By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent, in Monaco
August 30 – It may not quite have had the razzmatazz of previous years but the group stage draw for the Champions League nevertheless provided its fair share of anticipation and excitement today.
From the moment former Scotland legend Billy McNeill, who famously led Celtic to 1967 glory, pulled Arsenal out of the hat as the very first name in the 32-team draw, the occasion threw up several potentially mouth-watering encounters.
Arsenal must have fancied their chances when Marseille – hardly the most fearsome of those seeded in the second group of clubs – were drawn to play them. But the sight of last year’s beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund and the addition of Italy’s Napoli made Group A one of the toughest of all.
Holders Bayern Munich find themselves up against Manchester City in a group from which both should advance while McNeill’s former club face a huge task – but one they will relish – after being drawn alongside Barcelona, AC Milan and Ajax.
New Manchester United boss David Moyes is up against Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Sociedad while Jose Mourinho, desperate to win the Champions League with Chelsea after failing at Real Madrid, got the luck of the draw against Schalke, FC Basel and Steaua Bucharest.
Real Madrid with Mourinho’s replacement Carlos Ancelotti and world record signing Gareth Bale (still to be confirmed finally) have one of the most match ups, being drawn with Juventus. Both should progress.
This is the first time in recent years that the draw, and all the show business that goes with it, has been separated from the annual Super Cup which has been switched to Prague this year as part of UEFA boss Michel Platini’s initiative of giving cities which are unlikely to witness too many big European games the chance to stage one of UEFA’s prestige fixtures.
Next year, two weeks earlier than in the past, the Super Cup goes to Cardiff and in 2015 to Tbilisi, taking over the mid-August slot that used to be reserved for international friendlies.
Whilst a laudable initiative on Platini’s part, the fact that there was no Super Cup to follow 24 hours after the draw made for a distinctly less vibrant atmosphere in this exclusive millionaire’s playground on the French Riveira.
Nevertheless, there were some poignant moments, not least when UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino (pictured) made a point of preceding matters by pressing home UEFA’s commitment to eradicating racism in front of the great and the good of European football.
Away from the draw, Frank Ribery was voted Europe’s player of the year after a triumphant treble with Bayern Munich. The French midfield ace secured 36 votes, with Lionel Messi taking 13 and Christiano Ronaldo three.
Ronaldo, whose mantle as the world’s most expensive player is about to scaled by Gareth Bale, for some reason decided not to show up for what was, in truth, very much a ceremonial affair.
Champions League groups:
Group A:
Manchester United,
Shakhtar Donetsk,
Bayer Leverkusen,
Real Sociedad
Group B:
Real Madrid,
Juventus,
Galatasaray,
FC Copenhagen
Group C:
Benfica,
Paris Saint-Germain,
Olympiacos,
Anderlecht
Group D:
Bayern Munich,
CSKA Moscow,
Manchester City,
Viktoria Plzen
Group E:
Chelsea,
Schalke,
FC Basel,
Steaua Bucharest
Group F:
Arsenal,
Marseille,
Borussia Dortmund,
Napoli
Group G:
Porto
Atletico Madrid,
Zenit St Petersburg,
Austria Vienna
Group H:
Barcelona,
AC Milan,
Ajax,
Celtic
Dates:
Matchday one – September 17-18
Matchday two – October 1-2
Matchday three – October 22-23
Matchday four – November 5-6
Matchday five – November 26-27
Matchday six – December 10-11
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