CL group C: who are these teams?

THURSDAY, 30 AUGUST 2012, 20:11 - Skyhawk
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Anderlecht returned to the Champions League. With AC Milan, Zenit and Malaga the Mauves can expect serious competition. We made a little overview of the opponents. Our foreign visitors can also read more about Anderlecht here.


AC Milan
Milan won the Champions League (or Europacup I) seven times. The last time in 2007 when it beat Liverpool FC with 2-1 in Greece. Milan won the UEFA Super Cup for five times and the Cup Winners' Cup twice.

Their current trainer is Massimiliano Allegri. Last season, the North-Italians ended second after champions Juventus. Their best known players are Pato, Montolivo, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Robinho. This summer, Ibrahimovic was sold to PSG.

Zenit St Petersburg
Zenit won in 2009 the UEFA CUP and the UEFA Super Cup. In the UEFA Cup final, the now bankrupt Glasgow Rangers were beaten with 2-0. The European Supercup was won against Manchester United. Last year, Zenit was eliminated in the 1/8th finals of the Champions League. In their domestic league, Zenit won the title.

The Russians are not a big unknown for Anderlecht. Two years ago, the Mauves were beaten twice in the Europa League by this club. Belgian international Nicolas Lombaerts has been playing in Saint Petersburg for several years now. Further, Zenit can also count on the services of the Portuguese Dany and Bruno Alves. Also Russian goalgetter Aleksandr Kerzhakov has his home in Russia's second city. Their current trainer is Luciano Spalletti.

Malaga FC
Like many Spanish clubs, Malaga CF sits on top of a huge amount of debts. The team was even of being rejected from the European competitions. But thanks to a new financial impulse of chairman Abdullah bin Nasser the club was (temporarily?) saved.

The club ended 4th in Spain last year and qualified through the play-off round by beating Panathinaikos. Their trainer is Manuel Pellegrini. It is their first participation to the Champions League. In 2003, the club reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup. Javier Saviola, Roque Santa Cruz, Martin Demichelis and Jérémy Toulalan are the most known players.

RSC Anderlecht
For our foreign visitors we also have a brief introduction of Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht. The club originates from Brussels and was founded in 1908. They won 31 Belgian titles and are therefore record holders. Anderlecht won the UEFA Cup once, the Cup Winners' Cup twice and the European Supercup twice. Their best result in the Champions League / Europacup I was the semi-finals. RSCA managed to qualify for European football for four decades in a row. The absolute low came a few years ago with a 0 on 18 in the Champions League (vs. Liverpool, Chelsea and Werder Bremen).

Nicknamed 'the Mauves', the club can count on many loyal fans. The stadium has a capacity of around 20.000. The club can also be proud of their healty financial situation.

Star players are Matias Suarez (who won't play in the Champions League due to an injury), Argentine international Lucas Biglia, former Liverpool player Milan Jovanovic and Congolese striker Dieumerci Mbokani (ex Monaco and Wolfsburg). Anderlecht's coach is Dutchman John van den Brom.

Fans of other clubs can find more information on this website by using the menu above (especially 'team' and 'club').



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