The draw was made for the 2009 Champions League group stage in Monaco on Thursday, as 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four to battle in Europe’s most prestigious club tournament.
The first set of matches is to be played on September 15th and 16th.
Of the five British teams to make it to the group stages, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Glasgow Rangers all reached the first round automatically, while Arsenal crossed an extra hurdle in Glasgow Celtic (5–1 on aggregate) to qualify.
The eight group winners and runners-up will go through to the knock-out stages of the competition, while the teams finishing third in each group will go into the Europa League.
If one had to pick a group that had the potential to produce some special fixtures, then it would be either Group C or Group F.
Group C features AC Milan, Real Madrid, French team Olympique de Marseille, and Swiss team FC Zurich. The two matches between AC Milan and Real Madrid are going to be special as Brazilian superstar Kaka, who now plays for Real Madrid will face his old team.
Group F is comprised of last year’s winner Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev, and Russian club Rubin Kazan. Barcelona and Inter Milan were champions of Spain and Italy respectively last season and proceeded to swap superstar strikers prior to the start of this season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic went to Barcelona while Samuel Eto’o went the other way.
Manchester United, last year’s runner up, is in Group B. Commenting on the club’s Web site, manager Sir Alex Ferguson said, “These are difficult ties especially the trips to Russia and Turkey...CSKA have developed strongly in the last few years and games in Turkey are always difficult.”
Arsenal beat Glasgow Celtic convincingly on Wednesday to progress to the group phase. They were drawn in Group H and will face Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar, who make their first Champions League appearance, Greek champions Olympiacos, and Standard Liege from Belgium. Overall, this is a fairly favorable draw for Arsenal.
Chelsea will play Porto, Atletico Madrid, and Apoel Nicosia in Group D, while Liverpool face Lyon, Fiorentina and Debrecen in Group E.
Scottish champions Rangers in Group G are alongside Sevilla, Stuttgart, and Romanian champions Unirea Urzicena.
All four English teams were placed as top seeds this year. Premier League teams made up three out of the four semifinalists from last year’s competition (Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United)
Prior to the draw UEFA President Michel Platini outlined what he considered to be key objectives for the European soccer’s governing body.
One of the objectives was to promote dialogue between UEFA and European clubs. Another key point was the need to eradicate certain negative elements from European soccer.
“European football [soccer] has continued to experience sad, dark tales of violence, racism and corruption,” he said.
Mr. Platini did note that these types of incidents were in decline but controls were still needed to remove such issues.
A tougher stance would be taken with cheats, “Considerable resources were invested in the creation of an early warning system designed to identify suspicious matches that might be the subject of illegal betting,” said Mr. Platini.
“I am convinced that, together, we will be able to raise the levels of solidarity, fraternity, and entertainment in football [soccer],” Mr Platini concluded. “Together, we will preserve the most beautiful sport on the planet.”
The first set of matches is to be played on September 15th and 16th.
Of the five British teams to make it to the group stages, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Glasgow Rangers all reached the first round automatically, while Arsenal crossed an extra hurdle in Glasgow Celtic (5–1 on aggregate) to qualify.
The eight group winners and runners-up will go through to the knock-out stages of the competition, while the teams finishing third in each group will go into the Europa League.
If one had to pick a group that had the potential to produce some special fixtures, then it would be either Group C or Group F.
Group C features AC Milan, Real Madrid, French team Olympique de Marseille, and Swiss team FC Zurich. The two matches between AC Milan and Real Madrid are going to be special as Brazilian superstar Kaka, who now plays for Real Madrid will face his old team.
Group F is comprised of last year’s winner Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev, and Russian club Rubin Kazan. Barcelona and Inter Milan were champions of Spain and Italy respectively last season and proceeded to swap superstar strikers prior to the start of this season. Zlatan Ibrahimovic went to Barcelona while Samuel Eto’o went the other way.
British Teams
Manchester United, last year’s runner up, is in Group B. Commenting on the club’s Web site, manager Sir Alex Ferguson said, “These are difficult ties especially the trips to Russia and Turkey...CSKA have developed strongly in the last few years and games in Turkey are always difficult.”
Arsenal beat Glasgow Celtic convincingly on Wednesday to progress to the group phase. They were drawn in Group H and will face Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar, who make their first Champions League appearance, Greek champions Olympiacos, and Standard Liege from Belgium. Overall, this is a fairly favorable draw for Arsenal.
Chelsea will play Porto, Atletico Madrid, and Apoel Nicosia in Group D, while Liverpool face Lyon, Fiorentina and Debrecen in Group E.
Scottish champions Rangers in Group G are alongside Sevilla, Stuttgart, and Romanian champions Unirea Urzicena.
All four English teams were placed as top seeds this year. Premier League teams made up three out of the four semifinalists from last year’s competition (Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United)
UEFA President
Prior to the draw UEFA President Michel Platini outlined what he considered to be key objectives for the European soccer’s governing body.
One of the objectives was to promote dialogue between UEFA and European clubs. Another key point was the need to eradicate certain negative elements from European soccer.
“European football [soccer] has continued to experience sad, dark tales of violence, racism and corruption,” he said.
Mr. Platini did note that these types of incidents were in decline but controls were still needed to remove such issues.
A tougher stance would be taken with cheats, “Considerable resources were invested in the creation of an early warning system designed to identify suspicious matches that might be the subject of illegal betting,” said Mr. Platini.
“I am convinced that, together, we will be able to raise the levels of solidarity, fraternity, and entertainment in football [soccer],” Mr Platini concluded. “Together, we will preserve the most beautiful sport on the planet.”
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