Ahead of Villareal’s clash with the Italian team based in Naples, if their marksman Giuseppe Rossi happens to check the history of their opponents, he will learn they remained under the tutelage of veteran Italian coach Marcello Lippi during the 1993-94 season. Whether this provides the American born Italian striker an enhanced bulk of motivation, after having been overlooked by Lippi for the World Cup, remains to be seen at Stadio San Paolo on 17th of February; the game is potentially the ‘Match of the tournament’ so far, as the Yellow Submarine from Spain meet the Italian dark horses of the season – Napoli – in the first leg of the Round of 32 in UEFA Europa League.
After the culmination of the group stages, 24 teams have advanced from 12 groups, with 8 more joining the fray after failing to advance beyond the group stages in the more elite Champions League competitions. During a phase, when the very existence of the competition is being contemplated upon by many owing to the decreased viewership and an indifferent approach by some of the clubs, a clash between Napoli and Villarreal could well be just what the doctor ordered for the competition.
Both the teams are having their best season in some years, and have managed a constant threat in their respective domestic league to the traditional title contenders. Another aspect that connects the two sides is their approach to the game – both play with a similar intent on the pitch, and boast of prolific goal-scorers. In Edinson Cavani, Napoli have arguably the best finisher in Serie A, who is ably allied by Slovakian captain Marek Hamsik as his feeder from the midfield. Villarreal mainly rely on their lethal combination upfront, comprising Giuseppe Rossi and Brazilian forward Nilmar.
Napoli faced a shocking defeat at the hands of Chievo Verona recently, but with an away win over AS Roma, they are high on confidence. Villarreal, on the contrary, have had a slump in their winning momentum with two consecutive defeats in La Liga, thereby slipping to the fourth position in the La Liga. However, both the teams have a statement to make in this clash, and whoever progresses will announce a definite supremacy over the remaining teams in the next round.
Cavani – leading scoring charts in Italy
The first leg is being played in Naples, and Cavani would be all raring to extend his scoring spree; in doing so, he could virtually seal a spot for his team in the next round even before travelling to Spain the following week. Napoli are the only remaining flag bearers of Serie A, and are on a mission to salvage the dangling co-efficient of the league in the European scene.
Manchester City and Liverpool carry the English flag in Europe on their shoulders. Both trod a reasonably easy path during the group stage, topping their respective groups without any surprises. On the eve of the knock-out round, they face Greek side Aris and Czech champions Sparta Prague respectively. Both the English giants play their games away, and should register a comfortable victory given their current form in the Premier League.
Since Liverpool won the trophy in 2000-01, no English side has been able to replicate the feat in the ten years gone by. With both the sides in potent form, the jinx may well be broken this year.
Current Scottish Champions Rangers meet the Portuguese under-performers Sporting CP in another clash. The Teddy Bears have built a momentum in the domestic league; with two games in hand, they are very well poised to overtake the current leaders and arch rivals Celtic. The Portuguese team, on the other hand, have not had the best of the starts to the season, but are slowly reviving. They currently stand third in the Portuguese league, but did win their group in the Europa league, beating French side Lille in the process.
The Scots failed to go past the group stages in the Champions League and have hence been demoted to the Europa League. They would be keen to make a mark at this level, but the first hurdle on the way is not an easy one to ease past. Cristiano Ronaldo’s ex club have slowly regained momentum, and do pose a heavy challenge for the title along with the three other Portuguese teams. Rangers are playing the home leg first and do hope to set the Ibrox stadium afire.
Three other Portuguese teams alive in the competition – FC Porto, SC Braga and Benfica – have much apparently hogged a fair amount of limelight with their performances this season. Braga provided the shock of the tournament in the Champions League when they beat Arsenal 2-0 at home; however, having failed to surpass the tough group they were slotted into, they now face Polish champions Lech Poznan in the first leg in Poland. The Poznan based side managed two draws over Juventus, which eventually led to the Italian giants’ elimination. The Polish side also defeated Manchester City 3-1 in a group match, which speaks volumes about the strength of their squad.Playing at home, they are highly likely to secure a decisive advantage over their Portuguese counterparts.
FC Porto and Benfica are the two Portuguese teams with a hall of fame to boast of in European competitions. Porto have won both the Champions League and the erstwhile UEFA cup in the decade gone by, and are always a potential threat at the continental level. They meet Sevilla in the first leg as they travel to Spain. The Spanish team, having failed to go past the qualifiers in the Champions League, entered into the second tier continental competition at the group stage and have fared reasonably well. In their quest to the only possible title, having lost all hopes to resurrect their league campaign, Los Rojiblancos will give it their all in front of the home crowd.
Tevez, a man in form
In another enticing tie, Benfica lock horns with German side Stuttgart. After an inspiring period in the last season, Stuttgart have had steadily maintained their downfall, and their league run has been haywire to say the least. Benfica currently trail Porto for the domestic title. Both sides, much like many others alive in the tournament, rely heavily on the Europa League to quench their thirst for silverware.
Stuttgart’s German compatriots Bayer Leverkusen were boosted by the reacquisition of former club icon Michael Ballack from Chelsea, but the German captain has hardly managed to feature into the first team thanks to his prolonged love-affair with injury. That, however, has not affected their season, as they stand second only to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and lead the current champions Bayern Munich by three points. During the Europa League group stages, they ended the run of defending champions Atletico Madrid, and consequently topped their group. At this stage in the competition, they are reckoned as outright favourites over Ukrainian outfit Metalist Kharkiv and the trip to Ukraine should ensure an unassailable lead for the German front-runners.
An interesting duel between Switzerland and Russia has emerged from the draws, as the two Swiss sides FC Basel and Young Boys set a date with Russian sides Spartak Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg respectively. The Russian sides have not failed to impress in the later years in the European circuit, and they would love to extend the reputation at this stage. Zenit in particular come into the knock-out round fully charged up, after scalping six wins out of six games.
On the other hand, the Swiss sides are a package of pleasant surprises this time around. Basel beat AS Roma 3-1 at Stadio Olympico in the Champions League, while Young Boys almost denied Tottenham Hotspur a memorable debut in the Champions League after a drought of ages. These two matches can firmly be banked upon to provide the vigour that was missing from Europa League in the recent times.
Another Russian team alive is Spartak’s cross-city rivals CSKA Moscow, who fly Greece to meet PAOK FC. CSKA’s most remarkable feat in the group stages was the away victory over Italian side Palermo, which did a good turn to their confidence. At the same time, PAOK managed to get the better of Spanish giants Villarreal during a group game, and are more than capable to send CSKA packing back to Russia. The fourth and final Russian contenders in the competition are the ‘Barca-beaters’ Rubin Kazan; having finished third in their group in the Champions League, they face the reigning Dutch champions FC Twente in the knock-out round. Both teams did manage to hold Barcelona and Inter on a draw during their group fixture, which is no mean feat. The team progressing from this tie is much assuredly a strong bet to go further in the tournament.
Along with FC Twente, two more famous Dutch names – AFC Ajax and PSV Eindhoven – too are keen to pronounce their supremacy at this stage. The ‘talent factory’ Ajax, which boasts of Europe’s best academy and training methodology, will be keen on restructuring their once omnipotent image in European football. Against the Belgian side Anderlecht, they are hands down the favourites to progress, but how long can they go in the competition is a matter of scrutiny.
Current league leaders PSV had a dream run during the group stage, remaining unbeaten;they square up against the French outfit Lille, who incidentally lead the Ligue 1 presently. This promises to be a close affair, as both teams are running a rich vein of form. Apart from Lille, Ronaldinho’s former club Paris Saint-Germaine are the only French contestants active in the tournament. Currently fourth in the league table, the Claude Makelele led side are facing Belarusian champions FC Bate Borisov, who are fairly anonymous at this level; interestingly, the latter team happens to be the only Belarusian side till date to have made it to the knock-out round of the Europa League. Undoubtedly, PSG will hold an upper hand in this clash; nevertheless, it will be an unparalleled experience for the new entrants.
Andriy Shevchenko may no longer be feared by defenders anymore, but the legendary Ukrainian stalwart still continues to ply his trade in Europe with his childhood club Dynamo Kiev. Sheva has already won it all, but would definitely want to leave behind him a legacy, by claiming a title with the club he relates with more than any other. Dynamo are currently lagging behind in the league title race below leaders Shakhtar Donetsk, and hence may concentrate on the Europa League with a hope to enrich the trophy cabinet. They travel to Istanbul to face off against Turkish giants Beskitas. Both the teams comfortably earned their place from the group stages and posses all the ingredients to make a match out of this one. The world wants Shevchenko to reach a high before he hangs up his boots once and for all; whether his teammates are up for it or not remains to be seen.
– Parth Pandya