UEFA Cup first round set

By: Ian Rose | August 31st, 2007

Well, the draw is complete, and the first round of the UEFA Cup proper is set and ready. There are some interesting ties here. The English teams seem to have done quite well, while the Germans have gotten some very tough draws. Here are a few of the key matchups for Round 1.

Bayer Leverkusen v. União Leiria
This is going to be very interesting. Leverkusen may have lost some star power after the departures of Juan and Voronin, but they still have Bernd Schneider, and he is still one of the greatest players to watch in the German game. Their young talent may be too much for Leiria, who struggled to make it out of the Intertoto Cup, but this is still the match-up I would watch if I could only see one from the round.

Zenit St. Petersburg v. Standard Liege
Zenit has been overshadowed by the success of the two Moscow sides, Spartak and CSKA, but they are a tough team, and boast the defending Russian League MVP in Andrei Arshavin. Standard, meanwhile, is becoming the team to watch for the future in Belgium, with some of the best young talent in the country. This is an almost unreasonably tough tie for both sides in the first round of the UEFA Cup, and the winner will almost definitely be a strong contender in their group.

Groningen v. Fiorentina
Fiorentina recovered as well as anyone could have expected from the Calciopoli scandals last season, finishing sixth despite a major points deduction. Only time will tell, though, if star Adrian Mutu is truly clean and sober. They face a rough trip to Holland, where Groningen have been solid at home. Former Manchester United striker Erik Nevland and new keeper Luciano will be key if the Dutchmen hope to overcome their Italian opponents.

There are plenty more good matchups, and we’ll have a look at some of them as they approach. Personally, I think the field in the UEFA Cup this season is unusually strong, with teams like Bayern Munich, Tottenham and no less than FIVE French sides, all with good shots at moving on. It should be interesting.