Madrid, Milan, Ajax to meet in Champions League

Posted Friday, August 27, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

MONACO (AP)—Real Madrid, AC Milan and Ajax, who have won 20 European Cups between them, will meet in the group stage of the Champions League.

It is the second consecutive season that nine-time champion Madrid and seven-time winner Milan have been drawn together. Auxerre is the fourth team in Group G.

“You want to win every match and when you see AC Milan and Real Madrid in the pool, you know it will be tough,” Ajax coach Martin Jol said Thursday.

Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf, a two-time winner with the Serie A side, has also won the competition with Madrid and Ajax.

Defending champion Inter Milan, whose coach Jose Mourinho left to join Madrid after May’s final, will play Werder Bremen, Tottenham and FC Twente in Group A.

Bayern Munich, last season’s losing finalist, was drawn with AS Roma, FC Basel and Cluj in Group E.

Barcelona will be hoping to avoid losing to Rubin Kazan for a second straight season. The 2009 champions were drawn with the Russian club in Group D alongside Panathinaikos and FC Copenhagen.

Premier League champion Chelsea will also be traveling to Russia, to face Spartak Moscow. Marseille and newcomer Zilina are also in Group F.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson will be reunited with Rangers. which he play for in the 1960s. Valencia and Bursaspor of Turkey make up Group C.

Arsenal will face former striker Eduardo da Silva when it plays Shakhtar Donetsk, while FC Braga of Portugal and Partizan Belgrade complete Group H.

Lyon, the top-seeded team in Group B, was paired with Benfica, Schalke and Hapoel Tel Aviv.