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The group stage draw for the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League gave us all a lot of reasons to be excited, after throwing up a number of mouth-watering encounters between clubs deemed to be among the best in Europe.However, the teams will not be the only ones grabbing the headlines as the draw has also set the stage for some fascinating sub-plots. As we see in almost every Champions League edition, there will be players and managers drawn against their previous teams. From sentimental reunions and homecomings to desires of revenge and clashes of egos, there’s bound to be a lot of emotion involved.Here are 5 player/manager returns to watch out for in this year’s Champions League.
#1 Luis Enrique and AS Roma
We begin with the manager of the defending champions. Luis Enrique may have won the treble with Barcelona in his first year at the club, but his short career has also seen some less successful times.
In 2011, he was given his first managerial job at a top division side at AS Roma. The stint ended in a disappointing failure. Despite spending over 73 million euros on new players, Enrique’s Roma failed to qualify for Europe after finishing the season in 7th place – the team’s worst league position in six years.
This season, Enrique will make a return to Roma after his Barcelona team were drawn with the Italians in Group E of the Champions League. The two teams did face each other in the Camp Nou for the Joan Gamper Trophy in pre-season but this will be Enrique’s first competitive return to the Stadio Olimpico since leaving the team.
He may not have impressed there but he has spoken of his time at Roma in positive terms, seeing it as ‘making him a better coach.’
#2 Memphis Depay and PSV Eindhoven
Memphis Depay has enjoyed quite an interesting start to his Manchester United career. With a couple of weeks into the new season, the 21-year old seems set to be crucial to Louis Van Gaal’s plans to revitalise the club. Memphis opened his account for United with two goals against Brugge in the Champions League qualifier, setting the stage for the Red Devils to seal qualification for the group stages. This season will see Memphis’ first true experience of Champions League football. During his four years at PSV Eindhoven, he played in a couple of qualifying ties but never got a taste of the real stuff. How ironic then that Manchester United will face PSV Eindhoven in Group B this year, with PSV only getting there due to Memphis’ performance last season.
He finished as top scorer in the Eredivisie with 22 goals in 2014/15, sending his team to the a much-awaited league title and a return to the Champions League. It is now time for both player and club to play at the biggest stage, albeit against each other.
#3 Jose Mourinho and Porto
The Special One’s return to Porto will always be special for both club and manager. Jose Mourinho enjoyed a highly-successful period at the club, taking the Dragons to domestic and continental success.
His biggest achievement was undoubtedly the surprise triumph in the 2004 Champions League as his unfancied Porto side took the biggest prize in club football from under the noses of more illustrious rivals. It was a triumph that brought Mourinho to the notice of the wider footballing world and gave him his ticket to Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho has returned to Porto multiple times with Chelsea before but when this season’s Champions League pitted the two together, there were more gasps and excited whispers than usual – because when Porto take on Chelsea, the man in goal for the Portuguese outfit will probably be Iker Casillas.
Casillas’s relationship with Mourinho broke down during the latter’s time as manager of Real Madrid. The legendary keeper was unceremoniously relegated to the bench leading to the one of the most troubling periods in his career. Resentment may still be in the air as the two come face to face once again.
#4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Malm
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has played for many of Europe’s biggest teams and is often cited in fan circles as an example of how players are no longer loyal to their teams. It is something that can give rise to a lot of disputes but even then, there is one fact that remains uncontested – Ibrahimovic still is a fan of Malmö FF.
Ibrahimovic was born in Malmö and started playing the game in the southern Swedish city. It was at the local top division club Malmö FF that he made his professional debut. Although it has been 14 years since he left the club, Ibrahimovic clearly showed his attachment to his hometown club when he tweeted about Malmo reaching the Champions League group stages last week.
A day later, after the team was drawn alongside Ibra’s Paris Saint Germain in Group A of the Champions League, the website of Malmo crashed as huge numbers of fans flocked to the site to order tickets for the homecoming of their prodigal son.
#5 Angel Di Maria and Real Madrid
On the night of 24 May 2014, Angel Di Maria found himself in seventh heaven. He had risen to the occasion to send Real Madrid to their tenth Champions League triumph. He was named man of the match and the plaudits came in for his heroics in a match that could have gone completely wrong for the Blancos. Two months later, he was on a plane to Manchester after breaking the British transfer record.
In a bizarre turn of events, Di Maria’s relationship with Real Madrid’s higher-ups came crashing down and it spurred a war of words that continued throughout the summer. The Argentine was portrayed as ‘greedy’ – Real Madrid president Florentino Perez blamed him for not renewing his contract while Di Maria had a very different account of how things transpired.
All in all, the whole episode was very shabby and badly managed with the Bernabeu eventually saying goodbye to a player who had played no small role in bringing them La Decima. Di Maria is now at Paris Saint Germain, having failed to make his case with Manchester United. With the French giants going head to head with Real Madrid in Group A of the Champions League, it will be interesting to see how the famously fickle Madrid faithful receive the winger.
