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Champions League Football(s)!
It may not seem too long since the end of the 2008/09 season but the race for Champions League places is about to hot up next week as the third round takes place.
This season sees an alteration to the set-up of the Champions League qualification process as Michel Platini’s dreams of overhauling the competition and allowing more champions of smaller nations into the tournament takes shape.
The qualification process splits champions of domestic leagues from runners up and well placed teams from the stronger nations which should guarantee a greater number of teams from smaller nations get to take their place at the big table of European table. It also means that some big names who have brought so many great Champions League memories over the years may be missing from the action come September.
Fortress Parkhead
There are very few teams in Europe who have a better home record than Celtic, with Celtic Park becoming known as a fortress in recent years. Names like AC Milan, Manchester United and Benfica have all left Glasgow on the end of a defeat but due to incompetent management by former boss Gordon Strachan, the Hoops finished runners up to bitter rivals Rangers and start their European campaign in July in the third round.
A tricky draw sees the Glasgow club facing Dynamo Moscow but Celtic fans will hope that the players will take spirit from their last qualifier against a team from Moscow. Two seasons ago, an epic Champions League qualifier between Celtic and Spartak Moscow took penalties to separate the sides and the hero of the night was Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc who made the crucial stop to place Celtic into the group stages of Europe’s premier trophy.
Celtic are probably favourites in this tie but the fact that Dynamo Moscow are already 13 games into their season may make this tie difficult to call. The Russian side are not at the level of Spartak Moscow or Zenit St Petersburg but there is no doubt that they could cause problems to the Glasgow giant. This time last season, Celtic fans were laughing at Rangers who were knocked out of the Champions League by FC Kaunas but if Celtic lose this tie, they will at least have the safety net of Europa League football.
Changes Afoot in the Champions League
One of the changes to the new layout of the Champions League qualification stages is that there is the Europa League safety net in the final two rounds of the qualification process. This is to offset the harder draw that most teams will face than they would usually have in recent years but to many, the Europa League is no consolation. The sums of money involved in the Champions League and the opportunity to face some of the biggest names in World football manages to capture all of the attention and it is hard to convince people that the Europa League is anywhere near the equal of the Champions League.
Anderlect Have Strong European Pedigree
Unlike Celtic, Anderlecht may have never triumphed in Europe’s top football tournament but the Belgian side have a healthy pedigree when it comes to European competitions. Two Cup Winners Cups, a Uefa Cup and two European Super Cups sees Anderlecht stand out from many of the teams competing in the knock-out rounds. The Belgian side face Turkish opposition in their attempt to make it to the fourth round, and Sivasspor are a far more inexperienced team when it comes to European football. They have only been in Europe once before, losing in the third round of the 2007/08 Intertoto Cup. There are some tricky ties at this stage of the tournament but Anderlecht will be feeling fairly confident about making it through to the final knock out round of the Champions League.
Tricky Round to Predict
The remaining matches between the non-Champions look set to be tight affairs and trying to predict who will progress is a difficult task. Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic play host to Panathinaikos from Greece in home leg with both teams having a reasonable record in recent Champions League. In a way it will be a shame to see teams who have performed with distinction being excluded from this years tournament but the champions from smaller nations do deserve a better opportunity to be involved in the Champions League and this appears to be the best trade off. The notion that nations like Spain or England deserve four teams in the top tournament is a debate that will rage for hours but there is no solution that will please everyone.
The remaining ties in this section of the group see the last ever winners of the Uefa Cup Shakhtar Donetsk take on Romanian opponents in FC Timisoara. Given that the Ukranians will be involved in the European Super Cup at the end of August, they will be looking to be heavily involved in top flight football this season. The other match involves Sporting Lisbon from Portugal who are lining up against FC Twente of Holland, best known in Britain for being managed by former England coach Steve McLaren. His reign in charge of the English national team ended in disgrace and embarrassment in the pouring rain at Wembley but he had a successful first season in Holland and if he can guide his team through to the group stages, he will have successfully rehabilitated himself in the eyes of many football fans.
Big teams Lying In Wait
Waiting in the wings to face the best-placed teams are Arsenal, Lyon, Stuttgart, Fiorentina and Athletico Madrid. All of these teams will be formidable opponents to whoever makes it through and it is fair to say that there is going to be a higher quality of teams in the early stages of the Europa League. This will help to make this tournament more attractive and perhaps the television audience figures and relative cash payments to the clubs will improve. In order for there to be a better level of competition in European football, there needs to be a better distribution of wealth or Real Madrid and Manchester City may just keep spending until they have enough for three first team squads.
by Andrew Reilly
for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk
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Dear Greg,
I've been a member since July 2003, maybe one of the first to join the Silver Circle.
2004 was a good year but I really enjoyed the long run we had in, I think, July 2005. It was exhilarating! 2006-2007 was not as exciting although still quite profitable and so far 2007-2008 looks quite good. I'm wondering if we're going to hit a long one again soon. Anyway, it's been a pleasure as always with your service, Greg. Armstrong and you are one of the few people I trust on the internet. You have made my retirement so much more fun and financially happy!
Best Wishes, Trent Wrayford, Sidney
