Eleven Intertoto winners move on to UEFA Cup

The match results are in, and these are the eleven clubs from the Intertoto Cup moving on to UEFA Cup qualifying:

União Leiria (Portugal)
Sampdoria (Italy)
Atlético Madrid (Spain)
Oţelul Galaţi (Romania)
Tobol Kostanay (Kazakhstan)
Hamburger SV (Germany)
Lens (France)
Rapid Vienna (Austria)
Blackburn Rovers (England)
Hammarby (Sweden)
Aalborg BK (Denmark)

Now, in addition to the fight for the UEFA Cup itself, these teams will be fighting for the Intertoto Cup, now an actual trophy, which will be awarded to the side from this list that progresses the furthest. Last year, it was Newcastle United. Will Blackburn make it an English double? Will Hamburg live up to their expectations and go far? Can Hammarby hold on and continue their dream run? These answers will have to wait until August 16, when the second qualifying round gets underway. Because of their strong UEFA coefficients, three of the Intertoto qualifiers (Lens, Hamburg and Blackburn) will actually be in the top five seeds of the round, and so should have relatively smooth rides into the Cup proper.

Because of Rapid Vienna’s qualification, there could be as many as four Austrian sides in the round. Rapid Vienna and Austria Vienna have already qualified, and both Mattersburg and especially SV Ried are in position to progress in the Cup. This will equal Switzerland’s performance last season, where three of the four qualifiers moved on another step in the Cup as well, and two, Grasshoppers and Basel, made it to the Group stage. Is it Austria’s year to do the same? Time will tell.

Category: Europe, Intertoto Cup, Tournament News, UEFA Cup

Tags: Europe, Intertoto Cup, Results, Third Round, Tournament News, UEFA Cup

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