The 1st leg of the round will be played between 14-22 February, the 2nd leg between 6-14 March 2012.

Olympique Lyonnais (France) – APOEL (Cyprus)
Napoli (Italy) – Chelsea (England)
AC Milan (Italy) – Arsenal (England)
FC Basel (Switzerland) – Bayern München (Germany)
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) – Barcelona (Spain)
CSKA Moscow (Russia) – Real Madrid (Spain)
Zenit St Petersburg (Russia) – Benfica (Portugal)
Olympique Marseille (France) – Internazionale (Italy)

The 2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stages kicked off on 13-14 September. From a total of 76 teams from 52 associations, these were the 32 teams qualified for the group stages (and how they qualified). The winners and runners-up went through to the Round of 16.

Group A
1. Bayern München, Germany (3rd in Bundesliga, beat Zürich in the League route)
2. Napoli, Italy (3rd in Serie A)
3. Manchester City, England (3rd in Premier League)
4. Villarreal, Spain (4th in La Liga, beat Odense in the League route)

Group B
1. Internazionale, Italy (2nd Serie A)
2. CSKA Moscow, Russia (2nd Russian Premier League)
3. Trabzonspor, Turkey (2nd Süper Lig, instead of champions Fenerbache who are banned)
4. Lille, France (1st Ligue 1)

Group C
1. Benfica, Portugal (2nd Primeira Liga, beat Trabzonspor in the League Route)
2. Basel, Switzerland (1st Swiss Super League)
3. Manchester United, England (1st Premier League)
4. Otelul Galati, Romania (1st Liga I)

Group D
1. Real Madrid, Spain (2nd La Liga)
2. Olympique Lyonnais, France (3rd Ligue 1, beat Rubin Kazan in the League Route)
3. Ajax, Netherlands (1st Eredivisie)
4. Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia (1st Prva HNL, beat HJK Helsinki and Malmö FF in the Champions Route)

Group E
1. Chelsea, England (2nd Premier League)
2. Bayer Leverkusen, Germany (2nd Bundesliga)
3. Valencia, Spain (3rd La Liga)
4. Genk, Belgium (1st Pro League, beat FK Partizan in the Champions Route)

Group F
1. Arsenal, England (4th Premier League, beat Udinese in the League Route)
2. Olympique Marseille, France (2nd Ligue 1)
3. Olympiacos, Greece (1st Superleague)
4. Borussia Dortmund, Germany (1st Bundesliga)

Group G
1. APOEL, Cyprus (1st First Div, beat Skënderbeu, Slovan Bratislava and Wisla Krakow in Champions Route)
2. Zenit St.Petersburg, Russia (1st Russian Premier League)
3. Porto, Portugal (1st Primeira Liga)
4. Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine (1st Ukrainian Premier League)

Group H
1. Barcelona, Spain (1st La Liga)
2. AC Milan, Italy (1st Serie A)
3. Viktoria Plzen, Czech Rep. (1st Gambrinus Liga, beat Pyunik, Rosenborg, Copenhagen in Champions Route)
4. BATE Borisov, Belarus (1st Prem.League, beat Linfield, Ekranas and Sturm Graz in the Champions Route)

A couple of hours before the transfer window closed, Tottenham blocked Giovani Dos Santos’ pending move to Spanish club Sevilla. The 22 year old Mexican’s relationship with the Spurs manager has been peculiar, ever since Harry Redknapp arrived at the club. A move away from the club was highly anticipated and the latest development has made the player furious.

Giovani came from Mexico to Barcelona’s youth academy as an 11 year old. He made it all the way to appearences in both Champions League and La Liga for the first team, before being transferred to Tottenham as a 19 year old. (These days his younger brother Jonathan Dos Santos is in the Barcelona first team squad.) Giovani was brought to Tottenham by their then Spanish manager Juande Ramos, however shortly thereafter Ramos was sacked and replaced by Harry Redknapp. The new manager acknowledged his obvious talent but criticised his attitude, complaining that the young Mexican spent too much time in nightclubs and lacked dedication in training. Giovani soon found himself sent out on loan to various clubs; first to Ipswich Town, then to Turkish club Galatasaray. At the same time Giovani worked his way into the first team of the Mexico national team, where he time and again has been outstanding in international games.

Giovani was voted runner-up as Young Player of the Tournament in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, catching the eye of football audiences around the world. He returned to Tottenham again ahead of the 2010/11 season but again found his opportunities under Redknapp very limited. He went on a successful loan spell to Spanish club Racing de Santander for the second half of the season. After the season finished he went with Mexico to play in the Gold Cup tournament in the USA. It was another chance for him to shine and help Mexico win the tournament. In the final against the hosts he scored the best goal of the tournament.

During this transfer window several clubs have chased Giovani’s signature and it looked like Sevilla had all but secured it. According to the player himself, and his agent, this move was blocked by Tottenham with less than two hours remaining.

“I was very surprised that with two hours left, my coach has changed his mind,” Giovani said in an interview with Fox Sports. “In three years at Tottenham I have not been taken into account and there has not been confidence in me at all. So I hope that this time I hear the truth when talking to him and we can get down to football. To be honest I already felt at another club, Sevilla, and we had already completed more than 50 per cent of negotiations. Almost everything had been agreed but then Spurs changed their minds, something I found very odd. Both myself and my agent have been left disappointed, sad and angry at the way Tottenham have acted. After such a long time without having any confidence in me I am now going to get my chance, which makes me feel weird. Even so, I mean to take this opportunity out of respect to the Tottenham fans and also because of the professional I am.”

Interestingly, the Tottenham fans have repeatedly called for Giovani to be given a chance to display his talent, like he already has done for Mexico and Racing Santander. So far Redknapp has seemed highly unlikely to utilise his talents. This season Redknapp has indicated that he intends to rotate his squad more, to be competitive both in the domestic league and cups and in the Europa League. Whether this will include Giovani Dos Santos we’ll have to wait and see.

Watch Giovani Dos Santos score in the Gold Cup final for Mexico:

The last of transfers from this transfer window…
Latest updates: Thursday 1 September

From Tottenham Hotspur: Striker PETER CROUCH to Stoke City for a fee of £10 million. The England international has signed a four year contract. He is the third Spurs player to have joined Stoke in this transfer window (the other two being Jonathan Woodgate and Wilson Palacios).

From Tottenham Hotspur: Right back ALAN HUTTON to Aston Villa on a four year contract.

From Birmingham City: Striker CAMERON JEROME to Stoke City on a four year deal.

From Liverpool: Midfielder RAUL MEIRELES to Chelsea for a fee of £12 million. The Portuguese international has signed a four year contract.

From Everton: Midfielder MIKEL ARTETA to Arsenal for a fee of £10 million.

From Manchester City: Midfielder CRAIG BELLAMY to Liverpool on a free transfer. The Wales international has signed a two year contract with the club he previously spent the 2006/07 season.

From West Ham United: Midfielder SCOTT PARKER to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £5.5 million. In the deal David Bentley will also go on a season long loan from Tottenham to West Ham.

From Birmingham City: Centre back SCOTT DANN to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £6 million.

From Manchester United: Midfielder OWEN HARGREAVES to Manchester City on a free transfer. The injury plagued, former England international, has signed a one year deal.

From Palermo: Midfielder ANTONIO NOCERINO to AC Milan on a five year deal.

From Borussia Mönchengladbach: Midfielder MICHAEL BRADLEY to Chievo Verona on a two year deal.

From Sunderland: Centre back ANTON FERDINAND to Queens Park Rangers for a fee of £4 million.

From River Plate: Right back MAXIMILIANO PEREYRA to Udinese on a five year deal.

From Celtic: Winger SHAUN MALONEY to Wigan Athletic for a fee of £1 million.

From Liverpool: Striker DAVID NGOG to Bolton Wanderers after having spent three years at Anfield.

From SV Ried: Midfielder DANIEL ROYER to Hannover 96 on a four year deal.

From Manchester City: Winger SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS to Queens Park Rangers for a fee of £3 million.

From Fenerbache: Centre back DIEGO LUGANO to Paris Saint-Germain on a three year contract.

From Hamburger SV: Winger ELJERO ELIA to Juventus on a four year deal.

From FC Twente: Striker BRYAN RUIZ to Fulham for a fee of £10.6 million.

From Nacional: Centre back SEBASTIAN COATES to Liverpool for an undisclosed fee.

From Atletico Madrid: Midfielder ELIAS to Sporting Clube de Portugal for a fee of €8.8 million. The Brazilian has signed a five year contract.

From Auxerre: Striker IRENEUSZ JELEN to Lille on a free transfer.

From Internazionale: Full back DAVIDE SANTON to Newcastle United on a five year deal.

From Sevilla: Right back MOUHAMADOU DABO to Olympique Lyonnais on a four year contract.

From Napoli: Centre back VICTOR RUIZ to Valencia on a five year deal.

From Almeria: Winger ALBERT CRUSAT to Wigan Athletic for a fee of around £2 million.

From AS Monaco: Striker PARK CHU-YOUNG to Arsenal for a fee of around £3 million.

From Red Bull Salzburg: Goalkeeper GERHARD TREMMEL to Swansea City on a free transfer.

From AEK Athens: Midfielder PAPA BOUBA DIOP to West Ham United on a free transfer.

From Werder Bremen: Centre back PER MERTESACKER to Arsenal for a fee of €9 million.

From Fenerbache: Left back ANDRE SANTOS to Arsenal in a £6.2 million deal.

From Atlético Madrid: Striker DIEGO FORLAN to Internazionale on a two year deal. The Uruguayan veteran has been brought in to fill the gap after Eto’o left the club.

From Tottenham Hotspur: Midfielder WILSON PALACIOS to Stoke City for a fee of £6 million.

From AS Monaco: Defender CEDRIC MONGONGU to Evian on a four year deal.

From Newcastle United: Midfielder JOEY BARTON to Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer. The 29 year old has signed a four year contract.

From Aston Villa: Right back LUKE YOUNG to Queens Park Rangers on a three year deal.

From Liverpool: Left back EMILIANO INSUA to Sporting Clube de Portugal on a five year deal.

From Cesena: Forward EMANUELE GIACCHERINI to Juventus for a fee of €3 million.

From Espanyol: Striker PABLO OSVALDO to AS Roma for a fee of €17.5 million.

It only took 20 minutes for Robbie Keane to deliver his first goal for LA Galaxy. Keane was played through by David Beckham and showed off his confident experience rounding the goalkeeper before putting the ball into the net. Keane, who is Ireland’s all-time greatest goal scorer, followed up by showing off his famous cartwheel celebration in front of the sold-out 27,000-capacity stadium.
Keane’s wife Claudine cheered on from the stands with other family members as he played 70 minutes of the match, which LA Galaxy won 2-0 against San Jose Earthquakes. Manager Bruce Arena said they’re elated with Robbie at the club. Keane has still got in in him and could be a great goal scorer in the Major Soccer League.

Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson is the man who shall lead Leicester City back to the top tier of English football. He is to do what Ian Holloway, Nigel Pearson and Paulo Suosa failed to achieve. In fact there has been a long string of managers since Martin O’Neill left the club in June 2000. O’Neill took the club to the Premiership in 1996, followed by four successive top ten finishes. Under O’Neill the club won the League Cup in 1997 & 2000 and were runners-up in 1999. They were relegated after the 2001/02 season but went straight back up the next season, however the 2003/04 season is so far their last in the Premier League.

In 2002, soon after having moved into their new stadium, Leicester went into administration with debts of more than £30 million. A consortium led by former great Gary Lineker managed to get the club back on its feet. In 2008 they hit further lows as they were relegated to League One, the only time in Leicester’s long history outside the top two tiers of English football. That was the end of Ian Holloway and he was replaced by Nigel Pearson. They were promotoed back to the Championship after only one season, as League One champions. The following season the reached they play-offs for promotion to the Premier League but failed to take the step up. Pearson was then replaced by Suosa ahead of last season but they had a disastrous start to the season and he was sacked in October. Under newly appointed Sven-Göran Eriksson the club recovered to a 10th place finish.

Sven-Göran Eriksson has a solid track record and the Foxes faithfuls hope he can bring them a new O’Neill era of success. In his native Sweden he lifted IFK Göteborg to European prominence by winning the UEFA Cup in 1982. That led him to Portuguese giants Benfica, where he won several titles, followed by more titles won with Italian clubs AS Roma, Sampdoria and Lazio. After having been Lazio’s most successful ever manager, Eriksson went on to manage Manchester City and the national teams of England, Mexico and Côte d’Ivoire before his move to Leicester City.

Eriksson has had the financial backing from the Thai-based Asia Football Investments consortium who now owns the club. He has been very active in the transfer market and complemented the squad with several strong signings. He had already in January brought in Souleymane Bamba, a 26 year old Ivory Coast defender, who he knew from his recent spell as coach for the Côte d’Ivoire national side. Japan international defensive midfielder Yuki Abe had arrived at the club ahead of last season.

In this transfer window Eriksson has captured:
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from Leeds United, a 24 year old Denmark international.
Right back Lee Peltier from Huddersfield Town, a 24 year old who can also play as a midfielder.
Right back John Paintsil from Fulham, a 30 year old Ghanaian international.
Left back Paul Konchesky from Liverpool, a 30 year old former England international.
Centre back Matt Mills from Reading, a 25 year old former England U19, named new captain by Eriksson.
Centre back Sean St Ledger from Preston North End, a 26 year old Ireland international.
Midfielder Neil Danns from Crystal Palace, a 28 year old who previously played in the EPL for Birmingham.
Striker David Nugent from Portsmouth, a 26 year old with one England cap.

He has also signed midfielder Michael Johnson on a season long loan from Manchester City and Gelson Fernandes, a Swiss international on loan from St Etienne, which could become permanent.

The squad already boasted the young midfielder Andy King, a Wales international who will turn 23 in a couple of months time. There is also plenty of experience to draw from the likes of midfielder Richie Wellens, a 31 year old and the club’s 2011 Player of the Year, midfielder Matt Oakley, a 33 year old former U21 player for England, the 33 year old former Switzerland international, Bruno Berner who plays both in midfield and defense. There is also winger Lloyd Dyer who has wowed to stay on and fight for his place, while the injury prone centre back Aleksandar Tunchev, a 30 year old Bulgarian international, has been sent on a one month loan to Crystal Palace.

Leicester played their season opener away to Coventry. They took home all three points after Lee Peltier nodded home a perfect cross from Richie Wellens. The first step of a long 2011/12 season.