Champions League: England's teams not a threat, says Real Madrid's Kaka
Friday, August 28, 2009 @ 2:20 PM
Real Madrid forward Kaka believes it will be Spanish teams who dominate the Champions League this season and that the Premier League's representatives are not the force they once were.
Real have recruited Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso and Karim Benzema to name but a few, while reigning champions Barcelona have brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as a replacement for Samuel Eto'o, and Maxwell.
Most importantly for Barca, though, they have managed to keep hold of all their world class players, with the exception of Eto'o, meaning the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Daniel Alves will continue to terrorise opposition defences under coach Pep Guardiola.
The 'Big Four', on the other hand, are weaker than they were in season's gone by, according to Kaka.
United have lost Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, Liverpool have lost Alonso, Arsenal have lost Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure and it is only Chelsea who look as strong as they did in previous years, a fact noted by Kaka.
The Brazilian said: "The English teams have lost some important players while the top teams in Spain have kept hold of the top players and added some of the best in Europe.
"With the team Madrid now has, anything but becoming European champions is not good enough.
"Manchester United have lost some great players and are weaker than last season.
"Chelsea do not play the most exciting football in Europe but play one of the most effective forms.
"As things stand with their current players and manager, Chelsea are the team to be most feared from England.
"I love to watch Arsenal and it would be nice to see that style of football rewarded with a trophy.
"Liverpool are never an easy team to play. I had some great battles with them when I was at Milan and they are a team which is suited to European football."
As it happens, the English teams have the easiest route into the Champions League knock-out stages following the draw to decide the groups.
Arsenal have been drawn alongside AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Standard Liege, Man United take on CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and Wolfsburg, Liverpool play Lyon, Fiorentina and Debreceni, while Chelsea tackle Porto, Atletico Madrid and Apoel Nicosia.
Real, by contrast, must get past Kaka's former team AC Milan, Marseille and FC Zurich if they are to progress, while Barcelona have arguably an ever tougher task against Inter Milan, Dinamo Kiev and Rubin Kazan.
Scottish hopes lie with Rangers and their supporters will be full of optimism after being placed in Group G alongside Sevilla, Stuttgart and Unirea Urziceni of Romania.
Source: The Telegraph