UEFA Cup – Round of 32: An Inexorable Degradation Of A Competition

Ozren Podnar

The UEFA Cup used to be as tough and eventful as the European Champions' Cup, as the prime club cup competition was called. The winners of this proud competition and its predecessor, the Intercity Fairs' Cup include Barcelona, Tottenham, Liverpool, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Juventus, Ajax and Bayern among others.

However, over the past ten years not even the discontinuation of the Cup Winners' Cup helped stop the widening gap between the Champions' League and the (only) other remaining competition.

Look who played in the last two UEFA Cup's finals: CSKA Moscow beat Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in 2005 and Sevilla thrashed Middlesbrough 4-0 last spring. Most would agree that these teams hardly belong in the European elite. Just a couple of years ago maybe they would have reached the Intertoto Cup finals at most.

Such unheralded clubs could reach the finals only if much better teams concentrated their efforts on other fronts – the Champions' League itself and the national leagues with a view to qualifying for the next season's Champions' League.

Such a degradation of the UEFA Cup is a consequence of a reduced interest in the trophy among the top European clubs. Due to the vast difference in earning potential between the Champions' League and the UEFA Cup, there has been a unsportsmanlike approach to the latter competition by some parties.

Elimination A Desired Outcome?

In 2004/05, Parma overtly fielded under strength teams in the UEFA Cup, sparing the first team regulars for the eventually successful efforts to avoid relegation from Serie A (even so, Parma reached the semifinals that season!).

Last autumn, Livorno's boss claimed he wanted his team to go out in the group stage explaining his squad was not strong enough to compete on two fronts. Ironically, Livorno made it to the round of 32 with an improbable away win over Auxerre.

Such an attitude is not surprising. Practically any club with a chance of qualifying for the Champions' League will concentrate on the domestic league race rather than on succeeding in the current UEFA Cup. It turns out that the fourth position in the Premiership or Serie A is more desirable than winning the UEFA Cup itself. Perhaps not to the fans, but certainly to the clubs' owners.

Of course, in the less fashionable leagues it is a different matter. Firstly, in much of Europe outside the big soccer countries only one or two teams qualify for the Champions' League or its preliminary rounds. Secondly, the Eastern European or Scandinavian leagues are not so tough as to require a team to choose which games to play more seriously. Finally, for a Romanian or a Russian club the UEFA Cup is still a much coveted prize.

Steaua Back To The Place Of The Triumph

This season's setup, for now, presents a bunch of famous names, but for all we know most of them will bow out long before the final rounds.

The holders Sevilla have been dealt a tough rival in the round of 32 of this season's UEFA Cup. Their encounter will be especially intriguing since Steaua won their European Cup in 1986 at Sevilla's Sánchez Pizjuan Stadium by beating Barcelona on penalties.

Last season Steaua also visited Seville, but the other side of town, ruled by the green and white of Betis. At Ruiz de Lopera Stadium the Romanians won convincingly 0-3.

The other Bucharest-based club, Dinamo, will also travel to the European south-west, where they will face Benfica. This clash will enter history as the battle between the Eagles (Benfica) and the Red Dogs (Dinamo).

The British contingent has had mixed luck. Newcastle must be pleased to have drawn Belgium's Zulte Waregem, as well as Rangers, paired with the surprising Hapoel of Tel Aviv. On the other hand, Tottenham and Blackburn will have to face stiffer opposition in Feyenoord and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively.

Spurs played two exciting ties against Feyenoord in previous UEFA Cup editions, with one win each for the English and the Dutch. Feyenoord were successful in the 1974 two-legged finals with a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane and 2-0 at Kuip, while Tottenham took their revenge in the 1983/84 second round by winning both legs 4-2 and 2-0.

In the other ties, 2005 winners, CSKA Moscow, surely have a better team than Maccabi Haifa, but the Russians will be sadly out of shape due to the off season in their country, just as their city rivals Spartak against Celta Vigo.

The most eye-catching tie is the one involving Werder and Ajax in which the Bundesliga winter champs should come off victorious.

The first legs will be played on February 14th and 15th, and the return legs on February 22th.

The final is scheduled for May 16th in Glasgow.

Round of 32 ties

Zulte Waregem vs. Newcastle
Sporting Braga vs. Parma
Lens vs. Panathinaikos
Leverkusen vs. Blackburn
Hapoel Tel Aviv vs. Rangers
Livorno vs. Espanyol
Feyenoord vs. Tottenham
Fenerbahce vs. AZ Alkmaar
Werder Bremen vs. Ajax
Spartak Moscow vs. Celta Vigo
CSKA Moscow vs. Maccabi Haifa
AEK Athens vs. Paris SG
Benfica vs. Dinamo Bucharest
Steaua Bucharest vs. Sevilla
Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Nancy
Bordeaux vs. Osasuna

Related Links

UEFA Cup Quarterfinal Previews

Ozren Podnar

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