Champions League draw:Tottenham's reward for beating Young Boys of Bern in the Champions League qualifiers last night is a daunting Group A meeting with last season's winners Inter Milan in the competition proper. Harry Redknapp's side were drawn out of pot three in Monaco today and grouped with Rafael Benitez's Italian champions, German side Werder Bremen and Dutch champions FC Twente.
It will mean a reunion, of sorts, for Redknapp and former Liverpool manager Benitez, while Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane will be relishing the chance at getting one over on the Spaniard - who signed him for Liverpool in the summer of 2008 and then sent him back to Spurs at the earliest opportunity in January 2009 - should he remain at White Hart Lane beyond the transfer window.
It could also, of course, mean a return to the San Siro for Keane who made six appearances for the Nerazzurri in 2000.
Bremen will offer a stiff test too, after coming through a cracking qualifier against Sampdoria with a 5-4 aggregate win during the week, as will Twente, who won the Dutch league last season under Steve McClaren.
"They say there are no easy games and it's certainly true of the group we've got," Spurs club secretary Darren Eales told Sky Sports News. "But in the game against Young Boys we had a wonderful atmosphere. Night games in Europe at White Hart Lane...we could be matches for anyone. We could be one of the teams people were fearful to draw.
"We're certainly not looking too far ahead, we're just looking to give a good account of ourselves and we're looking at getting into the knockout stage first, that's our first aim."
Manchester United face what will undoubtedly be dubbed a ‘Battle of Britain’, against Rangers in Group C. Spanish side Valencia are the second seeds, while Bursaspor of Turkey are the group’s fourth seeds.
United and Rangers were drawn together at the same stage in 2003-04 with United winning 3-0 at home and 1-0 at Ibrox.
Manchester United chief executive David Gill is looking forward to the Rangers clash.
"There is the Rangers connection, we played them back in 2003/04 and Alex (Ferguson) and Walter Smith go back a long way," he said. "It will be a great atmosphere at Old Trafford and I remember when we played up there in 2003 and Phil Neville scored a fairly rare goal. It will be a great occasion, I've spoken to Sir Alex and he's looking forward to it."
On the Red Devils' other opponents, he added: "Valencia had a good season last season. We last played them in 2000, we've had five games against them and going out to Spain is always nice.
"You can talk yourself into (Bursaspor) seeming a long trip. That is the beauty of the competition, there are new teams again.
"We're looking forward to progressing to the knock-out stages."
Ireland’s Aiden McGeady is likely to face Chelsea when Spartak Moscow meet the Premier League champions in Group F which also contains Marseille and FK Zlina of Slovakia.
Chelsea director and club secretary David Barnard said: "We've got to be fairly happy with that."
Barnard - who said Chelsea have no current signings in the offing - also hopes the fact the final is in England will be a spur.
"Since Wembley opened we've been there eight times now," he said. "You like to play a final on foreign soil, obvsiously for our supporters and the occasion, but you never know, Wembley is a lucky omen for us and may well be this year."
Arsenal face trip to the Ukraine to meet Group H opponents Shakhtar Donetsk, while they will also meet Celtic’s conquerors from the qualifiers FC Braga of Portugal and Serbian side FK Partizan Belgrade.
"There is a real incentive for all English clubs, especially the London clubs," Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said. "It's would be fantastic to play in the final in London and I know Spurs and Chelsea will feel the same way. There will probably be a mini competition within a competition there."
When asked whether English sides might re-establish the dominance they had been showing on the European stage until last year's lesser showing in the final stages, he was equivocal.
"There are so many good teams in Europe. It was probably an aberration when we had three (English clubs) in the semi-final. It's probably more usual to have a more international competition.
"Looking at the calibre of some of the other European sides, it's going to be very tough.
"We probably won't see the days of three (English) teams in the semis again this year."
Group G lays claim to the ‘Group of Death’ label with AC Milan, Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid, Ajax and Auxerre set to clash.
2009 champions and Spanish champions Barcelona have been grouped Greek’s Panathinaikos, Danes FC Copenhagen, and potential dark horses Rubin Kazan of Russia.
Group B sees last year’s beaten semi-finalists Lyon drawn together with Portuguese side Benfica, Germans FC Schalke 04 and Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
Bayern Munich, beaten finalists last year, will contest Group E with Italy’s AS Roma, FC Basel of Switzerland and CFR 1907 Cluj of Romania.
Champions League Draw
Group A
Inter
Werder Bremen
Tottenham Hotspur
FC Twente
Group B
Lyon
Benfica
FC Schalke 04
Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Group C
Manchester United
Valencia
Rangers
Bursaspor
Group D
Barcelona
Panathinaikos
FC Copenhagen
FC Rubin Kazan
Group E
Bayern Munich
Roma
FC Basel
CFR 1907 Cluj
Group F
Chelsea
Marseille
Spartak Moscow
MSK Zilnia
Group G
AC Milan
Real Madrid
Ajax
Auxerre
Group H
Arsenal
Shakhtar Donetsk
SC Braga
FK Partizan