Champions League qualifier... Plzen vs Zeljeznicar (Bosnia & Her.) Potentially a tricky draw for Plzen.
The big story so far is Sparta's unceremonious early exit from Europa League after their good performance last season. Lot of pressure on that club to win domestic silverware this season now that they are already out of Europe. Plzen are in a good spot as far as Champions League go, they'll be on cruise control for the 2nd leg and I think they have a strong chance against any of their potential opponents in the playoff round. If Liberec and or Jablonec can sneak into Europa League Group Stages it would be huge, but I'm not convinced either will.
This week went about as well as it could have, Plzen are in the Champions League playoff round after a 10-2 aggregate victory over Estonian side Nomme Kalju. Plzen's advancement was never really in doubt, but the icing on the cake for the Gambrinus Liga's European fortune is that both Jablonec (5-2 agg over Norwegian side Stromsgodset) and Liberec (4-2 agg over FC Zurich of Switzerland) advanced to the Europa League Playoff round. Plzen have the fortune of being seeded for their next round, and I think they have a very good chance against any of their potential opponents. For Liberec and Jablonec it most likely will be difficult opponent in the next round, as they are unseeded. There are a few seeded teams that they could potentially defeat, but the overwhelming majority of potential opponents seem to be of superior quality.
Not decisive enough to completely pencil them in just yet, but Plzen are looking good for Champions League after a 3-1 first leg victory over Maribor. The 1 Maribor goal keeps the result in question, but I'm confident Plzen will advance.
Well, Plzen may not be alone in Europe afterall: Udinese 1- Liberec 3 I did not see that coming, a 2 away goal advantage going into the 2nd leg. It would be huge for our coefficient of Liberec makes the group stage. Jablonec also put up a good effort, but were always going to be outclassed: Jablonec 1 - Real Betis 2
And Plzen are in the Champions League group stages after a 4-1 aggregate victory over Maribor in which they were rarely troubled. Good to have a Czech team in the Champions League again.
Liberec are through to the Europa League group stage as they defeated Udinese 4-2 on aggregate. Should be interesting to see who they get and how far they can go. Always good to see Czech sides do well in Europe.
Liberec's making the group stage was a nice surprise and a big boost for the Czech coefficient rating, they made a lot of signings last season and now seem to be coming together as a contender again (though I still think the domestic title will come down to Plzen and Sparta). Looking at pot 2 and 3 for Europa League, if they get the right draw they may have a decent chance to advance further. Plzen's group is very tough, but it is Champions League: Group D Bayern Munich CSKA Moscow Manchester City Viktoria Plzen
Liberec with a nice result getting the draw away at Freiburg. Hopefully they put in a solid showing in Europa League, would be good for the league coefficient. Plzen's group is murderous, so if they can even wind up snatching a result a two (say a win and a draw) it would be considered a good showing. That said, they are making some serious money off this.
For the 2nd straight year, there will be two Gambrinus Liga teams playing European football into the new year. Plzen won Pavel Vrba's final match as manager against CSKA Moscow in dramatic fashion with a late goal propelling them into 3rd place and into Europa League knock out stages. Vrba of course is taking over the national team job after what can only be called a remarkable tenure with Plzen. Slovan Liberec also advanced with an away victory against Portuguese side Estoril. All and all this is shaping up to be another strong year for our league's UEFA coefficient, which currently we would end this season with a 5 year average ranked 15th, although by far our best seasons are the last 3 (especially the last 2).