Hamburg challenge excites De Jong

"A super group with four top teams," was Hamburger SV midfielder Nigel de Jong's assessment after the Bundesliga outfit were paired with three teams to have featured in European finals in recent seasons in UEFA Champions League Group G - Arsenal FC, FC Porto and PFC CSKA Moskva.

Russian first
Arsenal return to the competition having lost the 2005/06 final 2-1 to FC Barcelona, Juliano Belletti's deciding goal denying the Gunners a first European crown. Porto have two of them, their 2004 defeat of AS Monaco FC following a 1987 final victory against FC Bayern München. The Dragons also lifted the UEFA Cup in 2003, two years before CSKA beat Sporting Clube de Portugal to become the first Russian side to win a UEFA club competition. Hamburg, the 1983 European champions, have previously met Porto in the UEFA Cup third round in 1975 and 1989, while in the only other encounters between the four teams, Porto got the better of the Muscovites at this stage in 2004 with a draw and a victory. uefa.com gauges the reaction.

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager
It is a very even group but with a high level. Porto are dominating in Portugal and are always difficult to beat, CSKA have been dominating in Russia and Hamburg finished second in Germany after fighting with FC Bayern München until the end, so it's an interesting set of teams. You will see good games with football of different cultures. Porto will be very Latin, Hamburg will be physically strong and always try to attack while, in the last three years, CSKA Moskva have been a revelation in Europe.

Fernando Gomes, Porto director
In theory, the best 32 teams in Europe were in this draw so we knew we would end up in a tough group. As it is, we have last season's runners-up Arsenal, CSKA - who have made great strides in Russian football recently - and Hamburg from one of the strongest leagues in Europe. We will have to be at our best to reach the next round.

Thomas Doll, Hamburg coach
We have been given a very difficult group, but in the Champions League there are no easy opponents. We are glad to be back in Europe's best club competition and will do everything to get through despite the strong opposition we face. For our supporters, the matches against Arsenal will be a particular highlight.