Bayern, English clubs handed comfortable UEFA Cup draw

First Published: Aug 31, 2007

Former champions Bayern Munich and the four English Premier League clubs in the UEFA Cup have all been handed comfortable ties in the first round, the draw for which was made here on Friday.

Four-time European champions Bayern Munich, who won the UEFA Cup in 1996, will start their campaign with a tie against Portuguese outfit Belenenses.

The German club, which last won the Champions League in 2001, missed out on a spot in European football's showcase tournament after finishing fourth in the Bundesliga last season.

As for the English Premiership sides, last season's losing UEFA Cup semi-finalists Tottenham will play Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta while Bolton take on Macedonia's Rabotnicki.

Blackburn Rovers are up against Greek club Larissa, while Everton face a trip to Ukraine to play Metalist Kharkiv.

The same fate awaits Scottish Premier League team Aberdeen, who were drawn with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

Everton chief executive Keith Wyness said: "There is no such thing as an easy draw in Europe.

"Ukraine is a well-known footballing nation but Everton are very focused on taking the club further in Europe this year.

"We hope to be in Europe more consistently," Wyness said.

Bolton manager Sammy Lee said: "They (Rabotnicki) are an unknown quantity and we will do our homework near the time.

"The priority now is to focus on the Premier League campaign and make sure we are winning matches. I'm sure it will start to sink in nearer the time."

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes said: "We could have had worse draws. The likes of Zagreb were in the mix and we could have come up against them. There were more difficult opponents that we could have had so we are reasonably pleased with it."

Although on paper Bayern appear to have an easy tie, Turkish midfielder Hamit Altintop believes their Lisbon-based opponents, who finished fifth in the Portuguese league last season, will not be a pushover.

Belenenses have previously failed to get past the UEFA Cup's second round, but are packed with creative Brazilians - and Altintop says the Germans can't afford to make any slip-ups.

"I have never heard of Belenenses or ever seen them play," said the Turkish international.

"But whether or not they are a big name doesn't matter - often the teams without a big history are the most dangerous to play against, because they have nothing to lose.

"We will have to be on our guard."

The home and away ties will be played on September 20 and October 4.

The 40 teams that progress from the first round go into a group phase comprising eight groups of five clubs.

The top three teams progress through to the round of 32, at which point they will be joined by eight sides finishing third in their Champions League group.

The final will takes place at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 14.

UEFA Cup 1st rd

Midtjylland (DEN) v Lokomotiv Moskow (RUS)

Groningen (NED) v Fiorentina (ITA)

Rabotnicki (MKD) v Bolton Wanderers (ENG)

Sevilla (ESP, holders)/AEK Athens (GRE) v Salzburg (AUT)

Nurnberg (GER) v Rapid Bucharest (ROM)

Everton (ENG) v Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)

Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) v Standard Liege (BEL)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER) v UD Leiria (POR)

Villarreal (ESP) v BATE Borisov (BLR)

Sion (SUI) v Galatasaray (TUR)

Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Kayseri Erciyesspor (TUR)

Bordeaux (FRA) v Tampere United (FIN)

Panathinaikos (GRE) v Artmedia Petralka (SVK)

Sparta Prague (CZE) v Odense BK (DEN)

Zurich (SUI) v Empoli (ITA)

Sochaux (FRA) v Panionios (GRE)

Rapid Vienna (AUT) v Anderlecht (BEL)

Pacos de Ferreira (POR) v AZ Alkmaar (NED)

Sampdoria (ITA) v Aalborg BK (DEN)

Spartak Moscow (RUS) v BK Hacken (SWE)

Hammarby (SWE) v Braga (POR)

Larissa (GRE) v Blackburn Rovers (ENG)

Mlada Boleslav (CZE) v Palermo (ITA)

Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Ajax (NED)

Rennes (FRA) v Lokomotiv Sofia (BUL)

Brann (NOR) v Club Bruges (BEL)

Bayern Munich (GER) v Belenenses (POR)

Aberdeen (SCO) v Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR)

Heerenveen (NED) v Helsingborgs IF (SWE)

Toulouse (FRA) v CSKA Sofia (BUL)

Hamburg (GER) v PFC Litex Lovech (BUL)

Sarajevo (BIH) v Basel (SUI)

Austria Vienna (AUT) v Valerenga IF (NOR)

AIK Solna (SWE) v Hapoel Tel-Aviv (ISR)

Aris Thessaloniki FC (GRE) v Real Zaragoza (ESP)

Dinamo Bucharest (ROU) v IF Elfsborg (SWE)

Tottenham (ENG) v Famagusta (CYP)

Lens (FRA) v Copenhagen (DEN)

Getafe (ESP) v Twente (NED)

Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski (POL) v FK Crvena Zvezda (SRB)

1st leg: September 20

2nd leg: October 4