PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN will discover their path to retaining the Champions League title during Thursday’s draw for the revamped 36-team league phase in Monaco.
The French champions secured their first Champions League trophy with a stunning 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in last season’s Munich final.
This triumph concluded the inaugural season of the competition’s new format which replaced the traditional group stage after more than two decades.
Under the current structure, all clubs compete in one consolidated league while playing eight matches against different opponents.
PSG finished a modest 15th in the league phase but dramatically advanced past Liverpool on penalties during the last sixteen stage.
Luis Enrique’s squad subsequently became only the second French winners in history after Marseille’s 1993 victory.
The Parisian club now aims to achieve back-to-back titles, a feat only Real Madrid has accomplished in the past thirty five years.
“Last season we fulfilled the objective which everybody connected to the club had been dreaming about,“ PSG’s coach said recently.
“But we want to keep on making history and now that would mean winning two Champions Leagues in a row. That is our objective.”
PSG’s breakthrough victory ended two decades of dominance by clubs from England, Spain, Germany, and Italy.
Nineteen of the thirty six teams still originate from Europe’s top four leagues, with England contributing six clubs including Tottenham Hotspur as Europa League winners.
Only sixteen UEFA member nations will have representation in this season’s Champions League proper.
Half of the participating teams differ from last season’s lineup, introducing fresh competition across the continent.
Kairat Almaty’s surprise playoff victory over Celtic makes them just the second Kazakh team to reach this stage after Astana’s 2015 appearance.
Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt enters the competition for the first time alongside Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise.
Cypriot champions Pafos, featuring veteran defender David Luiz, complete the list of newcomers seeking to make their mark.
“We are the black sheep of the Champions League and the expectation is that we will suffer and lose games, but we will fight, compete and just enjoy the journey,“ their Spanish coach Juan Carlos Carcedo told Marca.
The financial incentives remain enormous, with UEFA allocating nearly 2.5 billion euros in total prize money.
Champions League winners can potentially earn over 100 million euros before additional television and coefficient payments.
PSG reportedly accumulated close to 150 million euros from their victorious campaign last season. – AFP
