UEFA Champions League 2012/2013 Group Stage Draw ~ Coverage

[Escorpiius]

So, here we go again: The Champions League are back after the stunning, heroic; and somewhat miraculous win of Chelsea last season. The Blues are going to try defend their trophy with other top European sides vying for it.

Meanwhile, you can leave out your thoughts on the draw and the Champions League in general. Fantasy predictions are allowed. And like always, I'm gonna leave my thoughts on the teams and the groups stage.

The teams are divided into 4 pots that's been determined by the coefficient points of UEFA. Chelsea; being the holder is automatically into Pot No.1. Here are the 32 clubs that are going to be in this year's CL.

Pot 1

Pot 2

Pot 3

Pot 4

Escorp's personal thoughts:

- Pot 1: No big surprises there. Though I wonder how will the prestigious Milan will perform after being weakened this season. EPL Clubs will be back with a vengeance while Madrid and Barca will remain top-favorites to dethrone Chelsea. I don't know how Bayern will fare after last year's disappointment though.

- Pot 2: Manchester City will remain one of the top dangers that biggies will want to evade. Otherwise, most of the remaining teams are accustomed to CL and are potential dangers.

- Pot 3: Is it me or it is weird to see only two Italian teams in a Champions League edition? Anyways, Juventus is biled as the top Italian club and are reigning Serie A champions. So, rightfully, they are a team that no top guns will want to crossroads with at an early stage. To be noted are the Frenchies - ParisSG with its glitz of stars that they recruited and Lille who barely passed through play-offs after losing their star, Hazard. Ajax, with its history, is always a menace.

- Pot 4: I find it saddening that Dortmund is still in last pot and somewhat, it feels insulting especially when you noticed how Dortmund completely dominated Bayern in Bundesliga in last two years. Anyhow, I personally wouldn't be happy for the teams who'll face-off the Yellow Wagon. Montpellier, Nordsjælland & Málaga are debuting in the CL, so I'll wish them good luck.

The biggest group of death possible will be a Madrid/Barca - Man.City - Juventus - Dortmund. Somewhat, it's so tempting Many new transfer signings like Hazard, Kagawa, Ibra, T.Silva ect... could also face with their old clubs.

And yeah, there's also the 2011/12 UEFA Best Player in Europe prize to be awarded. The Top 3 Nominees are Iniesta, Messi and Ronaldo. You can check stats and achievements of these 3 in the link. To be noted is that this award has been tilted upside-down since it's a combination of both Best Player during the last CL and this year's Euro 2012 (both UEFA competitions). In that sense, Euro's Best Player - Iniesta - is nominated among the last 3. And somehow, the Chelsea heroes - Drogba and Cech - didn't make it to the Top 3 due to Euro's influence. On the hand, Messi's sensational stats in the CL also kept Euro 2012's other heroes out - notably Pirlo and Casillas. Oh well, that's life. Personally, I'd hand the award to Iniesta, with CR7 as first runner-up.

Winner of the 2011/12 UEFA Best Player in Europe: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona | Spain)

EDIT: It has started. It's revealed that the voting of the Best Player will be done live by a panel that's present there in Monaco. Somewhat I don't like this decision. Side note: This dress on Irina Shayk is f*cking hot. Oh just noticed, Iniesta's newly-wedded wife. She looks good too. , Ronaldo is reminding us of his penalties jinxes in last CL and Euro

Group A

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1. FC Porto
2. FC Dynamo Kyiv
3. Paris Saint-Germain FC
4. GNK Dinamo Zagreb

Group B

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1. Arsenal FC
2. FC Shalke 04
3. Olympiacos FC
4. Montpellier HSC

Group C

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1. AC Milan
2. FC Zenit St. Petersburg
3. RSC Anderlecht
4. Málaga FC

Group D - Group of Death

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1. Real Madrid FC
2. Manchester City FC
3. AFC Ajax
4. Borussia Dortmund

Group E

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1. Chelsea FC
2. Shakhtar Donetsk
3. Juventus FC
4. Nordsjælland FC

Group F

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1. Bayern Munich
2. Valencia CF
3. LOSC Lille
4. FC Bate Borisov

Group G

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1. FC Barcelona
2. SL Benfica
3. FC Spartak Moskva
4. Celtic FC

Group H

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1. Manchester United FC
2. Braga SC
3. Galatasaray A.S.
4. CFR Cluj

For Europa League draws, click here!