AC Milan will begin defence of its Champions League title with games against two former tournament winners.
UEFA, European soccer's governing body, divided the 32-team field into eight first-round groups for this season's tournament during a special draw ceremony Thursday in Monaco.
AC Milan's Paolo Maldini has won the Champions League on five occassions.
(Getty Images)
Milan, which beat English side Liverpool 2-1 in the final of last season's Champions League competition, was pooled together in Group D with Portuguese outfit Benfica, Scottish league champion Celtic and Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Italian club has won the tournament seven times, Benfica twice (in 1961 and 1962) and Celtic once (1967).
Nine-time Champions League winners Real Madrid of Spain were drawn into Group C with Werder Bremen (Germany), Lazio (Italy) and Olympiakos (Greece).
English league champions Manchester United, winners of this tournament in 1968 and 1999, will compete in Group F with AS Roma (Italy), Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) and Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine).
England's Arsenal will play Steaua Bucharest (Romania) and Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) in Group H.
They'll be joined by either Sevilla (Spain) or AEK Athens (Greece).
The two play the second leg of their series on Monday.
The match was originally scheduled to be played this week, but it was postponed because of the death of Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta. Sevilla won 2-0 over the Greeks in Spain in the first game of the two-match playoff.
Teams in the eight round-robin groups play each other at home and on the road with three points for a win and one for a tie.
The top two clubs in each group at the end of the group stage advance to the next round.
After the first round, the remaining 16 teams are paired off and play a home-and-away playoff.
If the teams each win a game, the overall score over the course of the two games acts as the tiebreaker, followed by goals scored on the road.
If the teams are still tied, a penalty shootout solves the issue.
This two-game playoff format carries over into the quarter-finals and semifinals before the last two teams meet in the final.
The Champions League kicks off on Sept. 18.
The final is slated for May 21 in Moscow.
Also on Thursday, UEFA announced its Champions League players of the year for the 2006-07 season.
Chelsea's Petr Cech was named goalkeeper of the year, while AC Milan's Paolo Maldini (defender of the year), Clarence Seedorf (midfielder of the year) and Kaka (forward of the year) were chosen for the remaining awards.
The Champions League groups
Group A: Liverpool (England), FC Porto (Portugal), Olympique Marseille (France), Besiktas (Turkey).
Group B: Chelsea (England), Valencia (Spain), Schalke 04 (Germany), Rosenborg (Norway).
Group C: Real Madrid (Spain), Werder Bremen (Germany), Lazio (Italy), Olympiakos (Greece).
Group D: AC Milan (Italy), Benfica (Portugal), Celtic (Scotland), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine).
Group E: FC Barcelona (Spain), Olympique Lyon (France), Stuttgart (Germany), Rangers (Scotland).
Group F: Manchester United (England), AS Roma (Italy), Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine).
Group G: Inter Milan (Italy), PSV Eindhoven (the Netherlands), CSKA Moscow (Russia), Fenerbahce (Turkey).
Group H: Arsenal (England), Steaua Bucharest (Romania), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic), Sevilla (Spain) or AEK Athens (Greece).
