Champions League 200910 Group Draw Confirmed
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English teams breath sigh of relief as they avoid Real Madrid.
The UEFA Champions League draw was made this evening in Monaco, announcing which of Europe’s premier clubs would be facing off against each other in the initial group stages, after qualification was completed last night.
The English Premier League’s top four clubs Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal were all seeded in the top pot along with last year’s winners, Barcelona, AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Sevilla. The groups were all nervous about drawing Real Madrid, bolstered by a summer of extreme spending, the new Galacticos were unseeded but were drawn in Group C along with AC Milan, Marseille and Zurich. Kaka will have an early return to the San Ciro.
Eight new clubs have qualified for the Champions League for the first time, including German champions Wolfsburg and APOEL of Cyprus. The champions of 18 different nations will be represented at this year’s European competition, but only one will be crowned in glory come May next year in Madrid.
The Champions League Draw:
Group A: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa
Group B: MANCHESTER UNITED, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Wolfsburg
Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich
Group D: CHELSEA, FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL
Group E: LIVERPOOL, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debrecen
Group F: FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dinamo Kiev, FC Rubin Kazan
Group G: Sevilla, Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea
Group H: ARSENAL, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege
Last year’s finalists and current Premier League champions Manchester United would be feared this year in Europe according to United striker Dimitar Berbatov:
“When you say the name Manchester United, it inspires respect in a lot of people. Nobody will fancy playing us,” he told the club’s official website.
Having put on such a disappointing display in the final last year, Berbatov and his team mates have much to prove on the European stage, particularly in the absence of the 80-million-pound-man, Cristiano Ronaldo.
United probably had the toughest of the draws, with German champions Wolfsburg along with gruelling trips to Russia and Turkey ahead of them. Liverpool and Arsenal can’t have too many complaints about their draws whilst Chelsea have drawn a tough group with both Porto and Atlético Madrid.
The first group matches will kick off on 15 and 16 September 2009, with all of Europe’s elite competing to be in the final on Saturday 22 May 2010, which this year will be held at the Bernabeu in Madrid.
