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This is an archive article published on August 31, 2012

Madrid,City in group of champions

Thursday's draw pitched the holders against a Juventus side that stormed to the Serie A title and was unbeaten in all competitions last season apart from the Italian Cup final.

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Defending champion Chelsea will take on Juventus,while English champions Manchester City will be clubbed with Real Madrid,Ajax and Borussia Dortmund in the ‘group of champions,’ in this season’s Champions League .

Thursday’s draw pitched the holders against a Juventus side that stormed to the Serie A title and was unbeaten in all competitions last season apart from the Italian Cup final. Group E also includes Shakhtar Donetsk and Champions League debutant Nordsjaelland. City and Madrid have been handed the toughest draw,with all sides in Group D being league champions last year.

English rivals United have been handed a simpler passage in Group H,while Bayern Munich,last year’s runner-up,is in Group F with Valencia,Lille and BATE Borisov. Four-time winner Barcelona faces Benfica,Spartak Moscow and Celtic.

Iniesta bags award

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta won the UEFA Best Player in Europe award for the 2011-2012 season. Iniesta earned 19 votes in the poll of journalists from across Europe,two more than Barcelona teammate and last year’s winner,Lionel Messi,and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. The 28-year-old Iniesta was instrumental in helping Spain successfully defend its European Championship title this summer and was crowned the tournament’s best player. A three-man shortlist was selected by a panel of 53 journalists drawn from each of UEFA’s member nations.

Champions League Draw

Group A: Porto,Dynamo Kiev,PSG,Dinamo Zagreb; Group B: Arsenal,Schalke,Olympiakos,Montpellier; Group C: AC Milan,Zenit St. Petersburg,Anderlecht,Malaga; Group D: Real Madrid,Manchester City,Ajax,Borussia Dortmund; Group E: Chelsea,Shakhtar Donetsk,Juventus,Nordsjaelland; Group F: Bayern Munich,Valencia,Lille ,BATE Borisov; Group G: Barcelona,Benfica,Spartak Moscow,Glasgow Celtic; Group H: Manchester United,Braga,Galatasaray,Cluj.

 

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