Champions League draw
August 27, 2009Bayern Munich are set to meet up with one of their old nemeses, Diego, as the Brazilian midfielder's new team, Juventus, was drawn into the Bavarians' Group A of the UEFA Champions League.
As a Werder Bremen player for the last three years, Diego has often made life difficult for Bayern defenders.
Also in Bayern's challenging group are reigning French champions Girondins de Bordeaux, led by France's new rising star Yoann Gourcouff, and Maccabi Haifa of Israel, returning to the Champions League group stage after a seven year absence.
Ups and downs
Stuttgart received a comparatively easy draw in Group G. They'll play one seasoned Champions League side in Sevilla, a newcomer in Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni and Scotland's Glasgow Rangers – a frequent participant in the CL group stage that has never made the knock-out round.
Bundesliga title holders Wolfsburg make their first Champions League appearance this year and their draw in Group B was a mixed bag.
Wolfsburg face one of the competition's most feared opponents in English champions Manchester United, but also drew Besiktas and CSKA Moscow. Those two are the winner and runner-up, respectively, of the less highly regarded Turkish and Russian leagues.
Five more groups
Two potentially intriguing Spanish-Italian clashes loom in Groups C and F, both involving onetime teammates-turned opponents.
Real Madrid will meet AC Milan in Group C, which is rounded out by Olympique de Marseille and FC Zuerich. And in Group F, last year's Champions League winners FC Barcelona will face Inter Milan, as well as Dynamo Kyiv and Russian newcomers Rubin Kazan.
Barcelona and Inter did a multi-million euro deal over the summer, which saw them swap star strikers Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Real Madrid, meanwhile, bought Brazilian playmaker Kaka from AC Milan.
English sides Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal head up Groups D, E and H.
Alongside the Merseysiders in Group D are Lyon, Fiorentina, and Hungarian champions Debrecen. In group E, Chelsea will square off against Porto, Atletico Madrid, and APOEL of Cyprus. And Arsenal is set to play AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Belgian champs Standard Liege in group H.
The first set of matches kick off on September 15 and 16.
Author: Matt Hermann
Editor: Rick Demarest