Bordeaux primed to undermine Lyon title bid

December 13, 2009

French league leaders Bordeaux welcome Lyon to the Stade Chaban-Delmas on Sunday knowing that victory would take them eight points clear of their title rivals at the top of the table.

Both clubs have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, but Bordeaux’s league form is much better and with the winter break approaching they have a prime opportunity to deal their foes a timely psychological blow.

The reigning champions recovered from a first home defeat in over two years against Valenciennes to record back-to-back wins at Nancy and at home to Paris Saint-Germain, but Lyon have just one win in their last seven league matches.

Lyon, the dominant side of the decade who won seven straight titles between 2002 and 2008, warmed up for the clash with a 4-0 Champions League win over Hungarian side Debrecen in mid-week, but coach Claude Puel rejected suggestions his team were in need of a lift.

“It’s not a question of relief or of being reassured or I don’t know what,” said the former Lille manager.

“The previous matches are out of our system and we’re concentrating on the games ahead. Now, with Bordeaux, we change the register and the competition. We’ll have to recover well for the match on Sunday.”

Laurent Blanc was able to field a second-string XI for Bordeaux’s final Champions League assignment, a 1-0 win at Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.

The first-team stars are expected to return on Sunday, with midfielder Yoann Gourcuff set to play despite having missed training on Wednesday with toothache.

Lyon will likely be without their France international winger Sidney Govou, who was forced off with an injury in the 29th minute of their victory at home to Debrecen on Wednesday.

Govou hurt himself in the build-up to Bafetimbi Gomis’s 25th-minute opener and was replaced by Bosnian starlet Miralem Pjanic, who stands by to deputise.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris required stitches after a clash of heads with Debrecen’s French striker Adamo Coulibaly but his injuries are not thought serious enough to jeopardise his participation against Bordeaux.

Second-placed Montpellier, who spent the last five seasons in Ligue 2, could close to within a point of Bordeaux at the head of the standings if they win at Toulouse on Sunday afternoon.

Bottom side Grenoble, who picked up their first win of the season at home to Toulouse last weekend, visit Sochaux, while PSG hope to have Turkish striker Mevlut Erding back from a knee problem for the visit of Saint-Etienne.

Fixtures

Sunday (1600GMT unless otherwise stated)

Monaco v Lille, Paris Saint-Germain v Saint-Etienne, Sochaux v Grenoble, Toulouse v Montpellier, Lyon v Bordeaux (2000GMT)

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Bordeaux, claude puel, coulibaly, debrecen, dominant side, final champions league, France, france international, french league, Germain, Grenoble, Hugo Lloris, laurent blanc, league leaders, Lille, maccabi haifa, Monaco, Montpellier, Nancy, PARIS, paris saint germain, prime opportunity, saint etienne, second string, seven league, sidney govou, stade chaban delmas, straight titles, Toulouse, valenciennes, Yoann

Bordeaux primed to undermine Lyon title bid

December 12, 2009

French league leaders Bordeaux welcome Lyon to the Stade Chaban-Delmas on Sunday knowing that victory would take them eight points clear of their title rivals at the top of the table.

“It’s not a question of relief or of being reassured or I don’t know what,” said the former Lille manager.

Laurent Blanc was able to field a second-string XI for Bordeaux’s final Champions League assignment, a 1-0 win at Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa.

The first-team stars are expected to return on Sunday, with midfielder Yoann Gourcuff set to play despite having missed training on Wednesday with toothache.

Lyon will likely be without their France international winger Sidney Govou, who was forced off with an injury in the 29th minute of their victory at home to Debrecen on Wednesday.

Govou hurt himself in the build-up to Bafetimbi Gomis’s 25th-minute opener and was replaced by Bosnian starlet Miralem Pjanic, who stands by to deputise.

Marseille will look to bounce back from their own Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid, 3-1 winners at the Stade Velodrome on Tuesday, when they host Boulogne on Saturday.

Top scorer and captain Mamadou Niang was forced out of the match against Real with a shoulder injury and could be out for up to six weeks.

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps hinted on Thursday that the Senegalese forward’s absence could prompt him to enter the January transfer market.

“I don’t rule it out, but buying someone who would give us something extra, particularly in attack, is expensive and I don’t think it would be possible,” said Deschamps.

Second-placed Montpellier, who spent the last five seasons in Ligue 2, could close to within a point of Bordeaux at the head of the standings if they win at Toulouse on Sunday afternoon.

Fifth-placed Auxerre, meanwhile, are hoping to have last season’s top scorer Ireneusz Jelen fit for the trip to Lorient on Saturday, after the Polish marksman returned to training following a bicep injury.

Fixtures

Saturday (1800GMT unless otherwise stated)

Le Mans v Valenciennes, Lens v Nice, Marseille v Boulogne, Nancy v Rennes, Lorient v Auxerre (2000GMT)

Sunday (1600GMT unless otherwise stated)

Monaco v Lille, Paris Saint-Germain v Saint-Etienne, Sochaux v Grenoble, Toulouse v Montpellier, Lyon v Bordeaux (2000GMT)

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: claude puel, coulibaly, debrecen, dominant side, final champions league, france international, french league, Germain, Grenoble, Hugo Lloris, laurent blanc, Lorient, maccabi haifa, MADRID, Marseille, Montpellier, Nancy, PARIS, paris saint germain, prime opportunity, Rennes, second string, seven league, stade chaban delmas, valenciennes, Yoann

We’re going to Bordeaux to win, says Cannavaro

November 25, 2009

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro insisted his Juventus team would be looking for the three points when they play Bordeaux in the Champions League on Wednesday.

A victory over the Group A leaders would ensure Juventus’s name is in the hat for the second round draw but anything else could result in a winner takes all showdown with German giants Bayern Munich in Turin in two weeks.

“A team like Juve always plays to win, we know that to progress we have to come home with three points and play well,” said the 36-year-old before leaving for France.

“Bordeaux are a team that are improving and have shown over the last few years that they are one of the best in France and they have the motivation to fight for top spot in the group because everyone knows how important that is.

“It’s important for us because we can secure qualification otherwise we’ll arrive at the last game against Bayern, which would be interesting.”

Bordeaux lead the group with 10 points from four games and have already qualified.

Juve are second on eight points, four ahead of Bayern, who must win their last two games to have any chance of progressing.

Israelis Maccabi Haifa have already been eliminated after four straight defeats.

ROME (AFP)

Tags: bayern munich, Bordeaux, champions league, fabio cannavaro, four games, giants, haifa, Italy, juve, last game, maccabi haifa, motivation, ROME, turin, two games, victory

Inter, Juve try to forget looming title showdown

November 21, 2009

Inter Milan and Juventus, the top two teams in Serie A, are desperately trying to avoid talking up their looming table-topping clash.

Leaders Inter have a five-point gap to second-placed Juventus but already thoughts in both Milan and Turin are turning to the ‘Derby of Italy’, which should be an early ‘title decider’ in two weeks’ time.

First things first, though, both teams have relatively straight-forward matches to negotiate, as well as European commitments before that game comes around.

Champions Inter travel to Bologna on Saturday while Juve host Udinese and both will be more than aware of the dangers of looking too far ahead.

Last time out Inter were held to a 1-1 draw at home to struggling AS Roma, just a few days after earning a crucial come-from-behind 2-1 victory in Ukraine against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League.

Juve too have suffered before and after big European games this season – their first defeat, 2-0 at Palermo, came after a trip to Bayern Munich and their second, 3-2 at home to Napoli, was ahead of a trip to Maccabi Haifa.

But Italy captain and Juve centre-back Fabio Cannavaro insists talk of Inter is premature.

“I’ve heard that many people are already talking about the match against Inter, personally I have decided not to touch it for another two weeks,” he said.

“I’m interested in the games against Udinese and Bordeaux. The first should let us know that we can’t let up in the league and the second should book us our place in the Champions League knock-out rounds.

“Fortunately after the international break we will welcome back important players such as (Alessandro) Del Piero, which is a good thing for us given that we need everyone.”

Juve can’t afford too many more slip-ups given they have also been held at home by Bologna and drew away to both Fiorentina and Genoa.

While they did win their last match 5-2 away to Atalanta, they have rarely been convincing this season and if anything have been flattered by many of their results.

Despite their draw at home to Roma, Inter are in rude health, their only defeat this season coming away to Sampdoria, while they sit not only top of Serie A but also their Champions League group containing holders Barcelona.

But Bologna come into the game off the back of an impressive 3-1 win over Palermo and few of their players will have been on international duty so they will be less fatigued than the champions.

The third team in the title race, AC Milan host Cagliari hoping to continue their recent improvement that has seen them win five of their last seven games and close the gap on Inter to seven points.

But full-back Gianluca Zambrotta insists Cagliari will be no push-overs having won their last four matches.

“Cagliari are in great form and we know that Sunday’s game won’t be easy,” he said. “We still have some time to study them and to prepare the best we can.

“Either way we’ve had a good week of training behind us and we’re in the best possible condition for Sunday afternoon.

“We’re playing in a way that allows us to create many opportunities, we’re attacking with many bodies.”

Fixtures:

Saturday

Bologna v Inter Milan, Fiorentina v Parma

Sunday

AC Milan v Cagliari, Juventus v Udinese, Livorno v Genoa, Napoli v Lazio, Palermo v Catania, AS Roma v Bari, Sampdoria v Chievo, Siena v Atalanta

ROME (AFP)

Tags: Alessandro Del Piero, bayern munich, decider, dynamo kiev, european games, fabio cannavaro, fiorentina, genoa, haifa, inter travel, juventus, knock out, last match, maccabi haifa, milan and turin, point gap, slip ups, udinese

Juve bounce back with victory at Haifa

November 4, 2009

Juventus took a significant step towards the Champions League knockout phase by beating Maccabi Haifa 1-0 in their group stage game at the Ramat Gan Stadium here on Tuesday.

The Italian giants, who fell to their first home league defeat in nine months against Napoli on Saturday, opened the scoring through Mauro Camoranesi on the stroke of half-time and were rarely troubled in a turgid second half.

Group A leaders Bordeaux’s victory at Bayern Munich on Tuesday means that Juventus are now four points above the Germans in second place and require three points from their last two matches to progress.

Home goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch was the busiest man in the ground in the game’s early stages and was forced to save from Diego, twice, Amauri and Tiago as Juventus peppered his goal with shots.

Haifa eventually established a foothold in the game, though, with Georgian international striker Vladimir Dvalishvili testing Gianluigi Buffon from close range and then heading over from Yaniv Katan’s cross moments later.

Davidovitch was called upon again to push an Amauri effort around the post as Juve re-asserted their authority and Tiago saw an attempted chip land on the roof of the net 10 minutes before half-time.

With half-time beckoning Juve broke the hosts’ resistance, Camoranesi latching onto Martin Caceres’s right-wing cross and cracking the ball past Davidovitch via the aid of a deflection.

Juve narrowly edged Haifa by the same scoreline when they met in Turin and Ciro Ferrara’s side once again succeeded in keeping the Israelis at arm’s length in the second period, although Shlomi Arbeitman gave them a couple of scares with two headers that were narrowly off-target.

A fourth consecutive group stage defeat means Haifa can no longer qualify for the next round and they must win their remaining two matches to stand any chance of overhauling Bayern to qualify for the Europa League.

RAMAT GAN, Israel (AFP)

Tags: Bayern, bayern munich, Bordeaux, camoranesi, ciro, ciro ferrara, close range, consecutive group, Diego, foothold, four points, Gan Stadium, gianluigi buffon, group stage, haifa, israel, knockout, maccabi haifa, martin caceres, mauro camoranesi, napoli, ramat gan israel, scoreline, second period, stage game, target, turin, Vladimir Dvalishvili, yaniv katan

Inter rivals go head to head in title chase

October 28, 2009

Serie A title pretenders Juventus and Sampdoria will have 24 hours to make up some ground on leaders Inter Milan on Wednesday.

The champions do not play until Thursday, by which time Sampdoria could have replaced them at the top if they win.

The problem for the Genoa-based club is that they face a tough away trip to Juventus, although on current form there is little to fear from the Turin giants.

Until a week ago, Juve had not won for a month and five games, but although they have managed two wins since then, neither was convincing.

Their 1-0 victory over Israeli minnows Maccabi Haifa was achieved only after some tense final moments against a team already reduced to 10 men.

And their success by the same score at Siena on Sunday was earned only through a dead ball, with Amauri heading home Brazilian compatirot Diego’s free-kick.

Since then Juve have found out that striker Vincenzo Iaquinta will be out for more than a month, putting more pressure on an under-performing team already missing Alessandro Del Piero.

More than once this season Juve have also been thankful to Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for earning them a result.

Worse still, Sampdoria come into this game in rich goal-scoring form having destroyed Bologna 4-1 on Saturday.

Antonio Cassano was at his scintillating best at the weekend and although he didn’t score, and has struggled to find the net himself this season, he was at the centre of everything creative from Sampdoria.

Buffon for one is wary of the team directly above them in the table – Sampdoria sit second, two points behind Inter and two ahead of Juve.

“We came home from Siena with an important victory but we have to improve as quickly as possible,” he said.

“We’ve got nine crucial days now that will shape our season, both in the league and in Europe.

“We have to try to be attentive, concentrated and also confident.

“(Sampdoria) are one of the most in-form teams of the moment, and right now they’re playing the most attractive football in Italy.”

Meanwhile improving AC Milan face a tough test away to another side currently on the right path, Napoli.

The southerners have won both games since former Sampdoria coach Walter Mazzarri took over from former Italy boss Roberto Donadoni.

Milan, though, are on a three-match winning streak and on each occasion have had to come from a goal down to do so.

However, vice-president Adriano Galliani insists they will work on their recent slow starts.

“I spoke with the president (Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi) after the match in Verona (a 2-1 win over Chievo) and he told me the team is making him suffer too much,” said Galliani.

“I asked his forgiveness and promised they’d make him suffer less in future.”

All jokes apart, Milan have been somewhat fortunate to come away with three victories from games that could easily have ended all square, or even in defeat.

And it is only a matter of time before their tendency to concede early goals comes back to hurt them.

Inter are another team coming up against form opponents in Palermo, whose win over Udinese on Sunday left them fourth and believing they can challenge for a Champions League qualification position this season.

Fixtures

Wednesday

Bologna v Siena, Catania v Chievo, Genoa v Fiorentina, Juventus v Sampdoria, Lazio v Cagliari, Livorno v Atalanta, Napoli v AC Milan, Parma v Bari, Udinese v AS Roma

Thursday

Inter Milan v Palermo

ROME (AFP)

Tags: Alessandro Del Piero, antonio cassano, Bari, Bologna, catania, Europe, five games, free kick, genoa, gianluigi buffon, giants, haifa, heading home, inter milan, Italy, italy goalkeeper gianluigi buffon, juventus, lazio, livorno, maccabi haifa, Milan, minnows, Palermo, Roberto Donadoni, Roma, Siena, silvio berlusconi, t score, turin, verona, victory, Walter Mazzarri

Bloodied Bordeaux look to re-assert superiority

October 17, 2009

Bordeaux’s French crown slipped after a shock 3-1 defeat at Saint-Etienne in their last Ligue 1 outing and the champions will hope to make an immediate return to winning ways at Auxerre on Saturday.

The unexpected reverse against Alain Perrin’s resurgent side was Bordeaux’s first league defeat in 19 matches and allowed Lyon to go into the international break with a one-point lead at the summit.

Auxerre, meanwhile, have recovered from a three-game losing start that saw them sink to the bottom of the table, rising to 10th on the back of a five-match unbeaten run.

Bordeaux’s Brazilian midfielder Wendel attributed the Saint-Etienne defeat to tiredness brought on by the club’s exertions in both the domestic championship and the Champions League.

“I think there was a lot of fatigue,” he said. “The matches against Rennes and Maccabi (Haifa) took a lot of our energy; energy which we missed at Saint-Etienne.

“But we’re second in the league table and still on track. We’re going to Auxerre for the next match and we’re going to do what it takes to get the three points and stay at the top of the standings.”

Lyon are France’s in-form side with six wins and two draws to date and guard the only unbeaten record in the top flight.

They host 14th-placed Sochaux, who will be without striker Charlie Davies after the USA international was seriously hurt in a car accident that claimed the life of one of his female companions.

The 23-year-old, who featured in the USA’s 3-2 win over Honduras last Saturday, suffered multiple facial fractures, a badly broken right leg, a broken left elbow and a lacerated bladder in the crash in Virginia and could be out for the rest of the season.

Elsewhere, Didier Deschamps’s Marseille travel to Nancy still reeling from back-to-back league losses against Valenciennes and Monaco.

The Mediterranean club also went down to a humbling 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage at the end of September and midfielder Benoit Cheyrou says they must respond in the right manner at Nancy.

“We’re not thinking about defeat at Nancy,” said the 28-year-old.

“We’ve had three consecutive defeats, we know that we’re expected to turn it around but we still have to get the three points.

“It’s at times like this when things aren’t going well that we really need to show togetherness and solidarity. That’s what we’re trying to do at the moment.”

In Saturday’s remaining fixtures, second-bottom Le Mans host Boulogne, surprise package Montpellier — three points behind Lyon in third — take on Saint-Etienne, Rennes visit Lille and Grenoble’s quest for a first point of the season continues at Valenciennes.

Monaco, who moved up to fourth on the back of their win against Marseille, play Lens on Sunday, with Lorient facing Nice.

Andre-Pierre Gignac contributed a stunning goal to France’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Austria on Wednesday and the Toulouse man will hope to continue his fine form at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the last match of the weekend.

Fixtures

Saturday (1700GMT unless otherwise stated)

Auxerre v Bordeaux, Le Mans v Boulogne, Lyon v Sochaux, Montpellier v Saint-Etienne, Nancy v Marseille, Valenciennes v Grenoble, Lille v Rennes (1900GMT)

Sunday (1500GMT unless otherwise stated)

Lorient v Nice, Monaco v Lens, Toulouse v Paris St-Germain (1900GMT)

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Alain Perrin, Andre-Pierre Gignac, auxerre, benoit cheyrou, champions league group, Charlie Davies, energy energy, exertions, female companions, Germain, group stage, Honduras, Ligue 1, Lorient, Lyon, maccabi haifa, Mediterranean, Montpellier, saint etienne, sochaux, Toulouse, unbeaten record, valenciennes, winning ways

Bayern´s van Gaal looking for redeeming win

September 19, 2009

Coach Louis van Gaal says his Bayern Munich side have a chance to redeem their poor start to the season providing they win Saturday’s Bundesliga showdown with Bavaria rivals Nuremberg.

Having started the season without a win from their first three games, Bayern have finally hit some form with Bundesliga wins over defending champions Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund as well as a European win at Maccabi Haifa.

Wednesday’s 3-0 win at Haifa got their Champions League campaign off to a flying start and Bayern’s poor start in the German league – which included a 2-1 defeat at minnows Mainz – could be forgiven if they beat Nuremberg.

“We had a very difficult preparation before the season with limited time and injured players,” said the Dutchman who took over on July 1.

“But if we win on Saturday against Nuremberg, we can speak of a good start – but first of all we must win.”

Van Gaal is still without a full strength squad as Germany striker Miroslav Klose and French playmaker Franck Ribery are short of match fitness.

Fresh from their victory in Israel on Tuesday, Bayern Munich are looking to close the five-point gap behind leaders Hamburg.

Last week’s 5-1 hammering of Dortmund put Bayern up to fifth in the table and the German giants are chasing their third straight win against Nuremberg at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

In a side packed with stars like Germany’s Mario Gomez, Holland’s Arjen Robben and France’s Franck Ribery, home-grown striker Thomas Mueller from the southern Bavaria has impressed with four goals in his last two games.

Having scored twice when he came off the bench in Dortmund, the 20-year-old who celebrated his birthday last Sunday, hit two more goals against Maccabi Haifa in Group A of the Champions League.

On Friday night, defending champions Wolfsburg will be looking to break their losing streak when they travel to Gelsenkirchen to play Schalke at the Veltins Arena.

Brazil striker Grafite hit a hat-trick against CSKA Moscow as both he and Wolfsburg made their Champions League debut, but Armin Veh’s team need to get back to winning ways after defeats to Leverkusen, Bayern and Hamburg.

The defeats have dropped the champions down to 10th in the table, despite keeping most of the team which won the championship with ease last season.

Leaders Hamburg, who have won their last four games, are at Eintracht Frankfurt who have climbed up to eighth in the table after being undefeated in their last five league games.

For Hamburg, Croatia striker Mladen Petric is in fine form after he produced a wonder goal in the 3-1 win over Stuttgart, while second-placed Bayer Leverkusen are home to Werder Bremen and are level on points with the league leaders.

Stuttgart have a good chance to break their poor run of form having gone four games without a win when they host Cologne on Saturday.

Markus Babbel’s side opened their Champions League campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Glasgow Rangers on Wednesday while Cologne are bottom of the table and are the only side in the league without a win to their credit.

Friday

Schalke 04 v VfL Wolfsburg

Saturday

Bayern Munich v Nuremberg

VfB Stuttgart v Cologne

Hanover 96 v Borussia Dortmund

VfL Bochum v Mainz 05

Borussia M’gladbach v 1899 Hoffenheim

Sunday

Eintracht Frankfurt v Hamburg

Hertha Berlin v Freiburg

Bayer Leverkusen v Werder Bremen

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: allianz arena, arjen robben, berlin, cologne, cska moscow, franck ribery, german league, haifa, Hamburg, hat trick, israel, league campaign, Louis, louis van gaal, maccabi haifa, mario gomez, markus babbel, minnows, miroslav klose, Moscow, Munich, nuremberg, playmaker, southern bavaria, Van Gaal, veltins arena

Bayern´s birthday-boy Muller helps down Haifa

September 16, 2009

German giants Bayern Munich got off to an ideal start in their opening Group A Champions League clash on Tuesday as birthday boy Thomas Muller scored twice to seal a 3-0 win over Maccabi Haifa.

Muller, who only celebrated his 20th birthday on Sunday with two goals against Dortmund in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Dortmund in the Bundesliga, netted twice in the last few minutes here at Tel Aviv’s Ramat Gan Stadium.

After Belgium defender Daniel Van Buyten had got the guests’ first goal on 64 minutes with a well-taken strike, Muller added further goals in the 85th and 88th minutes to give the Germans three points in their group.

It was the winning start Dutch coach Louis van Gaal had demanded of Bayern, but Muller is starting to make a name for himself at a club which is no stranger to European success.

Van Buyten took advantage of a slip in the home side’s defence when the ball bobbled away from Bayern’s substitute Mario Gomez and the Belgian defender rifled his shot past Haifa’s goalkeeper Nir Davidovitch.

With time running out, Muller showed finishing way beyond his tender years when he was first set up by substitute defender Christian Ottl in the hosts penalty area and smashed his shot past Davidovitch with five minutes left.

And Gomez played a helping hand again when he was left free on the wing and crossed the ball in for Muller to score from all of three metres out at the near post on 88 minutes.

It was a bad start at home for Elisha Levi’s Haifa side who are seeking to become the first Israeli club to progress from the group stage but provided Bayern with little resistance.

Bayern brought virtually a full strength side here as Germany striker Miroslav Klose was the only key name left behind to work on his fitness after taking longer than expected to get over a leg injury.

TEL AVIV (AFP)

Tags: 20th birthday, 88 minutes, Bayern, bayern munich, birthday boy, Bundesliga, Christian Ottl, Daniel van Buyten, elisha, full strength, Gan Stadium, Germany, group stage, haifa, helping hand, leg injury, louis van gaal, maccabi haifa, mario gomez, miroslav klose, ramat gan stadium, striker, Tel Aviv, tender years, thomas müller

Barca clash with Inter, United tackle Wolfsburg in Champions League

August 28, 2009

European champions Barcelona drew Inter Milan, moneybags Real Madrid pulled AC Milan while Manchester United will take on German surprise package Wolfsburg after the Champions League group stage draw was made here on Thursday.

This season sees nine former champions go into action in the 32-team format split into eight groups of four while the quartets of teams from England and Spain will battle for an historic 13th triumph, both countries having polished off a round dozen to date.

Group A pits four-time champions Bayern Munich against two-time holders Juventus, French champions Bordeaux and Maccabi Haifa of Israel.

In Group B, Manchester United, European champions in 1968, 1999 and 2007 and beaten finalists last year, will go up against German champions Wolfsburg, Turkey’s Besiktas and CSKA Moscow.

“These are difficult ties, especially the trips to Russia and Turkey,” said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

“CSKA have developed strongly in the last few years and games in Turkey are always difficult.”

Former United star Cristiano Ronaldo’s nine-times winners, and summer megaspenders, Real Madrid will have to joust with seven-time champions AC Milan in Group C, meaning an early return to San Siro for Brazilian Kaka.

Marseille, the only French side ever to lift the trophy, and outsiders FC Zurich of Switzerland complete the group.

Chelsea, the 2008 finalists and bidding for a first crown under former AC Milan handler Carlo Ancelotti are seeded in Group D where they meet two-time champions Porto, Atletico Madrid and Cypriots APOEL Nicosia.

“We are always looking to go one step further in Europe,” said Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon. “There is not too much travel and we managed to avoid one of the bigger teams. We’ve played Porto twice in Europe and we know them better than most.”

Liverpool, who humiliated Real last season, will play in Group E along with French side Lyon, who have never been past the quarters, Fiorentina of Italy and Debrecen of Hungary.

“We tend to focus on travel commitments and we’ve got a short trip to France, a relatively short trip to Italy and a slightly longer one to Hungary,” said Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow.

Holders Barcelona will play in Group F along with Italian champions Inter, who won the last of their two European crowns in 1965 and are coached by former Barca assistant and ex-Chelsea handler Jose Mourinho.

Those encounters also mean a swift return to the Nou Camp for Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o, who twice lifted the Cup with the Catalan club.

Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who went the other way, will likewise get to renew old acquaintances back at the San Siro.

Barcelona’s vice-chairman Rafael Yuste told Radio Marca he looked forward to seeing Eto’o again.

“Eto’o is a great player, always motivated no matter who he is up against.”

But he added: “We are the team to beat, the holders,” and vowed Barca would go all out to become the first team to retain the Champions League.

Dynamo Kiev and Russian champions Kazan complete the group.

Seville of Spain will compete in Group G alongside Glasgow Rangers, Germany’s VfB Stuttgart, and Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni.

Jose Castro, vice president of Sevilla, was pleased with the outcome.

“We are happy because there are much more difficult groups. Of course, all the teams will be difficilt and we will have trouble getting through. But we are satisfied with the draw,” he said.

Arsenal were drawn in Group H alongside AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands, Greek side Olympiakos and Belgium’s Standard Liege, whom the Gunners thrashed 7-0 away 16 years ago in the old Cup Winners Cup.

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis noted his side’s rivals are all their country’s respective champions.

“They are three good leagues and there is a reason why they are in the competition. People might see it as a free pass for us but we don’t see it that way at all. It will be very tough.

“It is good to have relatively short travel times, that’s something that Arsene (Wenger) thinks about a lot.”

Bayern team manager Uli Hoeness said of facing Juventus that the Italian presence in particular made it “a very difficult group and there is no team we can afford to underestimate.”

And skipper Mark van Bommel said: “Everyone can qualify from this group, it is really not an easy pool.”

MONACO (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, alex ferguson, apoel, carlo ancelotti, champions league group, cristiano ronaldo, cska moscow, european champions, french side, german champions, inter milan, maccabi haifa, moneybags, peter kenyon, real madrid, san siro, sir alex ferguson, surprise package, time champions

March 2010
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