For those of you who thought the UEFA Champions League had all the pageantry, spectacle and fantastic matchups, you’re partly right. But the UEFA Cup is beginning to have some of all of that as well. And the announcement that the Cup would now include a group stage like the Champions League is welcome news to a tournament that has long been considered a bridesmaid to the more lucrative CL.
While the group stage in the UEFA Cup will have five teams per group, there are some good groups and some that are going to be crapshoots until the final day.
Also different from the Champions League is that the top three teams from each group will advance to the final 32, along with all of the third-place teams from the Champions League. At that point, it returns to the traditional two-leg home-and-away head-to-head series until the final in Glasgow May 16.
Dutch teams are top seeds in two groups and a third is seeded second. In all there are four Holland clubs in the group stage, a monumental achievement considering there are only 18 in the Eredivisie. Some sentiment could be given to Israel, which placed two of its top clubs in the UEFA Cup group stage and must be considered dangerous since the country’s home match ban due to a war has now been lifted. Both Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel-Aviv have something to play for that is considerably more than the other clubs can say. Another country that placed more than a few teams is England and Newcastle is an early favorite.
Group A
AJ Auxerre (France); Rangers FC (Scotland); FK Partizan (Serbia); AS Livorno Calcio (Italy); Maccabi Haifa FC (Israel)
Rangers look to be the top of the group, at least on paper. They steamrolled through the last qualifier with a clean sheet in two matches. Croatian Dado Prso is due to notch a few goals and Scot Barry Ferguson is the playmaker in the midfield. Though Auxerre is top seed the French club face a tough match in Israel to start things off. In addition Auxerre sits middle of the table in their domestic league. So you have to give the edge to Rangers, who probably face an easier test at Livorno. Livorno is doing well in Serie A, sitting tied for third in a tough league. But the team to watch out for is FK Partizan, because for some reason the former Eastern bloc countries always seem to do well in the tournament. And the Serb side has lost only once this year in European play.
THROUGH TO ROUND OF 32: Rangers, Maccabi Haifa, Partizan
Group B
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany); Club Brugge (Belgium); Besiktas JK (Turkey); Dinamo Bucharest (Romania); Tottenham (England)
Bayer is the odds-on favorite to advance from this group with the likes of Dmitri Berbatov and Andrej Voronin up top and Brazilians Roque Junior and Juan in the back, however, Besiktas is no slouch and neither is Dinamo. To make matters more complicated, Brugge is third in their domestic league and on a six-game win streak. Though Tottenham got the last seed in the group you have to think they have a chance but they will first have to travel to Istanbul to face a gritty Besiktas side where it will not be easy to escape with points. Of all the groups in this competition that are rife for surprise, this one takes it all.
THROUGH TO ROUND OF 32: Bayer Leverkusen, Besiktas, Dinamo Bucharest.
Group C
Sevilla FC (Spain); AZ Alkmaar (Holland); FC Slovan Liberec (Czech.); Grasshoppers (Switz.); SC Braga (Portgual)
Defending cup holders Sevilla FC seem to be the class of a potent group. The Spaniard side is loaded from top to bottom with stars (Renato, Fabiano, Kanoute to name a few) and the double-winners of both the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup seem ready to do battle. It won’t be easy, for the champions travel to the Czech Republic to take on Liberec, a side sitting first in their domestic league. The other test of wills comes in Switzerland when they face Intertoto Cup winners Grasshoppers, a potent team with lots of scorers. Portuguese side SC Braga is third in their home league and is up against it with games at Sevilla and Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. AZ Alkmaar is a good side currently second in the Eredivisie and their tough domestic league should prepare them for this group.
THROUGH TO ROUND OF 32: Sevilla, AZ Alkmaar, Grasshoppers
Group D
Parma (Italy); Lens (France); Heerenveen (Holland); Osasuna (Spain); Odense (Denmark)
Parma is dwelling at the bottom of Serie A, but the club has had some success in the tournament. Couple that with a weak group and you can all but pencil them into the round of 32. Despite not having won a game in Serie A Parma can rest easy knowing they have once again escaped doom, first drawing FC Rubin Kazan and now a probable result at OB Odense to open up the group stage. Sitting fifth in their domestic league is RC Lens and they open at home against Osasuna, a Spanish side that was not impressive in their last qualifying round, barely beating Trabzonspor on aggregate goals to get through to the group stage. Osasuna also have games at Lens and at Parma. Heerenveen have games at Osasuna and Parma and are middle of the table in the Dutch Eredivisie. Odense could be a surprise given that they sit second in their domestic league and only trail Champions League entrant FC Copenhagen by one point. Both of Odense’s tough games in the group are at home and so there could be some surprises.
THROUGH TO ROUND OF 32: Lens, Osasuna, Odense
Group E
Feyenoord (Holland); FC Basel (Switz.); Wisla Krakow (Poland); Blackburn (England); AS Nancy (France)
Two teams are shoo-ins to make the next round and they are Feyenoord and FC Basel, set to meet in the opening match. Though Basel have struggled in their domestic league they are in a relatively weak group and should advance with Brazilian strikers Eduardo and Cristiano. Feyenoord are middle of the table as well, however, they got a good draw and other than playing at Basel, their other away match is at AS Nancy. The other team in the group capable of making some noise is Blackburn, a team in the middle of the table in the English Premier League but on a three-game winning streak. Wisla has not lost in nine matches in their domestic league but it’s lots tougher in this group. To make matters worse some injuries to key players will likely derail their chances in the tournament.
THROUGH TO ROUND OF 32: Feyenoord, FC Basel, Blackburn
Group F
Ajax (Holland); Sparta Praha (Czech.); Espanyol (Spain); FK Austria Wien; Zulte Waregem (Belgium)
Ajax is the odds-on favorite to top the group, but neither Sparta nor Espanyol are slouches. Sparta is accustomed to being in the Champions League like Ajax and so the match between the two in Prague should be a classic. Espanyol has to be considered dangerous too, having defeated 2005 Champions League darkhorse Artmedia Bratislava in the last qualifying round. Though Espanyol is struggling in their domestic league, neither Austria nor Zulte Waregem present a problem to a team accustomed to playing the likes of Real Madrid and Barca.
THROUGH TO ROUND OF 32: Ajax, Sparta, Espanyol
Group G
Panathanaikos (Greece); Paris St.Germain (France); Rapid Bucharest (Romania); Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel); Mlada Boleslav (Czech.)
An opener once thought to be a cakewalk has now turned Group G upside-down. Because of some fan issues, Greek side Panathanaikos will play their home match against Hapoel Tel Aviv in an empty stadium. The last thing anyone wanted was to give Tel Aviv another reason to become the Cinderella story of the tournament; the Israeli side has played away from home because of war and only now gets to play home matches. The problem is, this group is packed with good sides. PSG is not exactly setting Ligue 1 afire but the French side has a long European cup history and should be ready for the tournament. They open at Rapid Bucharest but get Tel Aviv and the Greeks at home. Rapid is a decent side sitting mid-table at home, but they have to travel to Tel Aviv and to Greece and that should knock them out of contention. Hapoel Tel-Aviv will be riding some emotion and though they are toward the bottom of the table in Israel, UEFA Cup has been a different story, with the team easily winning both of their qualifiers. Mlada Boleslav had a decent run into Champions League and if either PSG or Rapid falter, you would have to think Mlada to be the third team to advance from the group. This is because of a top-table run in their domestic league and a surprising qualifying win over Marseille to get here after going through two CL qualifying rounds before losing to Galatasaray. But they have a tough final match in the group at Tel Aviv. Even so, look for Panathanaikos to make a quick exit in stunning fashion and Mlada to pick up the pieces.
THROUGH TO ROUND OF 32: PSG, Tel Aviv, Mlada Boleslav
Group H
Newcastle (England); Celta Vigo (Spain); Palermo (Italy); Fenerbahce (Turkey); Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
Nobody wants to play Newcastle. And though the Magpies are struggling in the English Premier League and are without the services of Michael Owen at the moment, calling Newcastle out is like saying Brazil won’t produce another star player. But unfortunately for the English side they got a bad deal in this group. Celta Vigo is every bit as good as Newcastle; the only flip side is Newcastle got a better draw with their two tougher games at St. James Park, as opposed to Celta, who play at Newcastle. That could make all the difference as to who advances of the two. Waiting to pick up the scraps is Palermo, currently sitting second behind AS Roma in Serie A. They have a rough trip to Turkey to take on Fenerbahce, but they host Newcastle and Celta. And that could make all the difference. But the team to beat in the group is the Turkish side, who nearly made the Champions League if not for a tough home draw to Dynamo Kiev that eliminated them on aggregate. They have two tough away games at Newcastle and Celta, though, and this is one of the toughest groups in this stage of the tournament. But Fenerbahce sit second in their domestic league and so anything is possible. Finally there’s Eintracht, a team that won the tournament in 1980 but has not seen much success since. They won’t see it here, either, having been placed in the group of death, UEFA Cup style.
THROUGH TO ROUND OF 32: Newcastle, Celta Vigo, Fenerbahce
