Spare a thought, before the kick-offs in what looks the toughest of all the groups in this season’s Uefa Champions League, for the central defenders and goalkeeper of Viktoria Plzen, the Czech club who are supposedly making up the numbers in Group C.
Journeys like theirs are hard-fought, in Plzen’s case a marathon of pre-qualifiers that took them to Helsinki, Moldova and Azerbaijan. Having reached the main event, they promptly end up confronting Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Internazionale.
Seven years ago, Jindrich Stanek, the Czech champions’ keeper, was being fixed up with a gig at Hyde United, a non-league club in England’s north-west. He was on Everton’s books, a teenaged prospect, and they wanted him to see some competitive action, so loaned him out. He never got further than Everton’s bench during his time on Merseyside; on Wednesday he should make his debut in the Champions League proper, at Camp Nou, probably facing Robert Lewandowski.
That’s just one of the daunting prospects ahead for Stanek, and for Lukas Hejda and Ludek Pernica, an experienced pair of central defenders with an established partnership but only one minute’s worth of shared experience as a pairing in the Champions League group stage. That was back in 2018, the last time the club made it this far in Europe’s elite competition. After Lewandowski, they will probably be asked to marshal Inter’s Romelu Lukaku, who should be back to fitness next week, and, in matchday three, to keep pace with Bayern’s Sadio Mane.
Much of the intrigue around who finishes in the top two positions of Group C is focused on this illustrious trio of centre-forwards, all of them newly transferred in a summer market animated by the movements of top-class goalscorers. The concentration of them in a single Champions League mini-league means that either the holder of Fifa’s The Best award – for leading male footballer of 2021 – Lewandowski, or the reigning African Footballer of the Year, Mane, or the player on whom more has been spent in combined transfer fees than any other player in history, Lukaku, will not be progressing to the next stage.
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Sadio Mane celebrates with fans after Bayern Munich's 6-1 Bundesliga win over Eintracht Frankfurt on August 5, 2022. AFP -
Bayern attacker Sadio Mane under pressure from Frankfurt's Almamy Toure. EPA -
Bayern's Sadio Mane celebrates after the final whistle. AP -
Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mane holds off the challenge of Frankfurt's Evan N'Dicka. AFP -
Bayern's Sadio Mane celebrates. AP -
Frankfurt's goalkeeper Kevin Trapp saves from Bayern striker Sadio Mane. AP -
Bayern Munich's German midfielder Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Muller at the end of the match. AFP -
Frankfurt's Jesper Lindstroem and Joshua Kimmich of Bayern battle for the ball. AFP -
Frankfurt's Filip Kostic and Benjamin Pavard of Bayern battle for the ball. AFP -
Bayern's French defender Benjamin Pavard celebrates making it 2-0. AFP -
Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala scores to make it 4-0. AFP -
Jamal Musiala celebrates after scoring Bayern's sixth goal. AP -
Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry celebrates scoring the fifth goal. AFP -
Bayern's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer celebrates. AP
All three made emphatic starts to the new chapters of their careers, although Lukaku, returning to Inter on loan a year after his €100 million sale to Chelsea, has encountered a significant setback since scoring within two minutes of his second Serie A debut for Inter. A muscle problem ruled him out of the last two matches, the latest a narrow defeat in the Milan derby and keeps him from the starting line-up for Bayern’s visit to San Siro.
Mane, who left Liverpool after a fabulous six-year spell, set such a promising standard with four goals in his first four games for the German champions that two blank outings in successive Bundesliga draws have already provoked criticism. The former Bayern head coach Felix Magath told Bild TV: “Bayern are learning it’s not easy to replace Lewandowski, who was perfectly tuned to the way they play. Mane needs to adapt.”
The ex Bayern captain, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, said: “My pick to replace Lewandowski would have been Lukaku.”
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Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring for Chelsea against Aston Villa during the 2021/22 season when the Belgian finished with 14 goals from 44 games in all competitions. EPA -
Romelu Lukaku scores from the penalty spot for Chelsea against Wolves in the Premier League, in May 2022. EPA -
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Wolves. Getty -
Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku scores against Arsenal during the Premier League match in August 2021. Getty -
A fan holds up a sign at Stamford Bridge during the game between Chelsea and Aston Villa in September 2021. Getty -
Romelu Lukaku in August 2021 after completing his move back to Chelsea. Getty -
Romelu Lukaku, pictured with his Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte, scored 64 goals in 95 games for the Serie A club. AP -
Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku shoots at goal during the Serie A match against Parma in March 2021. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku scores from the spot for Inter Milan during the Serie A game against Spezia in December 2020. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring for Inter Milan during their Serie A match against Torino in November 2020. Reuters -
Inter Milan's Romelu Lukaku celebrates after the Serie A match against AC Milan in February 2020. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku scored 42 goals in 96 games for Manchester United. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku scores for Manchester United during the Premier League game at Burnley in September 2018. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku with Paul Pogba during his spell at Manchester United. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku scored 87 in 166 games for Everton. PA -
Romelu Lukaku during his loan spell at Everton from Chelsea for the 2013/14 season. AFP -
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku scores against Aston Villa in the Premier League. Reuters -
Everton's Romelu Lukaku in action against Manchester United, the team he would end up joining. Getty -
Romelu Lukaku celebrates after Leicester City's Matthew Upson scored an own goal against Everton during a 2-2 Premier League draw in February 2015. Getty -
Romelu Lukaku during his loan spell at West Bromwich Albion from Chelsea when he scored 17 goals in 38 games in the 2012/13 season. -
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring while on loan at West Bromwich Albion. -
Romelu Lukaku shoots at goal for Chelsea during a Premier League game against Aston Villa in August 2013. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku made 15 appearances for Chelsea during his first spell without scoring. AFP -
Romelu Lukaku scores for Anderlecht in a Europa League game against Athletic Bilbao in February 2010. Lukaku scored 41 goals in 98 games for the Belgian club. AFP -
Anderlecht's Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring against Athletic Bilbao during the Europa League match in 2010. AFP
Barcelona’s determined pursuit of Lewandowski, 34, appears fully justified so far, the Pole having netted five times in four Liga matches. He looks every bit the talisman for an upgraded Barca, who borrowed heavily to fund a busy summer of comings and goings. Two of the later arrivals, full-backs Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso, were unveiled on Tuesday, while Miralem Pjanic, the midfielder, was jetting off to the UAE with a view to joining Sharjah.
The transformation of Barcelona’s squad in the course of a year is striking. Twelve months ago, they opened their Champions League campaign with a forward line comprising Memphis Depay and Luuk de Jong. Relegated to the Europa League, they bowed out of that competition with Adama Traore, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres chasing, in vain, a comeback against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-final. De Jong, Aubameyang and Traore have all left.
So far this season, head coach Xavi’s preferred front three is made up of Ousmane Dembele, new signing Raphinha and Lewandowski, who was largely responsible for deflating Barca’s European season a year ago. He scored twice at Camp Nou in the first of two 3-0 Bayern wins over Barca that consigned them to third place, behind Benfica, in the group.
This time, the combined pedigree of the group-phase opposition is even stronger, reckons Xavi.
“It’s the hardest group for many years," he said. "We need to start strongly against a physical, hard-working Plzen, who counter-attack very well. This is a dangerous match for us. I can sit here say we have a super squad – we have to go out and show that.”
