Page 54 - Soccer360 - Issue 103

GIANTS AWAIT WITH THE GROUP STAGES OF THE THREE EUROPEAN CLUB
COMPETITIONS GETTING UNDERWAY, DAN ROBERTS LOOKS
AT WHICH SIDES COULD BE LIFTING THE TROPHIES AT THE
END OF THE SEASON.
City finally won their most coveted prize in June
‘PEP GUARDIOLA HAD BEEN DOING HIS
BEST TO BRING THE COVETED TROPHY TO
THE ETIHAD STADIUM’
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
It had been 15 years in the making. But when Rodri expertly slotted his shot past André Onana to score the only goal of the 2023 Champions League final, Manchester City’s wealthy owners could finally celebrate their club winning the ultimate prize in European club football. All that money spent had finally paid off and Man City could call themselves the kings of Europe. But can they repeat the trick? Pep Guardiola had been doing his best to bring
the coveted trophy to the Etihad Stadium and in June, at Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium, he finally achieved his goal. There were some who wondered whether that would be the end of Pep’s time in Manchester. Mission accomplished and all that. But he had already extended his contract at the club until at least 2025 and now he faces the task of adding City to the select list of clubs that have won back-to-back European Cup/Champions League titles. There have been some big names leaving Manchester this summer but City are the favourites to win a second Champions League final this season. Erling Haaland made all the difference last year and there have been few additions to
the squad ahead of the new campaign. Obviously Guardiola believes that he already has the players
needed to prove, once again, that his side is the best. But can anyone else upset the odds?
There are only a few other clubs that can realistically feel as though they can take the crown from City this season. One of those is Bayern Munich - and a major reason for that is the arrival of Harry Kane at the Allianz Arena. The German giants fooled almost everyone last season into thinking that they were finally going to concede the Bundesliga title to another club. But some
final day dramatics ensured that the famous shield remained in Bavaria. There was a lot of turmoil at Bayern last year but Thomas Tuchel will now face the new campaign with Kane up front and Kim Min- jae, newly acquired from Napoli, at the back. Those two could have a real effect on Bayern’s chances of winning a seventh Champions League title.
Real Madrid always have to be considered when
it comes to predicting the winner of Europe’s
most prestigious trophy. But Barcelona won La Liga last year and are also in the running to return to winning ways in the Champions League. The Catalan club will have to do their annual dance with the financial rules before beginning their campaign, but adding Ilkay Gündogan to the squad is a powerful statement of intent. Even more impressive was the signing of Jude Bellingham by
54 SOCCER360 MAGAZINE
COMPETITIONS OF EUROPE