'The Changing Rooms May Be Smaller But Paolo Maldini Can Say He's Done It All Now'

Try telling anyone at Fratton Park that the Uefa Cup has lost its appeal. Yesterday's draw for the competition's group stages was one for Portsmouth supporters to savor after Milan, the seven-times European Cup winners, were handed a trip to the south coast. There was a mixture of bemusement and excitement in Harry Redknapp's voice as Portsmouth's manager considered some of the most famous names in world football appearing at Fratton Park next month.

"AC Milan in a European competition is a one-off occasion," said a beaming Redknapp, who has urged broadcasters to avoid another "silly kick-off time" after Portsmouth's matches with Vitoria Guimaraes in the previous round started at 6pm and 9.35pm. "Who could imagine the thought of Paolo Maldini, Ronaldinho, Kaka and all those running out to play here? But who could have imagined Portsmouth winning the FA Cup and having four players in the England squad? Now it could all happen."

Portsmouth's stand-out fixture in the draw will take place on November 27, sandwiched between trips to Sporting Braga in Portugal and Wolfsburg in Germany, before they host the Dutch club Heerenveen in their final group game. Not that Portsmouth officials were thinking about the other ties yesterday, as all thrilled to the prospect of taking on the Rossoneri. "It is a dream come true," said Peter Storrie, Portsmouth's chief executive.

"I don't think anyone expected to see AC Milan at Fratton Park, to be honest," added Peter Crouch, who was in the Liverpool side that lost to Milan in the 2007 Champions League final. "Hopefully we can use that to our advantage. We can make it difficult for them, get the supporters behind us and hopefully that might give us an edge to cause a surprise. The changing rooms are a little bit smaller than most, but Paolo Maldini can say that he's done it all now."

While the other three English clubs could not hope for opponents as glamorous as the Serie A giants, Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa were all given eye-catching fixtures. City would appear to have the most demanding task, with Mark Hughes' side in the same group as the French club Paris St-Germain, Schalke from the Bundesliga, Spain's Racing Santander and Twente, the Dutch team now managed by the former England coach, Steve McClaren.

Tottenham, meanwhile, will be renewing relations with two clubs they plundered in the summer, with White Hart Lane hosting Luka Modric's former side Dinamo Zagreb as well as Roman Pavyluchenko's previous employers, Spartak Moscow. Juande Ramos' side - who will be without the cup-tied Pavyluchenko - start their group campaign with a trip to Italy to take on Udinese two weeks tomorrow, with a visit to the Dutch side NEC Nijmegen following after the Zagreb fixture.

"I am sure we will do well," claimed Spurs' sporting director, Damien Comolli, who has been under pressure following the team's poor Premier League start. "The players are highly motivated about the Uefa Cup. We are not getting the results we thought we would get. But it is not time to be pointing the finger at anyone. Whenever you enter a competition, you are confident you will do well. I am sure we will improve in the Premier League and can use the Uefa Cup to get our confidence back."

There has been no shortage of belief at Villa Park this season but the Uefa Cup draw has given Martin O'Neill's side little margin for error as they seek to become one of the three clubs to qualify from Group F. Ajax visit Villa Park for the opening game before Villa travel to Slavia Prague, host MSK Zilina from Slovakia and then finish up with what promises to be their toughest assignment, a trip to Germany to face Hamburg, who lead the Bundesliga by three points and are managed by Martin Jol.

"It's just absolutely brilliant to be part of it all and being back in European competition is fantastic news for the club," said O'Neill, the Villa manager. "Villa Park could be really rocking against Ajax in that opening game.

"The key now is that it is a step up in quality. If you look at some of the teams involved - for example AC Milan, Seville, Ajax - these are sides with real pedigree."

Uefa Cup draw

English teams

Group A

Schalke, Paris St Germain, Manchester City, Racing Santander, FC Twente

Group D

Tottenham Hotspur, Spartak Moscow, Udinese, Dinamo Zagreb, NEC Nijmegen

Group E

Milan, Heerenveen, Braga, Portsmouth, Wolfsburg

Group F

Hamburg, Ajax, Slavia Prague, Aston Villa, MSK Zilina

English fixtures

Man City Nov 6 FC Twente h, Nov27 Schalke a, Dec3 PSG h, Dec18 Racing a

TottenhamOct23 Udinese a, Nov6 Dinamo Zagreb h, Nov27 Nijmegen a, Dec18 Spartak Moscow h

PortsmouthOct23 Braga a, Nov27 Milan h, Dec4 Wolfsburg a, Dec17 Heerenveen h

Aston VillaOct23 Ajax h, Nov6 Slavia Prague a, Dec4 MSK Zilina h, Dec17 Hamburg a

Other groups

Group B Benfica, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Hertha Berlin, Metalist Kharkiv

Group C Sevilla, Stuttgart, Sampdoria, Partizan Belgrade, Standard Liège

Group G Valencia, Club Bruges, Rosenborg, FC Copenhagen, St Etienne

Group H CSKA Moscow, Deportivo La Coruña, Feyenoord, Nancy, Lech Poznan