Italian coaches, players and pundits were split Friday on a Champions League draw that pits Roma against Real Madrid, Inter against Werder Bremen, Fiorentina against Bayern Munich and Lyon, and Juventus against Real Madrid and UEFA Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg.
But the overall view was that Italy had been lucky.
La Gazzetta dello Sport called it ''a good draw for three teams out of four''.
It put a smiley face on the Roma and Inter groups, an unmoved face on the Fiorentina group and a unhappy face on the Juventus group.
Juve coach Claudio Ranieri, whose Group H includes Belarus champions Bate Borisov as well as Real and Zenit, called it ''a complicated group''.
''Real will be a great thrill for our young players and our champions too, it has no need for introductions,'' said Ranieri, whose team is back in Europe's top soccer competition after three years including a Calciopoli-induced term in Serie B.
''Zenit has won the UEFA Cup and the championship and supplies the most important players to the Russian national team,'' which stood out at Euro 2008, he added.
UEFA President and Juve legend Michel Platini said he was looking forward to the clash between twice-European champs Juve and record nine-times champions Real.
''Certainly, it isn't an easy return for Juve, at least on paper''.
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti, whose Group A challenges include Bordeaux of France and Cluji of Romania as well as last year's runners-up Chelsea, said he was ''satisfied'' with what he called ''a nice, interesting group''.
Roma skipper Francesco Totti was less happy, calling it ''an OK group''.
But he said he was looking forward to meeting Chelsea at Stamford Bridge because he'd never played there.
''We'll have to careful, though, because both the French and the Romanians play good football,'' he added.
Roma legend Bruno Conti said he was happy Roma had avoided European champions Manchester United, who knocked them out last year and the year before.
Inter boss Jose' Mourinho was less forthcoming, saying ''the draw is the draw, you can't do anything about it''.
But he said his team was ''very motivated and confident'' about the prospect of playing Werder and the other two teams in Group B, Panathinaikos of Greece and Anorthios Famagosta of Cyprus.
Inter, who won three straight Serie A titles under former boss Roberto Mancini, are looking for their first European Cup since the mid-1960s.
Some pundits believe Mancini's failure to win the Champions League had a lot to do with his sacking.
Cesare Prandelli of Fiorentina, which beat AC Milan to the fourth Champions League berth last season, said his Group F, including Steaua Bucharest of Romania as well as Bayern and Lyon, was a ''major'' challenge.
''But it's great for Florence and Fiorentina to play matches like this,'' he added.
Fiorentina will take on its former hero, World Cup winner Luca Toni, who moved to the Bavarian giants two years ago.
