DAVID Beckham is in line to make a return to Old Trafford after Manchester United were drawn with AC Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The England midfielder, who won the Champions League with United in 1999 before joining Real Madrid in 2003, will be on loan at Milan from Los Angeles Galaxy.
United’s director of communications Phil Townsend welcomed the draw.
“It will be fantastic,” he told Sky Sports News. “I think everyone at Old Trafford will be absolutely delighted, it’s what the Champions League is all about.
“He (Beckham) will get a fantastic reception, as players coming back usually do at Manchester United. He was a terrific servant for the club and we all hope he will be playing.”
The European heavyweights have met four times in the past - and on each occasion the Rossoneri came out on top.
The latest encounter came in the 2007 semi-final, when United’s dreams of reaching the final were shattered at the last hurdle when they were hammered 3-0 in what remains their last away defeat in the competition.
It was a similar story at the same stage in 1958, as the Reds were still reeling from the Munich tragedy.
Eleven years later, as defending champions, Sir Matt Busby’s men were left complaining at a controversial Denis Law goal being disallowed in the semi-final second leg at Old Trafford, which would have taken the tie to extra-time.
In the second round stage of the 2005 competition, a solitary goal in each leg was enough to take the seven-times winners through to the last eight, although the manner of victory was far more comfortable than the margin.
Champions League last 16 draw:
VFB Stuttgart v Barcelona
Olympiacos v Bordeaux
Inter Milan v Chelsea
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina
CSKA Moscow v Sevilla
Lyon v Real Madrid
FC Porto v Arsenal
AC Milan v
Man Utd
First-leg ties will be played on 16/17 and 23/24 February with the second legs scheduled for 9/10 and 16/17 March.
What is your reaction to the draw? Have your say.
United draw AC Milan
December 18, 2009
Comments
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I see Beck's got his wish then. We still have a grudge to settle with this bunch. I remember a vertain Genaro Gattuso smirking in 2007 . . tough but certainly manageable if a vew of our wounded return in time.
Did we really neeed such a tough draw at this stage. This is a wake up call.
A tough draw but you've got to fancy our chances - most important thing at this stage was to avoid Barca and Real.
Haha Becks got his wish (at least half of it). He reportedly wanted to meet Manchester United to knock us out this round - hopefully we can divest him of that ambition although if the defence is still not fit then we may have a few problems.
Brilliant draw. Return of Becks!
We should win comfortably.
Typical jammy outcome for Arsenal. Four teams left in draw United, Arsenal (who couldn't play each other because from same country), AC Milan and Porto. Guess who got the powerhouse italian side and who got the runts of the litter and easy passage to the quarter-finals.
tasty, tasty, very, very tasty, it's very tasty...!
Bring em on!! Milan no where near as good as 3 or 4 years ago!
Welcome back Becks. Hope he plays!
wht an interesting feature.... Beckham coming back to Old Traford with Milan, Morinho going back to Chealsea with Inter. Cant wait for the drama to start!!
We should have got Becks back on loan (and Ruud!), it will be great to see him back at Old Trafford - the bloke obviously still loves United and I sincerely hope he gets the reception that he deserves.
Inevitable I suppose. David Beckham back at Old Trafford with AC Milan and Jose Mourinho back at Stamford Bridge with Inter Milan. Perfect for the papers to go on about it for weeks.
Arsenal have he easiest draw out of the English clubs. As long as we've got our proper defence back we should be okay. I'm looking down the list and there are some really exciting games to look forward to. It's also funny looking down the list and not seeing Liverpool, how the mighty have fallen.
What this is saying is that there's no luck at all for us this time. Expect Barca or Real to be our next opponents if, as hoped, we overcome Becks and friends.
the phoney war is over the real competition starts now. more importantly from a fans perspective no more DEAD RUBBERS.
alias as a group winner we could NOT be drawn against barca or real do keep up.
I only wish we still had Ronaldo in our ranks!
Pato is the only real threat from this team, contain him and I think United should stear well into the quater final.
Top banana, tough draw but these are the games we all look forward to at the start of the season.
However, we definately need to raise our game above that for Wolves 2nd team. I thought it was there 1st team as I had never heard of any of them either!
I have never cared much about Becks. If we cannot beat this lot thenwe do not deserve to be in CL anyway. Milan have regressed and so have we. It should make for an entertaining match. They have experience and flair. We have experience and grit, (unfortunately no flair at all). They get their grit from one Gattusso who is rather aggressive but he is on the wane but should love to play against us once more. This one is 50/50 maybe United edging it a tad.
Kaka gone, Ronaldinho 5 years passed his best and the rest of the team has been in decline for a few years. On paper it like a favourable match.
This is what its all about!
Who did City get?
welcome back becks.
Welcome back David. I hope you play, and I hope you score a hat trick against your old club.
bring em on, becks as well. we have a score to settle..
free red.
watched milan sunday and you may be right that he is past his best but he would walk into our team he is still a class act.