Europa League 2010-11 group stage draw

Big names face difficult groups

The group-stage draw has matched holders Club Atlético de Madrid with Bayer 04 Leverkusen while Liverpool FC are in a group involving FC Steaua Bucureşti, SSC Napoli and FC Utrecht.

Defending UEFA Europa League champions Club Atlético de Madrid have been matched with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Rosenborg BK and Aris Thessaloniki FC in the 2010/11 group-stage draw in Monaco.

The 48 clubs, from 24 different associations, have been drawn into 12 groups. While Atlético are in Group B the side they beat in the semi-finals last season – Liverpool FC – will face fellow former European champions FC Steaua Bucureşti, SSC Napoli and FC Utrecht in Group K.

Juventus and Roberto Mancini's Manchester City FC are together in Group A, where they are joined by FC Salzburg and KKS Lech Poznań. Sevilla FC, who won the UEFA Cup in 2006 and 2007 and are among ten teams transferring from the UEFA Champions League play-off round, take on Paris Saint-Germain FC, BV Borussia Dortmund and FC Karpaty Lviv in Group J.

In the confirmed fixture list, games will be played on 16 and 30 September, 22 October, 4 November, 1/2 and 15/16 December. Where possible, teams from the same association will kick off at different times and, on Matchdays 5 and 6, on separate days. In the round of 32 and round of 16 draws in Nyon on 17 December, the top two sides from each section will be joined by the eight teams which finish third in their UEFA Champions League group. The final is at the new Dublin Arena on 18 May 2011.

At the ceremony in the Grimaldi Forum, Republic of Ireland midfielder Ronnie Whelan was named as the UEFA Europa League final ambassador and among his first acts was to make a special presentation to Atlético striker Diego Forlán for his performances in last season's competition, where the Uruguayan international struck the extra-time winner in the decider against Fulham FC. "It was the first time I had played in a final," Forlán said. "To score two minutes from the end, it was amazi

Full Draw:

Group A
Juventus (ITA)
Manchester City FC (ENG)
FC Salzburg (AUT)
KKS Lech Poznań (POL)

Group B
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)
Rosenborg BK (NOR)
Aris Thessaloniki FC (GRE)

Group C
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
LOSC Lille Métropole (FRA)
PFC Levski Sofia (BUL)
KAA Gent (BEL)

Group D
Villarreal CF (ESP)
Club Brugge KV (BEL)
NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
PAOK FC (GRE)

Group E
AZ Alkmaar (NED)
FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
FC BATE Borisov (BLR)
FC Sheriff (MDA)

Group F
PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
US Città di Palermo (ITA)
FC Lausanne-Sport (SUI)
AC Sparta Praha (CZE)

Group G
FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS)
RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
AEK Athens FC (GRE)
HNK Hajduk Split (CRO)

Group H
VfB Stuttgart (GER)
Getafe CF (ESP)
Odense BK (DEN)
BSC Young Boys (SUI)

Group I
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
UC Sampdoria (ITA)
FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
Debreceni VSC (HUN)

Group J
Sevilla FC (ESP)
Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
BV Borussia Dortmund (GER)
FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR)

Group K
Liverpool FC (ENG)
FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU)
SSC Napoli (ITA)
FC Utrecht (NED)

Group L
FC Porto (POR)
Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
PFC CSKA Sofia (BUL)
SK Rapid Wien (AUT)

Uefa Club Footballer of the Year

Inter players sweep all the award..

Inter striker Diego Milito has been selected as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year at the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco.

The veteran striker scored crucial goals for the treble winners in Europe's top competition, including two at the final against Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, the individual position awards were voted on as the Nerazurri took a clean sweep with Julio Cesar, Maicon and Wesley Sneijder

UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year: Julio Cesar

Nominees: Julio Cesar, Hugo Lloris, Victor Valdes

UEFA Club Defender of the Year: Maicon

Nominees: Lucio, Maicon, Gerard Pique

UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: Wesley Sneijder

Nominees: Xavi, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder.

UEFA Club Striker of the Year: Diego Milito

Nominees: Lionel Messi, Diego Milito, Wayne Rooney.

Uefa Champions League group stage draw

The 2010-11 Uefa Champions League group stage is now set after the draw took place in Monaco on Thursday and it proposes some interesting match-ups and intriguing possibilities.

The trophy holders Inter have been dealt a tough hand in Group A facing Werder Bremen, Tottenham, and Twente. The likely group of death would seem to be Group G with Real Madrid, Milan, Ajax, and Auxerre.

Meanwhile, Barcelona in Group D will be relatively pleased to battle against Panathinaikos, Copenhagen, and Rubin Kazan.

Last year's finalists Bayern Munich also have a Germany - Italy duel versus Roma. Basel and Cluj round out Group E.

English giants Manchester United will take on Valencia, Bursaspor, and Rangers and Chelsea's Didier Drogba will visit his old stomping ground versus Marseille.

Full Draw

Group A	Group B
Inter	Olympique Lyonnais
Werder Bremen	Benfica
Tottenham Hotspur	Schalke
Twente	Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Group C	Group D
Manchester United	Barcelona
Valencia	Panathinaikos
Rangers	FC Copenhagen
Bursaspor	Rubin Kazan
Group E	Group F
Bayern Munich	Chelsea
Roma	Marseille
Basel	Spartak Moscow
CFR Cluj	MSK Zilina
Group G	Group H
AC Milan	Arsenal
Real Madrid	Shakhtar Donetsk
Ajax	Sporting Braga
Auxerre	Patizan Belgrade

Juventus confirm loan signing of Liverpool's Alberto Aquilani

talian club have option to buy former Roma man for £13.1m...

Juventus have confirmed the signing of Liverpoolmidfielder Alberto Aquilani on a season-long loan deal, with a view to a permanent transfer.

The midfielder arrived on Merseyside as a high-profile signing by former boss Rafael Benitez last summer, as the player choose to leave his boyhood club Roma for an adventure in the Premier League.

However, being injured prior to his arrival saw him being sidelined for a significant portion of the club's underwhelming campaign, which eventually saw the Spanish boss leave by mutual consent and subsequently take the managerial position at Inter.

Aquilani appears to be considered as surplus to requirements by new manager Roy Hodgson, as the Italian has now been packed away on loan to the Serie A club - who have also been given the option of buying the player for a sum of £13.1 million.

A statement on Juve's official website reads: "Juventus Football Club announces that an agreement with Liverpool F.C. for the free temporary acquisition of the registration rights of the player Alberto Aquilani has been reached.

"The agreement also includes the option to be exercised at the end of 2010-11 season, for the definitive acquisition by Juventus of the football player at the price of €16m (£13.1m), to be paid in three years."