For all you people who complain about the Champions League group stage being boring — and Celtic and Rangers sure changed that, didn’t they? — take a look at the UEFA Cup group stage draw, which was announced earlier today. Here are some matchups you’ll see in that tournament.
AZ Alkmaar v. Larissa
Brann v. Basle
Mlada Boleslav v. Elfsborg
Aris Salonika v. Braga (Sonia Braga?)
Anderlecht v. AaB Aalborg
Panionios v. Helsingborg
Ooh, pinch me. If there was ever a justification for calling this tournament “Europe’s NIT,” that’s it. Seriously, Brann v. Basle? Is that the battle of European breakfast cereals?
Sure, there are a few interesting games here. Tottenham v. Getafe could be fun. Villareal v. Fiorentina might be worth a minute just for being La Liga v. Serie A. Bayern Munich v. Bolton… wait, no. The way those two sides are playing right now, Bayern could win that one 4-0. Bundesliga is already looking like a foregone conclusion this year.
So yeah, wake me when they get to the knockout stage. Maybe by then, we’ll see some interesting contests. Like Bayern Munich v. Liverpool. That would be worth watching.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Spacemonkey // Oct 9, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Hey, don’t harsh Basel! It is a beautiful city on the Rhine river in Switzerland, just across the border from Germany and France.
That a small town in a very small country can open a can of good ol’ fashioned whupass on such bigger teams from bigger cities from bigger countries, amazes me.
A few years ago the Basel team could beat just about anybody you put on the pitch with them. Should be a very fun game to watch.
Hopp Schweiz!
(an american disguised as a baselonian)
2 Spacemonkey // Oct 9, 2007 at 5:39 pm
And yes, I was joking that they were only playing one game. Just not sure my sarcasm came across right
3 Lates Links « Jackie Manuel’s Posse // Oct 10, 2007 at 10:07 am
[...] 7-1 Leaves. Europe Jr. boring?THHHHHHHHHHHE Yankees lose. All A-rod all the time. Week 5 DVOA. MLS playoffs? Wahl on Bradley [...]
4 joejoejoe // Oct 11, 2007 at 1:14 am
I’m not sure why a Marseille team that is 18th in the French League playing in Champions League is more exciting than Toulouse, Rennes, and Bordeaux in UEFA Cup — all of which are ahead of Marseille in the Ligue 1. If an 18th place Ligue 1 side can beat Liverpool at Anfield maybe there’s some good soccer in these lesser known sides and maybe the so-called giants aren’t so great.
Sven-Goran Eriksson plucked Vedran Corluka out of the Dynamo Zagreb and he’s been a rock solid EPL defender at Man City. There are good clubs and players in the less prestigeous leagues. Sure, there’s less hype and excitement in UEFA Cup but there is so much to learn about the new sides it more than makes up for the less than marquee matchups.
5 www.proveninsomniacure.info » UEFA Cup Group Stage: A Cure for Insomnia? // Oct 14, 2007 at 4:20 am
[...] Dave wrote a fantastic post today on “UEFA Cup Group Stage: A Cure for Insomnia?”Here’s ONLY a quick extractFor all you people who complain about the Champions League group stage being boring — and Celtic and Rangers sure changed that, didn’t they? — take a look at the UEFA Cup group stage draw, which was announced earlier today. … [...]