By Chris O'Brien
September 2 2006

The draw for the group stages of the Champions League has been made, pairing Manchester United with SPL Champions Celtic. The Red Devils will also face Benfica and FC Copenhagen as they look to repeat their successes of 1968 and 1999.

A football 'draw' is a pretty simple thing to do. A set of numbered balls go into a big hat and are drawn out, often by ageing sporting celebrities, one by one. Each ball corresponds to a particular team and the two teams drawn out next to each other face a  cup tie. Simple? Seemingly not for Uefa.

The draw for the Champions League group stages has been made and, as per usual, it was a tedious, much drawn-out affair that was mind-numbingly boring to watch. You had to feel for the likes of United chief executive David Gill who travelled, no doubt at mammoth expense, to Monaco to watch a group of over-paid officials fuss over the draw, which proves so complicated that Uefa need to rehearse it, prolong it and just generally take any fun out of the occasion.

Anyway - rant over. It's a good draw for United who have been paired up alongside Glasgow Celtic, Benfica and FC Copenhagen. The match against the SPL Champions will be of particular interest to Red Devils fans, with the two clubs having met on numerous occasion in friendly and testimonial action, but never in a competitive fixture.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men have the chance to get revenge over a Benfica side who put the sword into our Champions League exploits last term, whilst supporters will be eyeing-up the trip to Denmark to face a Copenhagen side who are embarking on their first adventure in the finals of this competition.

The draw has thrown up some interesting ties but United will be expected to progress from 'Group F' after falling at this hurdle last season. Gill outlined the importance of qualifying for the second round this season, though insisted this was only on a football level and not for financial reasons.

"We want to go as far as we possibly can in Europe for the supporters and to achieve the best for Manchester United Football Club." said Gill, who is also vice-chairman of the G14.

"It isn't to do with finances. Too much is made of that. It's to do with our achievements on the field and we are confident of making a real challenge in the Champions League this time around."

Let's hope for a successful campaign on the continent!