Europa League 2011/2012

ÍBV (the Icelandic team) have to play their home game at a different venue because their stadium (rather field of grass) doesn't meet the UEFA requirements.
Hell, it doesn't even meet the standard to be shown on Icelandic TV.
 
Never understood the point of starting this tournament so early.

Early? There are a lot of leagues playing right now. Also, you have to get through a lot of qualifying rounds. Fulham are playing now because they qualified via fair play. That's the longest route you can take to to the competition.

It's so teams like Liverpool don't have to play teams from Luxembourg from the get go unless somehow that crappy team makes it this far.
 
I can't believe Fulham are playing their first team in this. I was expecting at least half the team to be from the reserves.
 
Back on tonight, hopefully featuring normal camera angles.

Fulham are playing here:

Toftir_Faroe_Islands.jpg


304_1858-alt-ilhas-faroe.jpg
 
They must lose a dozen footballs every match ... and watch them floating out to sea.
 
Following two games now. FH vs Nacional from Portugal. Those Portuguese are really a bunch of panties. I'm currently in the broadcast van so I can see all the playacting quite nicely. There's already a compilation ready of them diving and the 1st half isn't even over.

In Reykjavik current league front runners are winning 1-0 against last seasons CL group stage team Zilina. I expected them, as well as Nacional, to be much stronger than the Icelandic teams but so far it's been the other way around.
Former Stoke player, Bjarni Gudjonsson, with the goal.
 
KR is battering Zilina now 3-0! One man up.

FH just equalized. Nacional scored when there were seconds left of the 1st half. It's a deserved goal but Nacional have been better overall.
 
The draw has been made for the 3rd qualifying round. Looks great for Iceland like UEFA reported.

Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) v Strømsgodset IF (NOR)

BSC Young Boys (SUI) v TPS Turku (FIN)/KVC Westerlo (BEL)

FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR)/FK Ventspils (LVA) v FK Crvena zvezda (SRB)

FC Alania Vladikavkaz (RUS) v Kecskeméti TE (HUN)/FC Aktobe (KAZ)

Floriana FC (MLT)/AEK Larnaca FC (CYP) v FK Mladá Boleslav (CZE)

FK Željezničar (BIH)/FC Sheriff (MDA) v Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)/Xäzär
Länkäran FK (AZE)

AZ Alkmaar (NED) v KS Flamurtari (ALB)/FK Jablonec (CZE)

NK Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN)/Bohemian FC (IRL) v FK Rudar Pljevlja
(MNE)/FK Austria Wien (AUT)

Bursaspor (TUR) v FC Gomel (BLR)

Ferencvárosi TC (HUN)/Aalesunds FK (NOR) v FK Sūduva (LTU)/IF Elfsborg
(SWE)

FC Minsk (BLR)/Gaziantepspor (TUR) v Legia Warszawa (POL)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) v FC Vaduz (LIE)/FK Vojvodina (SRB)

FC Metalurgi Rustavi (GEO)/FC Irtysh Pavlodar (KAZ) v Stade Rennais FC
(FRA)

PFC Levski Sofia (BUL) v KF Tirana (ALB)/FC Spartak Trnava (SVK)

The New Saints FC (WAL)/FC Midtjylland (DEN) v Vitória SC (POR)

FC Dinamo Bucureşti (ROU) v FC Iskra-Stal (MDA)/NK Varaždin (CRO)

FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR) v FC Shakhter Karagandy (KAZ)/Saint Patrick's
Athletic FC (IRL)

KS Vllaznia (ALB)/FC Thun (SUI) v US Città di Palermo (ITA)

KR Reykjavík (ISL)/MŠK Žilina (SVK) v Llanelli AFC (WAL)/FC Dinamo Tbilisi
(GEO)

AC Omonia (CYP) v FC Tauras (LTU)/ADO Den Haag (NED)

SK Liepājas Metalurgs (LVA)/FC Salzburg (AUT) v FK Senica (SVK)

Club Brugge KV (BEL) v EB/Streymur (FRO)/FK Qarabağ (AZE)

FC Differdange 03 (LUX)/FC Levadia Tallinn (EST) v FK Rad
(SRB)/Olympiacos Volou FC (GRE)

1. FSV Mainz 05 (GER) v KuPS Kuopio (FIN)/CS Gaz Metan Mediaş (ROU)

UE Sant Julià (AND)/Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) v Helsingborgs IF (SWE)

Stoke City FC (ENG) v HNK Hajduk Split (CRO)

Anorthosis Famagusta FC (CYP)/FC Gagra (GEO) v AC Juvenes-Dogana
(SMR)/FK Rabotnicki (MKD)

Örebro SK (SWE)/FK Sarajevo (BIH) v AC Sparta Praha (CZE)

Glentoran FC (NIR)/FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR) v Sligo Rovers FC (IRL)

Paksi SE (HUN)/Tromsø IL (NOR) v Heart of Midlothian FC (SCO)

FK Metalurg Skopje (MKD)/PFC Lokomotiv Sofia (BUL) v WKS Śląsk Wrocław
(POL)/Dundee United FC (SCO)

FH Hafnarfjördur (ISL)/CD Nacional (POR) v BK Häcken (SWE)/FC Honka Espoo (FIN)

SV Ried (AUT) v Brøndby IF (DEN)

PAOK FC (GRE) v Vålerenga Fotball (NOR)/FC Mika (ARM)

NK Domžale (SVN)/RNK Split (CRO) v Crusaders FC (NIR)/Fulham FC (ENG)

Good draw for KR and FH if they make it through. If they do their opponents would be "lesser" than the ones they are facing now.

Fulham will have to travel and Stoke are probably not to happy with their draw either.
 
So KR made it in their away game. Beat last years CL group stage performers Zilina. Massive result for them. They've now got a good advantage financially just because of that achievement.

Here's the 3rd qualifying round:
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) v Strømsgodset IF (NOR)

BSC Young Boys (SUI) v KVC Westerlo (BEL)

FK Ventspils (LVA) v Red Star Belgrade (SRB)

FC Alania Vladikavkaz (RUS) v FC Aktobe (KAZ)

AEK Larnaca FC (CYP) v FK Mladá Boleslav (CZE)

FK Željezničar (BIH) v Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

AZ Alkmaar (NED) v FK Jablonec (CZE)

NK Olimpija Ljubljana (SVN) v FK Austria Wien (AUT)

Bursaspor (TUR) v FC Gomel (BLR)

Aalesunds FK (NOR) v IF Elfsborg (SWE)

Gaziantepspor (TUR) v Legia Warszawa (POL)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) v FC Vaduz (LIE)

FC Metalurgi Rustavi (GEO) v Stade Rennais FC (FRA)

PFC Levski Sofia (BUL) v FC Spartak Trnava (SVK)

FC Midtjylland (DEN) v Vitória SC (POR)

FC Dinamo Bucureşti (ROU) v NK Varaždin (CRO)

FC Karpaty Lviv (UKR) v Saint Patrick's Athletic FC (IRL)

FC Thun (SUI) v US Città di Palermo (ITA)

KR Reykjavík (ISL) v FC Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)

AC Omonia (CYP) v ADO Den Haag (NED)

FC Salzburg (AUT) v FK Senica (SVK)

Club Brugge KV (BEL) v FK Qarabağ (AZE)

FC Differdange 03 (LUX) v Olympiacos Volou FC (GRE)

1. FSV Mainz 05 (GER) v CS Gaz Metan Mediaş (ROU)

Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) v Helsingborgs IF (SWE)

Stoke City FC (ENG) v HNK Hajduk Split (CRO)

Anorthosis Famagusta FC (CYP) v FK Rabotnicki (MKD)

FK Sarajevo (BIH) v AC Sparta Praha (CZE)

FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR) v Sligo Rovers FC (IRL)

Paksi SE (HUN) v Heart of Midlothian FC (SCO)

PFC Lokomotiv Sofia (BUL) v Śląsk Wrocław (POL)

CD Nacional (POR) v BK Häcken (SWE)

SV Ried (AUT) v Brøndby IF (DEN)

Vålerenga Fotball (NOR) v PAOK FC (GRE)

RNK Split (CRO) v Fulham FC (ENG)
 
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) v FC Vaduz (LIE)

Shocking from Vojvodina losing to this lot 3:1 at home after beating them 2:0 away.
 
They aren't all bad. They play in Switzerland because they are the best team in Liechtenstein by miles. They always qualify for EL because they win the cup in Liechtenstein every time. 14 times in a row now. Don't know why this is allowed by UEFA.
 
So KR made it in their away game. Beat last years CL group stage performers Zilina. Massive result for them. They've now got a good advantage financially just because of that achievement.

Here's the 3rd qualifying round:

You got it wrong somehow, Dundee United have been eliminated by Slask Wroclaw.
 
It was a good game too, nice to see a Polish team progress against a decent Scottish side after humiliation of Jagiellonia who were eliminated by Irtysh of Kazakhstan in the previous round. Slask are a decent side who might even get past Lokomotiv Sofia if they are lucky.

Legia will probably be murdered by Gaziantepspor though, and I don't expect much from Wisla Krakow in Champions League against Litex Lovech who seem like a solid team.
 
Stoke vs Hajduk will be full of incident.

And why's that? I personally despise both Hajduk and their supporters, but don't see any problems with them playing Stoke or do you know something I've somehow missed?
 
Six stabbings in Dundee.

Expect similiar at the Stoke game if Hadjuk bring a decent group.

2,000 Poles at the game tonight.
 
After this round of qualifying stages do the teams make it into the group stage or is there more qualifying rounds?

There is one more round in which competition's best sides like Tottenham, Atletico and someone frok Italy join in.