Hey, we’re starting too … oh, nobody cares …

By: Ian Rose | September 17th, 2007

As the first Champions League matches await, the world is once again focused on the big teams and their quest for the nearly endless pot of money that is the modern European Cup. But, hey, look, what’s that over there? In the shadows, behind the dumpster, back that alley? It’s the UEFA Cup. Always in the shadow of its much bigger brother, Europe’s second-tier continental cup also gets going on the 18th with a single match, as Litex of Bulgaria hosts Hamburg SV. HSV is one of several high-profile teams to qualify this year through the only tournament that makes the UEFA Cup look glamorous, the Intertoto Cup. They had no problem with their qualifying round opponents, Budapest Honved, cruising to a comfortable 4-0 aggregate win. Litex were even more laid back in their last round, beating Albanian side Besa Kavaje by 6-0. It’s been a tough year for Hamburg. After qualifying for the Champions League last season, they finished last in their group, behind Arsenal, Porto, and CSKA Moscow. They took home the group stage cash, but were unable to convert it into results, slipping from third in 05-06 to seventh last season, barely making the Intertoto. Litex finished fourth last season in Bulgaria, admittedly a league that’s dwarfed by the Bundesliga, but they have an interesting bit of history on their side. Litex was the first Bulgarian team to defeat a German team on German soil, beating Union Berlin 2-0 in the 2001-02 UEFA Cup.

Current form doesn’t give us much clue to separating these two. Both are in mediocre form domestically, sitting in the middle of their respective tables and out of next season’s European spots. I think Litex, at their best, can give Hamburg a run for their money. They don’t have a huge superstar on either side of the ball, but the addition of Fabien Boudarene definitely shores up their defensive midfield, and Hamburg should see a very tough run at goal. Hamburg will be looking for goals from Ivica Olic, their Croatian international striker, who had two goals in the Champions League last season with HSV group-mate CSKA Moscow. But goals have been few and far between for HSV so far this year in Germany, with Rafael Van der Vaart topping their list of scorers mainly due to penalties. Hamburg have lost close matches this season, and if Litex can keep them from running, they will have some prayer, but I have to tip Hamburg for this one. Let’s say 1-1 at Litex and 2-0 to Hamburg in Germany.

Then again, if anything can doom them, it’s me predicting them to win, so time will tell.