Welcome to the
UEFA Champions League
Strengths and weaknesses hard to hide
Setbacks for some and steps forward for others - the suspense
lives on after the third match day and into the second half of the
group matches in the 1996/97 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.
Theoretically, each team can still nurture hopes of qualifying for
the quarter-finals next spring, with a maximum of nine points
per team still up for grabs before the group-match phase
comes to a close on 4th December 1996.
The third match day demonstrated once again that the
teams in the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE are very familiar with
the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents. They know
each other inside out. It also proved that the form of key play
ers on the day is often crucial to the outcome of matches at this
top level of European football. It is therefore no wonder that the
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, the melting pot of European foot
ball, in which footballing trends, styles and traditions come
together on the field, continues to attract enormous attention,
as the high stadium attendance figures and impressive TV
viewer figures testify.
In my capacity as President of UEFA, I would again like to
wish all the teams every success for tonight's matches, and,
together with the millions of fans who will also be watching in
eager anticipation, I look forward to an exciting evening of
European football.
Lennart Johansson
President of UEFA
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