Alex Ferguson's chances of adding the Champions' League to his many British honours look farther away than ever. To reach the knockout stage this season Manchester United will have to deal not only with Juventus but Feyenoord.
Kenny Dalglish fared no better in yesterday's draw. Newcastle United's thrilling victory over Croatia Zagreb in the qualifying round has merely pitched them in with Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven, not to mention a potentially fraught confrontation with Dynamo Kiev.
English clubs have won the European Cup eight times, the last in 1984 when Liverpool achieved their fourth success in the competition by beating Roma on penalties in Rome. A year later, on the night of the Heysel tragedy, they lost 1-0 to Juventus in the final.
Since the resulting UEFA ban on English clubs competing in Europe was lifted only Manchester United have made an impact on a tournament which is fast becoming a European league in all but name. Last season, despite losing twice to Juventus and seeing their 40-yearold unbeaten home record in Europe overturned by Fenerbahce, Ferguson's team reached the semi-finals with impressive performances against Porto.
Once there, however, they missed a chance to beat a weakened Borussia Dortmund in the Ruhr, lost to them again at Old Trafford, and saw the unfancied Germans beat Juventus, the holders, in the final. Manchester United will do well to go as close again this time. For a start the new format of the tournament is against them.
With the Champions' League extended to 24 teams playing in six groups of four, only the winners and the two best runners-up will compete in the quarter-finals. The margins for error, therefore, will be rather narrower than Manchester United enjoyed last season.
Drawing Juventus again is bad news for Old Trafford's European ambitions although the prospect of another glamorous tie will not have disappointed the money men. And at least Ferguson's defence will not have to cope with Alen Boksic, whose goal beat them in Turin nearly a year ago. The Croatian, like the Yugoslav Vladimir Jugovic, is now with Lazio.
Similarly, Newcastle United's cash registers will welcome the sight of Barcelona at St James' Park on September 17th while Dalglish must be more than a little relieved that Ronaldo is no longer at the Nou Camp to test his rebuilt defence. But with PSV Eindhoven also lurking in their group Newcastle, like Manchester United, are just as likely to be undone by Dutch quality as Latin class.
Ferguson will begin his latest European quest in Slovakia, where the English champions will face Kosice, who have just removed Spartak Moscow from the qualifiers, in two-and-a-half weeks' time. While this is preferable to facing Juventus straightaway it will provide an early indication of just how realistic Manchester United's chances are.
This time they will wind up in Turin and by then Ferguson's players will have shown just how much they learned from their Champions' League experiences last season. To get one English club through to the last eight this season will be a considerable achievement, two would be extraordinary. But each United will earn upwards of £5 million simply by being there.
Champions' League Groups
Group A - Bor Dortmund, Sparta Prague, Parma, Galatasaray.
Group B - Feyenoord, FC Kosice, Man United, Juventus.
Group C - Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven, Dynamo Kiev, Newcastle Utd.
Group D - Porto, Real Madrid, Rosenborg, Olymipiakos.
Group E - IFK Gothenburg, Bayen Munich, Besiktas, Paris ST G.
Group F - Lierse, Sporting Lisbon, Monaco, B Leverkusen.
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