None of the three teams that Olympiacos will have to face at the group stage of the UEFA Champions League is considered an easy opponent. On the other hand, if our team plays as it can, good results and a good campaign could come. Here are some information on Olympiacos’s three opponents at the group stage.
Arsenal F.C.
Nickname: «Gunners»
Foundation: 1886
Venue: Emirates Stadium (60,355 seats)
President: Peter Hill-Wood
Manager: Arsene Wenger
Championship titles: 13 (1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002, 2004).
FA Cup: 10 (1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005)
League Cup: 2 (1987, 1993)
FA Charity/Community Shield: 12 (1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared with Tottenham Hotspur), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004)
Champions League: 2006 (φιναλίστ)
European Cup Winners’ Cup: 1 (1994)
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1 (1970)
Having lost much of its strength since last season, Arsenal F.C. big star at this moment is Cazorla. The Spaniard was transferred from S.C. Malaga for the amount of €19 million.
The squad:
Goalkeepers:
1. Wojciech Szczęsny
21. Łukasz Fabiański
24. Vito Mannone
Defenders:
3. Bacary Sagna
4. Per Mertesacker
5. Thomas Vermaelen
6. Laurent Koscielny
11. André Santos
18. Sébastien Squillaci
20. Johan Djourou
25. Carl Jenkinson
28. Kieran Gibbs
Midfielders:
2. Abou Diaby
7. Tomáš Rosický
8. Mikel Arteta
10. Jack Wilshere
16. Aaron Ramsey
19. Santi Cazorla
22. Francis Coquelin
23. Andrei Arshavin
26. Emmanuel Frimpong
Attackers:
9. Lukas Podolski
12. Olivier Giroud
14. Theo Walcott
15. Alex Chamberlain
27. Gervinho
29. Marouane Chamakh
30. Park Su Yung
52. Nicklas Bendtner
F.C. Schalke
Nickname: «Royal Blues», «Miners»
Foundation: 1904,
Venue: «Arena AufSchalke»
Board of Directors: Peter Peters, Horst Heldt, Alexander Jobst
Manager: Huub Stevens
Championship titles: 7 (1933–34, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1941–42, 1957–58)
Cup Titles: 5 (1937, 1972, 2001, 2002, 2011)
Super Cups: 1 (2011)
Apart from Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who is familiar to us all, F.C. Shchalke’s big star at this moment is the Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. He has been playing for the German club since 2010 and seems to have found his “home” there, performing very good in every match.
The squad:
Goalkeepers:
1. Ralf Fährmann
34. Timo Hildebrand
36. Lars Unnerstall
Defenders:
14. Kyriakos Papadopoulos
21. Christoph Metzelder
32. Joël Matip
35. Sead Kolašinac
3. Sergio Escudero
23. Christian Fuchs
22. Atsuto Uchida
Midfielders:
12. Marco Höger
13. Jermaine Jones
28 Christoph Moritz
33. Roman Neustädter
10. Lewis Holtby
27. Tranquillo Barnetta
31. Julian Draxler
15. Vasileios Pliatsikas
18. José Manuel Jurado
Attackers:
25. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
19. Chinedu Obasi
17. Jefferson Farfán
8. Ciprian Marica
16. Edu
20. Teemu Pukki
Montpellier H.S.C.
Nickname: MHSC, La Paillade
Foundation: 1974
Venue: Stade de la Mosson (32.900 θεατών)
Owner: Λούι Νικολέν
President: Λοράν Νικολέν
Manager: Ρενέ Ζιράρ
Championship titles: 1 (2012)
Cup titles: 2 (1929, 1990)
The French team’s big star, the Moroccan Younès Belhanda remained on the squad and four more players were transferred. None of them strikes as a “big name”. We are referring to Emanuel Herrera, Daniel Congre, Antony Mounier, and Gaetan Charbonnier.
The squad:
Goalkeepers:
1. Laurent Pionnier
16. Geoffrey Jourdren
30. Jonathan Ligali
40. Baptiste Valette
Defenders:
3. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
4. Hilton
12. Daniel Congré
21. Abdelhamid El Kaoutari
22. Benjamin Stambouli
31. Teddy Mézague
5. Henri Bedimo
2. Garry Bocaly
25. Mathieu Deplagne
27. Cyril Jeunechamp
Midfielders:
6. Joris Marveaux
24. Romain Pitau
23. Jamel Saihi
26. Bryan Dabo
13. Marco Estrada
28. Jonas Martin
29. William Legra
15. Jonathan Tinhan
10. Younès Belhanda
20. Rémy Cabella
32. Adrien Coulomb
Attackers:
7. John Utaka
8. Anthony Mounier
18. Karim Aït-Fana
19. Souleymane Camara
9. Gaëtan Charbonnier
11. Emanuel Herrera
24. Bangali-Fodé Koita
34. Abdoul Karim Sylla
