From the 24th of July to the 4th of August, Liverpool will be competing in the Champions Cup against some of Europe’s greatest clubs. It will be a chance for them to have a taste of recent top level European football, seeing as they’re finally back in the Champions League after so long without it. Not only that, but Liverpool will be able to compare themselves to the best teams in the world, and show that, despite being away for so long, they once rocked European football, and now is their chance to do it all over again.
The clubs competing in the tournament are: Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter Milan, AS Roma and Olympiacos.
To start with, the 8 teams are split into two groups, Pool A and Pool B. With Liverpool in Pool B, the groups listed are as follows: Pool A: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter, AS Roma. Pool B: Liverpool, Manchester City, Olympiacos, AC Milan. Then, whoever finishes first in each of the two pools will then compete against each other in the final.
The groups are tough, they’re meant to be, but Liverpool will surely make the most of this opportunity during pre-season to prepare for the season ahead. Not only that, but with the many additions Liverpool have made to the squad during the summer transfer window, the team need lots of chances to play together, not only at a friendly level but also a highly competitive level, in order for them to start gelling properly as a team.
At a club as prestigious as Liverpool, new players are expected to hit the ground running not long after signing, and all eyes will be on the new boys such as Emre Can, Rickie Lambert and Lazar Markovic, to see how well they perform up against the greats. However, it will undoubtedly be a thrilling ride for players like Lambert, who having spent the last 5 years of his career at Southampton, has finally been given his chance to represent Liverpool wearing the number 9 shirt, after being released by Liverpool as a youngster. Huge European games will be something that Rickie has not yet experienced, but he will soon realise that big games are just part and parcel of playing for one of the most esteemed clubs in footballing history.
In addition, with Liverpool being back in the Champions League, they will be expecting to attract players of a higher quality from all over the world. Playing in competitions such as the Champions Cup will allow them to have an extra chance to assess some of the players at the best clubs in Europe, and decide whether, if the time came, they could target certain players as possible transfers. It is no doubt that Liverpool are a club who have money, maybe not quite as much as teams such as Manchester City, but you can trust Rodgers and Henry to provide everything that may be needed for a special transfer dream to become a reality. With that said, Brendan is certainly not a man to make a snap decision on something he isn’t 100% sure about.
Brendan Rodgers may even decide to throw in a few of the squads younger players who are fighting for their breakthrough into what they hope would be a regular starting XI place. If they impress in a tournament such as this, they could be well on their way to earning themselves a few appearances in the Premier League games that are just over the horizon. After all, Rodgers is a man on a mission to build a team for the future.
When all is said and done, it is clear that Liverpool will benefit from participating in a competition such as the Champions Cup, and you never know, they may even come out on top.