Italian professional football club, Inter Milan, will face some stiff competition as it embarks on defending its title in UEFA Champions League competition with matches against SV Werder Bremen and new Group A opponents, FC Tottenham Hotspur and FC Twente.
2010-11 UEFA Champions League group stage
Thirty-two clubs grouped into select stages will have an opportunity to prove their worth on the football field when group-stage fixtures begin on September 14-15 and run every two weeks until the beginning of December.
In the spring, the winners of each select group, along with the runners-up, advance to the first knockout round, which culminates in a final match to be played at Wembley Stadium on May 28, 2011.
Third place finishers in each section move to the UEFA Europa League.
As stated previously, Inter Milan will defend its title against Werder Bremen and a pair of newcomers in Group A.
Group B consists of France's Olympique Lyonnais, Portugal's SL Benfica, Germany's FC Schalke and Israel's Hapoel Tel-Aviv.
Group C includes English threat Manchester United FC, Spanish club Valencia CF, Scotland's Rangers FC and Turkey's Bursaspor.
Group D comprises powerhouse Spanish club and winner of two of the past five seasons, FC Barcelona, against Greek club Panathinaikos, Denmarks's FC København, and Russia's FC Rubin Kazan.
Last season's runners-up FC Bayern München of Germany is part of Group E that also consists of Italy's AS Roma, Romania's CFR 1907 Cluj and Switzerland's FC Basel 1893.
England's Chelsea FC, French club Olympique de Marseille, Russian club FC Spartak Moskva and Slovakia's MŠK Žilina make up Group F.
Group F pits Italy's AC Milan against Spanish rivals Real Madrid CF, AFC Ajax of the Netherlands and French club AJ Auxerre.
Rounding out the final four teams, which comprise Group H, is England's Arsenal FC, Ukraine's FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Portugal's SC Braga and Serbian club FK Patizan.
Some players to follow during the upcoming UEFA Champions League competition include Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder, who took home the Bronze Boot and Silver Ball at the 2010 World Cup, Real Madrid's Christiano Ronaldo, who hopes to rebound after an underwhelming performance at the World Cup, Xavi Hernández, an underrated but important cog for Barcelona, as well as Hernández's teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a very young, promising athlete for Barcelona, who has a bright future with the club.
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