Three Canadians Involved in UEFA Cup Round of 32

A meagre tally, yes, but it’ll have to do for this year. Here’s what our three representatives are up against as they try to capture The Other Cup this year.

Lars Hirschfeld and Rosenborg, who finished third in their Champions League group behind Chelsea and Schalke, are pitted against Fiorentina, who finished second in their UEFA Cup group, sandwiched between Villareal and AEK. Rosenborg got off to a very impressive start in their group, to the point of getting a draw at Stamford Bridge (oh boy was I ever proud that day), and even beat Valencia 2-0 twice, but eventually faded and lost to Schalke on the last matchday, sending them to where they are.

Fiorentina definitely wasn’t the easiest draw for the Norwegians. They’re in good form in Serie A at the moment, in fifth place (FYI: in front of Milan) and challenging a Champions League spot. Their attack features Christian Vieri and Adrian Mutu, that’s all. But you know how it is, everyone always underestimates the Scandinavian sides. Still though, I’d have to pick the men in purple to take this tie, let’s say 3-2 on aggregate (none of the goals will be Lars’ fault).

Paul Stalteri and Tottenham Hotspur, have been drawn against Slavia Prague, which, admitedly, is one of the more favourable draws. The Czechs finished behind Sevilla and Arsenal in Group H (the most non-surprising outcome in the history of world football), while Spurs had their first-place spot nicked by Getafe but pipped by Anderlecht to earn a date with a CL reject.

While Spurs’ start to the season was about as awe-inspiring as a cow pat (three cheers for Rowan Atkinson!), things have been looking up for them lately, namely because of the rebirth of Dimitar Berbatov. Slavia aren’t without their assets either (they were in the Champions League) but I have faith in the Spurs (whom I support with all my heart anyway, suck on it.) to go through to the next round, where they would probably face PSV.

Tam Nsaliwa and AEK Athens have drawn the team that came out one step better than Spurs, none other than the Spaniard club Getafe. Their only loss was at home against the eventual last-place finishers, Hapoel Tel-Aviv. AEK, on the other hand, finished third in a tough group that included Fiorentina and Villareal.

AEK are usually fairly sharp in Europe. Getafe, on the other hand, are quite inexperienced. They only gained access to La Liga two summers ago. That said, they did finish top of their group in front of one of the biggest budgets in the Prem and the Belgian champions. This could make for a very interesing tie, almost too close to call. But I’m saying Getafe on penalties.

If every squad has eighteen players, that means that in the Champions League and UEFA Cup combined, there’s 936 players in the mix. Three of which are Canadians, and that’s a healthy 0.32%, thanks very much. What do you think of those picks?