As I found myself engaging in Ebay Behavior at 11:45 this morning, this time it wasn't to make sure I was still the high bidder for a rare Sega Genesis game, but to see Spurs' Championship League Draw.
The sad part about this is that they could have thrown any teams in their group and I still wouldn't have known if it was a good or bad draw. That's what research is for. See, I did learn something in school.
From what I gathered, Spurs' draw could have been better, could have been worse. I know, world class digging. For the complete list of groupings, click here.
For new fans like myself, the groupings are made easy. Teams are separated into 4 pots, with 8 teams in each pot. Pot 1 is supposed to consist of the best teams, while pot 4 is the worst. Each group is made up of one team from each pot.
Without further ado, here's who Spurs (who were part of pot 3) drew.
1) They won the Champions League last year and return every player from their starting lineup in the championship game.
2) They have world class players Wesley Sneijder (arguably the best player in the 2010 World Cup), Julio Cesar (arguably the best goalkeeper in this tournament), Samuel Eto'o, Diego Milito, and Lucio.
There's probably a third point, but it pales in comparison to the first two. Plain and simple, Inter Milan is one of only a handful of teams that is expected to win this tournament.
In addition to their national success, Inter has dominated Italy's Serie A as of late. They've been crowned champions of Italy's premier soccer league the last five years in a row. They're also the only team in Serie A that can say they've never dropped out of the league in their 100 plus year existence.
The best Spurs can hope for is a draw at home. Either way, it should be a riveting scene when Inter visits White Hart Lane.
Inter plays in Giuseppe Meazza stadium, the largest stadium in Italy, seating around 80,000. I'm guessing that game may be a tad intimidating.
Some other interesting information I learned: don't ever shorten Inter Milan to "Milan." Milan is AC Milan's shortened name, who also happen to be Inter's biggest rival. The two side's fans are typically split along class lines, and don't much care for each other.
Most notably, Werder lost German World Cup standout Mesul Ozit to Real Madrid at the start of this season.
They didn't respond well, dropping their first Bundesliga game 4-1 to a TSG Hoffenheim side that finished 11th in the league last year.
Werder can hang their hat on the fact that they've finished in the top 3 of their league in 6 of the last 7 years. They will have time to adjust to life without Ozit and could very well turn it around in time for the Champions League.
The trip to Weserstadion should be a fun one. Werder's stadium is located on the bank of the Weser River and a ship's whistle sounds every time they score a goal. Hopefully that whistle won't be blowing too often in Tottenham's game though.
Spurs' match ups with Werder will likely determine the second team to come out of Group A.
They finished first in the top Dutch league Eredivisie last year. They finished second in 2009. While not thought of as a dominant league, it would be foolish to overlook this side. In 1975, they actually were the runner up in the Champions League. So there, they already have more experience than Spurs in this tournament.
Twente's De Grolsch Veste stadium's seating was doubled in the late 90s. What that tells me is they have a growing fan base that surely will be rowdy come game time. Especially against a pot 3 team they feel presents the best chance of earning three points.
Spurs haven't exactly looked good on the road this year. They fell 3-2 to Young Boys, and a bad call saved them from a draw against Stoke.
Both of these teams should have been convincing victories, even on the road. If Spurs don't start playing better away from White Hart Lane, the road game against Twente could prove to be especially costly.
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