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Barca, Chelsea meet for 3rd season in Champions League
MONTE CARLO, Monaco _ Barcelona and Chelsea must play each other for the third season in a row in the Champions League after being drawn in the same first round group on Thursday.
Last season's winner, Barcelona beat Chelsea in the first knockout round having lost to the Blues at the same stage the year before.
Frank Rijkaard and Jose Mourinho are building an intense rivalry. Chelsea and its coach wound up being heavily fined by UEFA two seasons ago after falsely accusing Rijkaard of colluding with referee Anders Frisk at halftime of their first leg.
Now the champions of England and Spain meet again in round-robin games along with Germany's Werder Bremen and Levski Sofia.
"Walking in here I think it was expected and, as it got drawn, there was a big sigh," said Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon. "Here we are again. Third time in three years, a big draw.
"I guess we've got all to play for," he said in reference to the fact that both teams had knocked each other out. "I hope that people concentrate on the football. Our fans want to see us against the big teams and they don't come much bigger than Barcelona."
Kenyon said he spoke to Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho about the draw.
"As you'd expect, he was philosophical," said Kenyon. "We're all looking forward to it."
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said he didn't expect any more acrimony between the two clubs.
"There is a very good relationship between the clubs and, between players and coaches, it is the same," he said.
"We will have time to know each other, playing two matches in the group and there is a possibility that Chelsea and Barcelona will meet in the final in Athens."
Other eyecatching matchups emerging from the draw in Monte Carlo were former European Cup champions Inter Milan and Bayern Munich in the same group, along with Sporting Lisbon and Spartak Moscow.
"This is a very difficult group for us, just like every Champions League group obviously is," said Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini. "We will face good opponents who aren't just prestigious names but also fearful teams and we will have to look at them carefully in the coming weeks.
"They are three representatives of three different types of football, but they have one thing in common: they will have played more competitive matches than us. So mentally and athletically we will have to make our best preparations for the matches."
Nine-time winner Real Madrid _ which has been in decline since its last triumph four years ago despite fielding some of the biggest stars in the game _ is in the same group as Lyon, which is chasing its sixth French league title in a row. Steaua Bucharest, surprise winner over Barcelona in 1986, and three-time semifinalist Dynamo Kiev are in the same group.
Former Real Madrid and France midfielder Raymond Kopa said he "remains a Real Madrid fan" but that "both Lyon and Real will qualify."
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas intends to take Lyon past the quarterfinal stage for the first time. Lyon has fallen at this stage for the last three seasons.
"We want to do better than last year," said Aulas. "Real Madrid is the favorite, but that does not mean anything."
Last season, Lyon beat Madrid at home and drew away.
"It will be a real scrap between us again," said Aulas.
Six-time champion AC Milan _ initially banned from the tournament for its part in Italy's matchfixing scandal but then reinstated to the qualifying round after an appeal _ is in what appears to be the easiest group along with Lille, AEK Athens and Anderlecht.
"Milan is a huge team, so the question is whether we can take points from the other opponents," said AEK defender Traianos Dellas, who used to play in Italy for Roma.
"Obviously our target is to qualify to the next stage, but our priority is doing well in the Greek league championship."
Manchester United and Scottish champion Celtic are guaranteed big crowds when they meet each other in Group F. Benfica, which ousted Manchester United and Liverpool last season and went on to reach the quarterfinal, is also in that group along with FC Copenhagen.
Benfica, Manchester United and Celtic all won the title in the 1960s but, apart from United's triumph in 1999, have had little success since.
Last season, United finished last in its group and did not even make the UEFA Cup round of 16. Coach Alex Ferguson wants to reward fans after last year's lapse.
"We've got a real thirst for the Champions League this season," Ferguson told BBC radio. "This year, we don't want to let people down again."
In other groupings, five-time winner Liverpool is drawn with 1988 winner PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux and Galatasaray.
"We have fond memories of trips to Istanbul and of course we have been to Galatasaray not too long ago," said Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry. "PSV and Bordeaux are a little bit of an unknown for us, but it's OK."
Valencia, runner up in 2000 and again in 2001, must play 1984 losing finalist AS Roma as well as Greek champion Olympiakos and Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine.
Last season's runner up Arsenal meets FC Porto, winner in 1987 and 2003, along with CSKA Moscow and Hamburger SV.
"We have a magnificent new stadium, and we have to put a winning team on top of it," said Arsenal vice chairman David Dein. "The goal of Arsenal is to compete at the highest level."
The lineup does not include Juventus. Despite finishing top of the Italian league at the end of last season, Juve had its title and Champions League qualification taken away as part of the punishment for a matchfixing scandal Italy and was demoted from Serie A.
Barca, Chelsea meet for 3rd season in Champions League(Over)
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