This article refers to an earlier version of the Champions League draw. Go to the latest Champions League draw article.
The DRAW for the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League Group Stage took place today in Monaco. Soccerlens covered the event LIVE, giving you the groups as they unfolded.
We also got to see the winners of the 2008 UEFA Player of the Year awards.
Full results of the Draw & Awards after the jump.
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UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Group Stage
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Group A . |
Group B . |
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| Inter Milan | ||||
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Group C . |
Group D . |
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| Liverpool | ||||
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Group E . |
Group F . |
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| Olympique Lyonnais | ||||
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Group G . |
Group H . |
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| Real Madrid | ||||
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For an IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS of the groups of Inter Milan, Roma, Juventus, and Fiorentina, see the post below:
UEFA Champions League – Inter, Roma, Juventus, Fiorentina GROUPS Analyzed
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UEFA Player of the Year Awards
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Best Goalkeeper: Petr Cech (Chelsea)
Best Defender: John Terry (Chelsea)
Best Midfielder: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Best Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd)
Best Club Footballer of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd)
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18:59: This completes the SOCCERLENS LIVEBLOG coverage of the UEFA Champions League 08-09 Group Stage Draw. Thanks for watching! Only a few weeks left till it all begins! 😉
18:56: And the winner is… Cristiano Ronaldo. Wow. I’m stunned. NOT.
Fully deserved for Ronaldo. Also a prime candidate to the Ballon d’Or. My picks for 2nd and 3rd: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi.
18:54: Time to announce the European Club Footballer of the Year award. 20 nominees for this one.
18:51: This completes the DRAW! More ceremonies undergoing, presenting a charity. Hey look who’s here. Zinedine Zidane making an appearance, alongside UEFA president Michel Platini.
18:50: ATLETICO MADRID with Liverpool, PSV, and Marseille. Darn, this one’s also a toughie.
BATE BORISOV with Real Madrid, Juventus, and FC Zenit. Two very clear favorites here… on paper.
18:49: ANORTHOSIS (who beat a big team to get here… can’t remember who now) with Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, and Panathinaikos. Anorthosis are from Cyprus by the way.
18:47 DYNAMO KIEV with Arsenal, Porto, and Fenerbahce. After the hot Turkish soil, the Gunners will have to travel to the cold weather of Ukraine. Not easy…
18:45: CFR (yeah, don’t know them either… they’re Romanian) go with Chelsea, Roma, and Bordeaux.
18:44: FIORENTINA with Lyon, Bayern, and Steaua Bucharest. Not a good draw for the Italians…
18:43: AALBORG with Man Utd, Villareal, Celtic.
18:42: Fourth and LAST pot to go!!!!
18:41: Best Forward award goes to… Cristiano Ronaldo. Was there really any doubt?
18:39: Now Eusebio presenting the Best Forward in the UEFA Team of the Year.
18:39: MARSEILLE with Liverpool and PSV.
STEAUA BUCHAREST with Bayern and Lyon. Can it get any easier for the German champions?
18:38: PANATHINAIKOS with Inter Milan and Werder Bremen. José, you lucky devil… -.-
CELTIC with Man Utd and Villareal!! This oughta be interesting…
18:37: FC BASEL with Barcelona & Sporting Lisbon. Pep Guardiola must be satisfied…
18:36: FC ZENIT with Real Madrid and Juventus. Groan… I just hope Juve play them early on. Hate Russian Winter games.
18:35: FENERBAHCE with Arsenal & Porto. Always a tough away game in Turkey for Wenger’s boys.
18:34: BORDEAUX with Chelsea & Roma.
18:33: Time for POT 3!!!
18:32: The announcer is talking about a “clean sweep for Chelsea” in the Team of the Year awards. That leads me to believe the Goalkeeper award went to Petr Cech.
18:31: Midfield player of the year: Frank Lampard.
18:30: Chelsea with Roma!! The Giallorossi dodged the Man Utd bullet there… but is Chelsea really a better deal?
Arsenal with Porto.
Lyon with Bayern!! Can someone wipe that smile off of Klismann’s face?
Inter Milan with Werder Bremen.
18:29: Liverpool with PSV!
Barcelona with Sporting!!
Man Utd with Villareal!!
18:26: Real Madrid with Juventus!!!! Brings back memories from 1998. BAD memories for me. 🙁
18:25: Phew! Finally back to the draw.
18:22: …and John Terry wins the Best Defender award. A great defender, has to work on his penalties. 😉
18:20: False alarm, the draw will have to wait a little. Best defender in the UEFA Team of the Year being handed out. Milan and Italy legend Franco Baresi doing the honours.
18:19: Here we are… pot 2 begins now. Start biting your nails….
18:17: Each team from pot 1 is being drawn at the moment, and placed in each one of the 8 groups. Won’t bother outlining it here, I’ll wait till we finally have two teams being matched.
18:15: The DRAW begins!!!
18:11: DRAW procedure are now explained. The usual: teams from the same pot cannot be drawn together, teams from the same country cannot be drawn together.
18:10: Ex-Roma legend Bruno Conti just introduced. The Stadio Olimpico of Rome will host this year’s final, so Conti jokingly said “This time I’ll be in the final for sure!”
18:05: UEFA Team of the year awards being handed out. Peter Schmeichel was just presenting the Goalkeeper award (sorry, missed who it was).
18:04: Finally managed to connect to the bloody site! UEFA.com must be swamped right now.
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Here are the four pots:
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| Club | ||
| Manchester United (ENG, holders) | ||
| Chelsea (ENG) | ||
| Liverpool (ENG) | ||
| Barcelona (ESP) | ||
| Arsenal (ENG) | ||
| Lyon (FRA) | ||
| Inter Milan (ITA) | ||
| Real Madrid (ESP) |
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| Club | ||
| Bayern Munich (GER) | ||
| PSV Eindhoven (NED) | ||
| Villarreal (ESP) | ||
| Roma (ITA) | ||
| Porto (POR) | ||
| Werder Bremen (GER) | ||
| Sporting Lisbon (POR) | ||
| Juventus (ITA) |
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| Club | ||
| Marseille (FRA) | ||
| Zenit (RUS) | ||
| Steaua Bucharest (ROU) | ||
| Panathinaikos (GRE) | ||
| Bordeaux (FRA) | ||
| Celtic (SCO) | ||
| Basel (SUI) | ||
| Fenerbahçe (TUR) |
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| Club | ||
| Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) | ||
| Fiorentina (ITA) | ||
| Atlético Madrid (ESP) | ||
| Dynamo Kiev (UKR) | ||
| CFR Cluj (ROU) | ||
| Aalborg (DEN) | ||
| Anorthosis (CYP) | ||
| Bate Borisov (BLR) | ||
Group matches will be played on the following dates:
16/17 September
30 September/1 October
21/22 October
4/5 November
25/26 November
9/10 December
The final will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Wednesday 27 May 2009.
Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina are two of the toughest teams in Pot Four; Zenit, Celtic and Fenerbahce would be three to avoid from Pot Three; and in Pot Two Sporting, Villareal and PSV will be the weakest links. Lyon are the weakest in Pot One.
Will have updates for you once the team of the year and the draw is complete. Till then, speculate away….
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