Some unlikely clubs are in and big names are out but the battle for places in next season's competition continues
Almost all the usual suspects will be there but next season's Champions League could feature some fascinating new or nearly forgotten faces. There will also be a couple of notable absences from the starting line-up, most obviously Internazionale, the 2010 winners, who will be exiled from Europe after finishing ninth in Serie A, far behind the top four of Juventus, Napoli, Milan and Fiorentina. The final will be held in Lisbon's Stadium of Light but the local team, Sporting Lisbon, cannot even dream of reaching it as they, too, have failed to qualify for continental competition.
Sporting's decline owes much to the financial turmoil gripping the club and the country. But Portugal could still provide one of the fairytale stories of next season, as Paços de Ferreira finished third in the Primeira Liga, behind Porto and Benfica, and if they navigate through the qualifying round, where potential opponents include Arsenal, Schalke and Fenerbahce, they could become the most unlikely side ever to reach the Champions League group stages.
Paços de Ferreira is a district of Porto with a population of around 8,500. Their average home attendance this season was about 1,500, less than a third of the capacity of their ground, which does not meet Uefa criteria so will not be used if the team reach the group stages. That means Paços will probably ask to be put up by nearby Boavista or Braga. Getting to the position where they have to seek such favours would be a glorious achievement for a team that finished 10th in the Primeira Liga last year and whose manager, Paulo Fonseca, had declared that the primary target of the latest campaign was to avoid relegation. It remains to be seen how many of the players who helped surpass expectations so spectacularly will be around to try to do the same again next season, as rich admirers are circling, with the 22-year-old playmaker Josué attracting particular interest.
Fierce fighting continues in some places to earn the right to join Paços in the Champions League qualifying rounds. While newcomers such as the Hungarian champions, Gyor, and the League of Ireland winners, Sligo Rovers, have secured spots in earlier stages, Real Sociedad and Valencia have two matches left to determine which of them will become the fourth Spanish entrant into the Champions League. Sociedad have been one of the most entertaining sides of the season under Philippe Montanier, but face the more gruelling run-in, with matches against Real Madrid and relegation-threatened Deportivo de La Coruña. Valencia, level on points with Sociedad, play Granada and Sevilla.
The most intriguing battle is in France, where three teams go intoSunday's last round of matches with a chance of taking the country's third Champions League spot, behind Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille. Lyon are the favourites as a home win over Rennes will secure a place they missed this season after being regulars in the knockout stages for most of the past decade.
Just behind them, however, are their regional rivals Saint Etienne, who, in the event of Lyon drawing, would take third place with a win at Lille, who, in turn, would leapfrog both if they win and Lyon lose. If Lille progressed it would cap a remarkable turnaround for Salomon Kalou, the former Chelsea forward who endured a woeful start to the season before finding his form and leading the club's charge into contention. A far more interesting revival, however, is that of Saint Etienne, who could be about to return to Europe's elite after three decades most marked by failure and farce.
Saint Etienne were France's dominant club in the 1960s and 70s, and came within an inch of beating Bayern Munich in the 1976 European Cup final. Since then they have spent most of the time in the shadows of Lyon, just as the manager, the 46-year-old Christophe Galtier, has spent most of his career in the shadow of Alain Perrin, the man to whom he was assistant at five clubs, including Portsmouth during a short and unsatisfactory spell in 2005. Galtier took over from the sacked Perrin at Saint Etienne in 2009 and has just been named Ligue 1's manager of the season thanks to an extraordinary transformation.
After dicing with relegation in his first two seasons, Galtier decided that having to cut costs would not deter him from switching to a more enterprising style of play. He has been rewarded, as Saint Etienne's game, based on dynamic possession, sturdy defending and fast, percussive attacking, has thrilled fans and already ended a 32-year wait for a major trophy, with last month's League Cup victory over Rennes bringing the first significant silverware since a Michel Platini-led side won the last of the club's 10 French league titles in 1981. Now the good times are back and Galtier, who has become the club's longest-serving manager since their golden era, signed a new contract this week despite interest from abroad.
"The coach's deal extension is a very good thing for the club," said the midfielder Fabien Lemoine. "Since he took charge of the team he has managed to create a collective momentum and bring quality to the squad. His work has produced results. We have already won the trophy the club have waited for so long. Now we face the last challenge in the league. The season has already been beautiful and if we have the luck to win on Sunday, it would be exceptional."
Reaching the Champions League may be the club's best hope of hanging on to the players who have excelled this season, losing one game since Christmas. Their top scorer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, is one of the most sought-after forwards in Europe, with Anzhi Makhachkala reportedly preparing an astronomical offer for the 23-year-old Gabon international, who is also a target for several Premier League club. But in a sign of the times he has indicated that his preferred destination if he were to move would be the Bundesliga.
Meanwhile, the goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier, as well as Lemoine, are being eyed up by Monaco, whose recruitment of João Moutinho and James Rodríguez for £60m from Porto shows they are confident of overcoming the dispute about the club's tax status and annexing one of France's Champions League spots next season, regardless of what happens . Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
Almost all the usual suspects will be there but next season's Champions League could feature some fascinating new or nearly forgotten faces. There will also be a couple of notable absences from the starting line-up, most obviously Internazionale, the 2010 winners, who will be exiled from Europe after finishing ninth in Serie A, far behind the top four of Juventus, Napoli, Milan and Fiorentina. The final will be held in Lisbon's Stadium of Light but the local team, Sporting Lisbon, cannot even dream of reaching it as they, too, have failed to qualify for continental competition.
Sporting's decline owes much to the financial turmoil gripping the club and the country. But Portugal could still provide one of the fairytale stories of next season, as Paços de Ferreira finished third in the Primeira Liga, behind Porto and Benfica, and if they navigate through the qualifying round, where potential opponents include Arsenal, Schalke and Fenerbahce, they could become the most unlikely side ever to reach the Champions League group stages.
Paços de Ferreira is a district of Porto with a population of around 8,500. Their average home attendance this season was about 1,500, less than a third of the capacity of their ground, which does not meet Uefa criteria so will not be used if the team reach the group stages. That means Paços will probably ask to be put up by nearby Boavista or Braga. Getting to the position where they have to seek such favours would be a glorious achievement for a team that finished 10th in the Primeira Liga last year and whose manager, Paulo Fonseca, had declared that the primary target of the latest campaign was to avoid relegation. It remains to be seen how many of the players who helped surpass expectations so spectacularly will be around to try to do the same again next season, as rich admirers are circling, with the 22-year-old playmaker Josué attracting particular interest.
Fierce fighting continues in some places to earn the right to join Paços in the Champions League qualifying rounds. While newcomers such as the Hungarian champions, Gyor, and the League of Ireland winners, Sligo Rovers, have secured spots in earlier stages, Real Sociedad and Valencia have two matches left to determine which of them will become the fourth Spanish entrant into the Champions League. Sociedad have been one of the most entertaining sides of the season under Philippe Montanier, but face the more gruelling run-in, with matches against Real Madrid and relegation-threatened Deportivo de La Coruña. Valencia, level on points with Sociedad, play Granada and Sevilla.
The most intriguing battle is in France, where three teams go intoSunday's last round of matches with a chance of taking the country's third Champions League spot, behind Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille. Lyon are the favourites as a home win over Rennes will secure a place they missed this season after being regulars in the knockout stages for most of the past decade.
Just behind them, however, are their regional rivals Saint Etienne, who, in the event of Lyon drawing, would take third place with a win at Lille, who, in turn, would leapfrog both if they win and Lyon lose. If Lille progressed it would cap a remarkable turnaround for Salomon Kalou, the former Chelsea forward who endured a woeful start to the season before finding his form and leading the club's charge into contention. A far more interesting revival, however, is that of Saint Etienne, who could be about to return to Europe's elite after three decades most marked by failure and farce.
Saint Etienne were France's dominant club in the 1960s and 70s, and came within an inch of beating Bayern Munich in the 1976 European Cup final. Since then they have spent most of the time in the shadows of Lyon, just as the manager, the 46-year-old Christophe Galtier, has spent most of his career in the shadow of Alain Perrin, the man to whom he was assistant at five clubs, including Portsmouth during a short and unsatisfactory spell in 2005. Galtier took over from the sacked Perrin at Saint Etienne in 2009 and has just been named Ligue 1's manager of the season thanks to an extraordinary transformation.
After dicing with relegation in his first two seasons, Galtier decided that having to cut costs would not deter him from switching to a more enterprising style of play. He has been rewarded, as Saint Etienne's game, based on dynamic possession, sturdy defending and fast, percussive attacking, has thrilled fans and already ended a 32-year wait for a major trophy, with last month's League Cup victory over Rennes bringing the first significant silverware since a Michel Platini-led side won the last of the club's 10 French league titles in 1981. Now the good times are back and Galtier, who has become the club's longest-serving manager since their golden era, signed a new contract this week despite interest from abroad.
"The coach's deal extension is a very good thing for the club," said the midfielder Fabien Lemoine. "Since he took charge of the team he has managed to create a collective momentum and bring quality to the squad. His work has produced results. We have already won the trophy the club have waited for so long. Now we face the last challenge in the league. The season has already been beautiful and if we have the luck to win on Sunday, it would be exceptional."
Reaching the Champions League may be the club's best hope of hanging on to the players who have excelled this season, losing one game since Christmas. Their top scorer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, is one of the most sought-after forwards in Europe, with Anzhi Makhachkala reportedly preparing an astronomical offer for the 23-year-old Gabon international, who is also a target for several Premier League club. But in a sign of the times he has indicated that his preferred destination if he were to move would be the Bundesliga.
Meanwhile, the goalkeeper Stéphane Ruffier, as well as Lemoine, are being eyed up by Monaco, whose recruitment of João Moutinho and James Rodríguez for £60m from Porto shows they are confident of overcoming the dispute about the club's tax status and annexing one of France's Champions League spots next season, regardless of what happens . Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.