European Soccer Preview 2009-2010: The Rest

GENERAL    By Devin Chanda on August 24, 2009 at 11:15 am

Teams hailing from “The Big Three” leagues are most likely to advance the furthest in the Champions League. However, representatives from the smaller European leagues can’t be denied, especially when you consider the consistent forays of the likes of Portugal’s FC Porto, France’s Lyon, and Holland’s PSV into the latter stages of the Europe’s premier club competition. Here are the clubs likeliest to emulate the aforementioned, taking the top spots in their respective leagues and thus qualifying for the CL in 2010/11, then shaking some shit up once they’re in (hence, no Holland or Russia in this overview).

FRANCE (LIGUE 1)

1. Olympique de Marseille

2008/09 Ligue 1 Finish: 2nd

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

Midfield headcase Hatem Ben Arfa will be mad that Bordeaux’s Yoann Gourcuff took his tag of “The Next Zidane,” and should finally get his act together in order to make it to the World Cup next summer for France. Playing alongside newly acquired Argentine Lucho Gonzalez will surely help, as well as the defensive cover provided by Stephane Mbia. Adding Gabriel Heinze and Fernando Morientes now gives Marseille a look that resembles a team that can go top 8 in the CL.

2. Olympique Lyonnais

2008/09 Ligue 1 Finish: 3rd

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

As important as it is to replace Karim Benzema at forward, their decline over the years was their failure to replace defensive midfielders Michael Essien and then Mahamadou Diarra. Missing out on an eighth consecutive title last year was their wake-up call and they’ve fucking geared up, adding underrated Brazilian Michel Bastos and Argentine Lisandro Lopez to add firepower. Still with no defensive replacements, they’ll fall a bit short.

3. FC Girondins de Bordeaux

2008/09 Ligue 1 Finish: 1st

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

Even with a surfeit of talent at striker, everything runs through Milan misfit, but classic No. 10 playmaker in Yoann Gourcuff. For one player to carry a team to the title for two straight seasons might be too tall an order, though.

GERMANY (BUNDESLIGA)

1. VfLWolfsburg

2008/09 Bundesliga Finish: 1st

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

Surprise champions last year, Volkswagen’s own lost no one but their coach, instead adding Nigerian live-wire Obafemi Martins to their striking core already including the goal-a-game duo of Bosnian Edin Dzeko and Brazilian Grafite.

2. FC Schalke 04

2008/09 Bundesliga Finish: 8th

2009/10 Champions League participants: No

With Wolfsburg’s manager taking over, he inherits a squad retaining the same core group of players who won the title in 2007. And if Peruvian striker Jefferson Farfan lives up to his potential after a disappointing first season in Gelsenkirchen, then they just might knock Wolfsburg from the top.

3. Vfb Stuttgart

2008/09 Bundesliga Finish: 3rd

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

Talismanic striker Mario Gomez may be off to Munich, but the addition of one of Russia’s premier performers in Pavel Pogrebnyak should offset the striking void. A returning Alex Hleb, looking to resurrect his career after riding the pine in Barcelona, will give them a creator in midfield.

SCOTLAND (SPL)

1. Celtic F.C.

2008/09 SPL Finish: 2nd

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

Facing an early exit in this year’s CL should allow them to focus on winning the league. Aiden McGeady and Scott McDonald are the league’s best individual talents, and French Guyanese striker Marc-Antoine Fortune looks to be a problem for SPL defenses already in the first couple of fixtures.

2. Rangers F.C.

2008/09 SPL Finish: 1st

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

Striker Kris Boyd should top the goalscoring charts, but the blue-stripped Glaswegians will fail to repeat as champions. Ex-captain Barry Ferguson’s migration south to England, after falling out of favor, will finally take its toll on the team, but look for American midfielders Maurice Edu and DeMarcus Beasley to get more playing time in his absence.

PORTUGAL (PORTUGUESE LIGA)

1. Sporting Clube de Portugal

2008/09 Portuguese Liga Finish: 2nd

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

They’ve amazingly managed to hold onto mini-Manuel Rui Costa, João Moutinho, as well as Miguel Veloso, two of Europe’s most sought after players. Barring injuries to those two and loyal club servant Liedson, Sporting should finally break Porto’s stranglehold on the title in recent years.

2. Sport Lisboa e Benfica

2008/09 Portuguese Liga Finish: 3rd

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

FC Porto sells off its best talent every year, but always manages to snap up developing South American talent to reload accordingly. However, as we’ve seen with Lyon in France, at some point, shipping away all that talent will take its toll. Without string replacements for Lucho Gonzalez (Marseille) and Lisandro Lopez (Lyon), Benfica will sneak back into the top two (after a year out), led by Pablo Aimar, Javier Saviola, and the maturing Angel Di Maria.

GREECE (SUPER LEAGUE GREECE)

1. Olympiacos C.F.P.

2008/09 Super League Greece Finish: 1st

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

The Greek league is fast becoming one of the more attractive destinations (see: wealthier) for top European talent and Olympiacos have struck the best deals in the transfer market. Steely Swede and ex-Juventus defender Olof Mellberg, as well as Italian midfield dynamo Enzo Maresca are the biggest coups for Olympiacos this season, in addition to English striker Matt Derbyshire.

2. Panathinaikos F.C.

2008/09 Super League Greece Finish: 1st

2009/10 Champions League participants: Yes

The Athenians have a strong Greek core in the likes of midfielders Kostas Katsouranis and Giorgos Karagounis, but as Olympiacos and AEK Athens have reloaded, the only significant addition has been silver-haired French striker Djibril Cisse, half-headache, half-amazin’.

Previously Posted — European Soccer Preview 2009-2010: The Big Three

Posted in GENERAL, SMOKE BREAK, Sports — Tags: Celtic F.C., Futbol, Olympiacos C.F.P., Olympique de Marseille, Soccer, Sporting Clube de Portugal, VfLWolfsburg