Soccer these days never seems to stop and the UEFA Champions League returns today, a mere 24 days after Barcelona’s thrilling final win against Juventus.
The dust has barely settled on Barca’s 3-1 victory in Berlin, secured thanks to second-half goals by Luis Suarez and Neymar, that saw them win the world’s most glamorous international club competition for the fourth time in the past decade, but the road to the next final at the San Siro in Milan, Italy, and the start of the 2015-2016 season in Europe, begins on the last day of this month in some of the continent’s less glamorous venues.
For the likes of Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar, Andorran title-holders Santa Coloma and Welsh champions The New Saints, reaching the lucrative group stage is a distant dream that will probably never come true.
That would mean winning four two-legged ties over the next two months. Simply winning one tie and reaping the financial rewards that come with it will do.
Lincoln Red Imps are making just their second appearance in the competition, while Santa Coloma and SS Folgore Falciano of San Marino — who face Pyunik of Armenia — will be trying to win a tie for the first time.
The New Saints are comparative European veterans, their dominance of Welsh soccer allowing them to become regulars on the continental stage in the decade since a 6-0 aggregate defeat to European Cup holders Liverpool in qualifying in 2005-2006.
They have been paired with B36 Torshavn of the Faroe Islands, with the prize on offer a second qualifying round tie against the Hungarian champions, former UEFA Cup finalists Videoton.
“The Faroe Islands was probably the worst place to go in terms of logistics and cost,” said The New Saints manager Craig Harrison, the former Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace player.
There are no private jets for The New Saints — instead the club have been busy since the draw was made last week sorting out flights to the North Atlantic archipelago via Edinburgh for tomorrow’s first leg.
However, while the costs are high, there is plenty of money on offer just for being in the competition.
From this year, clubs in the first qualifying round receive a guaranteed 450,000 euros (US$502,000) from UEFA and winning through to the next round brings at least 300,000 euros more into the coffers.
“It’s highly lucrative. It’s enough money to cover the wage bill for the whole season,” Harrison said. “The club relies on the money earned from playing in Europe and lately we have managed to attract better players.”
Harrison says that The New Saints, who are based just across the border in the English town of Oswestry, are competing for players with teams from England’s fifth tier and also look to pick up youngsters released by Premier League clubs.
Their advantage is being able to offer a shot at European soccer, and for Harrison and his squad — who are full-time — preparations have been geared toward the tie since they completed a domestic treble by winning the Welsh Cup on May 2.
They were back in training on May 26 and now they are looking to win a continental tie for just the second time.
“Coming into the first round, we are the favorites no matter who we play against,” Harrison said. “We are good enough to win both matches. It is a huge deal for Welsh football if we can win. It’s only a qualifier, but it’s still a Champions League tie. Over previous years we have put in good performances. Now we need to turn those performances into results.”
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
RSS