UEFA Champions League Preview (Matchday 2): Group B

Group B

Tottenham vs Bayern Munich– Tuesday, 01 October 2019

All is not well in the Tottenham camp. A mixed start to their Premier League campaign has seen fans and neutrals desperately look for the side that made them 2019 Champions League final against Liverpool, with no success. An opening night 2-2 draw at Olympiacos in Greece was another disappointing return which followed a 2-2 draw at North London rivals, Arsenal; having taken a 2-0 lead in both matches.

Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Muenchen celebrates scoring his teams second goal of the game during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between Ajax and FC Bayern Munich at Johan Cruyff Arena on December 12, 2018 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

(Dec. 11, 2018 - Source: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Europe)

Tanguy Ndombele has been a massive signing for Spurs with the midfielder having scored twice already in London, more recently in the 2-1 weekend win over Southampton. Now facing Bayern is a different ball game. The Germans took long but eventually labored to a 3-0 win over Red Star on opening UCL night. Lewandowski is unsurprisingly still firing, they are unbeaten in the league and have done well in North London whenever they played Arsenal in recent years.

Niko Kovac’s side are definitely backing themselves to add to Mauricio Pochettino’s woes before they find their feet again.

Red Star Belgrade vs Olympiacos– Tuesday, 01 October 2019

Competitive! That’s one way to describe this fixture. Red Star’s 0-3 loss to Bayern on matchday 1 goes nowhere close in explaining the complexion of that encounter. It was quite harsh on the Serbians who left it all on the pitch and could be a massive encouragement of what they can do in the 2019/20 UCL season. Their fans know how to create a winning atmosphere, having backed their heroes to famous victories over the likes of eventual champions, Liverpool last season. Olympiacos themselves know some things about atmospheres as their own lifted them up to fight back and draw 2-2 with Tottenham on opening night. The home team, Red Star are clearly favorites but it will surely be as electric as they come. A classic teeth biting and edge of your seats UCL encounter.

UEFA Champions League Preview (Matchday 1): Group B

Lucas Moura of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring his team's third goal with Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final second leg match between Ajax and Tottenham Hotspur at the Johan Cruyff Arena on May 08, 2019 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

(May 7, 2019 - Source: Getty Images Europe)

Bayern Munich vs Red Star Belgrade- Wednesday 19 September 2019

A battle of the Red Champions. Even though they are currently not on top of their respective German and Serbian League tables, the unbeaten defending champions have both enjoyed a decent start to their campaigns. Niko Kovac’s Bayern are clearly favorites to easily win this one at home though it must be noted that Red Star Belgrade who beat eventual champions Liverpool at home in last season’s UCL group stages, are quite capable of causing an upset.

Tottenham vs Olympiakos- Wednesday 19 September 2019

The other group B encounter looks like its decided before it has begun. Not many would want to visit the Tottenham Hotspur stadium right now after Crystal Palace were left for dead over the weekend. Four first-half goals saw them revive a sluggish start to a Premier League campaign that was suffocated by transfer window uncertainty. Momentum is on Spurs’ side who are now looking more like their best selves who made the 2018/19 champions league final but an unheralded Olympiakos who have enjoyed a perfect start to their own Greek league campaign, could be all that’s needed to derail them yet again.

Gervinho and Yaya Toure: Aging like wine

Some of the most decorated names in African football history are backup in the headlines, reminding the world that form is temporary but class is permanent.

Gervinho

“Clearly I wanted to keep him on for the whole game and I received a lot of insults from the stands, but I am taking some risks with him. He had 20 minutes against SPAL, plus some problems during the week, and I can’t afford to lose him. Gervinho has unique technical and physical characteristics, so I can’t let him get injured.”

— D'Aversa, Parma Manager

The 31-year-old Ivorian made a shocking return to the Serie A this summer under the newly promoted Parma from the Chinese Super League side, Hebei China Fortune. The Chinese adventure was one momentarily erased the AFCON winner from the global stage after as it was marked with injuries and lapses of form. He is however really back now. The former Arsenal forward who also struggled in North London is showing signs of his long term love affair with the Italian soil. Gervinho soared at AS Roma playing alongside Mohamed Salah and Edin Dzeko and he announced himself again over the weekend, scoring for Parma in their 2-1 loss to the Serie A champions, Juventus. Even though he is yet to regain full fitness, there was evidence that his quick dancing feet and killer instinct is a thing for eternity, something no injury or football league could take away.In fact, in the Juventus match, only Douglas Costa completed more dribbles than Gervinho, not even Ronaldo could match the Ivorian. Parma manager was full of praise for the forward and did acknowledge the Ivorian’s ability singling him out as one for the key ingredients to his success formula.

Alex Sandro of Juventus competes for the ball with Gervinho of Parma Calcio during the serie A match between Parma Calcio and Juventus at Stadio Ennio Tardini on September 1, 2018 in Parma, Italy.

(Aug. 31, 2018 - Source: Marco Luzzani/Getty Images Europe)

Yaya Toure

“I am as hungry for success now as I was when I first arrived here many years ago and I cannot wait to help the club win the trophies the great fans of Olympiakos deserve. It is now time to let my football do the talking once again.”

— Yaya Toure, Olympiakos

After Yaya’s agent had teased the whole of London, announcing that the free agent had completed a medical in London, the four time African Player of the Year returned to Olympiakos in Greece. The 35-year old was mobbed by the Greeks with lit-flares subjecting the Ivorian to a hero’s welcome.The sight in Greece was really something of the nature of a prodigal son being welcomed home and pretty much “Prince Charming” awaited to rescue the “Princess” from the giant castle guarded by the fiery dragon. After falling out of the domestic title race last time out, Olympiakos will be hoping that Yaya will pull off a Yaya and deliver the goods.

You can surely bet on the three time EPL Champion with Manchester City, AFCON winner and UEFA Champions League winner with Barcelona to live up to the hero status even when age seems to be catching up with him. Even in his own words, he sounds sharp and ready to roll.

Vincent Kompany of Manchester City embraces Yaya Toure of Manchester City as he is presented with a shirt in a frame during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion at Etihad Stadium on May 9, 2018 in Manchester, England.

(May 8, 2018 - Source: Gareth Copley/Getty Images Europe) 

Olympiakos President banishes First Team players

On a night when Bayern Munich came from behind and won 2-1 against Sevilla, the buzz around the UCL couldn’t have been better. However, we had to look elsewhere and find out about the most interesting stories in football that happened in the past few days. Evangelos Marinakis had sacked three managers before Olympiakos slipped to third following a 1-1 draw with mid-table Levadiakos in the Greek League. This was because he believed the managers were at fault for the team’s poor performances this season but that did not last forever. He realized that his players were the ones who were not doing enough. In case you were wondering what happens to football players when they do not perform to their expectations, the President of Olympiakos has two ways of dealing with the problem. First, you banish them from playing for the first team. Marinakis banished his first-team players for the remaining 4 games and replaced them with youth players who love Olympiakos and the supporters much more than they do.

He is quoted to have said that, “[You care more about] your nice houses, your cars. You don’t care about the team. I and the rest of the fans have tolerated you for long enough. You will leave today and go on holiday.”

This is one of the most humiliating things that a player can go through during his playing career. The players have been forced to step aside and watch the young boys take charge. Next up, the president also fined the players. It is believed that he fined them $492 000 as a punishment. Olympiakos won the league 19 times in the last 21 years. They are used to dominating in football which explains their president’s harsh reaction. Do you think this is a fair punishment for the players?