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Heavyweight clash Valencia faces Celtic in UEFA Cup third round
GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- Two-time Champions Cup runner-up Valencia was paired against Scottish champion Celtic in Friday's draw for the third round of the UEFA Cup. Valencia lost the Champions League final to Bayern Munich last season and Real Madrid in 2000, but failed to qualify for Europe's premier club competition after a disappointing finish to its domestic season. Celtic went into the UEFA Cup draw after failing to advance to the next phase of the Champions League. Thirty-two clubs went into Friday's draw, with other key matchups including Celtic's domestic archrival Rangers against Paris Saint Germain, Sporting Lisbon vs. AC Milan, and Ipswich vs. Inter Milan. FC Copenhagen, which eliminated four-time Champions Cup winner Ajax in Thursday's UEFA Cup second round, was drawn against Borussia Dortmund, which qualified from the Champions League.
Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv, which dumped Chelsea out of the UEFA Cup Thursday, was paired agianst Lokomotiv Moscow. Slovan Liberec, the small Czech side that eliminated Celta de Vigo, drew Mallorca. In other matchups: Fiorentina vs. Lille, Feyenoord vs. SC Freiburg, Brondby vs. Parma, PAOK vs. PSV Eindhoven and Club Brugge vs. Olympique Lyonnais. The first leg will be played Nov. 22, with the return leg played Dec. 6. Valencia advanced to the third round by beating Poland's Legia Warsaw 7-2 on aggregate. Celtic finished third in its Champions League group, despite a thrilling 4-3 win over Juventus in the final leg Wednesday. "Celtic is the toughest team we could have drawn, but we know Scottish soccer well. So we're confident even if Celtic are on strong form right now," said Paco Real, Valencia's organizational director. Celtic operations director George Douglas said the club was delighted with the draw, despite never beating a Spanish side in European club competition. "Looking at Valencia's club history in Europe, this is going to be a tough match," Douglas said. "Our recent performance against Juventus at home demonstrates what we're capable of. We have a good team, and we're looking forward to a good match." Paris Saint-Germain general manager Lionel Dreksler was not impressed by drawing Rangers. "We're not at all relaxed, but it's going to be an exciting game," Dreksler said. "All teams are tough at this level. Rangers really know their football." Inter Milan team manager Guido Susinni said the club was familiar with Ispwich because it had sent its player Sixto Peralto there on loan. "We know a lot about this team... they're a good team," he said. "Like all English teams, they play good-quality soccer, so we have to be careful." Leeds United drew Switzerland's Grasshoppers after scraping through to the third round with a 6-5 win over France's Troyes. "We're very happy to still be in the competition after a difficult game in Troyes. In that respect we're also happy to play Grasshopper," said Leeds United director and secretary Ian Silvester. "Swiss football is not that well known in England, so we'll have to prepare in a professional manner, but when you look at the groupings, we have a reasonable draw."
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