The draw for the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League group stage has been made at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
Eleven former championsEleven former European Champion Clubs' Cup winners and three clubs who have never featured in a group stage before were among the 32 teams drawn into eight four-team groups.
Milan-Ajax rematch
Holders AC Milan, the top seeds, will once again face Dutch outfit AFC Ajax, who they beat in the last eight en route to the final last season, in Group H. Also drawn in this testing section are RC Celta de Vigo and Club Brugge KV, conquerors of 1997 European champions BV Borussia Dortmund in the third qualifying round.
Attractive Group F
Group F is one of the most attractive sections, with three former European champions present; nine-times champions Real Madrid CF, 1987 winners and UEFA Cup holders FC Porto, and Olympique de Marseille, the first team to win the Champions League following the restructuring of club football's premier competition for the 1992/93 season. FK Partizan, who knocked out Newcastle United FC last night, complete the group.
Juventus in Group D
Last season's runners-up and two-times winners Juventus FC are in Group D alongside Galatasaray SK of Turkey, Olympiacos CFP of Greece and Real Sociedad de Fútbol from Spain. Meanwhile, FC Bayern München, who have won club football's greatest prize on four occasions, were joined by Olympique Lyonnais of France, Scotland's Celtic FC and Belgium's RSC Anderlecht in Group A.
Intriguing group
Arsenal FC, Internazionale FC, FC Dynamo Kyiv and FC Lokomotiv Moskva contest Group B, while an intriguing Group G will see S.S. Lazio, Chelsea FC, AC Sparta Praha and Besiktas JK vying for supremacy. English champions Manchester United FC can look forward to a meeting with their Scottish counterparts Rangers FC in Group E, which also includes Panathinaikos FC and VfB Stuttgart.
Competitive section
Finally, a competitive Group C will see RC Deportivo La Coruña of Spain, PSV Eindhoven from the Netherlands, AEK Athens FC of Greece and the French club AS Monaco FC competing together.
Match dates
Prior to the draw the 32 teams were placed in four pots in accordance with seedings based on UEFA club coefficients. Clubs from the same national association could not be paired together. During the group stage each team will play three matches on a Tuesday and three on a Wednesday, starting with the first of six matchdays on 16/17 September. The remaining dates are: 30 September/1 October, 21/22 October, 4/5 November, 25/26 November, 9/10 December.
Final in Gelsenkirchen
The top two teams in each group progress to the last 16 knockout stage, with the third-placed team moving into the third round of the UEFA Cup. The final will be played at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on 26 May 2004.
GROUP A Bayern Munich
Lyon
Celtic
Anderlecht
GROUP BArsenal
Inter Milan
Dynamo Kiev
Lokomotiv Moscow
GROUP CDeportivo La Coruna
PSV Eindhoven
AEK Athens
Monaco
GROUP D Juventus
Galatasaray
Olympiakos
Real Sociedad
GROUP EManchester United
Panathinaikos
Rangers
Stuttgart
GROUP FReal Madrid
FC Porto
Marseille
FK Partizan
GROUP GLazio
Chelsea
Sparta Prague
Besiktas
GROUP HAC Milan
Celta Vigo
Ajax
Brugge
