Ronaldinho returns to football pitch and its goodbye to absent friends

Ronaldinho's (L) return after what was whispered to be an enforced team sidelining by Barcelona is likely to spell bad news for German champions VfB Stuttgart

Ronaldinho's return after what was whispered to be an enforced team sidelining by Barcelona is likely to spell bad news for German champions VfB Stuttgart.

The 2006 Bundesliga winners have won only three of their eight league games and host the 2006 European champions knowing they will have to produce a stellar performance if they want to score a major upset.

Ronaldinho should be champing at the bit after a three-game absence for Barcelona which, officially, was because of a leg injury - although reports suggest he was sidelined because of his late night partying.

As the Brazilian midfielder prepares to get back to dazzling opposition defences, elsewhere there will be a moment to spare for remembering absent friends.

Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest signalled their return to Europe's elite two weeks ago with a 2-1 defeat to Champions League new boys Slavia Prague.

Steaua's credentials will face a somewhat stiffer test when they host English giants Arsenal in the absence of emblematic former coach Gheorghe Hagi.

Romanian legend Hagi resigned days after Steaua's defeat to Slavia citing his inability to work under the pressure of club owner Gigi Becali.

"I've had enough. It's torture at Steaua," Hagi was reported as saying a day after the club's 2-1 Group H defeat to Slavia.

Hagi perhaps jumped ship at the right time, given Arsenal's glittering form.

Arsenal are top of the English Premier League with a two-point lead on champions Manchester United, and with a game in hand.

Ironically, the Gunners are coping conspicuously well in the absence of one of their emblematic players, Frenchman Thierry Henry.

Henry's departure from the north London club hit Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hard during what he described as a "tough" summer, but it brought equal amounts of joy to Barcelona fans who saw the Frenchman shine on Saturday with his first hat-trick for the club.

Ronaldinho's (L), seen with Iniesta, return after what was whispered to be an enforced team sidelining by Barcelona is likely to spell bad news for German champions VfB Stuttgart

Thanks to their victory over UEFA Cup champions Sevilla a fortnight ago, Arsenal sit top of Group H and already look odds-on to qualify for the first knockout round in February.

Wenger's best run in the Champions League with Arsenal was their final appearance in 2006 when Henry and co. were outshone by Barcelona.

However it appears that this season domestic silverware - in the shape of the league title - will takes precedence over any achievement in Europe.

"To be honest, I think it (the Champions League) is overrated," said Wenger.

"It's a cup competition and the real test of a team, and their manager, comes in a championship.

"If you were to organise a European Club Championship over 38 or 40 games, the team that won that really would be best in Europe."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would likely agree, but having won the Premier League last year the Scot's appetite for success in Europe's top club competition - which United last won in 1999 - is still intact.

United face Roma in what will be a memorable tie for some, and not so memorable for others.

The last time the clubs met United fans were attacked by Roma hooligans and Italian police during the first leg in Rome, and there were skirmishes outside Old Trafford before the return.

Security is certain to be high and both teams will need to keep their cool to avoid inflaming the situation.

Roma have an impressive record in Europe, and their emblematic captain Francesco Totti, who won the coveted Golden Boot award last season with 26 goals for Roma, will have goals on his mind.

Ferguson's side thrashed the Italians 7-1 when they met in the quarter-finals of Europe's top club competition last season, and so Totti will be motivated to erase the memory of the saddest night of his career.

Lyon will host Rangers in what is the clubs' first ever European meeting, and the French champions will be looking to extend the Scottish side's poor record of only two wins from 12 matches on French soil.

Dynamo Kiev meanwhile go into their home match against Sporting Lisbon with a new coach Josef Szabo at the helm, after Anatoly Demianenko resigned following his side's 2-0 defeat to Roma two weeks ago.

Szabo, 67, coached the Ukrainian side twice before in 1993-97 and 2004.

Fixtures

Lyon (FRA) v Rangers (SCO)

Stuttgart (GER) v Barcelona (ESP)

Manchester United (ENG) v Roma (ITA)

Dynamo Kiev (UKR) v Sporting Lisbon (POR)

Inter Milan (ITA) v PSV Eindhoven (NED)

CSKA Moscow (RUS) v Fenerbahce (TUR)

Steaua Bucharest (ROM) v Arsenal (ENG)

Sevilla (ESP) v Slavia Prague (CZE)