The journey to become crowned the best club in Europe begins next month when the group stage of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League campaign kicks off.
On Thursday, European soccer’s governing body conducted the group stage draw in Monaco to pool 32 teams across the continent into eight first-round groups.
Here’s a look at the groups.
GROUP A
Bayern Munich (Germany), Manchester United (England), Copenhagen (Denmark), Galatasaray (Turkey)
Marquee matchup: Manchester United is back in the Champions League after a two-year absence and will be looking forward to going up against its rivals Bayern Munich, whom they’ve clashed with 11 times in this competition. These two teams are the class of Group A, so it’s more than likely that their pair of matches will decide first place.
The big question: Can Canadian Alphonso Davies and Bayern Munich put an end to a disappointing streak of three consecutive quarter-final exits in the Champions League and reassert itself as the dominant force in European club soccer by winning the continental competition for a seventh time?
Sevilla (Spain), Arsenal (England), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Lens (France)
Marquee matchup: Sevilla and Arsenal both play vibrant and entertaining brands of soccer, so the two matches between the Sevillistas and the Gunners should make for must-see TV. Plus, Mikel Arteta will have a point to prove – despite his success as manager of Arsenal, the Spaniard is still somewhat underappreciated in his native Spain.
The big question: Can seven-time UEFA Cup/Europa League winners Sevilla take the next step in its evolution and win the Champions League after dominating UEFA’s secondary tournament for the past 17 years?
GROUP C
Napoli (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Braga (Portugal), Union Berlin (Germany)
Marquee matchup: Real Madrid is unbeaten in four games (with three wins) against Napoli in their previous European Cup/Champions League encounters. But the Italians enter this year’s tournament as the favourites to top Group C after winning Serie A last season, and buoyed by the supreme attacking talents of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen.
The big question: After slowly coming up through the ranks, what kind of impression will Union Berlin make in its debut season in the Champions League after previously competing in the UEFA Conference League and the UEFA Europa League over the past two years?
GROUP D
Benfica (Portugal), Inter Milan (Italy), Salzburg (Austria), Real Sociedad (Spain)
Marquee matchup: Benfica gave Inter Milan a stern challenge in the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League before succumbing over two legs. The Portuguese outfit won a lot of plaudits for their attacking display in the second match on the series and will be eager to prove they belong among Europe’s elite.
The big question: Will Inter Milan be able to duplicate its magical and surprising run to last year’s Champions League final and win the tournament for the first time since 2010 during its historic treble season?
Feyenoord (Netherlands), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Lazio (Italy), Celtic (Scotland)
Marquee matchup: Feyenoord beat Celtic in the 1970 European Cup final, but Atlético Madrid vs. Lazio is this group’s most intriguing matchup as it will see manager Diego Simeone facing the Italian team with whom he won a Serie A title, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Super Cup during his distinguished playing career.
The big question: Will Celtic finally put its underperforming ways in Champions League behind it and advance to the knockout round for the first time since 2012-13?
GROUP F
Paris Saint-Germain (France), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), AC Milan (Italy), Newcastle (England)
Marquee matchup: It has to be AC Milan vs. Newcastle given that the English club paid a reported €70-million transfer fee to the Rossoneri this summer as part of a move that made the sublimely talented midfielder the most expensive Italian player in history.
The big question: How will a star-studded PSG side led by Kylian Mbappe fare in the “Group of Death” now that Lionel Messi is in MLS and Neymar has moved to Saudi club Al Hilal?
Manchester City (England), Leipzig (Germany), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Young Boys (Switzerland)
Marquee matchup: Manchester City vs. Leipzig should be pretty interesting if for no other reason than the Germans made the Premier League side sweat when it earned a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their round-of-16 battle in last season’s Champions League. City responded by posting a 7-0 win in the return match, but Leipzig turned heads and earned the respect of the eventual tournament winners in that first game.
The big question: After a treble-winning season in 2022-23, can Man City become the first team to repeat as Champions League holders since Real Madrid three-peated from 2016 to 2018?
GROUP H
Barcelona (Spain), Porto (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Royal Antwerp (Belgium)
Marquee matchup: La Liga champions Barcelona were handed a favourable draw, but the matches against Porto could prove tricky for the Blaugrana. The Portuguese outfit pushed eventual finalists Inter Milan to the brink of elimination in the round-of-16 in last season’s Champions League, so they won’t be intimidated by Barca’s big reputation.
The big question: Will modest Belgian side Royal Antwerp be completely out of its depth during its first Champions League season while competing in a group with three other experienced European campaigners?
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
