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It's four days after the end of one of the best World Cups in recent history, the big leagues won't start for another few weeks so what better way is there to spend a hot summer evening than watch a bunch of crap teams try to qualify for the Greatest Club Competition In The World(TM) the UEFA Champions League? I thought so. Oh and there's Europa League qualifying too. Hey, it's still competitive football!  The Champions League is the premier European club competition where the best teams from all over Europe* fight to become the best club side in the best confederation, UEFA. Unlike its name implies it is not just for teams who won their national league because nobody wants to see Manchester City beat the champions of Andorra and Moldova before they lose to an actually good team in the quarterfinals. That's why the best nations have up to 4 teams in the competition while minnows like San Marino and Scotland get only one place. Like the World Cup the competition proper starts with a group phase followed by 3 knockout round and a final. 22 teams from 13 countries have qualified directly for the group stage, while 54 other teams battle it out in a number of qualification rounds to fill the 10 final places. The shittier the team, the more rounds they have to play. These ties are played over two games (home and away), highest aggregate score goes through, when the score is tied the team with the most goals scored away from home goes through, if there's still a tie it's extra time and penalties. *Israel is Europe, Kazakhstan is Europe, Kosovo is Serbia The first qualification round has already been played, but since this happened during the World Cup you might have missed it:  In a proper thiller Andorras FC Santa Coloma reached the second round for the first time ever after their goalie scored in the 95th minute to sent them through on away goals. Also for the first time ever a team from Gibraltar took part in the CL: Lincoln Red Imps (perfect name for a bunch of Brits on the Spanish coast btw). I would've linked a video to their first ever European goal but sadly due to a malfunction at Gibraltar TV it hasn't been caught on tape, whoops. Continuing the theme, La Fiorita were 3 seconds away from their first ever draw in Europe before they conceded in the first leg, they didn't do so well in the return. The second round started on Tuesday:  David Lafata scored 5(!) goals for Sparta Prague while Celtic needed a late goal to win in Iceland. The rest of this rounds first leg matches were last night:  St Pats almost came home with an impressive away victory but Legia equalized in extra time. Steaua beat Stromsgodset thanks to this lovely goal. The returns are played next week Tuesday & Wednesday. There are two more qualification rounds after this one.   For all the chumps who failed to get into the CL there's the consolation of getting to take part in the Europa League. Yay! However if your teams has recently played in the CL, will likely do so again in the near future or is Italian you probably don't give a poo poo about this competition. This means that you're likely to see some clubs play their reserves since they deem their domestic leagues more important. On the other hand there's always a bunch of smaller teams who know they'll never make the CL anyway and love the chance to get to play in Europe. The setup is pretty much the same as the CL only there are some more groups and an extra knockout round. There's also a lot more teams that play in the qualification round, and I mean a lot. As with the CL, the first round of qualification has already finished:   See! And this is just the first round! Don't worry if you don't recognize any of the names I highly doubt more than one or two will make it to the group stage. Because they aren't very good. Quite the oppsite. I mean, look at this. They're awful. But at least the Europa League is a competition known for it's fair play, respect and lack of match fixing. Oh... The second round starts today, returns are next week:  (all times in CET) Look at all that football. So how can I watch this? Unless you live in one of the countries that has a team playing today, the chances of catching one of these games on tv are practically zero. That leaves you with no choice but dodgy internet streams, check here: Wiziwig ATDHE FirtsRow LiveTV. That last site is also good for highlights: Champions League Europa League. So go go Győri, come on Čukarički and vamos Flamurtari Vlorë!
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Jul 17, 2014 15:46
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Here's a thing: Russian and Ukrainian teams will not be allowed to draw each other in the coming rounds for security reasons. This will have ramifications probably all the way up to the group stage proper.
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Jul 17, 2014 16:23
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Gigi Galli posted:Here's a thing: Russian and Ukrainian teams will not be allowed to draw each other in the coming rounds for security reasons. This will have ramifications probably all the way up to the group stage proper.
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Jul 17, 2014 17:39
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Purno posted:In a proper thiller Andorras FC Santa Coloma reached the second round for the first time ever after their goalie scored in the 95th minute to sent them through on away goals. Awesome.
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Jul 17, 2014 17:40
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Gigi Galli posted:Here's a thing: Russian and Ukrainian teams will not be allowed to draw each other in the coming rounds for security reasons. This will have ramifications probably all the way up to the group stage proper.
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Jul 17, 2014 17:45
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Juanito posted:Why? I know the countries don't get along, but it seems like a draw would be less of a security issue? 
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Jul 17, 2014 17:49
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Juanito posted:Why? I know the countries don't get along, but it seems like a draw would be less of a security issue? What
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Jul 17, 2014 17:50
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I read it twice too. 
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Jul 17, 2014 17:53
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Juanito posted:Why? I know the countries don't get along, but it seems like a draw would be less of a security issue? Brilliant.
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Jul 17, 2014 18:37
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 Quite a lot of St Johnstone fans at the Luzurne match. Hoping for an Aberdeen win tonight, not expecting it though.
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Jul 17, 2014 18:51
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lol hibs are poo poo
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Jul 17, 2014 19:20
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Chris de Sperg posted:On related notes, the two Crimean clubs in the Ukraine who've defected to Russia won't be playing this year, and four clubs, including Shakhtar (CL) and Zorya (EL), are being forced to move stadiums for the time being. Shakhtar will be playing at Metalist Kharkiv's ground, and Zorya are going to some shithole somewhere that probably barely meets regulations. Israeli teams aren't allowed to play at home either, having to find a place to play in another country. In better news, that same article mentions that all yellow cards will be wiped after the quarterfinals, just like in the World Cup. So no more players having to miss the final due to a soft yellow like Xabi Alonso this year.
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Jul 17, 2014 19:24
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pdog posted:Hoping for an Aberdeen win tonight, not expecting it though. I have no idea how strong Aberdeen is but Groningen have done some decent business this window so as a former student there I hope they can get a decent result to finish it at home. Rubbish that the match isn't televised at all though. Also I just realized that the draw for the 3rd qualification rounds is tomorrow  Since those matches are in two weeks already.
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Jul 17, 2014 19:58
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loving lol at Esbjerg playing 1-1 against *checks picture* Kairat Almaty
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Jul 17, 2014 20:08
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Too lazy to edit, but I still don't get how you can bet on these qualification matches
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Jul 17, 2014 20:11
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Literally nobody is streaming Zulte Waregem's game because they think nobody cares. Well they're wrong. I care. I want to know if I should start panicking about this coming season or not. Show me the football. Show it to me.
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Jul 17, 2014 20:30
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R. Mute posted:Literally nobody is streaming Zulte Waregem's game because they think nobody cares. Well they're wrong. I care. I want to know if I should start panicking about this coming season or not. Show me the football. Show it to me. well you won 2-1, i dunno what that says about them
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Jul 17, 2014 21:14
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The Irish teams are doing surprisingly well, shame St. Pat's couldn't hold out for the win last night against Legia. They were sitting back and defending too much in the 2nd half, that I think the equaliser was inevitable. Still, 1-1 away is a great result. Sligo tonight in the EL beat Rosenborg 2-1 away from home, they were 2-0 up with about 10 minutes to go. Hopefully they can keep it up for the 2nd leg next week. Dundalk and Derry aren't faring as well, both are 1-0 down at home (actually Dundalk are 2-0 down now to Hajduk Split).
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Jul 17, 2014 21:20
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Troy Queef posted:well you won 2-1, i dunno what that says about them ...
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Jul 17, 2014 21:58
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The Champions League 3rd round draw is about to start. Stream here. DRAW POTS Seeded clubs in bold League route FC Zenit (RUS) LOSC Lille (FRA) FC København DEN) R. Standard de Liège (BEL) Beşiktaş JK (TUR) FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) Panathinaikos FC (GRE) Feyenoord (NED) Grasshopper Club (SUI) AEL Limassol FC (CYP) As mentioned, Zenit will not be able to be drawn against Dnipro. e2: Celtic might end up playing St Pats. Champions route Group 1 FC Salzburg (AUT) KR Reykjavík (ISL)/Celtic FC (SCO) FC BATE Borisov (BLR)/KS Skënderbeu (ALB) GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)/VMFD algiris (LTU) FC Sheriff (MDA) v FK Sutjeska (MNE) Legia Warszawa (POL)/Saint Patrick's Athletic (IRL) Cliftonville FC (NIR)/Debreceni VSC (HUN) K Slovan Bratislava (SVK)/The New Saints FC (WAL) Valletta FC (MLT)/Qarabağ FK (AZE) Aalborg BK (DEN) Group 2 Strømsgodset IF (NOR)/FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU) APOEL FC (CYP) AC Sparta Praha (CZE)/FC Levadia Tallinn (EST) PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL)/F91 Dudelange (LUX) FC Santa Coloma (AND)/ Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) HK Zrinjski (BIH)/NK Maribor (SVN) FK Partizan (SRB)/HB Tórshavn (FRO) FC Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)/FK Aktobe (KAZ) Malmö FF (SWE)/FK Ventspils (LVA) FK Rabotnicki (MKD)/HJK Helsinki (FIN) edit:  Feyenoord with their entire defense gone against Besiktas, should be a fun match. e2: Celtic might end up playing St Pat's. Purno fucked around with this message at 11:28 on Jul 18, 2014 |
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Jul 18, 2014 10:57
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Feyenoord is hosed. But losing against Besiktas is less shameful than FC utrecht last year losing against some amateurs from Luxembourg.
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Jul 18, 2014 11:50
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Charlie Mopps posted:Feyenoord is hosed. But losing against Besiktas is less shameful than FC utrecht last year losing against some amateurs from Luxembourg. No it's going to be alright we have noted supertalent Mitchell te Vrede as our striker in combination with Lex, what am I doing here, Immers at 10.  We're hosed...
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Jul 18, 2014 11:59
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Why did they do the draw this week instead of next week, after the 2nd round fixtures were completed?
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Jul 18, 2014 12:12
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irlZaphod posted:Why did they do the draw this week instead of next week, after the 2nd round fixtures were completed? Because the 3rd round matches start the week after already, so that would leave teams with very little time to plan their trip. Europa League update, yesterdays games:  Some surprising results in there, Rosenborg losing at home to Sligo Rovers, Linfield beating AIK and Hapoel Tel-Aviv, possibly the biggest team in this round losing 3-0 in Kazakhstan. Couple of decent goals too. And the draw for the 3rd round:  
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Jul 18, 2014 13:04
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Arsenal will play one of these clubs in the CL quals Limassol v Zenit Dnipro v FC København Feyenoord v Beşiktaş Grasshopper v Lille Standard Liège v Panathinaikos
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Jul 18, 2014 13:15
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Purno posted:I have no idea how strong Aberdeen is but Groningen have done some decent business this window so as a former student there I hope they can get a decent result to finish it at home. Rubbish that the match isn't televised at all though. I was at the game yesterday (supporting the Dons). Groningen seemed really poor overall, although we struggled to break them down apart from a couple of chances in the first half. They were playing for a draw so the story may be different in the second leg. Their #11 (Kostic?) was getting immense amounts of poo poo from us because he played on when Russell Anderson looked like he'd suffered an injury.
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Jul 18, 2014 15:51
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Please don't go out in the first round Skanderbeg.
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Jul 18, 2014 21:22
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This is actually the 2nd year in a row Celtic either have played or have the possibility of playing an Irish team in the quals; last year in QR2 they played Northern Ireland champs Cliftonville, who somehow managed to
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Jul 18, 2014 22:19
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FCK asked UEFA if the match against Dnipro could be moved to a neutral stadium considering the fact there's no planes flying to the area because Dnipro is real close to the area where MH17 was shot down and that whole pesky rebel thing. UEFA declined the request lol
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Jul 20, 2014 15:32
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Troy Queef posted:This is actually the 2nd year in a row Celtic either have played or have the possibility of playing an Irish team in the quals; last year in QR2 they played Northern Ireland champs Cliftonville, who somehow managed to
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Jul 20, 2014 17:25
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I'm a dumb American who has never watched competitive soccer until this summer. But I really enjoyed the World Cup, and come September, I'll be working night shifts. So, those seem like good enough reasons to start watching more football. However, I'm a little confused at how these leagues are set up. The general idea that I've gotten is that every country runs, at the same time, a national league and a national tournament (like, the Barclays Premiere League/FA Cup, or La Liga and the Copa del Rey). I assume winning the league is more prestigious, but winning any championship is a good thing. The winners of the leagues and tournaments get to play in the UEFA Champions league for the following year, as well as the 2nd or 3rd place teams from the few countries that are really good at football. Then, the UEFA Euro Cup is for all of the other teams, with shittier teams having to go through more qualifying rounds. And every continental administrative body has its open Champions League, but no one follows the ones CONCACAF or CONMEBOL. Do I get the gist of it?
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Jul 20, 2014 23:03
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Aggro posted:I'm a dumb American who has never watched competitive soccer until this summer. But I really enjoyed the World Cup, and come September, I'll be working night shifts. So, those seem like good enough reasons to start watching more football. You got the gist of it but there's a bit more to it when it comes to European football (Champions League and Europa League). Every league has a number of spots. The big leagues gets 3 guaranteed entries with 4th place coming into the last round of the Champions League qualifications. How ALL the Spanish teams do overall in Europe determines how many coefficient points they get - and a overall coefficient score of the past 5 seasons is used to determine how many spots you get. This doesn't change very often when it comes to the big leagues because that's where the good players are - but for a lot of smaller league, gettings that 1 guaranteed Champions League spot is a huge step forward. http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2015.html - The current country rankings
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Jul 20, 2014 23:08
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Actually the Copa Libertadores is almost as prestigious as the Europa League
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Jul 20, 2014 23:10
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Aggro posted:I'm a dumb American who has never watched competitive soccer until this summer. But I really enjoyed the World Cup, and come September, I'll be working night shifts. So, those seem like good enough reasons to start watching more football. You do, but don't start watching the Champions League/Europa League yet, these early stages are just to weed out the weaker teams and if you watch these matches you'll get the wrong idea of the quality of these competitions, the actual tournaments only start when the groups are selected.
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Jul 21, 2014 00:32
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Hegay posted:FCK asked UEFA if the match against Dnipro could be moved to a neutral stadium considering the fact there's no planes flying to the area because Dnipro is real close to the area where MH17 was shot down and that whole pesky rebel thing. UEFA declined the request lol Looking forward to seeing this on a lovely pirated satellite channel in the comfort of my summer house as Copenhagen get blown up by a literal IED. Watch Thorning-Schmidt start a loving war.
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Jul 22, 2014 07:47
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Hegay posted:FCK asked UEFA if the match against Dnipro could be moved to a neutral stadium considering the fact there's no planes flying to the area because Dnipro is real close to the area where MH17 was shot down and that whole pesky rebel thing. UEFA declined the request lol What the gently caress ? How is there a "some bad poo poo just went down" clause? Also, hoping Skanderbeg does well tonight. Last Albanian team standing
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Jul 22, 2014 18:23
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Soulex posted:What the gently caress ? How is there a "some bad poo poo just went down" clause?
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Jul 22, 2014 20:07
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Chris de Sperg posted:I think they could steal a victory, or at the least, some copper wiring 
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Jul 22, 2014 20:16
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Chris de Sperg posted:I think they could steal a victory, or at the least, some copper wiring They're playing at home, so it's be more like he opposing teams bus.
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Jul 22, 2014 20:24
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Soulex posted:They're playing at home, so it's be more like he opposing teams bus. And kidney, liver, lungs
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Jul 22, 2014 20:27
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