Standings after match day 3 Bayern 5 Aris 4 Bolton 3 Braga 2 Red Star 0 Only Bolton and Bayern have yet to go through a bye week, Bayern misses next week while Bolton miss the final matchday. A win next week in Greece combined with a Bolton-Red Star draw see us through to the next round with a game to spare.
I didn't share GoodDead's optimism (winning against Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine in the dead of winter after losing to them at home seemed a stretch), but was very happily surprised.
Bota-fora draw scheduled for the 21st of Dec. Both Sporting and Benfica will play their first game at home.
Match Background Braga vs Red Star Belgrade: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup/fixturesresults/round=15119/match=301672/index.html We need to win, win by 2 and it doesn't matter what happens in the Bayern - Aris game
Big day for Braga coming up. Scenarios, as I understand them: Braga ties or loses--eliminated Braga wins by two--advances Braga wins and Aris/Bayern is not a draw--advances So there's no reason not to root for Aris/Bayern to have a winner, that only helps Braga's chances. But at the end of the day, Braga controls their destiny, and has to win, preferably by two. Good luck to them.
Braga already up one goal, Linz in the 11th minute. Great start, only need one more! Also: no score in the Bayern/Aris match, but it's still early.
Update: Luca Toni scores for Bayern in the 25' minute. Bayern 1-0 Aris Braga 1-0 Crvena Zvezda This set of results would put Braga through; there's still plenty of soccer to play, though.
Good 1st half for Braga but they could easily be up 2-0. Wender missed a golden opportunity in alone against the keeper. Braga defense needs to tighten up in the 2nd half as well. They were giving the Red Star players too much space outside the Braga box.
2-0 Final To the Good Guys! We move on with Benfica and Sporting to the round of 32 where we will play one of the 3rd place Champions League teams.
Great result. The only down note is that by earning second place in their group, Braga ends up with a harder draw IMO because the teams that finished third in their UCL group are typically tougher than almost any of the teams in the UEFA Cup. Possible opponents are: Bremen, Marseille, Rosenborg, Rangers, PSV, Slavia. I think a fairer rule would be to put the teams finishing third in their UEFA Cup group against the third-placed UCL teams, and then have the first and second place UEFA teams play one another. In any event, very very well done by Braga. Great to have four teams in the late stages of these tournaments.
UEFA Cup Top Scorers: Code: 6 Luca Toni Bayern 6 Henrik Larsson Helsingborg 6 Razak Omotoyossi Helsingborg [B]5 Roland Linz Braga[/B] 5 Dimitrios Papadopoulos Panathinaikos 5 Stefan Kiessling Leverkusen 5 Agüero Atlético 5 Fernando Cavenagh Bordeaux
Draw for round of 32: Code: 2nd in UC group 3rd in CL group ------------------------ --- ------------------------ --- 1.FC Nürnberg Ger Olympique Marseille Fra Panathinaikos Gre Rosenborg BK Nor Fiorentina Ita Werder Bremen Ger FC Basel Sui [B] Benfica Por[/B] Spartak Moscow Rus Glasgow Rangers Sco [B]Sporting Braga Por [/B] [B]Sporting CP Lisbon [/B] [B]Por[/B] Tottenham Hotspur Eng PSV Eindhoven Ned Helsingborg IF Swe Slavia Praha Cze No teams can play another team from the same country. The draw for the round of 16 will also take place. For the round of 16 no seedings will be made.
Awesome article from uefa.com.....that site loves us and always gives Braga props year in and out, I can tell they want us to grow. Braga strengthen Portuguese ambition
http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=64/newsid=551134.html 21.12.2007 13.00 CET UEFA Cup Round of 32, Round of 16 Toronto time : 7am
So, here is how the Round of 32 draw progressed: Sporting x FC Basel Benfica x FC Nurnberg Werder Bremen x Braga A pretty good draw for all clubs involved...
If Sporting wins, they will face the winner of Bolton/Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16. If Benfica wins, they will face the winner of AEK/Getafe in the Round of 16. If Braga wins, they will face the winner of Rangers/Panathinaikos in the Round of 16.