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Cup's over, but football carnival rolls on

Typically, we in India tend to live from World Cup to World Cup -- and the latest edition of soccer's most prestigious event is just about winding down.

But the soccer carnival rolls on, with European soccer powers such as Manchester United, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich gearing up for qualifying matches, scheduled for August, that will see them advance to the league stage of the Champions League.

The draw for the first and second qualifying rounds was held on Monday for Europe's three major club championships -- the Champions League, UEFA Cup and Cup Winners Cup.

Manchester United, runners-up last season in England's Premier League, will face either Lodz of Poland or travel to Azerbaijan to play the local club Kapaz.

Inter Milan, home of superstar Ronaldo, will take on either Dynamo Minsk or the Latvian club Skonto, while Bayern Munich will get a second-round tie with either Obilic of Yugoslavia or Vestmannaeyja of Iceland.

Celtic, an emerging soccer power, faces a tough qualifying match against a talented Croatia, Zagreb side, loaded with seven players from the country's World Cup team, which made the semifinal stage.

The UEFA Cup first round legs are on July 22 and 29, while the Cup Winners Cup first-round legs are August 13 and 27.

Champions League first-round qualifiers have been slated for July 22 and 29 and second round legs for August 12 and 26.