Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he does not fear Juventus or Deportivo La Coruna having been drawn with them, and FC Basel, in Group D of the Champions League second stage in Geneva on Friday morning.
Manchester United's European form has been highly impressive this season, in contrast to some their performances on the domestic front. The Reds reached the last sixteen with their highest ever points total in the group stage, after five wins and one defeat.
The ease with which United qualified inevitably pleased their manager, who is confident his side can continue in the competition and progress to the quarter finals for the seventh successive season.
Ferguson was not concerned by the draw, which pits his team once again against Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna – as was assured beforehand due to the technicalities of the draw – Italian giants Juventus and this year's surprise package Basel, of Switzerland, who qualified for the second phase at the expense of Liverpool.
The Old Trafford outfit faced Deportivo four times in last year's competition, losing twice in the opening group stage, before producing two of their best performances of the entire season to overcome the Spaniards 5-2 on aggregate in the quarter-final.
United also have recent history on their side against the team from Turin. Juventus were beaten on the way to the 1999 final in Barcelona, the final leg of United's memorable treble, with Roy Keane inspiring a thrilling comeback from 2-0 down in the semi-final at the Stadio delle Alpi.
Speaking shortly after the draw was made, the United boss said: "I am not sick of the sight of Deportivo, just playing them in the second stage means we have progressed. I hope we meet again later on."
He added: "There was a spell where we got Juventus three years on the trot so it does not bother us. In the mid to late 1990s we were getting Italian sides all the time.
"Their football has stepped up a bit this year. They have had a couple of barren seasons which is unlike the Italians because you only have to look at European football over the past two decades and their names are splattered across the tournaments.
"We have to be aware they are a big threat," he warned.
Having dramatically put themselves into the hat for the draw, with a helping hand from Juventus, Newcastle United have been given a tough test, with Sir Bobby Robson's former side Barcelona, Italian league leaders Inter Milan and last season's finalist Bayer Leverkusen in their group.
Arsenal meanwhile, will face an equally difficult task in progressing from Group B with Valencia, twice losing finalists in the competition, in 2000 and 2001, Roma and Ajax to contend with. The remaining teams make up Group C, with defending champions Real Madrid facing AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Lokomotiv Moscow.
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