Author Archives: Lonnie Smetana

As we reported on a number of weeks ago, the UEFA Executive Committee has finalized the change in name of the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League starting in the 2009-10 season. Along with the new name come major … Continue reading →

Time to check in with the FA Cup again as the Second Qualifying Round gets under way. So far, I’ve seen a couple of my initial teams drop by the wayside as have their replacements. This stage of the tournament … Continue reading →

(Note: I incorrectly quoted a passage from the book that made it seem like the author had made light of a stabbing/slashing incident. It was my misreading of the passage. I’ve since re-written that section of the review. My sincerent … Continue reading →

Just a quick editorial note to start, I had hoped to complete my Group Previews before Matchday 1 but that was not the case. I will still be pushing those out, hopefully finish before Matchday 2 hits. Now, on to … Continue reading →

Champions League debutants CFR 1907 Cluj came from behind to beat Roma and record a stunning 2-1 victory at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Beyond the absence of Totti, Roma had a strong squad out on the field and will … Continue reading →

FC Basel 1893 How They Got Here:Basel beat Vitoria de Guimaraes (also known as Vitoria SC) 2-1 on aggregate in the third round of qualifying. Basel won the Swiss League last season. Star Performer: MF Benjamin Huggel. An experienced member … Continue reading →

This is a bit late but I did want to acknowledge that UEFA.com has re-launched with a new take on their familiar look. The layout is a bit cleaner though the page now contains more elements. The color scheme is … Continue reading →

Group B is home to a surprising Cypriot side, a Greek side in transition, a German side sometimes called ‘everyone’s second team’, and an Italian club with a little something special. Confused? Let me explain! Anorthosis Famagusta FC How They … Continue reading →

It’s taken me a little while to catch up on the goings on this week as I was away over the weekend. My wife and I took a camping trip and got away from the hustle and bustle of the … Continue reading →

The group stage kicks off in about two weeks so until then I will be doing previews of the group stage in alphabetical order. I wanted to wait until after the transfer window had closed so that I would be … Continue reading →

It was just a few short months ago, May 17th to be exact, that Portsmouth claimed their first FA Cup since 1939. Well now the whole journey kicks off again. I missed the Extra Preliminary Round (there were 203 fixtures … Continue reading →

The UEFA Cup first-round draw was held on Friday and there are a number of interesting new faces in the competition. One of those teams is Dutch side FC Twente, who as we’ve detailed in previous posts, is now coached … Continue reading →

I’ll have more analysis and comments later but for now just a quick update on the results of today’s drawing. Some of the groupings, as in past seasons, was almost a bit too predictable but there are some interesting matchups … Continue reading →

After leading 1-0 from the first leg, Schalke had to have had some confidence going into Madrid for the second leg. A strong performance from Atletico saw them thump the German team 4-0 to advance to the group stage for … Continue reading →