Champions League draw

Reds learn Euro fate
United will play Valencia, Rangers and Turkish side Bursaspor in Group C of this season's Champions League.

The Reds' four previous meetings with Valencia in the competition - during the 1999/00 and 2000/01 campaigns - yielded three draws and a victory.

The clashes with Rangers will be particularly special for Sir Alex - he supported the Ibrox club and spent two years as a player there in the late 1960s, while his opposite number Walter Smith was his ally at Old Trafford for a period towards the end of 2003/04. The only two competitive meetings between the two sides took place in the Champions League that same season, with United winning 1-0 at Ibrox and 3-0 on home turf.

Bursaspor (based in Bursa in north west Turkey and brilliantly nicknamed the Green Crocodiles) are the unknown quantity in Group C having never played in the competition before, although they are the current Turkish champions.


Champions League Fixtures
Tue 14 Sep - Rangers H
Wed 29 Sep - Valencia A
Wed 20 Oct - Bursaspor H
Tue 2 Nov - Bursaspor A
Wed 24 Nov - Rangers A
Tue 7 Dec - Valencia H

Full Draw
Group A - Internazionale, Werder Bremen, Tottenham, FC Twente
Group B - Lyon, Benfica, Schalke, Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Group C - United, Valencia, Rangers, Bursaspor
Group D - Barcelona, Panathinaikos, FC Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan
Group E - Bayern Munich, AS Roma, FC Basel, CFR Cluj
Group F - Chelsea, Marseille, Spartak Moscow, MSK Zilina
Group G - AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre
Group H - Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Braga, FK Partizan

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Boss relishes Rangers ties
Sir Alex Ferguson is counting United's blessings and air miles following a favourable group-stage draw in the UEFA Champions League.

The Reds will travel overseas to Spain and Turkey, but stay in Britain for a clash with Scottish champions Rangers, managed by his former assistant, Walter Smith.

The United boss told ManUtd.com: "You can't complain about that, it's a good draw for us. You always look at the travelling side of it and the only one that's of any great distance is the trip to Turkey.

"Walter Smith's already been on the phone, talking about tickets for Old Trafford! Like me, he's really looking forward to our games against each other."

Smith was Sir Alex's right-hand man when the Reds won the FA Cup in 2004 but the connections between the United manager and Rangers don't end there, of course.

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