Barcelona UEFA Champions League Group F

One of the most exciting groups from Champions League draw was Group F, with Barcelona, Paris-Saint Germain, Ajax and an unfortunate fourth cypriot team, APOEL.

Barcelona

Barcelona last season was considered a disappointment, even with a second position finish in La Liga and reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League. 

The disappointment tells you all about their incredible dominance in European football during the last few years. Old stars like Xavi and Andrés Iniesta are no longer crushing teams like the once were, but in Lionel Messi, Neymar and the new addition of Luis Suárez, they have the strongest and deepest forward in all of world football. 

Paris Saint-Germain

One of the richest clubs in the world, it’s quite remarkable that in their history, they only won two French titles prior to 1994. But they have now assaulted the Ligue 1 title with two consecutive wins, and their outstanding team will make it easy for them to be able to make it three. European success has been a little harder to come by, but they now have all the ingredients to be a genuine challenger. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani in the team, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they topped Barcelona in the group

Ajax

One of the clubs with the longest story in European football, with four Champions League wins. However, since 1995, they have not tasted the victory in this competition, and it doesn’t seem that they are a genuine challenger. Nevertheless, under the supervision of bright young coach Frank de Boer, the current winner of the Eredivisie have introduced a group of talented young players, including Jasper Cillessen and Daley Blind, Dutch World Cup stars. It’s less likely for them to progress than Barça and PSG, but they may feel confident of squeezing through.

APOEL

The Group F whipping boys, Cypriot team APOEL, can be considered lucky if the pick up any points at all. Only back in 2012, the were able to reach the Champions League quarterfinals against all odds, loosing against Real Madrid. But since the lost of Ivan Jovanivic and other start players, they have struggled in the continental competition.