If FC Zenit St. Petersburg are to become the first Russian club to lift the UEFA Super Cup, Dick Advocaat will have to outwit a coach he rates as the best in the world – Manchester United FC's Sir Alex Ferguson.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the pivotal figure in Manchester United FC's march to UEFA Champions League glory last season, has more to celebrate after collecting the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year prize in Monaco.
Coach José Mourinho said he and his FC Internazionale Milano side were "confident in our strength" after being drawn in Group B along with Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos FC and Cypriot outsiders Anorthosis Famagusta FC.
AC Omonia 2-2 AEK Athens FC (agg: 3-2) Nedim Dudić's side emulated Anorthosis Famagusta FC as they became the second Cypriot team to knock Greek opponents out of Europe in 24 hours.
Midtjylland 0-1 Manchester City (agg: 1-1 aet, City win 4-2 on pens) Goalkeeper Joe Hart was the City hero as his two shoot-out saves earned Mark Hughes's Premier League side a place in Friday's first round draw.
As they prepare for FC Zenit St. Petersburg's UEFA Super Cup debut, captain Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and striker Pavel Pogrebnyak stressed how much victory in Monaco would mean to their club.
UEFA Champions League holders Manchester United FC will begin the defence of their trophy in Group E against Spain's Villarreal CF, British rivals Celtic FC and Aalborg BK from Denmark.
Chelsea FC captain John Terry was pleased his club missed a "few big teams" but knows a Group A containing AS Roma, FC Girondins de Bordeaux and CFR 1907 Cluj will not be straightforward.
Joan Laporta believes FC Barcelona will rise to the challenge after the 2006 winners were pitted against Sporting Clube de Portugal, FC Basel 1893 and FC Shakhtar Donetsk in Group C.
Club Atlético de Madrid being pooled in Group D represented an unpleasant surprise for Liverpool FC, PSV Eindhoven and Olympique de Marseille following the UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco.
08/28/2008 06:57 PM
This page was created using RSS courtesy of FeedForAll
