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The 2018-2019 UEFA Champions League was one that will remain evergreen for a long while. It was a season marked by amazing comebacks, giant-killing exploits and amazing action.
Following the commencement of the qualifiers and the summer transfer window, a clearer picture of the likely contenders for the trophy come June 2020 has begun to emerge. Europe's big guns have been heavily engaged in strengthening in the transfer market with the English teams already done for the summer window.
The Neymar transfer saga is still raging on with constant speculation linking him to the Spanish giants; former club, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Apart from that, there is a settled look to most of the potential winners of the tournament.
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Every major football club that participates in the UEFA Champions League always goes into it intending to win the Old Big Ears. However, the 2019 - 2020 season promises to be different as certain teams will have more pressure to deliver than others.
We take a look at 5 teams, why the pressure on them to deliver will be intense and their chances of winning their first UCL title (for 3 of them):
#5 Atletico Madrid
It has been a summer of change at the Wanda Metropolitano. Out have gone the stalwarts; Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin, Filipe Luis, Juanfran and young talent Lucas Hernandez and Rodri amongst other, making no less than €311.10 million in transfer fees from these moves.
The club has wasted little time in replacing these players with an outlay of €243.50 million (and counting) on new talent like João Félix, Mario Hermoso, Kieran Trippier amongst others.
Atleti are now fully entrenched in the big boys league and need a UCL trophy to crown what has been an amazing time under Argentine tactician, Diego Simeone.
The painful collapse to Juventus in the 2nd leg of last season's competition coupled with a flat LaLiga campaign has meant that big changes were needed. A win in this season's competition will help firmly establish the club as one of Europe's true elite with the attendant riches and glory.
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#4 Paris Saint-Germain
The painful manner of their exit from the 2nd round of the UCL last time around will still be rankling Thomas Tuchel and his players.
After a 2-0 first-leg win against Manchester United at Old Trafford, a show of incompetence at the Parc des Princes saw the Parisiens lose 3-1 to the struggling English side.
The team bankrolled by Qatari oil wealth has been one of the biggest spenders in football in the last 10 years with over €1 billion rolled out on players since the takeover by the Qatari Sports Investment (QSI) Group in 2011.
They have dominated the Ligue Un, winning the league title 6 times in the past eight seasons. However, the team is yet to go past the quarter-final stages in Europe's premier club competition losing out on various occasions to the El Clasico duo of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
The club and its collection of star men will be well aware of the demand of its owners for European glory. Their work this summer has been more coherent than before with squad strength being built and unwanted players being shipped out.
Kylian Mbappe is expected to be the go-to guy for the side given the Neymar shenanigans. Tuchel will be counting on him and other stars like Edinson Cavani, Marco Veratti, Marquinhos and others to deliver the coveted UCL trophy.
#3 Manchester City
The mantra that Pep Guardiola would not be able to dominate the Premier League as he did in LaLiga and the Bundesliga has died a slow and very painful death.
Under the Catalan perfectionist, the Cityzens have won 7 of the last 9 domestic trophies available whilst playing insightful football that has left its rivals jealous and the league looking uncompetitive.
For all of their domestic dominance, like PSG, the team are yet to make a significant dent on the European stage. Under Guardiola, who last won the UCL 9 seasons ago, they only have two quarterfinal exits (both against English sides who lost in the finals) and one second-round exit to an exciting AS Monaco side managed by Leonardo Jardim.
While the team has not spent as much money in the last two seasons as it had previously, sporting director, Txiki Begiristain has continued to bring in the players demanded by Guardiola. The current squad looks strong enough for a prolonged assault on the UCL this season.
The onus will lie on Guardiola and choosing the right tactics to get the best out of this very talented side as his choices have been directly responsible for the exits to Spurs and Liverpool.
#2 FC Barcelona
For a club that was trumpeted as the standard-bearer for integrating academy players barely a decade ago, the Blaugrana have become possibly the new Los Galacticos.
The domination of LaLiga in this time frame has not been followed by success in the Champions League with the win in 2015 its only European trophy since Pep Guardiola left in 2013.
Victory in the upcoming UCL is made more imperative by certain factors. One, it has become clear that the team is ageing quickly and that certain stalwarts are reaching the end of their time at the club. There has been a noticeable decline in the performances of players like Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Gerald Pique amongst others.
The feeling among Cules is that the 2019/20 UCL represents the last chance for some of these players to leave on a high.
The club has been stung by arch-rivals; Real Madrid's successes in Europe in the last 5 years. While the Blaugrana have ruled the roost in Spain, Los Blancos have been lords of Europe with 4 Champions League wins in the last 6 years.
This coupled with the huge financial outlay on transfers and salaries means that Ernesto Valverde, Lionel Messi and co. need the riches of the UCL.
#1 Juventus
Following its return to Serie A after the Calciopoli scandal in 2007, Juventus have been regarded as one of the model clubs in Europe.
Becoming only the second top-flight team in Italy to own its stadium, its penchant for picking up bargains in the transfer market and its shrewd wage structure meant a quick return to the European elite.
The dominance in Serie A (7 straight titles) has brought in sharper focus, its relative failures in the UCL. La Vecchia Signora has made the final twice in the last five years, losing on both occasions to the Spanish duo of Barcelona (2015) and Real Madrid (2017).
For a club with a proud and storied history, 2 UCL titles from 9 final appearances has become unacceptable. This has led to an abandonment of the club's carefully considered approach in the transfer market in favour of an all-out assault on delivering a first UCL title in 24 years.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Matthijs de Ligt have arrived for big money (and hefty wages) in the last couple of seasons. Free transfers: Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot have also been given huge salaries. Old and underperforming players like Sami Khedira, Blaise Matuidi, Douglas Costa and others remain on the wage bill with no takers looking to buy them.
This has necessitated the need to raise money by selling young players with a market value like Moises Kean, Joao Cancelo, Ricardo Orsolini, Emiliano Audero (and the desire to get rid of Paulo Dybala and Daniele Rugani).
The pressure on Juve to finally deliver the long-awaited title and its financial rewards cannot be overstated. On paper, they have the squad to take that final step in Istanbul next year. Fresh from winning the Europa League with Chelsea last season, Maurizio Sarri will be hoping to do a double of European titles.
