UEFA site/Champions League page: {click here}.
2009-10 UEFA Champions League Group stage begins 15th and 16th September. The headline-grabbing match on Tuesday the 15th is Olympique Marseille (France) v. AC Milan (Italy). The marquee matchup on Wednesday the 16th is Internazionale (Italy) v. FC Barcelona (Spain).
The matches involving the 5 clubs from Great Britain…15th Sept., Besiktas JK (Turkey) v. Manchester United (England); Chelsea (England) v. FC Porto (Portugal). 16th Sept., Liverpool (England) v. Debrecen (Hungary); Standard Liège (Belgium) v. Arsenal (England); VfB Stuttgart (Germany) v. Rangers (Scotland).
There are 15 clubs returning to the Champions League Group stage this season. [Last year there were 19 returning clubs.] The returning clubs this season are listed by country here, in the order of the country’s current UEFA co-efficient League ranking. 1. all 4 English clubs returning: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United. 2. 3 of the 4 same Spanish clubs returning: Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, and Real Madrid. 3. 3 of the 4 same Italian clubs returning: Fiorentina, Inter, and Juventus. 4. None of the 3 same German clubs from last year returning. 5. all 3 French clubs returning: Bordeaux, Lyon, and Marseille. 6. None of the same 2 Russian clubs returning from last year [note: Russia now has 3 possible Champions League places]. 7. 1 of the Ukrainian clubs returning: Dynamo Kyiv. 8. None of the same Dutch clubs from last year returning. 9. None of the same Romanian clubs from last year returning. 10. 1 Portuguese club returning: FC Porto. 11. None of the same Greek clubs returning. 12. None of the same Scottish clubs retuning. [Note...countries ranked 7-12 have 2 possible Champions League places.]
Current ranking of countries for 2010-11 UEFA competitions, {click here}.
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org {click here (set at 2009-10 Champions League)}. Thanks to UEFA site {click here}. Thanks to http://uefaclubs.com/ .
