UCL group stage ‘Son-Kim Daejeon’ failed… Tottenham Hotspur suffer ‘group of death’
Enter 2022.08.26 (07:16)
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Son Heung-min (30), who returned to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) finals for the first time in three years, avoided ‘Group of Death’ in the group stage of Tottenham (England).
Tottenham Hotspur (Germany), Sporting CP (Portugal) and Olympique Marseille (France) were placed in Group D in the 2022-2023 UCL group draw held in Istanbul, Turkiye (Turkey) on the 26th (local time). has been assigned
The teams Tottenham will face are considered relatively easy opponents among the clubs that have advanced to the UCL finals.
Although Frankfurt were the winners of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) last season, they finished 11th in the German professional football Bundesliga.
In the opening match of the 2022-2023 season, the Bundesliga also lost 1-6 to Bayern Munich and is currently ranked 15th.
It is also a team that plays Japanese veteran midfielder Makoto Hasebe and national team midfielder Daichi Kamada.
Marseille, who finished third in Ligue 1 in France at the beginning of the new season, could be a threat enough to Tottenham. Chilean football star Alexis Sanchez joined Marseille this summer.
Sporting has also won the Portuguese league 19 times, finishing second last season. This team is a member of Japan national team midfielder Hidemasa Morita.
In addition, rumors of a transfer to Sporting for Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), who want to join the team that reached the UCL finals, are circulating, so there is a possibility that a ‘goal match’ between Son Heung-min and Ronaldo will be concluded.
Kim Min-jae (26), who became the first Korean defender to advance to Serie A in Italy and brightened the UCL final stage for the first time in his life, belonged to Napoli, which belonged to Group A along with Liverpool (England), Rangers (Scotland) and Ajax (Netherlands).
Liverpool, who reached the finals of the previous season, are undeniably a European powerhouse.
Manchester City (Man City) gave up the league championship at the end of last season, but Mohammad Salah (Egypt), the main goalkeeper, is still alive and the attacking team is strong, even recruiting ‘God’ Darwin Nuñez (Uruguay).
Ajax, which boasts the most wins (36 times) in the Dutch league, and the Rangers, who missed the championship after penalty shootouts in the previous season’s UEL final, are ‘famous houses’ representing each league. At Ajax, Heung-Min Son’s colleague and position competitor Steven Bergwein moves forward.
This season’s ‘Group of Death’ has become Group C with Bayern Munich (Germany), FC Barcelona (Spain) and Inter Milan (Italy).
In particular, European forward Robert Lewandowski, who joined Barcelona this summer, faced his former team Munich as soon as he transferred.
Defending champions Real Madrid (Spain) were assigned to Group F with Leipzig (Germany), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) and Celtic (Scotland).
The EPL winners Manchester City are in Group G with Sevilla (Spain) and Dortmund (Germany), and the ‘star corps’ Paris Saint-Germain (PSG, France) with Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, Juventus (Italy), Benfica (Portugal) ) and group H.
◇ 2022-2023 UEFA Champions League grouping
Group A = Ajax (Netherlands) Liverpool (England) Naples (Italy) Rangers (Scotland)
Group B = Porto (Portugal) Atletico Madrid (Spain) Leverkusen (Germany) Club Brugge (Belgium)
Group C = Bayern Munich (Germany) FC Barcelona (Spain) Inter Milan (Italy) Victoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
Group D = Frankfurt (Germany) Tottenham (England) Sporting (Portugal) Marseille (France)
Group E = AC Milan (Italy) Chelsea (England) Salzburg (Austria) Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
Group F = Real Madrid (Spain) Leipzig (Germany) Shakhtach Donetsk (Ukraine) Celtic (Scotland)
Group G = Manchester City (England) Sevilla (Spain) Dortmund (Germany) Copenhagen (Denmark)
Group H = Paris Saint-Germain (France) Juventus (Italy) Benfica (Portugal) Maccabi Haifa (Israel)
[사진 출처 : 연합뉴스]