Hamburg - Holders Barcelona visit Inter Milan on Wednesday as the group stage of the European Champions League starts with a heavyweight clash. It adds to the spice that Barca's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Inter's Samuel Eto'o are pitted against their former clubs after a summer swap.
"It will be a very difficult game and very special for me, because I played there for three years and I have good memories," said the Sweden striker Ibrahimovic.
Inter coach Jose Mourinho said: "I will hug him at game's start, but during the game I don't even want to know his name. We are opponents, but I don't feel betrayed. Thanks to him we are Italian champions."
Both teams are coming off weekend league wins to boost morale for the big continental game.
While the Serie A champions Inter will be a familiar name for the Spanish league winners Barca, the other three Spanish sides are scrambling to find out details of their opponents.
Atletico Madrid are at home to Apoel Nicosia and big-spending Real Madrid visit Swiss side Zurich on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Sevilla also take on a group stage newcomer, Romanian side Unirea Urziceni.
Atletico coach Abel Resino admitted that "we do not really know very much" about Apoel. He said that he had seen a couple of videos of their preliminary round heroics, but "very little else."
"They must be a good team," he concluded, "to have got this far...We shall treat them with respect."
Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano was unable to name a single Unirea player but echoed Resino when he said that "just because we do not know much about them we should not think it will be an easy game."
Real's star-studded team visits Zurich as the record champions start the quest for their first Champions League title since 2002. Ruud van Nistelrooy could return from a long-term knee injury as Real have an extra incentive to do well because the May 22, 2010, final is in their Bernabeu stadium.
"The ambition is to win the Champions League. On top of that, you have the possibility of us being at home - and it would be fantastic to play the final at the Bernabeu," Brazilian midfielder Kaka told the UEFA website.
Zurich coach Bernard Challandes spoke of "a magnificent adventure," a statement that will also apply to the other Champions League debutants VfL Wolfsburg, Debrecen, AZ Alkmaar, Rubin Kazan and Standard Liege.
The large number of eight newcomers was made possible under a new qualifying format which allowed clubs from smaller football nations to make the lucrative group stage.
Also new is that the round of 16 will be spread from two to four weeks for better broadcasting. In addition, the final will be played on a Saturday and no longer a Wednesday.
Maccabi Haifa host German giants Bayern Munich, who hope their strike force of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben gives them a perfect start into group A action which also sees Italy's Juventus, who have playmaker Diego injured, play Girondins Bordeaux.
The surprise Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg want to rebound from three straight league defeats in their group B opener against CSKA Moscow, who have a new coach in former Real Madrid helmsman Juande Ramos. The 2008 champions and 2009 runners-up Manchester United start the campaign at Turkey's Besiktas in the other game.
Group C features Real and Zurich as well as former winners Olympique Marseille and AC Milan, who meet in France.
Milan have had a poor start into the league season, but Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, a former Milan player and coach, is not deceived: "Despite the latest results, Milan are always Milan."
Premier League leaders Chelsea host Porto in group D which also includes Atletico and Apoel, who are the second club from Cyprus in the elite event following Famagusta.
On Wednesday, Liverpool host Debrecen and Olympique Lyon play Fiorentina in group E, with Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez aiming for a perfect start.
"We must start well. The first game is vital. We must be in control of the group straight away because we then go to Florence next and Fiorentina will be tough, all Italian teams are tough at this level," he said.
Barca and Inter are the top picks to progress from group F in which Dynamo Kiev take on Rubin in the other opening game.
Sevilla and Unirea play in group G, which also features VfB Stuttgart and Glasgow Rangers, who meet in Germany.
In group H, Arsenal are without Andrei Arshavin but hope to do better at Belgium's Liege than in Saturday's 4-2 league loss at Manchester City. The omens are good as Arsenal won 7-0 in Liege in the 1993/94 Cup winners' Cup. Olympiakos Piraeus meet Alkmaar in the other game.
