The Champions League group stage is divided into eight groups.

The seeded teams from each group are drawn first.

Group A is seeded by defending champions Serie A giants Inter Milan;

Group B is seeded against Ligue 1 champions Lyon; The group seeds are the Red Devils Manchester United;

The seeded team in Group D is La Liga giants Barcelona;

Group E seeded teams Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga;

Group F seeds are Chelsea Blues;

Group G seeds are Serie A giants AC Milan;

The seeded teams in Group H are Arsenal Arsenal;

After the eight teams seeded in the group were determined, the other teams were drawn.

UEFA Secretary-General Gianni Infantino was in charge of the draw.

Infantino is a Swiss national and a lawyer who is fluent in many Chinese.

Infantino joined UEFA in 2000 and became UEFA Secretary General in 2009.

However, this is the secretary general of UEFA, and his presence in UEFA is extremely low.

Because he often presides over the draw ceremonies of large-scale events such as the Champions League and the European Championships, he is well-known by Chinese fans and is nicknamed 'bald head lottery brother'.

What fans all over the world know about this bald secretary general is more limited to 'that bald head always pulls out of the group of death with a sly smile'......

The guests at the scene, as well as countless fans in front of the TV, watched the signing of the balls being taken out of the glass jar.

Open it and show the name of the club to fans around the world.

People will make exclamations, or frustration, or 'knowing' smiles.

……

Next up is the draw for the third pot of teams.

Aston Villa have been drawn from Group A, a group with defending champions Inter Milan.

The camera gave Fang Jue a close-up, and gave Inter Milan coach Benitez a close-up.

Because of the presence of Aston Villa, the chances of their Group A having a group of death have increased significantly.

Especially in the case of a super-giant, Real Madrid, in the second pot of the team.

Fang Jue's expression was relatively calm, and he couldn't see joy or anger.

Benitez frowned.

He is very familiar with Aston Villa, so he is more aware of the difficulties of this team.

Benitez wrote 'Vera' in his notebook, and then drew a heavy circle.

……

Next up is the draw for the teams in Pot 4.

Eredivisie side FC Twente have been drawn from Group A where Aston Villa are located.

There was a commotion at the scene.

FC Twente were the big dark horses of last season's Eredivisie, and this team was the champion of last season's Eredivisie.

In addition, Inter Milan won the Coppa Italia, Serie A, and UEFA Champions League last season;

Aston Villa were the double winners of the English League Cup and the Premier League last season.

With the teams in Pot 2 still out yet, Aston Villa's group already has the characteristics of the Group of Death.

Fang Jue flattened his mouth.

He didn't think Aston Villa was deliberately targeted, Aston Villa had low European points and were in Pot 3, which itself had a great chance of entering the group of death.

Or, to put it bluntly, whatever group Aston Villa is in, that group is the Group of Death.

Of course, UEFA will certainly use Aston Villa's instability to make a big fuss.

……

This was followed by the draw for the second pot.

Real Madrid was quickly drawn.

Then it's time to draw out the grouped sign.

“Ｇ！”

Real Madrid were drawn from Group G where AC Milan are located.

There was a burst of laughter.

Last season, AC Milan were drawn together with Real Madrid.

At that time, the match between AC Milan and Real Madrid had high ratings, and Kaka, who transferred from AC Milan to Real Madrid, was the biggest attraction.

Unexpectedly, a year later, these two teams were drawn together again.

And, in the eyes of many, this is the birth of another group of death.

The group is AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax and AJ Auxerre.

To be able to draw AC Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax into a group is a crazy thing in itself, Milan has won the Champions League 7 times, Real Madrid has been crowned king 9 times, Ajax has also reached the top 4 times, and the record of 20 championships won by the three teams in total is enough to make this group full of death.

Although Milan and Ajax are a bit different at the moment, Real Madrid, which has been suppressed by Barcelona in recent years, has just changed its manager, and it is really difficult to predict what Mourinho can integrate the Galaxy battleship into.

This is a proper group of deaths.

……

Fang Jue also laughed out loud along with the others, Aston Villa is entering the group of death, this is something that cannot be helped.

However, Real Madrid entered the group of death, but they 'deserved', and the European points ranking of the Galaxy Battleship failed to rank in the top ten and fell to the second pot, which is the biggest reason why they entered the group of death, who can blame it?

Seeing someone as unlucky as himself, Fang Jue's mood was much better.

Subsequently, Bundesliga powerhouse Werder Bremen was drawn to Group A where Aston Villa is located, and there was another burst of laughter on the scene.

This also confirms the name of the group's death group.

The draw for the group stage of the Champions League for the 20102011 season has been announced.

The media is talking about Group A, Inter Milan, Werder Bremen. Aston Villa, Twente; and Group G AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre; These two groups are the group of death, and the competition will be fierce.

However, in fact, if the difference in strength between the teams is the criterion, the group of death should be the first to go to Group B:

None of Lyon, Benfica, Schalke 04 and Workers Tel Aviv have the quality to claim victory, but they all have the potential to make it out of the group.

However, due to the lack of prestige of these four teams, their "death" index is no longer of concern.

This is the cruel truth, you are not strong, you are not famous, and you can't even be 'on the news' even if you die.

……

The draw for the UEFA Champions League group for the 20102011 season has been decided.

'Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea should all be out of the Champions League group.' After the draw came out, the British media were generally optimistic that all three teams were lucky except for Aston Villa.

Of the four Premier League teams, Chelsea are widely regarded as the best signings.

Marseille, Sparta Moscow and Gillina have no club that can pose a real threat to the Blues.

If I had to pick a bone in the egg, it was that Chelsea had a slightly unfavourable two-front schedule, with Manchester City and Arsenal in the domestic league before and after the second round of the group stage, and Liverpool away to Liverpool after the fourth round.

Manchester United's signing with Arsenal is also good, but there are also reservations to warn that Ferguson's good friend, Aston Villa manager Fang Jue, is the size of Manchester United, and two league champions plus a Valencia group, Manchester United is not easy.

The Guardian believes that Fang Jue's concern is justified, because whether it is Valencia, Glasgow Rangers or Bursa, their home stadiums are famous for the devil's land.

Then, the newspaper asked a question: As the manager of Aston Villa, you care so much about Manchester United, and you don't have any other intentions.

Arsenal, who are in Group H with Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga and Partizan Belgrade, have similar problems as Manchester United.

According to statistics, the Gunners have failed to win in 4 visits to Ukraine, 1 draw and 3 defeats, as well as 2 draws and 3 defeats in 5 visits to Portugal, and only 1 win in the previous 4 club meetings with Serbia.

While this is all historical data, it does have a psychological impact on the players. What's more, there is also an "undercover" Eduardo in the Shakhtar Donetsk team.

……

Aston Villa have been drawn in Group A.

Also in the same group are Serie A giants and treble winners Inter Milan, last season's Bundesliga third place Werder Bremen, and last season's Eredivisie champion Twente.

For Aston Villa, who are playing in the Champions League again after 27 years, this group is clearly not an easy way to pass.

Eredivisie champions FC Twente may be weaker than others, but the fact that they were able to beat the likes of PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord and Ajax and AZ Alkmaar speaks for itself.

The media is also looking ahead to the group's prospects.

Defending champions Inter Milan have all but booked a place in their group and will certainly top the group.

Few would doubt this, and no one would have believed that Inter would let the top of the group fall out of the way.

Then there is one qualifying place left, which will be between Werder Bremen, Aston Villa and Twente.

'It shouldn't be Aston Villa panicking to get into this [difficult] group, in fact, our opponents will be agitated by our presence."

In an interview with the media, Fang Jue's attitude was very tough, and he did not say that it should not be Aston Villa who is afraid of the opponent, but the opponent who is afraid of Villa.

The reporter of the French newspaper "Team" immediately asked, "Can I understand that you are confident that Villa will qualify from the group?" ”

"Of course." Fang Jue nodded confidently.

"Villa is confident about qualifying from the group!"

"Fang Jue threatened that the opponent should be afraid of Vera!"

"Fang Jue said that Vera will definitely be able to qualify!"

Similar headlines immediately flooded the newspapers.

……

Don't look at Fang Jue's confidence in facing the media.

In fact, on the private helicopter back to Birmingham from Monaco, Fang Jue kept frowning and thinking.

It was a very tough group indeed.

If you want to qualify for the group and advance to the round of 16 of the Champions League, you really need to plan carefully.

Fang Jue took out the document board, sandwiched a piece of paper, and wrote and drew by himself.

Two games against Eredivisie champions FC Twente, must be won.

This is the basic point, and if you want to qualify, you must not drop points on the weakest opponent.

Then there is the match against Werder Bremen, who are direct rivals for Aston Villa's right to qualify from the group.

In the two games against Werder Bremen, Aston Villa will have to secure at least one win and one draw.

Wrong.

What if Werder Bremen wins against Inter Milan?

So, to be on the safe side, against Werder Bremen, Aston Villa would have better win both legs.

In this way, Aston Villa can basically ensure qualification from the group.

As for the match against the seeded team, the defending champion Inter Milan.

Fang Jue thought about it for a while, and in the two-round game, he was able to get a point, which was the psychological bottom line.

If you can win a game, you can hand in an excellent answer sheet.

A double against Inter Milan?

Wouldn't the defending champions be so weak?

According to the schedule, Aston Villa's first game in the Champions League group stage is away to Werder Bremen.

This game is crucial.

It's not just a good start.

A win away at Werder Bremen would give Aston Villa a head start in the fight for a place in the competition.

……

Fang Jue is considering the team's Champions League group qualification strategy.

The rest of Aston Villa's hierarchy is looking forward to and delighted by the huge amount of revenue that the Champions League will bring.

According to the prize distribution scheme published by UEFA.

All teams competing in the group stage will receive a minimum of €7.2 million in tournament bonuses, including €3.9 million in entry bonuses and €550,000 per game, for a total of €3.3 million in six matches.

In addition, each participating team will receive a corresponding match bonus of €800,000 for a win and €400,000 for a draw, depending on the outcome of each match.

For example, if Aston Villa were to win all six of their group stage games to advance to the round of 16, they would have earned €12 million in prize money from the group stage alone.

In addition, according to UEFA regulations, entering the Champions League this season as a league champion can receive an additional 500,000 euros.

That's 12.5 million euros in revenue.

And that's not even counting ticket revenue.

In addition, each team's share of the broadcast bonus is determined by factors such as the share of television broadcasts in each team's country.

Take a chestnut.

Inter Milan won the Champions League last season with a broadcast share of 18.1 million euros, but the runner-up Bayern Munich had a broadcast share of 23 million euros, which is higher than Inter Milan.

The reason for this situation is related to UEFA's broadcast revenue distribution scheme.

The distribution of broadcast revenue depends on the broadcast cost of each league and the number of participating teams.

In the round of 16 of the Champions League last season, there were three teams surviving in Serie A, only two in the Bundesliga, and the broadcast cost of Serie A and Bundesliga Champions League last season was about the same, both of which were more than 60 million euros.

Before the quarterfinals, Bayern Munich was divided by two companies, and Inter Milan was divided by three, which is why the broadcast income of the runner-up Bayern Munich, which also reached the final, was higher than that of the champion Inter Milan.

……

This can also explain why the Champions League teams in the same league are actually eager for the other teams in the league to get out of the tournament early.

For example, Manchester United must be very much expecting Arsenal or Chelsea or Aston Villa to be out of the group stage and vice versa.

'It would be nice if Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all went out of the group. Fang Jue sighed.

He listened to Papa's lesson and learned that if the other three Premier League teams were to go out in the group stage, Aston Villa would be able to earn more than 70 million euros in broadcast revenue on their own, and his eyes were shining.

As an added note, the Champions League broadcast revenue of each league is not directly related to how far the team goes, because the rights are sold in a package.

Take a chestnut.

The overall price of the Premier League's Champions League broadcast rights this season is around 90 million euros, even if all four Premier League teams burp in the group stage, or if the four teams together occupy the top four hopes, this is the price.

Therefore, in the extreme case, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Chelsea are all out of the group stage, and Aston Villa is stopped in the round of 16, then, Manchester United and the other three teams can get a total of about 20 million euros in broadcast revenue, and Aston Villa can get 70 million euros in broadcast income just by playing more games in the round of 16:

Because of the broadcast revenue of the knockout round, Aston Villa has 100% of the revenue!

Therefore, seeing that the media said that Real Madrid or Barcelona would like the other side to be out of the Champions League, this is not only because of a century-old grudge, but more importantly, it involves direct interests.

In addition, in addition to direct income, the Champions League also brings factors such as social influence and business development.

This is a great branding opportunity for the club.

……

Fang Jue attaches great importance to the team's results in this season's Champions League and is looking forward to it.

However, when he returned to Birmingham, he called the whole squad to speak, and it was to the players.

Don't think about the Champions League. ’

Now, our focus is on tomorrow's game. ’

'Get rid of Arsenal, keep winning in the league and keep winning, so we can think about the Champions League without distractions. ’

On August 29, the latest match of the third round of the English Premier League, Aston Villa hosted Arsenal.

It was also the only strong match in the third round of the league.

The entire Arsenal squad has arrived in Birmingham.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger convened the coaching staff again on the morning of the match.

The professor took this game very seriously.

Arsenal's biggest criticism in recent years has been the poor results of the strong dialogue.

In this game, Arsenal will ......

Arsene Wenger suddenly became a little distracted, and he exclaimed, 'Pat, it's really surprising that Villa has become an opponent that we need to take very seriously. ’

His assistant Pat. Rice nodded, "I should say, it's the one we're chasing." ’

'They won us 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium last season and they beat us 7-0 at Birmingham. ’

The professor gave his close assistant a deep look, and if he can't speak, he will shut up, okay?!

The atmosphere was slightly awkward.

Let's get down to business and discuss Aston Villa's most likely starting line-up and tactics for this game.

Although such meetings have been discussed several times, Arsene Wenger is serious and cautious, which shows that he is very eager to win at Villa Park – a shame.

Seven months ago, Arsenal were pressed to the ground by Aston Villa at Villa Park, rubbing seven times repeatedly and violently.

……

"We modelled Villa's forward selection," he said. Pat. Rice said.

"The chance of a start-up between Costa and Ronaldo is 60 per cent."

"The chances of Abonlaho and Ronaldo starting together are 19 per cent."

"The chance of Costa and Abanglaho starting together is 9 percent."

'The three players started together and the probability of playing as a striker was 6 per cent.

"The probability of other cases is 6%."

"What is the 6% probability of the Ukrainian starting?" Coaching staff member Neil. Banfield asked.

"No, this other situation refers to the multiple probabilities of Sadio Mane or Bale or Shepchenko starting up front." Rice said.

"Don't think about Shepchenko." Wenger thought for a moment and waved his hand.

The Ukrainian had messed up in his previous two games, and while it was uncertain that Fang Jue would give up on Shepchenko completely, Arsene Wenger was confident that Fang Jue would not continue to give Shepchenko a chance in such an important match.

Although Tony Parker is a bit of an annoyance, Wenger doesn't like this guy either, thinking he is too mean-spoken.

However, from the bottom of his heart, he still agrees with what Parker said in an article yesterday,

'Sending Shepchenko, Aston Villa is one less. ’