Barcelona clash with Inter, United tackle Wolfsburg

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. Click to read more...

Fates send Kaká back to Milan

Group C rivals AC Milan and Real Madrid CF know each other only too well having already met eleven times in UEFA club competition, with older Merengues fans having good reason to remember their 1958 meeting with fondness.

Final meetingMadrid beat Milan 3-2 in the 1958 European Champion Club's Cup final after extra time at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Francisco Gento scoring the decisive goal after the sides finished the 90 minutes level at 2-2. In addition to that meeting, the clubs have played ten other games in European competition, but neither side have secured an away victory; Milan have won all five of their home games, while Madrid have won four of the meetings at the Santiago Bernabéu, drawing the other 1-1.

There is also a more contemporary link: Kaká swapped clubs this summer. With Olympique de Marseille's 1993 triumph added, the Group C contenders have won 17 European Champion Clubs' Cup titles between them – a daunting prospect for group-stage debutants FC Zürich. Click to read more...

Club Football Awards nominees named

UEFA has announced the nominees for the UEFA Club Football Awards to be presented during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Thursday 27 August from 17.45CET.

Votes castThe voting procedure gives the coaches of the 16 teams that reached the knockout phase of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League the possibility to cast their votes for each position as well as to nominate the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year 2009 of their choice.

Based on the voting results, the list of nominees is as follows: Click to read more...

Messi recognised as Europe's finest

Lionel Messi, a key figure in FC Barcelona's march to UEFA Champions League glory last season, has more to celebrate after collecting the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year prize at the UEFA Club Football Awards in Monaco.

The Argentinian international was also selected as Best Forward while team-mate Xavi Hernández took the Best Midfielder trophy.

Manchester United FC's Edwin van der Sar was nominated Best Goalkeeper and Chelsea FC captain John Terry completed the honours list as he received his third Best Defender gong from Paolo Maldini. Click to read more...

Murray to add to feel-good factor

Andy Murray has been backed to follow in the footsteps of cricket's Ashes heroes when he plays at the US Open.

With the action at Flushing Meadows starting next week, Murray heads to New York second in the world rankings and with a chance to add to the feelgood factor Andrew Strauss' men created, according to his former coach Mark Petchey.

England's footballers could also edge closer to the World Cup when they play against Croatia next month. Click to read more...

Roddick ready for home win

Andy Roddick is very confident that he can do well at the US Open in front of his home crowd.

Roddick coming off worst in an epic 30-game final set in this year's Wimbledon final, there were many willing to bet they had witnessed a re-birth of a precocious tennis talent.

Roddick's blistering junior career had marked him out as a star of the future long before grand slam finals were on the agenda and the young American did nothing to disappoint as he cut a swathe right to the top.

The big-serving Nebraskan duly obliged with a US Open title in 2003 most were convinced would prove the first of many. But six years on, Roddick still finds himself searching for that second breakthrough win. Click to read more...

Berba: United feared in Europe

Dimitar Berbatov insists the rest of Europe will be fearing Manchester United in the Champions League this season.

The draw for the group stages will take place later today in Monaco.

United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are all guaranteed positions among the eight top seeds - meaning they will avoid current European champions Barcelona but could face Cristiano Ronaldo and his fellow galacticos at Real Madrid, who are one of the eight second-ranked clubs. Click to read more...

BPL Heroes and Zeroes 03

London clubs, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal are flying high while Liverpool and Everton are sinking in the Premier League.
By Eugene YS Han
HEROES

LONDON DERBY KINGS- TOTTENHAM

Forget about Manchester City, Tottenham are the team, outside the top four, to watch this season.

The victory at London rivals West Ham maintained their 100% record and it represented their best start to a top-flight campaign since 1960. Back then, Spurs won their first 11 league games and they went on to claim the Double.

Although Spurs are a couple of players short of being treated as serious contenders, manager Harry Redknapp is confident his squad will try their best to finish as high as possible.

Said Redknapp: "I'm not saying we'll finish in the top four, but we have good quality and we'll give it a go." Click to read more...

Rio puts Maldini to the sword

Rio Ferdinand cannot see any way he can emulate Paolo Maldini by extending his career beyond his 40th birthday.

Maldini finally called time on his stellar career in the summer at the tender age of 41.

While Manchester United defender Ferdinand acknowledges the Italian legend's immense talent, he does not think the sheer pace of top-flight football in England makes it possible for anyone to match Maldini in the Premier League.

"You could not play to 41 in the Premier League," he told MUTV. Click to read more...

Fergie has faith in his warriors

Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed he was never worried about Man United's progress in the wake of the defeat at Burnley.

United responded in the perfect manner this weekend, blitzing Wigan with a five-goal second-half performance that shot them up the Barclays Premier League table, behind early pace-setters Tottenham.

It puts them in good heart for a key confrontation with Arsenal on Saturday, and with Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen both among the goalscorers, most of the pressure that had been building up outside Old Trafford has now been relieved. Click to read more...

Rio: Owen will come good

Rio Ferdinand believes Michael Owen's first goal for Manchester United will kick-start a scoring spree.

Owen has not been happy at the assessment of his first few United appearances.

Although he was top scorer on the club's Far East tour, Owen had not scored in six matches prior to Saturday's visit to Wigan and some critics were already claiming Sir Alex Ferguson had made a mistake bringing the 29-year-old to Old Trafford.

Owen rounded on his accusers at the weekend and has now been backed by Ferdinand, who was at the DW Stadium to watch the Red Devils romp to a 5-0 win. Click to read more...

'Hungry' Arsenal ready to deliver

If Arsenal FC's eye-catching displays so far this season had not provided enough of a hint, midfielder Aaron Ramsey underlined that the Gunners' squad are "hungrier than ever" to claim silverware as he reflected on their UEFA Champions League play-off victory over Celtic FC.

Lessons learned:

Beaten semi-finalists last term, Arsenal produced an impressively fluent display to dispatch Celtic 3-1 in north London on Wednesday night – securing their group-stage berth as 5-1 aggregate winners.

It was their fourth win in succession, maintaining a flying start by a team chasing a first trophy since 2005. "There were a few lessons we learned from last season, we had a good pre-season and the squad is stronger now, physically and mentally," said Ramsey.

"A lot of the players haven't actually won anything for a certain amount of time and this season everyone is hungrier than ever." Click to read more...

Group-stage rivals ready for draw

The lineup for the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League group stage has been completed with the final five qualifiers earning their places on Wednesday night.

New faces:

This week's ten play-off winners join the 22 automatic entrants in Thursday's group-stage draw, which will take place from 17.45CET at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and can be followed live by video and audio on uefa.com. VfL Wolfsburg, FC Rubin Kazan, AZ Alkmaar, R. Standard de Liège, AFC Unirea Urziceni, Debreceni VSC, APOEL FC and FC Zürich will all be making their debuts in a competition which sees 18 nations represented in the group stage this year. Click to read more...

Fiorentina oust Sporting on away goals

Fiorentina squeezed into the Champions League group stages on the away goals rule following a 1-1 draw against Sporting Lisbon in Florence on Wednesday.

The first leg in the Portuguese capital last week ended in a 2-2 draw meaning La Viola have qualified for the group stages for the second year in a row.

Sporting had to either win the match or force a high-scoring draw and they came out of the traps fired up.

Yannick Djalo should have given the visitors the lead early on but with only goalkeeper Sebastien Frey to beat he scuffed his shot from 12 yards horribly wide. Click to read more...

Eduardo's deception helps Arsenal beat Celtic

Arsenal moved into the Champions League group stages in controversial fashion as Eduardo's dive helped secure a 3-1 victory over Celtic in Wednesday's play-off second leg.

Arsene Wenger's team went through 5-1 on aggregate after outclassing the Scots for the second time in the tie, but they needed a moment of deception from Eduardo to end Celtic's hopes.

The Croatia striker won and converted a first half penalty when he exaggerated his fall as Celtic keeper Artur Boruc came out to make a save.

In truth, Arsenal were always in control and second half goals from Emmanuel Eboue and Andrey Arshavin rubbed salt into Celtic's wounds as the Premier League team comfortably secured their place in Thursday's group stage draw. Click to read more...