Could the Belemers ruin Bayern’s party?
By: Ian Rose | September 28th, 2007As we approach the second leg of the UEFA Cup’s first rounds, I’ll be taking a look at some of the first-leg matches and some of the teams that might just surprise everyone next week. To start with, the team with the most potential for shocking the football world (or that segment of it that cares about the UC) is Portugal’s CF Os Belenenses.
The Belemers of CFOB got the harshest possible draw in the UEFA Cup, facing the team that everyone and their grandmother (except me) is picking to win the whole thing, Bayern Munich. Munich is an overwhelming favorite for the UEFA Cup, the first nearly unanimous pick I can remember. I would have expected their home opener against Belenenses to reflect this quality. Instead, the tough Belemers went to Allianz Arena in Munich and came out with a very solid start, a 1-0 win to Bayern, making them one home goal away from a draw and the lottery of extra time and penalties.
But can they do it? They might not be a big international name, but Belenenses are no minnows. The fourth-most popular club in Portugal, they have a history of big upsets. In their glory days, the registered wins against Real Madrid, Lyon, and Barcelona. The past few years have been less kind, with the memory of a 1998 relegation still fresh in the club’s minds. In 1988, they faced down Bayern Leverkusen in the UEFA Cup, and won 2-0 on aggregate.
They certainly have none of the name recognition of Munich at any position. Against Kahn, Toni, Klose and Podolski, Belenenses has Paulo Costinha in goal, and lone striker Weldon (possibly the nerdiest-sounding of the single-name Brazilians). But the 1-0 performance in Germany will give them hope that, at home, they might just be able to pull off the miracle.
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Bayern can’t be happy with that slim 1-0 lead. Belenenses put up a very strong disciplined defensive performance, but at the same time weren’t really causing Bayern’s defence problems either. And that’ll be their problem. I’m really curious what the Belenenses coach will come up with tactically. His approach for the first leg worked out pretty well - minus the away goal. I wonder if they’ll play defensively again, hoping for a goal from a counter attack?
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Oh, seems Bayern has been hit by little injury misery. Klose, Podolski, van Bommel and Kahn will all miss out on the UEFA Cup match against Belenenses.
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Germany
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