t want to release Ronaldinho before they sold him.
Now Schalke will be even more adamant about not wanting to let Rafinha go.
More on Gooch please. I’d love to see him get another shot at playing Torres.
Wouldn’t a solid game against Liverpool be a pretty good audition for anybody watching Gooch? Seems like a pretty good opportunity to me.
Steaua Bucharest
Is that the team Toja is supposed to join?
In the UEFA Cup draw, Danny Califf’s team (Midtjylland) will face Man City.
all these matches should be just kept secret and quickly taken care of so we could more readily move towards something interesting, though I suppose there could be some upset somewhere. not likely though…
Onyewu’s soon-to-be former club? Ives, do you know something we don’t?
What’s the deal w/ Gooch, Ives? Where’s he going?