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This may be an unpopular opinion, but Juventus' group this year looks a lot better than the last couple of years.
(Thank you, Captain Obvious. Where can I pick up my prize package now?)
There's still the two games against the dominant European power from Pot 1 (Atlético Madrid) that made it all the way to last year's Champions League final. But unlike the last few years where Juventus have had the insanely difficult trip to Eastern Europe, they've been drawn two opponents they should — and will be expected to — beat in Greek champions Olympiacos and Malmö out of Sweden.
Or, if you're more of a visual person, here's a picture showing Juventus' group.
This season's @ChampionsLeague Group A: Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Olympiacos FC, Malmo FF. #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/A2H2tlmNTW
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) August 28, 2014
A reunion with Tiago! What fun that will be! I'm sure he'll get a standing ovation in his return to Turin!
Or something totally opposite of that. I'm probably going to go with the latter on this one.
Obviously the Atleti-Juventus matchups at the Vicente Calderon and Juventus Stadium will be the biggest games of the group. But the key, as it was the last two years under Antonio Conte, will be what Juve do against the other two. We've seen Juve really struggle to get good results in games they should win — yeah, going to Denmark is a pain in the ass — but come away with disappointing draws.
But let's make no mistake: The two Juve-Atleti games are going to be fun. Nerve-wrecking fun, but still fun. Hopefully.
Could a club like Malmö give Juventus the same kind of trouble? We'll see. Let's just hope that the players have learned from the last few years when they've entered the final day of the group stages needing a good result and all the pressure that comes along with leaving it so late because they haven't taken care of business.
I mean, it could have been a lot worse at today's draw. Let's be honest here, folks. Juve could be in a group with Bayern Munich and Manchester City like Roma are. So Juventus have that going for them, which is nice.
