AC Milan join list of giants who could be destined for Murrayfield

TODAY's draw for the third qualifying round of the Champions League is loaded with intriguing possibilities for Hearts and, for the moment at least, a meeting with six-time winners of the competition AC Milan remains among them.

A UEFA emergency panel decided yesterday to include Milan, one of the clubs involved in the Italian match-fixing scandal, in the draw which takes place in Nyon at 11am. Milan's place in the tournament will not be formally ratified, however, until UEFA concludes further deliberations on whether the former champions should be permitted to take part.

Earlier this week, Milan succeeded in having their points penalty for the match-fixing scandal reduced on appeal, prompting the Italian football federation to forward their name for inclusion in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Both Milan and the Italian federation will be given the chance to argue their case for the club's inclusion with UEFA's emergency panel declaring they will make a final decision by next Wednesday. No decision has yet been made on who would replace Milan in the draw if UEFA decide to bar them.

It is just one more uncertain factor in the draw for Hearts and their supporters who, with a 3-0 first leg lead over Bosnian champions Siroki Brijeg in their second qualifying round tie, are already looking ahead to their prospects in the final hurdle before the lucrative group stage of the Champions League.

Hearts are among the unseeded teams in today's draw and will have to enjoy exceptionally good fortune if they are to find themselves in a tie where they will not be considered big outsiders to progress.

Milan, pending UEFA's final decision, top the list of seeded teams and while Carlo Ancelotti's star-studded Rossoneri would draw a huge crowd to Murrayfield, few would give Hearts even an outside chance of overcoming Rino Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Kaka & Co.

Liverpool and Arsenal are the next highest ranked seeds and Hearts, who have never faced English opposition in their European history, would do brisk box-office business for a tie against either of the Premiership luminaries.

Valencia, Ajax and Benfica are among the other members of European football's aristocracy Hearts could be paired with, but coach Valdas Ivanauskas will be hoping for a more favourable outcome which at least gives his team genuine hope of making it to the main event.

Slovan Liberec, the Czech Republic champions, are the lowest ranked of the seeded teams and there would be few complaints around Tynecastle if they are handed a trip to Edinburgh. Likewise, a tie against Bulgarian champions Levski Sofia, who hold a 2-0 first leg lead from their second qualifying round tie against Sioni of Georgia, would not be the most daunting Hearts could face.

AEK Athens of Greece and French club Lille are among the others Hearts may consider they could overcome, but the truth is that there will be no comfortable passage into the group stage. From a personal viewpoint, Ivanauskas may be hoping for a tie against Hamburg, the club with whom he forged a fine reputation as a striker in the German Bundesliga.

A total of 18 clubs directly enter the competition at the third qualifying round stage, along with the 14 winners of the second qualifying round ties. Hearts cannot draw a fellow unseeded team.

Taken from the Scotsman