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On Thursday evening, Arsenal were handed Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan Belgrade in Group H. To many observers it was a decent draw. The Ukrainian champions had never reached the knockout phase of the competition while the other two teams could muster one Champions League campaign between them.

However, speaking exclusively to Arsenal.com on Friday morning, Wenger was more circumspect.

“I think it is more difficult than it looks because we have Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga who are two very good teams. Also there is a lot of travel too. We will be favourites but we start one week after the internationals when the players will have been away.

“We have more experience than the other teams but Shakhtar have some experience themselves and people forget Braga knocked out Sevilla by winning both games [in the Play-Offs].

“I am very confident of course and I am sure we will come out of it. But I don’t think we have an easy group. We’ll need to be on our toes.”

Speaking immediately after the draw for the Champions League group stage in Monaco, Andoni Zubizarreta called for “the maximum respect” for Panathinaikos, FC Copenhagen and Rubin Kazan.

Zubizarreta attended today’s draw in Monaco to hand over the award for best goalkeeper. Afterwards he spoke to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat to analyse the three teams Barça will now face in Group D.

“We can’t take anything for granted”

The former Barça and Spain goalkeeper, now head of professional football at the Club, warned: We can’t take anything for granted. Barça will have the maximum respect for our opponents. If they’re in the draw it’s because they’re earned the right to be there. I’m sure we’ll find they have their strong points”.

Turning to an assessment of each team individually, he described Panathinaikos as a “difficult team” while he highlighted that Copenhagen was a team not often seen in the Champions League. As for Russian champions, Rubin Kazan, who FC Barcelona also met last year in the group stage, Zubizarreta stressed the difficulties posed by the long trip to Russia. (continue reading…)

Keen anticipation, plenty of confidence and a happily relaxed attitude were the hallmarks of the Bayern party which arrived in Madrid on Thursday lunchtime, ready for the Champions League final against Inter. “We’re optimistic and we think we can do it,” said chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge prior to take-off from Munich, “this team deserves to win the Champions League.”

“The mood in the dressing room is very good. We’re all delighted and proud to be here. We have a massive chance to make history,” commented Arjen Robben at the news conference held in the team hotel after the squad’s arrival. The former Real star and his FCB team-mates landed in the Spanish capital after a flight lasting just over two hours, to be greeted by sunny skies and 25-degree temperatures.

Apart from the suspended Franck Ribéry, who has joined up with the France squad to begin preparations for the World Cup but will travel to Madrid for the final, the entire Munich squad boarded Lufthansa flight LH 5018 in time for take-off at 11.30 on Thursday morning. “There’s a little bit of tension, but also a keen sense of anticipation,” reported keeper Jörg Butt. Alongside skipper Mark van Bommel, the shot-stopper is the only Bayern man to have featured in a Champions League final to date. (continue reading…)

“See you in Madrid,” Bayern boss Louis van Gaal texted his Internazionale counterpart José Mourinho, even before their respective teams had made it to the Champions League final. As it turned out, the appointment will be kept. “He’s a good friend from the world of football. And you don’t have many friends in the world of football,” said van Gaal, referring to his former assistant at Barcelona.

Inter’s Portuguese supremo, not otherwise known as a soft-hearted representative of his trade, responded with an unusually warm thought. “We’ll embrace before and after the match – I’m absolutely confident of that,” the 47-year-old Mourinho remarked.

Clash of tacticians

Despite their friendship, the pair will spend the whole of Saturday evening’s game trying to outwit and outmanoeuvre the other. “He’s a cunning tactician, just like our coach. They’ll be thinking about how to catch the other by surprise,” mused Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. More than any other Champions League final of recent years, the Madrid showdown is a battle between master strategists. Both have formed and led to the final teams which rated as unfancied before the start of the season. (continue reading…)

Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery will miss the Champions League final after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected his appeal against a ban.

The 27-year-old France playmaker turned to Cas after Uefa imposed a three-match suspension following his red card for a tackle on Lyon’s Lisandro Lopez.

Uefa had already dismissed an appeal and on Monday Cas upheld the decision.

Saturday’s final clash against Inter Milan in Madrid will be the second match of Ribery’s European ban.

Cas said it would reveal the reasons for its decision “in a few days” but the court’s secretary general, Matthieu Reeb, said that judges were reluctant to interfere in refereeing judgements.
“Cas, in accordance with regular practice, was very prudent in ruling on circumstances on the field of play,” he explained, adding it was a “borderline case”.

Before going to Cas, Bayern had appealed to Uefa in the hope European football’s governing body would cut the ban to one game.

That would have allowed Ribery to play in the final as he had already sat out the second leg of the semi-final against Lyon, following his sending off in the first leg.

The Cas decision means Ribery will also miss the first European match of the 2010-11 season.

Something as trivial as a deep and painful gash was never going to stop Ivica Olic on this particular evening. Blood was dripping from a wound to the back of his head, but the Croat still attacked Philipp Lahm’s 78th-minute cross and headed the ball back across Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris and into the net. Bayern went 3-0 up, all of them scored by Olic in arguably the best game of his career.

“I didn’t want to be substituted, because I had the feeling I could score another couple,” the match-winner stated afterwards, revealing what was said in a touchline exchange between him, Bayern chief medic Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt and boss Louis van Gaal. Olic already had two goals to his name at that point, a 26th-minute right-footed shot on the turn after great work by Thomas Müller, and a left-footed effort on 67 minutes from a sublime Hamit Altintop pass. Bayern were as good as home and dry, but Olic wanted more.
“Scoring three in a match like that is outstanding, a dream,” the 30-year-old declared after the match, a look approaching bewilderment on his face. The former Hamburg striker is now on seven goals in the Champions League this term, a huge contribution to Munich’s thrilling progress to the final. Only eight-goal Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has scored more often. (continue reading…)

Daniel van Buyten was well enough to use the fitness machines at the Säbener Strasse on Sunday, but the Belgian is still rated doubtful for Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final return away to Olympique Lyon. Worryingly for Bayern, the same applies to fellow centre-back Martin Demichelis. The pair were both substituted after sustaining injuries in Saturday’s Bundesliga meeting with Monchengladbach.

Van Buyten suffered a painful blow to the shin and calf early in the second half, while Demichelis sprained a calf muscle before half-time. Both will travel with the FCB party to Lyon on Monday, but a decision over their fitness to play will be left until the day of the match. “I hope at least one of the centre-halves recovers fitness,” Louis van Gaal said after the Gladbach match, “then we’ll have Badstuber, the centre-half, and Contento on the left. I’d be happy with that.” (continue reading…)

After all the pre-match bluster from Olympique Lyonnais general manager Claude Puel, who said that reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League shouldn’t be considered an achievement in itself, les Gones contrived to produce one of their most tepid performances in Europe for many a season against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

FCB’s domination was almost total from start to finish, even for the relatively brief period either side of half-time that they were reduced to ten men when Franck Ribery’s troubles mounted for a needless foul on Lisandro Lopez. Kim Kallstrom at least managed to stretch Hans-Joerg Butt during that spell, but this would be virtually the only time during the course of the match the veteran goalkeeper would be severely worked.

When Italian referee Roberto Rosetti blew his whistle to kick the game off, it was clear Lyon were content to sit deep and allow Bayern to dictate the game. For ten minutes the Germans retained possession rather aimlessly, but gradually they became increasingly active in an offensive capacity, with Arjen Robben, of course, dictating play.

Lyon’s makeshift defence quickly began to creek. Twenty-three-year-old goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who has been so highly praised throughout this campaign was the first on the field to show signs of nerves when he misjudged two consecutive corner kicks. He was not, however, aided by an outfield unit boasting too many fresh faces at such a lofty level. (continue reading…)

Bayern go into next Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg trip to Lyon with a slender one-goal lead after yet another sublime Arjen Robben effort, although Munich might yet rue not scoring a second on a night when Louis van Gaal’s men dominated their Ligue 1 opponents throughout. Both sides had a man sent off in an increasingly enthralling contest, which leaves the Bundesliga leaders with the slight advantage ahead of the return.

The 66,000 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena saw Bayern create much the better of the first-half chances, but Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ivica Olic failed to hit the target. The balance of the game changed controversially with Franck Ribery’s harsh dismissal seven minutes from the break, but parity was restored with Jeremy Toulalan’s sending off for two bookable offences in three minutes shortly after the restart.

It was one-way traffic for a spell after that and chances went begging for the home side, before Robben handed the Bavarians an overdue lead with a trademark 25-yard piledriver. The sides settled for the result, leaving the tie nicely-poised before the return in the Rhone valley next week.

Van Gaal made just one enforced change to the side which thrashed Hanover 7-0 at the weekend, Danijel Pranjic deputising for suspended captain Mark van Bommel alongside Schweinsteiger in the holding midfield area.

Diego Contento continued at left-back in place of Holger Badstuber, with Thomas Müller in the hole behind Olic up front, and Robben and Ribery on the flanks. There was firepower on the Bayern bench too, with Germany international duo Mario Gomez and Miro Klose.

For the visitors, coach Claude Puel made three changes to the side which beat Bordeaux in the quarter-finals. Top scorer Lisandro Lopez shook off an ankle injury and started in place of Bafetimbi Gomis, with Ederson and Miralem Pjanic replacing Michel Bastos and the injured Jean-Alain Bomsong. No fewer than seven of Puel’s men started the game just one booking short of missing the second leg. (continue reading…)