The UEFA Champions League
European Union
The best teams from the European Competitions will try to become the best of Europe in this Champions League (CL). Mostly the winners of the big leagues and several 2nd/3rd ranked teams in their league are taking part in this competition. Who will be the best of Europe this season? Watch this and you will know!
Arsenal vs Olympiacos Piraeus
Match scheduled:
Date: 29-09-2009
Time: 20:45 until 22:45
Group H - Matchday #2 :: Uefa Champions League 2009/2010 :: Match also on SkySports Extra, Sport+ FR, MEGA Channel and TV6 Sweden.
After the war, under Allison's successor Tom Whittaker, Arsenal enjoyed a second period of success, winning the league in 1947–48 and 1952–53, and the FA Cup in 1949–50. After that though, their fortunes waned; unable to attract players of the same calibre as they had in the 1930s, the club spent most of the 1950s and 1960s in trophyless mediocrity. Even former England captain Billy Wright could not bring the club any success as manager, in a stint between 1962 and 1966.
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Arsenal began winning silverware again with the surprise appointment of club physiotherapist Bertie Mee as manager in 1966. After losing two League Cup finals, they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, their first European trophy, in 1969–70.[9] This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double in 1970–71. This marked a premature high point of the decade; the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses. Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1972–73, lost three FA Cup finals (1971–72, 1977–78 and 1979–80) and lost the 1979–80 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was an FA Cup win in 1978–79, with a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United that is widely regarded as a classic.[10]
The return of former player George Graham as manager in 1986 brought a third period of glory. Arsenal won the League Cup in 1986–87, Graham's first season in charge. This was followed by a League title win in 1988–89, won with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season against fellow title challengers Liverpool. Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1990–91, losing only one match, the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1992–93 and a second European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1993–94. Graham's reputation was tarnished when it was revealed that he had taken kickbacks from agent Rune Hauge for signing certain players,[11] and he was sacked in 1995. His replacement, Bruce Rioch, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute with the board of directors.
The club's success in the late 1990s and 2000s owes a great deal to the appointment of manager Arsène Wenger in 1996. Wenger brought new tactics, a new training regime and several foreign players who complemented the existing English talent. Arsenal won a second league and cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02. In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–00 UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to Galatasaray), were victorious in the 2002–03 and 2004–05 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, which earned the side the nickname "The Invincibles";[13] in all, the club went 49 league matches unbeaten, a national record.
Arsenal have finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's eleven seasons at the club.[15] They are one of only four teams (along with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea) to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1992, although they have failed to retain the title each time they have been champions.[16] Arsenal had never progressed beyond the Champions League quarter-finals until 2005–06; in that competition they reached the final, the first club from London to do so in the competition's fifty-year history, where they were beaten 2–1 by FC Barcelona.[17] In July 2006, they moved into their current stadium, the Emirates Stadium, after 93 years at Highbury.
