Champions League starts again!!

Yeah! That means setting the clock at 4.30 am. Having to watch the fixtures picked by ESPN and mostly not being able to watch the return games of the ones you watched a week earlier (this happens later, at the knock out stages…).

But…then again…where else can you players like Van der Vaart, Van der Sar, Afellay, Van Bommel, Van Nistelrooy, Kuyt, Babel, Robben, Heitinga, Seedorf to name just a few play at the top of their game.

And then there Gerrard, Lampard, C. Ronaldo, Raul, Ribery, Kaka, Deco, Eto’O, Torres, Culina and Fabregas to name a couple of second-tier wannabe’s…..

Great matches ahead!

And which team will prevail this time around? Will Klinsmann be able to correct the fact that Bayern wasn’t part of this last season and win it? Will Van der Vaart lead Real Madrid to the Cup with the Big Ears ™? Is it finally Robin van Persie’s turn? Will PSV win it again?

Stay tuned. And in 8 months, I will tell you exactly.

Excited? Tell me your thoughts… In the meantime, here’s some interesting factoids

• Arsenal has a celebration in the away games against Kiev. The Gunners play their 100th game in the CL. They won 44 games, drew 29 times and lost 26 times.

• This season, there’s three debutants at the CL Ball: Romanian side CFR Cluj, Cyprus club Anorthosis Famagusta and Belarus side BATE Borisov.

• Liverpool can score their 100st goal against Olympique Marseille in the CL. The Reds scored 98 times until now. They needed 66 games to reach that score.

•This season, seventeen Dutch players will act in the CL. Three players make their debut: Jeffrey Leiwakabessy (Famagusta), Glenn Loovens (Celtic) and Steve Olfers (Aalborg aB).

All Champions League-winners

Jaar Winnaar Jaar Winnaar
1992 Barcelona 2001 Bayern München
1993 Ol Marseille 2002 Real Madrid
1994 AC Milan 2003 AC Milan
1995 Ajax 2004 FC Porto
1996 Juventus 2005 Liverpool
1997 B Dortmund 2006 Barcelona
1998 Real Madrid 2007 AC Milan
1999 Man United 2008 Manchester United
2000 Real Madrid

• If Inter Milan scores against Panathinaikos, this will be the 500st European Cup goal for the Nerazzuri. Only AC Milan and Juventus scored more often.

• Last season, the average number of goals in the main CL tournament is 2,67. This is the second to most times, after season 2002/03 when the average was 2,75 goals per game.

• Real Madrid striker Raul is top scorer in the CL with 61 goals. The number two is Ruud van Nistelrooy with 53 goals. Andrei Sjevtsjenko (AC Milan) is third with 47 goals.

• Manchester United, Champions League-winner of last season, can win their 50st home game in the CL. The Mancunians needed 69 matches to win 49 at Old Trafford.