CL/UEFA Cup Draw: Luca Toni’s Reunion and Trips to Romania

By: Jan | August 29th, 2008

Olaf Thon - Schalke 04 The qualification rounds of this year’s European competitions concluded yesterday.

The good news is, that no Bundesliga team has been knocked out yet. The bad news is, that Schalke made the overcrowded UEFA Cup even more overcrowded, by losing to Atletico Madrid (1-0 / 0-4). I give them credit that they were missing five starting XI regulars due to injury though - two of which were the big money signings. Still, they looked particularly nervous and devoid of confidence in the second leg, and Kevin Kuranyi keeps scheduling his big performances for the odd Energie Cottbus home game.

Those following the Champions League ugly little sister will also be happy to hear that the convoluted and chaotic UEFA Cup qualification rounds are over. That means you only have to wrap your head around the convoluted and chaotic UEFA Cup itself from now on.

Said UEFA Cup, features a pre-group stage knock-out round and the Bundesliga sides were pitted against the following opposition.

Hertha BSC Berlin - St. Patrick´s Athletic (Ireland)
VfL Wolfsburg - Rapid Bucharest (Romania)
Apoel Nikosia (Cyprus) - Schalke 04
Tscherno More Warna (Bulgaria) - VfB Stuttgart
Borussia Dortmund - Udinese Calcio (Italy)
Hamburger SV - FC Unirea Urziceni (Romania)

Wolfsburg and Dortmund were unseeded and picked up the toughest opponents compared to the other Bundesliga sides. Also, only Schalke and Stuttgart get to play their second leg at home, which is usually considered an advantage.

Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich where meanwhile drawn into the following groups:

Group B
Inter Milan (Italy)
Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos (Greece)
Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus)

Group F
Lyon (France)
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest (Romania)
Fiorentina (Italy)

If Bremen hadn’t blundered against a Greek team last season, I would say that this is a manageable draw for Bremen. Lyon and Fiorentina could pose a problem to Bayern in their current form.

All in all, plenty of Romanian and Italian sides to visit this year. Luca Toni will be especially pleased to meet his former club mates, after missing out on this chance in the UEFA Cup last season.