BVB on the hunt for the final piece of the jigsaw
Dortmund have won every title there is to win at least once, except the Europa League. With a lot of self-belief, but also a lot of respect for their opponents, BVB start their Europa League campaign on the back of nine competitive wins in a row. They will face Russian side FK Krasnodar at 19:00 CEST. "We want to reach the knock out rounds, then we will see what happens", said sporting director Michael Zorc.
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes that Dortmund are "capable of winning the Europa League. The ex-Germany international continued: "Dortmund have always been an important representative of German football. They have always done well in Europe and won big matches."
Borussia don’t have particularly good memories of their first season in the Europa League in 2010/11, after being eliminated in the group stages. Five years later and they enter the tournament as favourites, with the expectations a lot higher.
"Krasnodar are a strong Russian team with a lot of foreign talents. We will prepare diligently and make sure that we are ready for the challenge," said manager Thomas Tuchel. The 21-man squad of the Russian side contains only ten Russian nationals. Dortmund will be without Germany international Marco Reus, as he is still out injured. In better news, Adrian Ramos and Lukasz Piszczek may return to the squad.
Nicosia, not Madrid – Schalke head into the unknown
When the Schalke players got on the plane in Düsseldorf on Wednesday, it would have felt a bit different. They weren’t heading to London, Lisbon or Madrid, but instead to Nicosia. "We have enjoyed many amazing Champions League moments," said captain Benedikt Höwedes, "but that’s all in the past.” The world champion elaborated: "We are flying across Europe, but this time to Cyprus." The Royal Blues face APOEL Nicosia this evening (21:05 CEST) as clear favourites, knowing that anything other than three points will be a disappointment.
Goal poacher Huntelaar is confident, saying: "we know that we can do well in the tournament, but everything will have to fall into place." The Royal Blues have reached the knockout stages in their last five European tournaments, four times in the Champions League and once in the Europa League. Asteras Tripolis from Greece und Sparta Prague make up the rest of the group.
The competition is new territory for manager André Breitenreiter. As a former Hamburger SV and Hannover 96 striker though, he has gathered European experience (UEFA Cup 1996/97 and UEFA Cup Winners Cup 1992/93 respectively) as a player. On the topic of whether he would rotate the squad from last week’s 2-1 victory over Mainz he remained coy: "We will see," said the Royal Blues manager.
World Cup winner Höwedes is available again after returning from injury, as well as loanee Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg from Bayern München, who stayed on the bench against Mainz. Leon Goretzka, the U21 captain, and his teammate Max Meyer, are expected to play a part later.
Augsburg make their Europa League debut
BVB on the hunt for the final piece of the jigsaw
Dortmund have won every title there is to win at least once, except the Europa League. With a lot of self-belief, but also a lot of respect for their opponents, BVB start their Europa League campaign on the back of nine competitive wins in a row. They will face Russian side FK Krasnodar at 19:00 CEST. "We want to reach the knock out rounds, then we will see what happens", said sporting director Michael Zorc.
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes that Dortmund are "capable of winning the Europa League. The ex-Germany international continued: "Dortmund have always been an important representative of German football. They have always done well in Europe and won big matches."
Borussia don’t have particularly good memories of their first season in the Europa League in 2010/11, after being eliminated in the group stages. Five years later and they enter the tournament as favourites, with the expectations a lot higher.
"Krasnodar are a strong Russian team with a lot of foreign talents. We will prepare diligently and make sure that we are ready for the challenge," said manager Thomas Tuchel. The 21-man squad of the Russian side contains only ten Russian nationals. Dortmund will be without Germany international Marco Reus, as he is still out injured. In better news, Adrian Ramos and Lukasz Piszczek may return to the squad.
Nicosia, not Madrid – Schalke head into the unknown
When the Schalke players got on the plane in Düsseldorf on Wednesday, it would have felt a bit different. They weren’t heading to London, Lisbon or Madrid, but instead to Nicosia. "We have enjoyed many amazing Champions League moments," said captain Benedikt Höwedes, "but that’s all in the past.” The world champion elaborated: "We are flying across Europe, but this time to Cyprus." The Royal Blues face APOEL Nicosia this evening (21:05 CEST) as clear favourites, knowing that anything other than three points will be a disappointment.
Goal poacher Huntelaar is confident, saying: "we know that we can do well in the tournament, but everything will have to fall into place." The Royal Blues have reached the knockout stages in their last five European tournaments, four times in the Champions League and once in the Europa League. Asteras Tripolis from Greece und Sparta Prague make up the rest of the group.
The competition is new territory for manager André Breitenreiter. As a former Hamburger SV and Hannover 96 striker though, he has gathered European experience (UEFA Cup 1996/97 and UEFA Cup Winners Cup 1992/93 respectively) as a player. On the topic of whether he would rotate the squad from last week’s 2-1 victory over Mainz he remained coy: "We will see," said the Royal Blues manager.
World Cup winner Höwedes is available again after returning from injury, as well as loanee Pierre-Emile Höjbjerg from Bayern München, who stayed on the bench against Mainz. Leon Goretzka, the U21 captain, and his teammate Max Meyer, are expected to play a part later.
Augsburg make their Europa League debut
FC Augsburg are relatively unknown in Europe, a fact which is expected to change very soon. On the back of a narrow defeat to champions Bayern München in the Bundesliga, Augsburg will be looking to make a good impression in the Europa League. They start against Spanish Super Cup winners Athletic Bilbao at 21:05 CEST tonight.
"These are days that we want to savour," said manager Markus Weinzierl, ahead of the club’s first European appearance in their 108-year history. FCA will be without the injured Jeong-Ho Hong and striker Raul Bobadilla. Their fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga last season to qualify for Europe is an incredible achievement in its own right. "Not even in our wildest dreams did we think this could happen. Words fail me," said Peter Bircks, the supervisory chairman of the board.
Part of the 1,200 strong FCA fan base travelling to Bilbao boarded six 'fan busses' on Wednesday and made the 1,000 kilometer journey south. The club contributed to transportation costs for the fans as well: "we got together a six-figure sum," reported FCA chairman Stefan Reuter. "Europe will get to know us. We want to surprise everyone and progress through the group stages."
As well as Bilbao, FCA will face the Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and the Serbian team Partizan Belgrade in Group L. Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker though, has declared the match in Estadio de San Mamés as the "game of the year." There is "huge anticipation, we want to give everything." Despite this, Weinzierl has gone on record to say that "the match against Hannover 96 on Sunday is the most important of the week."
