DONS DESTROYED

 

It's the start of a new era. OK, not as a United fan with that team in the Champions League era but as a general European football fan, there is a new competition to watch out for. The Europa League has replaced what was the UEFA Cup. At first glance it looks like the Champions League for the not-so-classy teams but given that the old UEFA Cup matches were always worth a look, chances are that the new Europa League battles will be equally tasty. There have been an incrasing amount of big names that haven't quite made the Champions League cut in the past few season and when you match them up with newer names looking to proves themselves, it's a combo that usually works.

And this season I have a particular interest in the competition as Aberdeen as back for another go at European competition. Their last run was in 07/08 under Jimmy Calderwood in the old UEFA Cup. Their biggest moment in the continental arena was when the won the old Cup Winners Cup, a competition that faded into the history books about a decade ago, back in 1983 under the one and only Alex Ferguson. This time round, the Dons have had to start early though. Mark McGhee's first competitive encounter as Dons manager is in the third preliminary round. If they win in this round and the following playoff round then they reach the group stages.

They are up against Sigma Olomouc, a Czech team that earned their Europa League spot by finishing 4th in the Gambrunus Liga last season. Founded in 1919, Sigma's greatest European glory has been to reach the quarter finals of the old UEFA Cup in 1991/92. Not only do the Dons have no history with Sigma though but they have no history with Czech football full stop. Overall Czech sides tend to provide good matches, particularly the Prague sides. Olomouc is a long way from Prague but even recently they have been no stranger to European football and looked to be unlikely pushovers for an SPL team, and yet the Dons faced tougher sides than this last time round.

So, McGhee was nervous yet fans moods varied from serious pessimism to cautious optimism. An old hero may be back in the Granite City but the glory of Gothenburg was stil a long time ago. Still, a Europa League third preliminary round tie with the 1st leg match at Pittodrie was a big deal. The Dons had lost some players over the summer but surely there are enough decent players still around to give themselves a fighting chance against an above average Czech club. Still, the 1st leg would be the acid test for the new era at Pittodrie. Defeat here would suggest that McGhee had a lot of work to do on multiple fronts, victory could be the springboard to greater things.

Well that first leg at Pittodrie didn't start that well with Michel Hubnik opening the scoring for Sigma. However Mulgrew equalised but the Dons were definately looking rusty with some players getting played out of position. The Dons did have some decent moments either side of half time but then came what can only be described as anhiliation. Lukas Bejer, Jakub Petr, Michel Ordos and Marek Kasack all hit the net for Sigma in the latter stages of the match. The Dons were booed off the pitch and after a result like that, rightly so. I don't think any Dons fan expected that in their worst nightmares. The tie looked like it was over already.

Except that there was still a second leg at the Andruv Stadium. Thomas Janotka opened the scoring for Sigma this time around with Kascak adding a penalty and then Hubnik got Sigma's third goal just before half time. The Dons defence proved to be completely useless on the night with the goalie having to bail them out on multiple occasions. It was all they could do to not concede any more goals in the second half, the Reds completely at Sigma's mercy. That has to be the worst Dons European performance of all time and it means that the Dons are out of Europe before the SPL season even starts. I certainly hope this isn't an omen for the Dons domestic form this season.

Elsewhere, Fulham beat FK Vetra 6-0 on aggregate with the first leg at the Vetra Stadium. The Premiership side never had anything to worry about and just outclassed their Lithuanian opponents in both legs for a smooth re-introduction to European competition. Motherwell got whacked 6-1 on aggregate by Steauea Bucherest with the first leg at the Steauea Stadium though - a heavy defeat in the first leg holing Well below the waterline. Overall, I suppose those two results weren't exactly unexpected even if the Dons and Well's anhiliations don't exactly make the SPL look good. Still, there are plenty of Premiership teams and one SPL side yet to show their hands.

Next up are the playoffs, the last round before the group stages. Villa are one of the teams entering the competition at this stage and they face Rapid Vienna with the first leg at the Ernst Hannoppi Stadium, should be doable. Everton also make their first appearance and face Sigma Olomouc with the first leg at Goodison Park. After what Sigma did to the Dons I'm going to say that's too close to call. Fulham face Russian Premiership side FK Amkar Perm, again that's too close to call. The SPL through one last card on the table in Hearts. However they face Dinamo Zagreb with the first leg at the Stadion Maksimir. I'm not optimistic with that one.

Going up a level, Celtic faced Dinamo Moscow in the Champions League third preliminary round. The first leg was at Celtic Park and the Bhoys got themselves mugged 1-0 with the Dinamo getting an early goal and managing to hang on from there. The 2nd leg was at Novie Kimki and it was there that Celtic pulled off an amzing comeback, winning 2-0 a long way from home to keep their Champions League campaign alive in an effort that'll go down in club history. It's the first time Celtic have ever pulled off such a turnaround in a European tie and at the end of the week it allowed the SPL a small speck of credit - even if it did have to come from the Old Firm.

The Champions League also has a playoff round this season as the last barrier to the group stages and there's only going to be one tie British fans are going to be interested in. Celtic will play Arsenal with the first leg at Celtic Park. The Gunners are the first Premiership side to enter the Champions League this season and as expected, they haven't been given an easy ride. Personally, I have no interest in taking sides in this encounter but I think it's ultimately going to come down to how the first leg plays out. The Gunners were lucky to get as far as they did last season and my hunch says that the SPL side are going to mug them, it'll be a tight encounter though.

In the meantime, United are back home from Asia. They returned via Munich so they could take part in the Audi Cup where they beat Boca Juniors 2-1 at the Allianz Arena in the semis. However in the final they returned to the Allianz Arena where they were forced to grind out a 0-0 against Bayern Munich and the tournament hosts then beat United in a penalty shootout. Returning to Old Trafford, United then beat Valencia 2-0 at Old Trafford in their last preseason match before the 2009/10 season starts in full for them with the Community Shield. Here's hoping for an early bit of silverware to start the season - Shields have proven to be relatively easy to get hold of.

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