CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:IT IS the moment everyone connected with Tottenham Hotspur has dreamed of for what feels like a lifetime. But now that it is almost upon them, a sense of trepidation underpins the excitement.
In Nyon this morning at 11am, Tottenham will enter the uncharted territory of the Champions League qualifiers. They will discover which opponent will block their path to the coveted group phase of Europe’s elite competition and it is no exaggeration to say their season and perhaps even the much cherished effort of last time out will be defined by how they fare over the two legs of the play-off.
Harry Redknapp’s squad have been favoured with the status of one of the draw’s five seeds, which means they cannot be paired with Sevilla, Werder Bremen, Zenit St Petersburg or Ajax – the latter of which are under the charge of Martin Jol, the former Tottenham manager.
The seedings are based on Uefa’s complex coefficient system, which takes into account a club’s performance in European competition over the previous five seasons and the domestic league in which they compete. Tottenham enjoyed some success in the Uefa Cup, which has since been rebranded as the Europa League.
Yet there is plenty of danger in the pot of non-seeds, which comprises Dynamo Kyiv, Sampdoria, Auxerre, Sporting Braga and Young Boys of Bern. It is likely Tottenham, given the choice, would want to avoid any of the first three clubs in the ties that are to be played on August 17th or 18th, and August 24th or 25th.
Kyiv would be fraught with anxiety. The Ukrainian league is already up and running – Dynamo have taken 10 points from their first four matches – and they would clearly have the edge in physical terms. Moreover, few English teams relish the long journey to eastern Europe, particularly at a time when the matches are coming thick and fast. Redknapp has already complained about the fixture congestion his players face in the season’s early weeks.
Sampdoria, the Serie A club, boast the attacking potency of Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini. Auxerre, the French club, while not having the names of household repute in England, are a cohesive and technically accomplished team.
Tottenham have recent experience of Braga, Celtic’s conquerors in the previous qualifying round, beating the Portuguese club in the last 16 of the Uefa Cup in 2007; they won 3-2 at home and away. Young Boys are arguably the least fancied of the quintet but they advanced to the play-off round after a 1-0 victory over Fenerbahce in Istanbul.
