10 Players Set to Make Their Champions League Debuts This Season
The 2014-15 Champions League campaign gets underway on Tuesday, with a batch of new and previously unseen stars readying themselves for their first tastes of the continental competition.
By and large, the Champions League brings together the brightest and most talented of Europe's elite clubs, but that doesn't necessarily mean the world's best individual players will always feature.
Whether it's due to never having played in Europe before or because qualifying for the tournament took until this season, here we discuss 10 of the best players ready to make their bow in the Champions League.
To establish as broad a range of players possible, selections have been limited to one player per club, and we haven't counted first appearances in the Champions League playoff rounds.
1. Bruno Martins Indi, Porto
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A summer switch from Feyenoord to Porto has opened up a whole new spectrum for Bruno Martins Indi's career prospects, one of which is the chance to feature regularly in Europe's top tournament.
The Dutch international showed mixed results at the 2014 World Cup this summer, at times proving himself to be a technically sound centre-back among Louis van Gaal's setup but coming across as more oafish in other fixtures.
The Liga Primeira hopes to coax more of the former out of the defender, with Martins Indi promising to shore up the Dragons' defence once again following a 2013-14 campaign in which they failed to live up to usual demands.
Having kept clean sheets in both legs of Porto's Champions League playoff clash against Lille, the centre-back certainly looks to have gotten off to a positive start.
2. Alessio Cerci, Atletico Madrid
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For some time now, Alessio Cerci has been tipped for bigger things than Torino may have allowed him, and upon completing a move to Atletico Madrid, his path is without a doubt more expansive now than it was at summer's beginning.
Coming into Diego Simeone's line-up, the Italian international will look to maintain a similar state of importance within his new squad, albeit attempting to do so in a bigger pond full to the brim with bigger fish.
That being said, Simeone is investing in a former Roma and Fiorentina talent only now realising his full potential, one who will get to unleash those prospects upon Europe's finest from now on.
3. Talisca, Benfica
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A summer arrival from Bahia, Talisca is one of the latest South American exports to find his way to one of Portugal's giants, with Benfica winning the race for his signature back in July.
This week, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho revealed his admiration of the player, telling Portuguese broadcaster TVI24 (h/t Daily Mail's Sean Gallagher):
"I think Benfica hired well. They say Talisca is unknown, but he is only so unknown because he's only not playing in England because he doesn't have a work permit. If he had one, he would be here!
There were many English teams, great teams and important, that wanted him. Moreover, there were those who wanted to sign him, even though he could not play for now. They wanted to sign him, put him in a minor league [on loan] and hope that eventually he came to be selected [for Brazil's national team], and would consequently then get the work permit.
"
Those comments speak highly of the new arrival in Europe's elite ranks, as the Eagles have their hands on another top prospect promising to do damage. Talisca scored a hat-trick in his most recent league outing against Vitoria Setubal.
4. Iker Muniain, Athletic Bilbao
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It seems almost untrue that after being tipped as one of Europe's most promising youngsters for so many years, only this season will Athletic Bilbao's Iker Muniain make his Champions League debut.
However, having scored to secure his side a draw against Napoli in the first leg of their playoff fixture, the 21-year-old is in shape to play a big role for the Basque outfit upon taking his first CL steps.
Muniain isn't alone, either, as this competition will be a new experience to the vast majority of Athletic's ranks, but with massive potential always expected of the young winger, one might have imagined his bow coming about sooner.
5. Mehdi Benatia, Bayern Munich
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Mehdi Benatia would have made his Champions League debut whether he chose to remain with Roma or complete his move to Bayern Munich.
How fitting it is, however, that one of the Moroccan's first tests will be against his former club, the Italians preparing to exact their revenge on the centre-back whose exit wasn't quite as ceremonious as hoped.
Joining a club of such huge stature, Benatia can expect to figure in the tournament for years to come from this point, the Bundesliga giants annually viewed as one of the favourites to make it far.
6. Kevin Strootman, Roma
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Currently struggling with the knee injury that ruled him out of this summer's World Cup, Kevin Strootman will provide Roma with a major boost when he does make his return to the starting line-up.
Despite coming close with PSV on several occasions, the Dutchman is yet to figure in the Champions League, making his return to fitness all that much more important for the Giallorossi.
Strootman is expected to make his comeback in October, meaning he could still feature prominently in Rudi Garcia's group campaign, although any relapse in injury could damage those hopes.
7. Lucas Ocampos, Monaco
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Lucas Ocampos came across as an odd and audacious move for Monaco in the summer of 2012, in a way the first big purchase under the Dmitry Rybolovlev administration and a starting point for the club's recent money-spinning.
Finally, the Argentinian will get to figure among the Champions League giants this season, a long-awaited eventuality given that at the time of his move to the French Riviera, he was being linked with a host of Premier League and La Liga outfits by Argentine newspaper Ole (via Goal.com).
One could argue Ocampos hasn't quite lived up to expectations at Monaco just yet, but at just 20 years of age he has time on his side and will look to make an impact on the biggest stage of all this term.
8. Raheem Sterling, Liverpool
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A great deal of Liverpool's new-look squad have yet to feel what it's like to play in the Champions League, with Steven Gerrard the only player remaining from the side that won the 2004-05 tournament.
Sterling represents the new breed at Anfield. He is arguably the club's most exciting star and at just 19 years of age has a mountain of weight upon his shoulders as the future for both club and country.
Brendan Rodgers' starlet will have been dreaming of times like this, and with Real Madrid, Basel and Ludogorets Razgrad all lined up to take on the Reds, he'll need to be at his best to guide Liverpool through the storm.
9. Adrian Ramos, Borussia Dortmund
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Ciro Immobile might have taken precedence as the name most expected to fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski at Signal Iduna Park. However, Adrian Ramos' record of two goals in his first two league games for Borussia Dortmund suggest she could be the surprise package.
The ex-Hertha Berlin hitman will aim to show that he's capable of making the step up against Europe's finest, having pledged five years loyal service to the Old Lady, finally getting his move to the big time this summer.
Alongside Immobile, Ramos promises to give an explosive new threat to the Black and Yellows and is an extremely valuable pickup on a free, the Colombian capable of becoming the latest sensation from his nation to thrive on Europe's biggest platform.
10. Munir El Haddadi, Barcelona
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From relative nobody to Champions League contender in a matter of weeks, Munir El Haddadi's journey from zero to hero is yet another fine tale of how Barcelona use youth production in the most efficient manner.
It was less than a month ago that the 19-year-old made his first-team debut for the Blaugrana, and after impressing in his early days Munir is sure to get his chances in Europe under Luis Enrique.
If his start to La Liga life is anything to go by, big things are expected of the teenager in years to come, but the Champions League promises to be an altogether sterner test of his fortitude.
