Bayern Leverkusen
Bayern Leverkusen were 6th in the Bundesliga last year, which would be considered a poor finish until you look at the sides who finished above them and their own respective strengths.
This is a team which is more than capable of holding its own against the very best.
They currently have four points from their first two league games, after a draw with Union Berlin on the opening day and then a rousing 4-0 win against Monchengladbach in their second game.
They are a damned powerful side, especially at home.
Their stadium holds a mere 30,000. That’s going to make away tickets difficult to come by.
Their team is a mix of new and established talents.
They sold one of their top players – the winger Leon Bailly – in the summer, to Aston Villa, for £32 million but they spent every single penny of it, including the £23 million acquisition of Odilon Kossounou, a 20-year-old centre back, from Bruges and the £15 million deal for Amine Adli, the young winger from Toulouse.
Their defence includes our former wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, of course, as well as German international Jonathan Tah and Dutchman Timothy Fou Mensah.
Their midfield includes Ezekiel Palacious, Austrian international Julian Baumgartlinger and the German international Nadiem Amiri.
They’ve got a powerhouse forward line, and this is where we’ll really learn a thing or two about our defenders.
Their main men are Argentine Lucas Alario and the Czech striker Patrik Schick, one of the stars of the recent World Cup.
If our young footballers are going to grow as players, it’ll be against opponents as good as these.
Well I guess there is certainly something in what you say James. We could have had a wee bit of an easier task, like the rankers group, but you know what it is a sexy group and it will be challenging, probably what we need if we want to develop still further.
Could we do worse than Scotland did in the EURO group against strong opposition, probably not and look at the praise they got even renewed a failing manager’s contract this week to some applause.
Will we get the same accolade as them from the press/media even if we do better in our group than they did of course not. Considering our starting point this season, well done again to Ange and the team to get us to this stage. Do we need the backing or support from the Scottish pressers. Absolutely not. Who wants to associate with that bunch of bigots. Our future is bright in green and white. We’re on our side now. HH