Champions League Group Stage Draw

[GreekLunatic]

Pao can easily get 2nd spot here. The key is not to cop a heavy defeat in the first game against Inter. Pao and beat both ano and werder home and away.

[drakos13]

I'm really shocked that so many people are undermining Anorthosis. This is farrrr from being an easy draw.

Anorthosis embarassed Olympiakos. Omonoia were better than AEK in Greece and outplayed them in Cyprus, and APOEL just scored 3 goals away to Red Star Belgrade with 10 men, to qualify. Cypriot football is on the rise and these teams would do serious damage in the Greek league. They'd all challenge for a CL spot (certainly Ano and Omonoia would). It's a major positive that PAO drew Inter instead of an English team, the Italians are still the favs for the group. Weder will be very tough and they get goals for fun. Add all the ingredients together and a you have a recipe for disaster. I'm not saying PAO won't qualify, but there's no way anyone can call this an easy draw, and underestimating Ano will only lead to a beating of major proportions.

no games in CL are easy. this group is a great one, because look at how awful it could have been. It could have been Man U, Bayern , PAO and Atletico.

But face it. Anorthosis is a much preferable opponent than Atletico, Shaxtar, Fiorentina, etc...Thats simple TRUTH, Ano's teamwork and heart can only get them so far before quality becomes an issue. Ano, had their glory. I hope they go through with PAO, but lets be honest. If they can just stay in Europe, it will be a major accomplishment AGAIN.

Ano ARE VERY beatable by this PAO.

Dont let 2 lucky resutls tell you otherwise. Omonoia deserved nothning first leg, and they will crash and burn later.....

APOEL and Red Star have nothing to do with it...

As for Cyp on the rise, well see. Greek teams had much bigger sucess in UEFA last year taking out Zaragoza, Sochaux, and Blackburn, and you wouldnt have said that about the GR?

Anorthosis is the strongest in CYP. Omonoia were lucky, and AEK were poor. APOEL played a rubbish team anyways. Anorthosis did get a great result and fought and I am proud, but to be fair, OSFP were still capable of winning that tie. PAO, is more orgnaized than OSFP, and dont have the idiot Valverde. HTC will take the game seriously and be going for points. Im sorry theres no doubts whos still the favourite to win PAO vs Anorthosis. I am an Ano fan, but beating OSFP in europe...is not really a major accomplshment that makes you a top team in europe all of a sudden.

File I have no doubt that the draw could have been worse, but calling this a great draw is stretching it. It's debatable whether it there's such a big difference between Man Utd or Inter. Away to either of these teams is almost certainly a defeat for PAO. Realistically, a draw is the best we can hope for at home.

Weder Bremen are a good team that get goals and the last time PAO played them they scored 5, so it's clear that they are dangerous. Whether PAO drew them, or Roma, or Villareal, is there really a big difference?

In pot 4, it could have been worse, but the difficulty of Ano is higher for PAO than it is for Weder. I'm not suggesting that Ano is a world class team. But there is going to be a "derby" feel to this game. Especially for the Cypriots who will be playing a team that they consider to be from the motherland. It's like Tottenham vs Arsenal... for years Tottenham was ena bourdello kai miso, and so they wouldn't trouble teams like Man Utd who would always get 6 points against them over the course of the season. When they played Arsenal however they raised their game. They gave absolutely everything against Arsenal and would cost them a couple of points. Over the course of a 38 game season Arsenal may have missed out on the title by 2 points and as such the Tottenham game proved to be their undoing. Imagine what affect that sort of thing would have in a 6 game group stage!

Olympiakos showed nothing to suggest they could have won yesterday. Even when Anorthosis could barely walk (they've had a tough fixture schedule lately including a game against arch-rivals APOEL a few days before the trip to the Karaiskaki), Olympiakos barely threatened. Shooting 15 shots from 30+ yards is not exactly an indication that "OSFP were entirely capable of winning the tie". There's no doubt that Ano are the weakest team in this group, but they are better than teams like Larissa, PAOK and even Aris. Add that to the motivation of playing a Greek team and the game away is a potential mine-field. That motivation won't exist against Weder or Inter, Ano will just want to enjoy the experience, so if they lose, they lose.

As for this:

Omonoia were lucky, and AEK were poor. APOEL played a rubbish team anyways.[/quote]

Ela re... min les vlakies. How were Omonoia lucky? They won 0-1 in Athens and hit the bar. In Cyprus they finished the game when they went 2-1 up. They also hit the bar before that. Omonoia were the better side in Athens and in Cyprus they outplayed AEK. APOEL came back from behind, in a hostile Serbian atmosphere when down to ten men! Are you 100% sure that Olympiakos or PAO would manage that? It took Olympiakos a decade to win away from home! So saying that Oly were poor and AEK were poor, and Red Star are rubbish, is a cheap excuse. I'm not saying the Cypriot teams are Serie A teams, but they are perfectly capable of getting a result against anyone at home. They've proved that over the years against teams like Sparta Prague, Trabzonspor, Rangers (the 1st time), Rapid Vienna, AEK, etc. And the national team have gotten results against Germany, Spain, etc. Cypriot teams are good at home and underestimating them would be a grave mistake.

As for the atmosphere... Omonoia are probably the only Cypriot team that create an atmopshere that's on a par with the big Greek teams. AEL and Apollona have great fans too, but there isn't enough of them to generate such an amazing spectacle. But Anorthosis had a great atmosphere against Olympiakos so they are more than capable of creating an atmosphere that is very difficult to play in.

I'm telling you guys, the game in Cyprus is 50-50, and this group is so tight among the top 3 that a slip up in Cyprus might be enough to deny PAO. This is the reason this is a tough draw for PAO.

what are you talking about man.

Great draw is stretching it???!!?!?!

Dude, we have to finish higher than Anorthosis and Werder to go to the elimination stages of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

Could you seriously ask for better? Your taking it out of perspective. Seeing as there is no such thing as an easy draw (unless your top seed) in this tournament, wouldnt the next best thing be one of the easier?!?!

Werder

Anorthosis

are all thats in our way . No offense to Ano, theyre the best of the lowest category teams in the 4th seeds (BATE, Allborg - possibly as good as Cluj, but I wouldnt rush into saying that just yet - they do have some better players, and they are auto-qualified romanian champs)

But yeah seeing how it was not Fiorentina, Atletico, Shaxtar, Dinamo... PAO should definitley be happy.

Look, I like Ano. But play-wise/talent-wise, realistically they are at the BOTTOM of the 4th seeds

We got a BOTTOM 4th seed.

A decent 2nd seed- Werder is STRONG but still we can beat them on our day for sure.

and a BOTTOM 1st seed.

Keep it in perspective. PAO is ABSOLUTLEY capable of doing this, its theirs to take it or screw it up.

Had we Shaxtar, Man U and Bayern etc I would say good bye PAO.

Weve only got to finish higher than Werder and Ano. Thats a GREAT draw, becuase its very possible. There is pretty much no such thing as an easy match left in this touranemnt thats for sure, there pretty much no given wins. But PAO will be fighting 2 teams they are extremley capable of beating for elimination. Even Inter, on our day is beatable - away - if we dont get the best Inter, we can DEFINTILEY get a draw.

Inter - Man U are NOT the same thing. Of what I saw of Inter last game, Im pretty sure of that. They blew a 2-0 lead to a poor Roma Manchester United plays well, has a built team, and is the UCL Champion. Inter, is big money, not great teamwork, and a choke artist in Europe. They can still be strong and definitley stronger than PAO, but were way more likely to catch that team than Man U, Chelsea, Real, Barcelona, Liverpool, Arsenal etc..so yeah.

Your being a bit over the top. You dont think Ano can hold Werder at home? They have nothing to lose I thouhgt? You go on and on about Ano only to say they will beat PAO but have no chance about any other team. Also Ill point out Ano are not the fittest team in the world. Both 2nd halves vs OSFP were a big decline in their game. PAO is perfectly capable of taking them over in the 2nd half.

In full honesty, noobody thought Ano was going to progress from any of the gropus. They already acheived their goal. They will be in the tournamnet to enjoy the experience game by game, no pressure.

[cyberfish]

While it's good that the fans seem to be exuberant, HTC in his interview warned against overconfidence and over-excitement. THe said his biggest worry is overly optimistic expectations since less than a handful of his players have any experience in the CL competition (Kara, Goumas, Mantzios, Gilberto, who else? Salpi?). He is a smart coach and I trust he can take the team as far as possible, and he is smart not to stress out his players. Antoniou mentioned that the goal is third place and UEFA. I think it's good that management sets realistic goals.

The fun thing about CL groups is you never know what happens. PAO had some moderate success once or twice per decade in the competition, and Olympiakos went through decades of frustration before they finally won a couple of games abroad. I would not be surprised if Anorthosis took second place, and I would not be surprised to see Inter in last place. That's what makes these groups so good, a lot can happen.

Let's enjoy the games. And if we make it to the next round we can go nuts. If we finish in last place, it will not be the end of the world. Being in the groups is already sweet imo.

[Crazy]

I have a request to ask of any vazelos/ous going to the Pao-Inter game.I want to see pictures posted in here,your team and players and fans offcourse but Inter also please.Some of us are Inter fans instead of Milan or Juve so make it happen capitales.... :D

[paxiotis7]

I predict:

1st Pao

2nd Brmen

3rd Inter

4th Anorothosis

...

But its going to be close. I think INter will choke.

[drakos13]

ill have pics from the game in SAN SIRO. You should support Milan Crazy, not Inter. But then again you should also be PAO, :P

Hopefully it will be safe. I know Inter fans are the biggest m******* in Italy,

i just want to enjoy the game and support PAO maybe curse out Inter a bit.... not get attacked I seriously dont feel like it. Inter are douches though, so the away section might have some " rain" as the Italians are brilliant at putting the away fans in SSiro BELOW where there are Inter fans..... :angry:

As for the game in OAKA...its going to be hard no doubt BUT

remember AEK beat MILAN 1-0 in a crazy OAKA......For PAO, and with Inter.....were capable too :)

I hope PAO goes crazy with the mini flags, PAO OAKA can be a nightmare when it wants to be. I hope thats the case. as for Inter fans.....bah! theyre morons.

PAO E MILAN :nw:

[DUDE]

what are you talking about man.

Great draw is stretching it???!!?!?!

Dude, we have to finish higher than Anorthosis and Werder to go to the elimination stages of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

Could you seriously ask for better? Your taking it out of perspective. Seeing as there is no such thing as an easy draw (unless your top seed) in this tournament, wouldnt the next best thing be one of the easier?!?!

Werder

Anorthosis

are all thats in our way . No offense to Ano, theyre the best of the lowest category teams in the 4th seeds (BATE, Allborg - possibly as good as Cluj, but I wouldnt rush into saying that just yet - they do have some better players, and they are auto-qualified romanian champs)

But yeah seeing how it was not Fiorentina, Atletico, Shaxtar, Dinamo... PAO should definitley be happy.

Look, I like Ano. But play-wise/talent-wise, realistically they are at the BOTTOM of the 4th seeds

We got a BOTTOM 4th seed.

A decent 2nd seed- Werder is STRONG but still we can beat them on our day for sure.

and a BOTTOM 1st seed.

Keep it in perspective. PAO is ABSOLUTLEY capable of doing this, its theirs to take it or screw it up.

Had we Shaxtar, Man U and Bayern etc I would say good bye PAO.

Weve only got to finish higher than Werder and Ano. Thats a GREAT draw, becuase its very possible. There is pretty much no such thing as an easy match left in this touranemnt thats for sure, there pretty much no given wins. But PAO will be fighting 2 teams they are extremley capable of beating for elimination.

Re don't do what English fans do. Without seeing enough of a team/player or knowing enough about them, they judge. Ano destroyed Cluj last season, we KO'd them in CL qualification. The first leg was in Romania, and we beat them 1-3 there! Since then, Ano have strengthened even more. I'm not saying Ano is an amazing team, but too many here think it will be a walk in the park. If you inserted this Ano team into the Greek league this season I would not be surprised to see them break the top 3. Let's say though, for argument's sake that they are only as good as Aris...

If Aris were in that CL group instead of Ano, they would be the worst team in the group, we can all agree on that. You'd probably bet on Aris to lose every game, but if they were to upset a team, it would be PAO. It would be a Greek derby so there'd be an added element of difficulty. I wonder what PAO's away record against teams like Aris, AEL, PAOK and Panionios is like over the last couple of years. And that would just be to make a point, Ano are better than these teams.

Even Inter, on our day is beatable - away - if we dont get the best Inter, we can DEFINTILEY get a draw.

I think PAO fans here are getting carried away. It was only 2 weeks ago that you were saying that a draw away at Sparta Prague would be an excellent result, you even said 2-1 wouldn't have been bad, and I was the one saying PAO should win there. Now, after 2 wins against Sparta Prague (who are no way better than Ano) and you think PAO is a European powerhouse already? Let's not get carried away. The fact is, PAO is the 3rd best team in this group. Of course PAO has a great chance of progressing, and the group could have been harder but you're saying PAO can get a draw in Inter, Greeklunatic wants wins home and away against Weder and Ano, etc... ne re, epidi o PAO einai Barcelona na poume? Relax guys. It's going to be VERY tough and to qualify every game will have to be treated like a final and we're going to need a bit of luck too.

Your being a bit over the top. You dont think Ano can hold Werder at home? They have nothing to lose I thouhgt? You go on and on about Ano only to say they will beat PAO but have no chance about any other team. Also Ill point out Ano are not the fittest team in the world. Both 2nd halves vs OSFP were a big decline in their game. PAO is perfectly capable of taking them over in the 2nd half.

So let me get this straight... Ano can't beat PAO but can beat Weder? So are you saying PAO is stronger than Weder? The fact is, Ano are capable of upsetting anyone at home. But they'll have extra motivation against PAO. I don't know why that's difficult for people to understand.

In full honesty, noobody thought Ano was going to progress from any of the gropus. They already acheived their goal. They will be in the tournamnet to enjoy the experience game by game, no pressure.

Exactly! The only game that pressure will exist in and they will REALLY want to win will be against PAO.

[DUDE]

I would not be surprised if Anorthosis took second place, and I would not be surprised to see Inter in last place.

I would! :P

[drakos13]

what are you talking about man.

Great draw is stretching it???!!?!?!

Dude, we have to finish higher than Anorthosis and Werder to go to the elimination stages of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

Could you seriously ask for better? Your taking it out of perspective. Seeing as there is no such thing as an easy draw (unless your top seed) in this tournament, wouldnt the next best thing be one of the easier?!?!

Werder

Anorthosis

are all thats in our way . No offense to Ano, theyre the best of the lowest category teams in the 4th seeds (BATE, Allborg - possibly as good as Cluj, but I wouldnt rush into saying that just yet - they do have some better players, and they are auto-qualified romanian champs)

But yeah seeing how it was not Fiorentina, Atletico, Shaxtar, Dinamo... PAO should definitley be happy.

Look, I like Ano. But play-wise/talent-wise, realistically they are at the BOTTOM of the 4th seeds

We got a BOTTOM 4th seed.

A decent 2nd seed- Werder is STRONG but still we can beat them on our day for sure.

and a BOTTOM 1st seed.

Keep it in perspective. PAO is ABSOLUTLEY capable of doing this, its theirs to take it or screw it up.

Had we Shaxtar, Man U and Bayern etc I would say good bye PAO.

Weve only got to finish higher than Werder and Ano. Thats a GREAT draw, becuase its very possible. There is pretty much no such thing as an easy match left in this touranemnt thats for sure, there pretty much no given wins.

[DUDE]

So please try to stay SOMEWHAT realistic DUDE. Beacuse youve taken ANO into being the best team in europe and already said thing about being in Final ti mas les re file ase tis m*****

Is this a serious quote? I've said that Ano are around the level of Aris, possibly slightly better. What on earth are you talking about? And where have I said Ano will make the final? Are you talking about me saying "Pao vs Ano in the final of the CL, and APOEL vs Omonoia in the final of the UEFA!"? Because if you don't realise that that is clearly a joke I don't know what to tell you. I also said Cyprus would beat Italy 4-1 with 4 goals in the last 4 mins, did you take that seriously too?

Anorthosis, will be an underdog in EVERY game they play - history, budget, form etc STATE that. not saying theyre not getting anything, i think they will, but realize they are not favourtes to get higher than 4th by any means whatsoever.

Well obviously. I've never questioned this. If Ano manage 1 win it would be an amazing acheivement... just out of interest, do you read my posts or just the first 2 lines and then reply to them?

Althoug I KNOW its hard for you to admit Greek Speaking Clubs are not the most amazing thing to ever exist ------- Sparta Prague has a better CL record in this century than AEK and OSFP combined.

What's that got to do with anything? Red Star Belgrade have a better history than Chelsea. We're talking about the level of the teams NOW.

Its not ok to underestimate Omonoia and Anorthosis and expect wins but its ok to do it for Sparta ( a club that in itself is better than the whole of the Cypriot League ?!?! Thats just contradictory man. Isnt it ? Your soundin all the wanring sings about nobody teams, whlie somebody who has proved fairly often and is AGAIN a wild card team, you rubbish off!?!?? Would you say the same if Sparta was From ....... Sparta? or Varosia ? [/quote]

Yes I would say the same thing about Sparta even if they were from Varosi. Let's just re-cap on what I said shall we:

I said that PAO should win in Prague, i.e. it was 70-30 in favour of PAO. They did win.

I also said that the game vs Ano in Cyprus is 50-50 because, although PAO are better than Ano, the game will have an added Greek-derby-like element. This is a disadvantage for PAO, because...

when Weder play in Cyprus, the lack of a "derby" like atmosphere will make the odds 70-30 for Weder. So PAO having to play Ano is a bigger obstacle than Weder having to play Ano. What exactly is so extraordinary about that?

As for extra motivation to upset PAO - why ? Because they hate Greeks ?

No, on the contrary. It's an honour for Cypriot teams to play Greek teams and they want to prove themselves. Also, the fact that the Greek media (and fans) can be so disrespectful is bound to motive them even more... You've called Omonoia lucky, when any objective observer can see they dominated, you dismissed APOEL's acheivements because "Red Star is a rubbish team", and you've said that Olympiakos were more than capable of beating Anorthosis. So when the Cypriot players and fans hear and read stupid comments like that they want to win even more. Look at Bidis, I think he supports APEOL. Look how keen he was to go to the AEK forum and say "I told you so!". Same as Omonoia9, etc. This is why. And it isn't just with Cyprus... The Northern Irish love the English, but they REALLY want to beat England at sports, same with Moldova and Romania, or Belarus and Russia, etc.

BTW You dont think HTC saw the OSFP matches? You didnt listen to his comments did he (No, thats already clear) Hes not plannign to take ANo as a given win, and a prepared PAO is going to make a HELL of a lot better game than a slacking OSFP in Cyprus.

So are you suggesting Ano beat Oly because Oly underestimated them? :blink:

That Cluj won the Romanian league, and YES DUDE, its is QUITE SUPERIOR to Cypriot League by quite a lot. So dont write them off as inferior to Anorthosis. Cluj did some great things last season, and theyre a new team. Im sure they would have loved to see Ano again, and I would NOT call Ano favourites to win that one.

Ano didn't scrape through them, we dominated them! There's nothing you can say that is based on evidence that could suggest Cluj are better than Ano. Nothing...

Out of interest, when was the last time you saw Cluj play? And who are the fantastic players they have that are above Ano's level?? Again you're judging without having seen them! That's the difference between you and I. I can admit it when I know nothing about a player or team, I've done so many times. I judge Sparta because I watch European football and I've seen them play. Whereas you judge Ano having seen them play twice and rate Cluj just because they won the Romanian league. This Cluj team that acheived great things last year played an understrength Ano team at home, having spent almost 20m euros to build a squad to make an impact in Europe, and Ano smashed 3 past them and it could have been 7.

Anyway, we'll agree to disagree. You think this is a great draw while others here consider it an easy draw. Ok, we'll see.

[Irlandos]

This is a very tricky draw: based on what I saw of Werder last year (v. OSFP), PAO can overcome them and - unlike OSFP and especially AEK - they are already in good physical shape and can overcome Anorthosis so...2nd place is achievable though by no means an easy accomplishment.

It's not easy because:

*Anorthosis will far likelier cut points from PAO than any other opponent (they'll be up for that game).

*Italians have enjoyed the benefit of 50-50 decisions by the refs in the past.

*Germans have enjoyed the benefit of 50-50 decisions by the refs in the past.

Anorthosis will very likely take 4th place here. They have no experience at this level, don't know how to change their tempo, haven't got much urgency in their play. What I hope from them is 2-3 draws at home, gaining experience for the years to come and a display of their home - Ammochostos - throughout footballing Europe.

[drakos13]

Yes I would say the same thing about Sparta even if they were from Varosi. Let's just re-cap on what I said shall we:

I said that PAO should win in Prague, i.e. it was 70-30 in favour of PAO. They did win.

I also said that the game vs Ano in Cyprus is 50-50 because, although PAO are better than Ano, the game will have an added Greek-derby-like element. This is a disadvantage for PAO, because...

when Weder play in Cyprus, the lack of a "derby" like atmosphere will make the odds 70-30 for Weder. So PAO having to play Ano is a bigger obstacle than Weder having to play Ano. What exactly is so extraordinary about that?[/color]

No, on the contrary. It's an honour for Cypriot teams to play Greek teams and they want to prove themselves. Also, the fact that the Greek media (and fans) can be so disrespectful is bound to motive them even more... You've called Omonoia lucky, when any objective observer can see they dominated, you dismissed APOEL's acheivements because "Red Star is a rubbish team", and you've said that Olympiakos were more than capable of beating Anorthosis. So when the Cypriot players and fans hear and read stupid comments like that they want to win even more. Look at Bidis, I think he supports APEOL. Look how keen he was to go to the AEK forum and say "I told you so!". Same as Omonoia9, etc. This is why. And it isn't just with Cyprus... The Northern Irish love the English, but they REALLY want to beat England at sports, same with Moldova and Romania, or Belarus and Russia, etc.

So are you suggesting Ano beat Oly because Oly underestimated them? :blink:

Ano didn't scrape through them, we dominated them! There's nothing you can say that is based on evidence that could suggest Cluj are better than Ano. Nothing...

Out of interest, when was the last time you saw Cluj play? And who are the fantastic players they have that are above Ano's level?? Again you're judging without having seen them! That's the difference between you and I. I can admit it when I know nothing about a player or team, I've done so many times. I judge Sparta because I watch European football and I've seen them play. Whereas you judge Ano having seen them play twice and rate Cluj just because they won the Romanian league. This Cluj team that acheived great things last year played an understrength Ano team at home, having spent almost 20m euros to build a squad to make an impact in Europe, and Ano smashed 3 past them and it could have been 7.

Is this a serious quote?

actually no it wasnt... :la:

What's that got to do with anything? Red Star Belgrade have a better history than Chelsea. We're talking about the level of the teams NOW.

In RECENT years I am talking about more like this century. Sparta has been featuring and progressing in CL and UEFA, so Im saying, dont call them crap when you havent seen what they look like this year. I dont know why Id call any team that has has had European calibre success and experience in very recent years, an easy win away from home with no excuses. Sparta is a wild card every year. One year theyre red hot, the next theyre stale. There IS developing talent in these Czech clubs, and 1 year is a lot of experience the next year they can come back even better as players. It does happen.

Point is you were going off on people ragging on Cypriot teams as easy, where as a club thats very much proved it can be capable or dangerous in the recent past is "inexcusable' not to beat away from home. And you had not even seen what this years Sparta Prague was like. Calling THEM easy before youve seen them was ok, but when Ano plays PAO, we can not expect 3 spoints? Im saying isnt this hyppocritical in any way?

They are very much a wildcard, they are a failry big club, and definitley to be respected going into the tie. Wins dont always happen, part vs opponents with European experience like this.

Anyway, we'll agree to disagree. You think this is a great draw while others here consider it an easy draw. Ok, we'll see.

Maybe GREAT isnt a definition you can understand of mine. Look we got too opponents were definitley capable of defeating. Tell me how that is NOT good. I think you mean great draw is a 'given' draw. Theres no such thing as a given draw in the UCL. Theres no guarantee of PAO even getting a single point. It all has to be earned.

I mean basically, EVERYTHING you draw in CL is not "Easy" or oh i could see the team going out here. The GOOD news is PAO is capable of taking these 2 opponents. Capable isnt a guarantee. Capable, is the MOST any club can ask for in a draw, isnt it? I mean looking at PAO in the 3rd pot we were quite scared now all of a sudden weve got 2 teams were very capable of getting past. So we should be sad?

The draw had the potential to be so incredibly horrifying, why on earth would a PAO fan NOT be pleased. OBJECTIVLEY.

We avoided the toughest teams in pot 2, and pot 4. We got ALMOST the very lowest teams from both those pots pretty much.

We got a draw that depends on us. Anorthosis (1st CL ever) Bremen (good team, but sometimes falls short in Europe) are the two main obstacles between an advancing PAO.

We were looking at horifying possibiliteis like Man U , Juve Atletico, -- real, bayern, fiorentina... even Lyon, Sporting and Shaxatar would be more a nightmare. I dont want PAO in Shaxtar, they have a far tougher edra than Anorthosis. Same with Cluj - i dont know for sure, but they will be going just as crazy for CL games, and everybody will see PAO as theyre best chance at grabbing points weather its Ano, or Shaxtar, Dinamo, Cluj etc.

Yes I would say the same thing about Sparta even if they were from Varosi. Let's just re-cap on what I said shall we:

I said that PAO should win in Prague, i.e. it was 70-30 in favour of PAO. They did win.

I also said that the game vs Ano in Cyprus is 50-50 because, although PAO are better than Ano, the game will have an added Greek-derby-like element. This is a disadvantage for PAO, because...

when Weder play in Cyprus, the lack of a "derby" like atmosphere will make the odds 70-30 for Weder. So PAO having to play Ano is a bigger obstacle than Weder having to play Ano. What exactly is so extraordinary about that?

The "derby atmosphere" ordeall --- its kind of rubbish man. There will be a CL atmosphere for all of Ano's games and PAO's games. The anthem ,the football with the stars, the fans in the stadium - its all one and the same in the CL. Its not a derby just because the two teams speak Greek. It will still feel like 2 European teams playing. PAO and Ano dont have history like OSFP and Anorthosis did, they also played in a diff climate as qualifyers way more personal matchup. And even if it was a derby.....so PAO has no chance? I dont beleive the crap about Ano wants a win "more" in this game and its a Greek derby. Its NOT a Greek Derby. Its a CL group stage match. Atmosphere kala even Werder has a great atmosphere. Considering some of the atmosperes we could have had in Ukraine, Atletico, Anorthosis might just be familiar and worse for you guys - comfortable. Its not like we dont have derby matches in Greece. HTC and his players are going to go with objectives to meet and try and take the result, with caution. So what if its a derby? That makes it harder for PAO? As opposed to a regular CL match which is tense and packed with fans and pressure? Theyre the same thing in the group stages. Anorthosis atmosphere, although i liked their fans in karaiskaki (just didnt hear them till the end) is not exactly one that comes to mind in terms of "threatening". It reminds me more of an AEL. People are loud and in numbers but its far from bigggest deal in the world. Its not like our players have no idea what masses of fans sound like.

Also suggesting Ano fans will not make an "atomsphere" for Werder as they will PAO doesnt make sense. Like there not excited to see these big European teams come to Cyprus? They wont flock out to see inter and werder and scream enough to try and get their team to pull more upsets? The tension is exactly the same man.

Out of interest, when was the last time you saw Cluj play? And who are the fantastic players they have that are above Ano's level?? Again you're judging without having seen them! That's the difference between you and I.

Woah...... can I at least answer that question for myself before you start?

I saw them play this year July preseason. PAO beat them 1-0.

Also note :The team has a bigger budget than Ano, they won the Romanian league, which is competitive, and is ranked higher than the Greek at the moment they even have 2 Romanian teams in the CL, so Im going to say its better than the Cypriot League.

As for their players: They have a big mix. They signed a few young players from Argentina, some African Intl's.

the Rosenborg GK that gave Chelsea probelms from last year..

Sixto Peralta

Yssouf Kone (Lecce/Rosenborg striker, scored vs Valencia and Schalke last years CL)

And even if I hadnt seen them - how come you are different, for commenting on teams you see, but a Sparta Praha team you dont know about this year, you can comment on how they are easy, without knowing what they are like this year as Sparta is a wild card team with experience and success in the competition.

Ano played them last year. Cluj did spend big, but any Cluj fan or investor would still say mission accomplished. They not only got their CL, but they got the title last year. Ano did smash them yeah. They played very early season man. A brand new team can stumble a bit in their 1st game. I guarantee you that 2 months later Ano would not find such an easy result at all. in Could have been 7?

In Could haves (meaning counting shots basically) :

Austria and Switzerland progressed through their groups in Euro 2008, with wins over Turkey, Czech, and Croatia/Poland respectably. If you count could have chances 2nd half, OSFP took Anorthosis to extra time the other night.

It was a 3-1 Agg. its not a tremendous diff esp considering that was an early Cluj. Of what I saw, Cluj was good. And its preseason, so PAO and Cluj will be better by this point too.

No, on the contrary. It's an honour for Cypriot teams to play Greek teams and they want to prove themselves. Also, the fact that the Greek media (and fans) can be so disrespectful is bound to motive them even more... You've called Omonoia lucky, when any objective observer can see they dominated, you dismissed APOEL's acheivements because "Red Star is a rubbish team", and you've said that Olympiakos were more than capable of beating Anorthosis. So when the Cypriot players and fans hear and read stupid comments like that they want to win even more. Look at Bidis, I think he supports APEOL. Look how keen he was to go to the AEK forum and say "I told you so!". Same as Omonoia9, etc. This is why. And it isn't just with Cyprus... The Northern Irish love the English, but they REALLY want to beat England at sports, same with Moldova and Romania, or Belarus and Russia, etc.

Omonoia WERE lucky. They got past an AEK with a crap lucky goal in OAKA while AEK put me to sleep being completley unconstructive football. Then all I heard was Omonoia in Cyprus held on to tie vs a 10 man AEK. Domination? it was a 3-2 agg win!

APOEL im not dismissing, im saying theyre not all of a sudden top 3 Greece because they beat a crap team on away goals. Its not complicated.

Northern Irish, Moldova, Belarus, Bides and youre kinda of losing me on this one....

Everybody REALLY wants to beat everybody. Its professional sports man. Dont suggest otherwise.

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

its a shame that PAO and Anorthosis are in the same group purley because I wanted to rout for ano too, My blood is GREEN through and through so sorry CYPRUS but my loyalties are with PAO.

I am actually certain we will take....1st Place, For some reason i feel this year will be a golden won for PAO with numerous silverwear!!!

PAO OLE OLE OLE

PAO THRISKEIA KI ANARCHEIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[drakos13]

certain? nothing is certain. even if we got Alborg and Sporting it wont be certain..

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

oh yes it is re drakos13.....theres RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE (quote bono (from U2 and also that south park episode about who can take the biggest crap)

[drakos13]

btw Cluj left Rome with 3 points.......maybe now we can cut the BS that theyre not any good?

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

yea a lot of away wins this matchday huh.

[drakos13]

BATE is aparently so easy easiest team....

theyre up 2-1 on Juventus... :o they did well for themselves vs Real I heard too...

Anyways. the game is not over, but it goes to show you that all the 4th seeds are tough - Anorthosis, Cluj, BATE, Aab - there is no such thing as a Guarateed win in the CL anymore - its a myth.