Mourinho takes new club to his old den

Spanish giants Real Madrid are in Group B with Italian AS Roma, Ukraine side Dynamo Kiev and Germans Bayer Leverkusen. Three big European names Juventus, Ajax Amsterdam and Bayern Munich form Group C, with Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel.

English club Manchester United will play Olympique Lyon, Feverbahce of Turkey and Sparta Prague in Group D, while 2003-04 Premier League champions Arsenal have PSV Eindhoven, Panathinaikos and Norwegian champions Rosenborg Trondheim in Group E.

AC Milan and Barcelona form the core of Group F’ Valencia and Inter Milan in Group G. The Chelsea-Porto clash promises to be the most entertaining of the lot, and Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon said that Mourinho’s experience will come in handy. ‘‘Things have a way of working that way, it’s like starting the Premier League against (Manchester) United,’’ Kenyon said. ‘‘There’ll be a lot of emphasis on Porto but we shouldn’t forget the other teams that are in there. It’s a tough group…but overall you’ve got to be generally happy.’’ Real coach Jose Antonio Camacho said: ‘‘We always feel as though we are favourites whoever we play, but we also know there will be no easy games. We have faced Bayer Leverkusen in a European Cup final (in 2002) and the other two teams are strong and deserve our respect too.’’

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said the draw could have been kinder to the Italian champions. ‘‘It’s not straightforward but it is stimulating,’’ said Ancelotti, whose team lost 2-1 to Barcelona in a friendly on Wednesday.