[theresonlyoneMELLO!]

Wow. Yes, I can sense it now. Drama, drama, drama.

Out of the four English clubs in the UCL Group Stages, Liverpool has the toughest competition. Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal should all easssssssssilyyyyy make it through to the Knockout Rounds next Spring. Liverpool have an uphill climb.

Based on their coefficient rating (which essentially means how GOOD a team they are) the 32 teams are put into four different ranking groups: simply put – 1,2,3, and 4. If you need an example then a team like Manchester United, last year’s UCL Champions, are rated in the 1 pot. But a team like Dynamo Kyiv (you’re saying: WHO?) are rated into the 4 pot. You see what I mean?

NEXT, the groups are randomly drawn. There are eight groups total (Groups A through H) and one team from each ranking (1,2,3, and 4) are placed into a group.

For the 2008-09 season Liverpool(1) have been drawn into Group D with PSV Eindhoven(2), Marseille(3), and Atletico Madrid(4). This is not good for us.

Here is a breakdown of each team:

PSV Eindhoven (The Netherlands)

PSV, are the reigning champions of the Dutch domestic league – the Eredivisie. But wait, not ONLY are they the current champions but HAVE BEEN for the past four years. Granted, the Eredivisie is not the most prolific of European football leagues, but any champion from any league is something to be feared. The Dutch are not pushovers and PSV will give Liverpool a run for their money. Jan Kromkamp, a former Liverpool player, currently plays for PSV. If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much.

Marseille (France)

In their domestic league, Ligue 1, Marseille has been something of an enigma. Though Ligue 1 has been dominated by Lyon for several years, Marseille could normally be seen near the top of the table. Their performance in the 2007-08 season was lackluster. At one point they were close to the relegation zone. But they picked themselves up and JUSTTTTT made it into the UCL Champions League Qualifying Rounds by placing third at the end of the year. With Bordeaux making a name for itself by almost taking the top prize from Lyon, Marseille were left to fend off the young pups eager to make it into the Champions League.

Liverpool were drawn with Marseille for last year’s UCL Group Stage as well. And Marseille almost did Liverpool in. After a terrible domestic run with one win out of nine games, Marseille came to Anfield and left with all three points after Liverpool saw Valbuena strike a ROCKET in the 77th minute. I was DUMBFOUNDED when that goal went in! Reina had no idea how to save that thing. At that moment I thought Liverpool were NOT going to make it out of the Group Stages. Thankfully Liverpool then went to Marseille and destroyed them 4-0 as they climbed their way to the Knockout Rounds.

Hopefully Liverpool can take them to task this year, but Marseille are a good squad and are currently enjoying success in the early part of this year’s Ligue 1 season.

Atlético Madrid (Spain)

This is the first time Atlético Madrid have been in the Champions League since the 1996-97 season. It’s been awhile, but they deserve to be in it. They finished fourth in the Spanish La Liga and have progressed through the Qualifying Rounds quite nicely. Liverpool will have their hands full with the attacking prowess of Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero. Yee-ikes.

But the big talking point will be all about Liverpool’s Fernando Torres. When Rafa Benitez signed him for Liverpool at the beginning of the 2007 season, guess where he came from? That’s right, Atlético. Before Liverpool Torres had only ever played for Atlético. His family has always supported Atlético and it was extremely hard for Fernando to leave his home. Emotions are sure to run rampant as he goes for goal in his old stadium. He was considered a god to the Atlético fans and when Liverpool travel to Spain, Fernando is in for QUITE a family reunion.

Liverpool will need a BOOST of confidence before they play their first group stage match against Marseille in France on September 16th.

YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE!

- [MELLO!]

Liverpool narrowly avoided humiliation this year in the 3rd Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League with a win over Standard Liege (<—- not to be rude but…WHO?). Thank you VERY much Dirk Kuyt (see below) for scoring in the 128th minute (yes, you read that right ONE HUNDRED and TWENTY-EIGHTH MINUTE) bringing the final aggregate score to 1-0 in favor of Liverpool FC.

Dirk Kuyt scores a goal...does this happen often? NO.

All the press (with all the king’s horses and and all the king’s men) are raising a STINK about how TERRIBLE Liverpool were in these two games. This is what I say: Just stop. Please. How annoying can you be?

The greatest squads in football win games at the death like this. Manchester United is a good example of a team who can SNATCH a win right at the death. And yeah, they might have played like absolute RUBBISH during the other eighty-nine minutes of the game. But that ONE minute makes all the difference and Kuyt showed our scrappy-Scouser quality with that goal.

Now that Liverpool have advanced through the 3rd Qualifying Round of the UCL, it means that all sights are set on this Sunday’s Barclay’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa at Villa Park. FIRE AWAY!

Liverpool are two for two so far this season, with all six points accounted for. Let’s hope they can keep up this kind of performance all the way to May! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! COME ON YOU REDS!

- [MELLO!]

My cousin’s boyfriend said it best: “I watch this every night before I go to bed.”

- [MELLO!]

I could not believe this when I read it hahahahaha.

Romanian player sold for a chunk of meat

BUCHAREST — Romanian second division soccer club UT Arad sold a player in exchange for 15 kilograms of meat, local sport daily Pro Sport reported on Monday.

However, fourth division Regal Horia made a bad deal because defender Marius Cioara decided to end his footballing career and take off to Spain to find a job in agriculture or construction.”We are upset because we lost twice — firstly because we lost a good player and secondly because we lost our team’s food for a whole week,” a Regal Horia official was quoted as saying by the daily in its electronic edition.

Hey man, if I were sold for 15 kilos of meat I would quit too hahahahahah.

- [MELLO!]

Man, I am SO TIRED of writing about myself on this thing. I’ve decided that from now on it’s time to write about the wide world of football. I’ve been getting between three to five hits a day on this page hahahaha. I mean *cough* that’s probably because I neverwriteanything…….but hey man, it’s ok. It’s time for a change.

- [MELLO!]