Europe’s finest prepare for Champions League draw
After an enthralling play-off round, the 32 qualifiers for the 2010/11 Champions League group stages have now been decided, and will enter this afternoon’s highly-anticipated draw in Monaco.
The glitzy annual event will take place at 5pm BST today, when all will be revealed, as the managers wait to discover who their first three opponents will be.
All 32 qualifiers have been split into four pots based on the Uefa coefficients, which are determined by a club’s own performance in Europe over the past five years, along with the strength of their country’s league.
One club who will be in this afternoon’s draw, following their comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of Swiss side Young Boys, are Tottenham. The Premier League outfit will be competing in the group stages of the Champions League for the very first time and have been placed in Pot Three, alongside the likes of Rangers, Ajax and Schalke.
Manager Harry Redknapp was delighted with his players after they got the job done at White Hart Lane last night. "I always felt it was possible," Redknapp said. "Tottenham were a club which had underachieved for a long time."
Rules state that clubs cannot meet teams from their own country in the group stages, so Spurs will not be drawn against Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal, who are all seeded in Pot One.
However, there are several fearsome opponents in the first pot alongside the English contingent. European champions Inter Milan are there, ready to defend their Champions League trophy. Then there’s the formidable Barcelona, who are bidding to win the European Cup for the second time in three seasons. AC Milan, Lyon, and last year’s finalists Bayern Munich complete the pot.
If Spurs thought it was only Pot One that contained their strongest potential opponents, then they were sorely mistaken.
The ominous presence of Spanish giants Real Madrid in Pot Two could mean that Tottenham must travel to the Bernabeu in the group stages. But it’s not just Redknapp who’ll be worrying about the prospect of drawing José Mourinho’s team; Messrs Ferguson, Wenger and Ancelotti will also be hoping to avoid the European Cup’s most successful side.
Alongside the Galacticos of Real Madrid, Werder Bremen are also in the draw after their thrilling play-off second-leg victory over Sampdoria on Tuesday night. Italian giants Roma are also there. As are 2009’s Uefa Cup winners, Shakhtar Donetsk.
Spain’s Valencia – without the departed David Villa and David Silva – will also be drawn from Pot Two. And Benfica, Marseille and Panathinaikos complete the line-up.
Portuguese side, Braga, who stunned Sevilla earlier in the week, are in Pot Three alongside Spurs, Rangers, Ajax and Schalke. Copenhagen, Spartak Moscow and FC Basle, all of whom are experienced in European competition, will also prove tricky opponents for their Champions League counterparts.
The final group of eight teams, Pot Four, features the clubs who aren’t expected to progress to the knockout rounds, but will determined to cause a few group stage shocks.Dutch champions, FC Twente, are in the pot – albeit without their championship-winning manager, Steve McClaren, who has joined Wolfsburg. French side Auxerre shocked Zenit St Petersburg last night and will also be ready to take on Europe’s best.
Meanwhile, last year’s valiant Russians, Rubin Kazan, are back for a second stab at the group stages. They will be joined by Isreali champions Hapoel Tel Aviv, Serbian champions FK Partizan Belgrade, winners of the Czech Republic top-flight MSK Zilina, and surprise Turkish champions Bursaspor.
The opening matches of the group stages will take place on the 14th and 15th of September, and will conclude on the 7th and 8th of December.
With the final of this season’s tournament nine months away, it might be far too premature for any club to start dreaming about the showpiece finale.
But with the prospect of stepping out on the hallowed Wembley turf especially enticing for the four clubs competing from the Premier League, they’ll all be hoping for a kind draw in Monaco to ease their route to May’s final.
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