Group G - worst group ever? Seriously, Sevilla and Rangers?

Group A will be a killer if Bayern show up to play… which they have yet to do in the Bundesliga. Bordeaux is also looking damn tough so far this year. And Juve with Buffon in goal will always be a hard nut to crack.

Bayern play Wolfsburg at home Saturday so we’ll get to see how they both look. Wolfsburg hammered a weak Cologne and handled Stuttgart with aplomb, but a strong looking <strike>bunch of Nazis</strike> Hamburg took ‘em apart.

Great draw for Arsenal.

Man U are in B with their usual soft draw

Oh, so unnecessary. Makes me feel better about linking to the new Eduardo flash game.

Wolfsburg won the Bundesliga last year so I’d say they are more than decent. Granted, they lost some players in the offseason but they were, by far, the team in the fourth pool that you would least like to play. Man U should definitely be thankful that they got CSKA Moscow and Beskitas from the second and third groups. Arsenal’s early-season good fortune continues with a dream group. I’d rate them in this order (from toughest to weakest):

1. C - Real Madrid and Marseille each have to be considered in the top two of teams from impressive leagues. AC Milan is definitely in the top four in Italy.
2. A - Again, three teams who have to be considered in the top three of powerful leagues; just not to the scale of group C
3/4. tie between D and E. Both groups have solid teams in the 2/3 slots to accompany a top-four PL side
5. F - Barca and Inter will be the most exciting group stage matchup but I don’t think either are in danger of not advancing. Each of the above 4 groups have three solid teams.
6/7. B/H - I know very little about the teams in these groups other than Arsenal and Man U. It’d be a shock if neither made it out.
8. G - This group has no one you’d consider a threat to win the whole thing. It’s been since Porto in 2004 that someone outside of what any reasonable soccer fan would regard as the best ten teams in the world has won the CL. I don’t see a premier team in this group.

Makes me feel better about linking to the new Eduardo flash game.

Says the guy who rode Ronaldo and Rooney to titles. Eduardo certainly dove and should be admonished for it but diving complaints from a Man U fan shouldn’t be taken very seriously.

Nor was it intended to be, my friend. Not to mention that I had no dog in the fight. Simply a recent example of diving hilarity.

Or to put it another way: All dives are shameful. And a hell of a lot of players do them. Eduardo got caught pretty flagrantly, at an extremely pivotal moment (which, admittedly, was later made fairly moot.)

Actually, I did have a dog in the fight: Eduardo helped eliminate those godawful away shirts from the Champions League. Amirite?

As the only SPL supporter, Rangers certainly got a very favorable draw.  I am sure they’ll drop a point to Unirea so they’ll finish third, of course…

James, you’re not the only SPL supporter. I was rooting for Celtic through the tough ties with Arsenal; I’ll (only slightly grudgingly) cheer for Rangers to support SPL in Europe.

I didn’t get anything done in my first hour at the office because I was intently staring at the screen watching the little icons move from pot to group. I’m a little embarrassed at how fun I found it

Jeff - Ives (he of SoccerByIves) called group G the anti-Group of Death

A and C look like they’ll provide the best matches. Barca v Inter in F will surely be good, but you know…..no real doubt as to who will move on from that group.

I have a feeling H will be better than people might think…or maybe I’m on drugs?