Real Madrid Avoids English Clubs in Champions League Draw

Let's face it, the European method of pulling names out from the proverbial hat to determine the pairings for its knockout competitions is, well, a foreign concept. About the only Stateside comparison is the selection committee drawing up the NCAA Tournament brackets every March.

To whit, Thursday in Monaco, UEFA staged its annual gala to determine the groups for the 2009-10 Champions League replete with glitz, glamor and the former Miss Switzerland pulling balls out of pots. Certainly a far cry from a group of middle-aged men sitting together in a hotel room discussing RPI.

Ahead of the draw probably the biggest storyline was if the reborn Real Madrid Galacticos featuring Cristiano Ronaldo would end up paired against any of the four English teams in the tournament, most notably Manchester United. However that potential drama ended quickly when the free-spending Madridistas were put into a group with venerable Italian giants AC Milan.

Instead, the big return matches will feature Samuel Eto'o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who swapped from defending tournament champion Barcelona and Inter Milan this summer, playing against their former clubs in Group B.

The rest of the proceedings were fairly typical, assuming you have a degree in advanced mathematics to comprehend the UEFA coefficient system.

Group A: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux , Maccabi Haifa

Group B: Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Wolfsburg

Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich

Group D: Chelsea, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Apoel FC

Group E: Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debreceni

Group F: Barcelona, Internazionale, Dynamo Kiev, FC Rubin Kazan

Group G: Sevilla, Rangers, VfB Stuttgart, Unirea Uriziceni

Group H: Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege

On name reputation alone, Group A should be a doozy with Bayern, Juventus and Ligue I champion Bordeaux.

Manchester United seems to have a trickier draw than usual, with long trips to Moscow -- the sight of its 2008 Champions League win -- and Turkey, plus Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg, which is making its competition debut.

In Group C you'd figure Milan and Real Madrid get through, although Marseille has shown some spark lately in the competition.

Chelsea and Porto meeting again loses some of its luster now that Jose Mourinho is coaching Inter. Atletico Madrid is looming and perhaps the best third-seeded team with a chance to move to the knockout stages.

Liverpool, too, finds itself it a relatively tough grouping with Lyon and Fiorentina dangerous opposition.

In Group F, Barcelona and Inter should advance, though the prospect of trips to the Ukraine and Russia are never easy.

Group G probably has the least juice of any of the groups, with Sevilla not quite what it once was under Juande Ramos. Still, the two-time UEFA Cup Champions should get through. Who will join them is probably a toss-up between Rangers and Stuttgart.

Finally, Arsenal landed itself a very manageable draw with a tour through the Low Countries with Dutch Champs AZ and Belgium champs Standard Liege wrapped around a trip to Greece with Olympiakos.

For Americans one thing to watch for is that for a change a U.S. player will be in the tournament with Oguchi Onyewu suiting up for Milan. How much center back plays is another story. Rangers also features American midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu.

The first Group Stage matches begin September 15.