Mixed Fortunes for German Clubs in Champions League Draw

Germany's Champions League contenders learned their fate along with the rest of Europe's top clubs when the draw for the continent's premier club competition was made in Monaco on Thursday evening.

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, runners-up Werder Bremen and third-placed finishers Hamburg all went into the pot for the first group phase, with many of the world's best teams laying in wait.

Bayern were drawn in Group B against Italian Serie A giants Inter Milan, Portugal's Sporting Lisbon and Spartak Moscow. The Bavarian giants last won the trophy in 2001 and have failed to get any further than the quarter-finals in the last six years. Group B looks to be a tricky but far from impossible proposition in terms of Bayern qualifying, with the German champions and Inter favorites to progress.

Bremen face Barca and Ballack

Werder Bremen find themselves in a tough Group A with current titleholders Barcelona, English champions Chelsea and Bulgaria's debutants Levski Sofia. Bremen will want to exorcise the ghosts of last season, during which they came so close to beating Juventus in the first knock-out round, drawing 4-4 on aggregate but losing out to the Italian champions on away goals.

Bremen will need to beat either or both Barca or Chelsea to progress and will be hoping that the two great rivals will be more concerned with each other to worry about any potential German party-crashers.

It will be the third time in three years that Barcelona, who beat Chelsea in the second round of last season's competition, have been paired with the London club. In 2004-05, Chelsea beat the Spanish champions over two legs in controversial style after a war of words.

Werder will come up against a familiar face in the opening game in London on Sept. 12, although the color of shirt may be different. Michael Ballack could make his Champions League debut for Chelsea against a number of his fellow German internationals, such as Torsten Frings and Miroslav Klose.

HSV in group of experience

Hamburg face 2004 champions Porto, last season's losing finalists Arsenal and 2005 UEFA Cup winners CSKA Moscow in Group G, much to the pleasure of Arsenal's German international goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.

"I'm quite happy with Hamburg. We finally get to play a German club," Lehmann said. "I think Sporting and CSKA Moscow are good teams but we have the favorite position in this group."

"As for Hamburg, they're always dangerous in set pieces and you always have to be aware of this," Lehmann added.

Hamburg coach Thomas Doll was satisfied with the group. "It's a great draw for us. Our goal is to reach the quarter-finals. It's possible even if Arsenal and Porto will be favorites," he said.

A true competition of champions

The money-spinning group stages of European soccer's most prestigious competition also sees 2005 winners Liverpool drawn with Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, Bordeaux and Turkey's Galatasaray in Group C.

Spanish giants Real Madrid, nine-time European champions, are drawn in the same pool as five-time French champions Lyon, as they were last year. Completing Group E are Steaua Bucharest of Romania and Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev.

A "Battle of Britain" scenario is set up in Group F as Manchester United are drawn with Scottish champions Celtic. Also in the mix are Benfica of Portugal and Danish debutants FC Copenhagen.

Group D sees Valencia pooled with Roma, Olympiakos of Greece and Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk.

AC Milan, found guilty in the match-fixing scandal in Italians Serie A but reinstated on appeal, had a favorable draw in Group H against Lille, AEK Athens and Belgian outfit Anderlecht.

The opening group games are scheduled for September 12-13.