CL 2005/2006 - deel 1: de voorronden

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Op woensdag 22 juni 2005 17:19 schreef methodmich het volgende:

[..]

Snobisme jegens ontwikkelingslanden, siert je niet Doc.

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LIVERPOOL are praying for a home draw in tomorrow's Champions League qualifying round - but they may be forced to trek almost to the Chinese border.

That's the nightmare prospect which lies in wait for the Reds in Nyon tomorrow. Realistically, the qualifying round draws will hold few fears for Liverpool - but geographically there are several nightmare journeys.

And the most daunting is an eight-and-a-half hour flight to the remote Kazakhstan city of Almaty, a region so far East it appears in any world atlas as Central Asia, rather than Europe.

A trip to Azerbaijan is only marginally closer, while a trek to Armenia is also to be avoided.

But a short coach trip to Llansantffraid, the half-hour flight to Belfast or even a short jaunt across the Channel to Luxembourg would be leaped upon by Reds officials.

Here we give an ECHO run-down on the teams the Reds may face:

FC Kairat Almaty - Kazakhstan

THE draw Liverpool will be desperate to avoid. Kazakhstan is a vast country, covering more area than Western Europe and approximately half the size of the USA - and Almaty is on its Eastern fringes.

Coupled with an eight-and-a-half hour flight almost to Mongolia, the Reds would also face a team halfway through its domestic league programme.

Almaty have not started the season well, currently lying halfway, but would have the advantage of being match-sharp - and under the stewardship of highly regarded Rus-sian coach Aleksei Petrushin could certainly make life difficult for Liverpool in the away leg.

Only welcomed into the European football family in 2002, Kairat Almaty have existed - under different names - since 1954 and play in the "Tsentralny" Stadium in a city with a population of more than a million. Fear factor: 10/10.

FK Rabotnicki - Macedonia

THE trip to the Former Yugolsav Republic of Macedonia would hold few fears for the Reds, but soaring mid-summer temperatures would be far from ideal.

Rabotnicki were crowned Mace-donian champions for the first time, finishing well clear of big city rivals FK Vardar.

Both clubs are based in the Mace-donian capital of Skopje, and Rabotnicki were comfortably the Prva Liga's strongest side, winning 25 of their 33 matches and holding the best defensive record, with just 23 goals conceded.

PFC Neftchi - Azerbaijan

SECOND on Liverpool's 'must-miss' list. A trip to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku would entail a seven-hour flight, where the Reds would be greeted by temperatures nudging 90 degrees in July.

Neftchi are also an awkward side, holding this season's UEFA Cup winners CSKA Moscow to a goalless draw in last season's second qualifying round first leg.

Neftchi provided four of the play-ers in the Azerbaijan squad beaten by England at St James' Park last season and play at the Tofikh Bakhramov Stadium. Fear factor: 9/10.

Glentoran - Northern Ireland

LIVERPOOL'S only worry about a trip to Belfast would be how to accommodate all of their Irish fan base in the compact Oval ground.

The Glens, of course, are praying to meet the Reds.

"That's obviously the tie everyone at the club, and probably throughout Northern Ireland, is hoping for," said striker Michael Halliday this week.

Glentoran have met European Cup holders before, facing Olym-pique Marseille in September 1992.

Perhaps not surprisingly, they were well beaten. Fear factor: 1/10.

Total Network Solutions - Wales

THE closest draw geographically, this would also be the only draw which wouldn't involve air travel for the Reds - Llansantffraid is around a two-hour coach trip away.

Ken McKenna's side were comfortable winners of the Welsh title last season, finishing four points clear of Rhyl and 11 ahead of Bangor City.

Leading scorer Marc Lloyd Williams hit 33 goals last season, for a side which came close to embarrassing Manchester City in a UEFA Cup first leg tie a couple of seasons ago. That tie was switched to the Millennium Stadium to maximise revenue for the Welsh club. Fear factor: 1/10.

HB Torshavn - Faroe Islands

ANOTHER of the more desirable draws. The Faroes are easily reached by air - a 90-minute plane journey away - and most of their players actually want Liverpool to progress!

"My big problem is that almost all of my players are Liverpool fans," said coach Heine Fernandez.. "They will be saying they cannot play in case they get a result against them. They would have no-one to cheer later in the tournament!"

HB Torshavn have reached the second qualifying round of the competition before - but only when their scheduled opponents failed to turn up. Fear factor: 3/10.

Dinamo Minsk - Belarus

BASED in the Belorussian capital of Minsk, Dinamo boast an impressive 42,400 capacity stadium - and an equally impressive record of progress in UEFA's competitions.

They actually reached the quarter-final of the European Cup in 1984, the same stage of the Cup Winners' Cup four years later and were UEFA Cup quarter-finalists in 1985.

Back then they were part of the Soviet Union, but since 1992 Dinamo Minsk have been members of the Belarus Premier League and have been dominant.

Bordering the Baltic states of Lithuania and Latvia, the four-hour journey would be not ideal - but there are far worse. Fear factor: 7/10.

FC Pyunik - Armenia

ANOTHER long-haul destination which falls under the category "al-most in Asia" the Armenian champions are setting the pace in this season's championship which is already underway.

The defending champions are under the guidance of new coach Henk Wisman - also the coach of the Armenian national side - and have dropped just two points from their opening six games of the current season.

The Armenian league consists of just nine teams, but Pyunik's prolific top scorer, Edgar Manucharyan, will not be involved in the first qualifying round - he is set to join Ajax on July 1. Fear factor: 6/10.

Sliema Wanderers - Malta

A four-and-a-half hour flight, but a beautiful - if very hot - island lies at the end of it.

Sliema Wanderers play in the Maltese town of the same name, and were officially founded in 1909 by Englishmen who apparently all supported either Bolton or Wolver-hampton Wanderers - hence the suffix.

European regulars since 1963/64, there are no recognisable scalps on their belt. Fear factor: 2/10.

KF Tirana - Albania

INTERNATIONAL sides usually grimace at the prospect of a trip to Albania - and Liverpool will be no different if the draw hands them a journey to the Albanian capital.

KF Tirana were crowned champions for the 22nd time last season, but would not be expected to pose Liverpool any problems on the pitch. Off it, though, the Western Balkan state is not renowned for its levels of wealth and luxury. Fear factor: 6/10.

FC Levadia Tallinn - Estonia

TALLINN is fast becoming a cult destination for stag weekends - and Liverpool could do worse than land a trip to the Baltic state.

Goalkeeper Mart Poom was Estonia's highest profile export to the Premiership, but there have been precious few following and this would be one of the more desirable draws for the Reds. Fear factor: 3/10.

F91 Dudelange - Luxembourg

THE Luxembourg champions play in the tiny Jos Nosbaum stadium - capacity 4,600 - creating immediate problems should the Reds be handed a clash with F91 Dudelange.

But Liverpool would be guaranteed a comfortable passage into the next round, against one of the minnows of European football. Fear factor: 1/10.

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Op vrijdag 24 juni 2005 13:17 schreef DutchGooner het volgende:

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Hebben ze 2 jaar geleden ook gedaan toen ze in de eerste ronde van de UEFA Cup moesten spelen tegen Man City

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Op vrijdag 24 juni 2005 14:29 schreef DeTolk het volgende:
Ach, Liverpool wordt er toch uitgeknikkert in de 3e voorronde....

....door Ajax.......