UEFA CUP Group Stage Preview - Groups E - H

UEFA Cup Group Stage Preview II

Matchday 1 of the UEFA Cup is on Thursday, October 25, 2007.

Continuing on, here's the outlook for the remaining groups in the 2007-08 UEFA Cup Group Stage: Groups E - H. Once more, lots of interesting matchups and intriguing ties. Plenty of very good teams that lurk in the middle to upper reaches of domestic leagues that never quite get the media attention that they deserve.

Groups A - D can be found here.

Group E

First of all there's Bayer Leverkusen and Toulouse.

Ending this weekend, Bayer were seventh in the Bundesliga while Toulouse were in tenth place in Ligue 1. Bayer has a better set of players with Theofanis Gekas, Steffan Kießling and Sergej Barbarez firing up the attack while Bernd Schneider and Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta dovetail in the middle of the park. At the back ex-Inter defender Vratislav Gresko, Tunisian Karim Haggui and German Manuel Friedrich keep opponents at bay. Toulouse, on the other hand, are a handy outfit but lack the cutting edge required to trouble top sides. The only quality player thay have is Johan Elmander and he's not giving defenders nightmares when they sleep. In the recent Champions' League qualifier versus Liverpool, the Ligue 1 team matched Liverpool, and even troubled them, at times, but when push came to shove, fell apart worryingly.

Bayer host Toulouse on Matchday 1 and the winner of that game should go on to top the group.

Now, in addition to the above duo, there is another side who will cause all sorts of problems to both of them and everyone else later in the competition. I present to you Spartak Moscow, who've slipped in unnoticed at the back of the class. Whereas one of Bayer and Toulouse should finish first, Spartak will definitely finish second. The Russian side will ride in the slipstream of the top two and leapfrog one of them to second spot in the group. Spartak have lots of recent European experience and have a well drilled side boasting the likes of Ygor Titov, Maxim Kalinichenko and Roman Pavlyuchenko. Yeah, you'd never heard of Nemanja Vidic either but look at him now.

Spartak host Bayer at home and visit Toulouse. Four points from those two games should prove enough to send Spartak through given that they also have to host Zurich and visit Sparta Prague. Bayer can build on their win in game 1 by avoiding defeat in Russia, but if they lose to Toulouse in the opener the momentum will be with the French club. Toulouse avoid the trip to Russia when they host Spartak at home. If the game between the German and French side ends in a draw, depriving both sides of precious points, Spartak could even go on to top the group. The fixtures make for an interesting set of results.

Sparta Prague seemed more interested in preventing football than playing it, in the Champion's League qualifier against Arsenal. Their robust approach can ruffle some feathers in this group, but they won't go far. FC Zurich is here mainly to make up the numbers. They'll look to their away tilt at Sparta to avoid the wooden spoon but being the away team in that game hands the Czech side the advantage.

Projected Finish:

Bayer
Spartak
Toulouse
Sparta
Zurich


Group F

This one's easy. Bayern Munich bestride the group like a colossus. Favourites for this group and early favourites for the UEFA Cup altogether. Look for them to be the only side to finish the group stage with 12 points from four straight wins. All the other teams will be looking for damage control in their games against the German behemoths and the only race in this group is the one for second place. Bayern have the best playing corps, are playing the best and boast too much experience.

Behind Bayern I'm tempted to place Sporting Braga. Their main rivals for that spot would be England's Bolton Wanderers whom they play on Matchday 1. However, the Portugese side make up for being the away team in that game with an abundance of flair and skill. And they intend to play football, as opposed to Bolton, Nicholas Anelka apart, who seem intent on kicking and bruising opponents. Bolton barely scraped past Rabotnicki in their qualifying fixture while Braga made up for losing the away leg by hammering Hammarby in the return fixture. Since both teams will probably lose to Bayern, the other tie that should make a difference to both sides would be their respective games against ex-European Champions Red Star Belgrade. Whereas Bolton travel to Belgrade, Braga, crucially, play the Serbian side at home.

Worryingly for Bolton (and Braga), if they slip up against Red Star, they could even fall behind them into 4th place. Bolton should especially be worried as they are quite simply too bad a team to worry opponents whereas Braga have a more creative style that leads to more goal scoring oportunities. And Bolton have no manager while Anelka will almost certainly leave before long. Sentimentally it would be great to see Red Star progress at the expense of the English team, and it they can pick up four points from the two fixtures against Bolton and Aris (whom they play away), they most certainly will.

Finally, I suspect, the PAOK supporting half of the city of Thessaloniki, will be untroubled by my assertion that Aris will prop up the group. Like Larissa, they've done wonders by toppling Real Zaragoza in the qualifying round, but will be out of their depth in the group stage. Their best hope for points will be the home game against Red Star.

This is the only group to feature two fomer club champions of Europe. I've already named Red Star as one of them, surely everyone knows the other.

Projected Finish:

Bayern
Braga
Red Star
Bolton
Aris

Group G

The biggest team in this group is undoubtably Tottenham but the best one is arguably Getafe. And then we have Anderlecht who regularly feature in Europe, although their recent exploits have been less than memorable. Tottenham have been in some sort of a slump, stuck just above the relegation zone and the transfer rumours around the jovial manager Martin Jol refuse to go away. They have one of the costliest striking corps in the competition but their collective quality exists only on paper. Dimitar Berbatov may indeed be one of the classiest strikers in Europe but Darrent Bent is a criminal waste of money and Jermaine Defoe is terribly erratic. Still, despite blowing hot and cold domestically, Spurs should edge the group.

Their closest competitors should be Getafe. The Spanish team are a decent side but not quite as good as the class last year under Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster. Pablo Hernandez and Fabio Celestini are a fine axis in midfield with the former a dead ball specialist as well. Strikers Blanco Kepa and Nigerian Ikechukwu Uche are quite handy and can perforate quite a few defences around the continent. At the back ex-Milan defender Cosmin Contra, veteran David Belenguer and David Cortes form an effective rearguard in front of Argentine custodian Roberto Abbodanzieri. Getafe are singularly effective without being distinctly dangerous.

It all comes down to the opener on Matchday 1 between the two. Spurs host Getafe and whoever wins that game should ease to top spot. Thereafter Spurs visit Anderlecht and Hapoel Tel Aviv while Getafe play host to the same two teams. Needless to say, Getafe stand to claim at least four points and will be looking for six from those two games while Spurs will happily settle for four. With whipping boys Aalborg to visit the Londoners later, Spurs will be looking at a better run-in if they can avoid defeat on their travels. On the other hand if Getafe do win the group opener, the group will be theirs to lose and they could end up with ten points as group winners.

Anderlecht, as always it seems, are unable to trouble the top teams and are a little too good for the lesser sides. Perpetually big fish in a tiny pond, the advent of money into the European game has both passed them by and rendered them impotent without depriving them of their chance of competing in Europe altogether. They won't trouble the top two but should beat Hapoel Tel Aviv and Aalborg handily. Their main chance of breaking into the top two is when they host Tottenham but whereas Spurs will settle for a draw, Anderlecht will need to win.

Hapoel to finish fourth and Aalborg to end up in fifth.

Projected Finish:

Tottenham
Getafe
Anderlecht
Hapoel
Aalborg

Group H

The last of the eight groups is a fairly open one. French side Bordeaux stand out as early favourites with everyone playing for second place, it would seem. They are doing well domestically and are a well knit side who travel well. Resurgent French striker David Bellion is having a spectacular season up front aided and abetted by Brazilian midfielder Wendel. Additionally goalkeeper Ulrich Rame is one of the best to have between the pipes while David Jemmali, Souleymane Diawara and Marc Planus form an effective if unfashionable defence in front of him. Wendel is reinforced by the returning Johan Micoud, who is enjoying something of an Indian summer, Mathieu Chalme, Brazilian Fernando Megezzano and French International Alou Diarra in a tidy midfield.

Turkish side Galatasaray, winners in 2000, have fallen off their glory days despite being injected with some imported Brazilians. Their game on the opening day against Bordeaux is essentially the group decider and Le Girondins should prove too much for Gala. Also, even though Bordeaux have to travel to Greece to play Panionos just like Gala, the Greek side will look to win the latter match against their Turkish neighbours more than the former tilt against the French team. Trans-Aegean matches always have plenty riding on them and after the recent internationals between Greece and Turkey in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, expect this game to have plenty of drama. So, Gala's two away games are against the two toughest sides they can play in an away fixture and they will be hoping to at best avoid defeat in both of them.

Bordeaux should build on their opening day win with a further 6 points at Austria Vienna and at home to Sweden's Helsingborgs. If they can get atleast 7 points from their first 3 games, they are essentially home and dry. However, if Gala win at Bordeaux on Matchday 1, they would be much better placed to pick up 6 points in the 2 home games against the Swedes and Austrians.

Still, it's hard to see past Bordeaux and unless Gala have a nightmare, these two are assured of progression to the knockout rounds. For third place it's a toss up between Vienna and Panionos. Panionos host the two best teams in the group so their home games aren't walkovers and have the additional disadvantage of playing the decider against Vienna away. Those two should ensure that the Austrian side just edge out Panionos to 3rd place. In a recurrent theme in my preview, I once again pick the Nordic side to finish last.

Projected Finish:

Bordeaux
Galatasaray
Austria Vienna
Panionos
Helsingborgs

UEFA CUP Group Stage Preview - Groups A - D

UEFA Cup Group Stage Preview I

I love the UEFA Cup. Let me be the first to admit. It's unpredictable, mostly even, with a deliciously eclectic format. Most teams don't have the same financial muscle as the big boys, so superstars and costly assembled squads are hard to find. It's almost a reminder of the the old times when (almost) anyone had a chance of winning a cup competition.

There is an initial knockout round where half the entrants are eliminated - this sometimes includes the odd bigger and better heeled club. Blackburn that's you. This is followed by a slightly odd round robin stage in which the top 3 (from 5) teams in each (of the 8) group(s) actually progress. They are then joined by the discards from the Champions' League group stages and away we go, pure knockout cup football from then on.

Matchday 1 is next Thursday, October 25, 2007.

Group A

On paper this is Everton's group to lose. They are the biggest club in the group with the most resources and passionate support. They have one of Europe's most underrated midfielders in Mikael Arteta and decent consistent quality all round the park. With their 2 main strikers still to discover their scoring touch this season and their combative, nippy midfielder, Tim Cahill yet to return from injury, Everton could go quite far in the competition.

The luck of the draw sees them avoid the trip to Russia to play tricky Zenit St Petersburg while also entertaining Blackburn's conquerors Larissa at home. The two away trips to Nurnberg and Alkmaar should prove sterner tests but with Nurnberg mired in the relegation zone, 4 points from the 2 away games seems reasonable. This haul, coupled with at least 4 and possibly 6 points from the home games should see Everton top the group.

Behind them, in second place I'd place Alkmaar. The Dutch side just missed out on the qualifiers for the Champions' League, losing to Ajax in a playoff and although bereft of any big name stars, are a well drilled, settled side. Intermittent Dutch internationals Kew Jaliens and Barry Opdam marshall the defence while the excellently named Belgian, Maarten Martens, pulls strings in midfield along with Stijn Schaars.

Even though they travel to Russia to face Zenit, their final home game against Everton should be crucial. If they can avoid defeat in Russia, a win or a tie against the Merseysiders should be fine to send AZ through - provided they take 4 points together from the trip to Germany to play Nurnberg and the home tilt against Larissa.

The 3rd spot is be a toss up between Zenit and Nurnberg. A year ago I'd tip Nurnberg, but this year, struggling in a relegation dogfight this early on in the season and a daunting trip to Russia still to come in late November, the money's on Zenit. For the latter, two of their most crucial matches, and most winnable games, are at home, against Alkmaar and Nurnberg. If they can use the advantage and take home maximum points from those two games (or at least 4) their away game against Everton is rendered moot.

Larissa have shown that they are capable of upsetting the applecart in a one off tie and good on them for that. However, like Slavia Prague, who knocked out Ajax from the Champions' League, they'll find the step up to the group stage a much tougher task.

Projected Finish:

Everton
Alkmaar
Zenit
Nurnberg
Larissa


Group B

The team who seem early favourites would be Panathinaikos. They've reached the knockout rounds of both UEFA Cup and Champions' League in recent years but have dropped off a bit from their recent peak between 2000 and 2003. Although their team is missing any star quality they do have a hot striker in Dimitris Papadopolous who demolished Artmedia Bratislava in the first knockout round.

Once again, The Greek side have the luxury of playing the Russian side, Lokomotiv Moscow at home and their only tricky away game is against Athletico Madrid. Provided they beat Kobenhavn in their other away fixture and avoid defeat to the Spanish team, 4 points from their 2 home games should be enough to see them go through. Six points from the 2 home games will see them top the group.

Athletico Madrid have the biggest stars and possibly the best side on paper with Diego Forlan, Maxi Rodrigues, Luis Garcia Sanz and Jose Antonio Reyes. However the side from Madrid are notoriously mercurial, with form as fickle as the motivation and desire of their playing corps. Given that Reyes disappears when the mercury drops and Maxi frequently drops and then disappears, injured, Athletico will want to quickly put some points on the board (or at the very least avoid defeat) in their opening fixture away to Lokomotiv Moscow. Thereafter a minimum of 2 wins from the 3 games against table proppers Kobenhavn, Aberdeen and Panathinaikos should do. Crucially, their game against the latter, their main rivals for top spot in the group, is at home. But it is in December. Expect Reyes to skip.

3rd spot should be tightly contested between Lokomotiv and Aberdeen. Both are capable, if unspectacular, outfits for whom the crunch game will be the Matchday 2 game at Pittodrie. While both have to play Panathinaikos in Greece and Kobenhavn at home; Aberdeen also face Athletico away from home while Lokomotiv play the Spanish outfit in Russia. Provided they match each others results against the first 2, Lokomotiv will be looking to better Aberdeen's haul versus Athletico to be better equipped to progress.

Projected Finish:

Panathinaikos
Athletico
Aberdeen
Lokomotiv
Kobenhavn


Group C

Right from the outset this group is a dogfight between Villareal and Fiorentina. Both teams boast sound goalkeepers, mean defences and quality further up the pitch. Both teams are liberally sprinkled with class players and old hands with the Florentine side boasting some excellent younger stars from Italy's next generation in Ricardo Montolivo and Manuel Pasqual. Villareal have some seasoned campaigners in Joan Capdevilla and Robert Pires, while the grand daddy of all journeymen and ex-superstar Christian Vieri has made the Viola his latest home. Fiorentina are unbeaten in Serie A so far (at the time of writing) and Villareal have led La Liga briefly.

After the crucial square off on Matchday 1 when Villareal host Fiorentina, I expect both sides to dispath the rest of the teams with ease. If they finish level on points with 10 (3 wins and a draw each) then their head to head game becomes all the more crucial. However, I suspect that even though the first game will be a draw, Fiorentina will beat AEK Athens in Athens while Villareal will miss repeating the trick and drop points against the Greeks. That will decide the group in Fiorentina's favour.

AEK should secure 3rd place comfortably, especially since they are at home for their 2 toughest tests, the visits of the aforementioned duo. Therafter, provided they pick up a reasonable 4 points from their travels to the minnows of Elfsborg and Mlada Boleslaw, AEK should go through as the third placed team.

Between the last two, we're splitting hairs but Royal League engagements might distract the Scandinavians from achieving a 4th place finish.

Projected Finish:

Fiorentina
Villareal
AEK Athens
Mlada Boleslaw
Elfsborg


Group D

The best three in this group are easily Rennes, Hamburg and Dinamo Zagreb in that order. The French side have the best defence with Erik Edman, Peter Hansson, Jon Mensah and Rod Fanni anchoring the best rearguard in the group. Similarly up front, their combination of Jimmy Briand, Jerome Leroy and Sylvian Wiltord should see them score quite esily and frequently.

Hamburg, on the other hand, have the best player in Ryan Van der Vaart who may use the group stages to further showcase his skills in Europe. Last year, in an eminently forgettable campaign, Van der Vaart was easily Hamburg's best player in the Champions' League. They will be looking for some more spectacular goals from him to progress this time around. With transfer rumours rife the shop window beckons once more for the Dutch star.

Finally Dinamo Zagreb will be looking to experienced strikers Davor Vugrinec and Bosko Balaban along with star player Luka Modric to see them through to the group stage. They are a handy side, well capable of testing any team but lacking any class players to pass the distinction between being a decent side and a very good one. Ex-striker Eduardo Da Silva will be sorely missed.

In the games between the three it's hard to see any advantage, as in each team's games against the other two, one game is at home and the other away. Intriguingly, Rennes host Zagreb on the last matchday while Hamburg are at home to Basel. If Rennes have not wrapped up the group by then, Hamburg could leap frog them to top spot if the French side fail to beat Dinamo at home.

Basel and Brann similarly just make up the numbers. Once again, like Group C, the scenario arises where a club in the Scandinavian Royal League - which for them is eminently more winnable - is pipped by a team from central Europe.

Projected Finish:

Rennes
Hamburg
Dinamo Zagreb
Basel
Brann

W(h)ither Sevilla ?

At the start of the season, Sevilla was on the cusp of entering the big time. Successive seasons of sparkling attacking football had seen them dominate and win consecutive UEFA Cups, amidst picking up 5 trophies, while finally qualifying for the Champions' League. This season, they seemed destined to graduate from being a very good side to a great one.

2 months and change into the new season, it's not quite the case, it seems. Sevilla seem to be in something of a mini crisis.

First up, star player and the world's best right back Daniel Alves; he of starting and ending a move that started near the corner flag; decided to stall on contract talks, cry out for a move to a big club and generally sulk about when he realised he was going nowhere. In this category, also see: Essien, Michael; Diarra, Mahammadou. Whereas Lyon still went on to dominate their local leagues while registering marginal improvement on the continent, it is worth noting that the French side were more established locally, had greater depth and were more settled than Sevilla.

Still, the season started well enough, a 4-1 demolition of Getafe in the league opener followed successive thrashings of Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup (6-3 on aggregate) and AEK Athens in the Champions' League qualifiers (6-1 over both legs).

Sevilla were a trifle lucky in the league opener though. After Getafe had stunned the home side with a superb free kick from Pablo Hernandez, the referee sent off two of their players in quick succession. Whereas David Cortes' cynical hack on Diego Capel was criminal, Francisco Sousa's earlier dismissal for an innocuous, accidental handball in the middle of the park was comical. In fact it was only after the visitors had been whittled down to nine men that Sevilla asserted themselves. Thereafter, there was only one side in it and Sevilla swept to a smooth victory.

But the Getafe game had ill portents. During the game Spanish U-21 fixture and defensive mainstay Antonio Puerta collapsed, had a seizure, lost consciousness briefly and then tragically passed away in hospital a few days later. The gravity of the tragedy was mirrored in the tributes that followed, with fans of both Sevilla, led by club president Miguel Del Nido and arch-rivals Real Betis joined in mourning.

A soulless, mechanical 3-1 loss to Milan in the postponed European Super Cup followed. A loss gotten out of the system, one felt, as the Andalusian juggernaut got back to winning ways with a 4-1 tanking of Recreativo Huelva in the very next game. Surely the worst was over.

But several hundred miles to the north in a different league, the comical premiership outfit known as Tottenham Hotspur were lurching from one disaster to the next. Their criminally inept board, spilled all their cards on the table and it emerged that they had offered Juande Ramos, manager of Sevilla and architect of their flowing style, the managerial position at Spurs. While everyone stopped to laugh at Spurs, they swiftly denied any such liaison and Juande Ramos quelled any fears of further instability, induced by his seemingly imminent departure and the exodus that would no doubt ensue, by denying the offer.

But it seemed all was not right at Sevilla. A consummate performance from Arsenal in their Champions' League opener destroyed them as they went down 3-0 at Ashburton Grove. Arsenal played very well but Sevilla seemed unable to match them after the opening quarter hour. Tepid but not terrible.

This then started a mini-slide as Sevilla proceeded to lose their next three games on the trot and their next four in the league. Their solitary win in the last five games has been a home demolition of Slavia Prague, who, truth be told, are out of their depth in the Champions' League.

Barcelona played well enough for their win at the Nou camp. Sevilla didn't get a sniff of goal (nor did Thierry Henry for that matter, till he hit the post) for most of the match as the Catalan side put in a thoroughly efficient performance. The midfield was crowded and Sevilla was never able to get out of second gear while their forwards where starved off any sort of meaningful posession. The first big league test had been failed while Lionel Messi ran amok. Frederick Kanoute's injury time consolation marker was little more than his side deserved.

But things quickly went from bad to worse. Plucky upper midtable side Espanyol, their opponents in last year's UEFA Cup final, stunned them at home. Marshalled by the tricky Luis Garcia (one of several namesakes who play in the Primera Liga) and the evergreen Raul Tamudo, Barcelona's second club raced into a 2-0 lead before late replies from Sevilla kept the scoreline respectable at 2-3.

Led by another Garcia, Sergio, Real Zaragoza; one of half a dozen midtable sides who are more than capable of beating a top side on one day (and then losing to a bottom side the next); out-thought and out-fought Sevilla in their next game - winning 2-0 at home. Sevilla were abysmal for most of the game, clueless, unable to string together more than 3 passes in a row. The midfielders, like against Barcelona, were unable to move forward with the ball and sideways passes were snuffed out.

Things bottomed out further in the next La Liga game, Sevilla's latest setback, at the time of writing. The criminally morbid Deportivo La Coruna, shorn in the off-season of striker Angel Arizmendi and defensive stalwart Joan Capdevila, somehow managed to beat Sevilla with a late goal. Daniel Alves was anonymous, Julien Escude was booked, everyone looked tired and unwilling to graft for a win. Some say that a loss to Deportivo is often a filip(see Real Madrid last season) and whereas a La Coruna game does go down like Buckley's cough syrup, only time will tell whether it is good for you.

When Sevilla do get going they really get a beating underway - all but one of their wins this season has ended with them scoring fewer than 4 goals. But it is an inability to graft and slug it out that is costing them dear. Teams have figured out that man-marking Kanoute, Kerzhakov, Kone and Fabiano while defending a bit deeper reaps dividends. Similarly, starving their wide players of the ball keeps things tighter in the middle where less gifted but more determined tacklers can make a meal of most moves.

Jesus Navas, one of their best players over the last two seasons has been atrocious this time round, picking up more bookings than assists. Sergio Duda, after a great start, has dimmed and dropped off. Daniel Alves seems mired in an unending moody slump, Defensive solidity has been lax with Ivica Dragutinovic and Escude making key mistakes while Christian Poulsen has been amateurish with his brazen gamesmanship. And for some reason they have acquired Khalid Bouhlarouz, a slow player whose wits are slower still.

I believe they will turn things around and surge back up the table. To quote a cliche, there's too much quality here in both personnel and playing style. However, they need to roll up their sleeves and get dirty, not many teams are going to allow Sevilla to pass themselves around their back field. Provided they can hold on to Juande Ramos and some key players in the January transfer window, Sevilla should get back on track and finish the season on a high.

Karlsruhe, Gunther and Beer

Sometimes you'll see something and not notice it. It'll be staring right at you, yet you'll miss it. This weekend, on account of the surfeit of Internationals and complete lack of top level club footie, I looked at the various National league tables, as is my wont every other morning or so. However, I failed to notice, that in the Bundesliga, behind Bayern (every one is behind Bayern), ahead of the various other top clubs whom I tipped for top 4 finishes was mighty Karlsruhe. It completely slipped me by. I knew they were doing well (I watched the Schalke game), but I was singularly unware that they were in second place. And this bring me to a story about Karlsruhe SC.

When I was in University, I found myself having a drink with a German exchange student. A quiet sort, he seemed unable to handle the fact that the beers in Canada were so much less bitter than their German counterparts. Or that there were usually four other sports prioritised over football on the local sports channels (5 on NASCAR weekends). Nevertheless, I resolved to talk to him, and soon he opened up a bit, no doubt encouraged by my conversational slant towards football. We'll call him Gunther, although he could have been Harald, Ralf or Mattheus. I have to sheepishly admit, I don't remember at all.

Now, as I normally do with all football fans, I asked him what team he supported. Almost apologetically, Gunther replied, "Karlsruhe". So, having heard of them, I said "Oh yeah I've heard of them, they're a decent club." - reminded as I was of their stint in the top flight in the nineties (it actually started in 1987, turns out) - a short while before this conversation took place. And a short while before Karlsruhe had been relegated back to Division 2 or the 2nd Bundesliga as they call it in Germany. And I remembered them being a half decent side who lingered in my memory from the Euro football wrap-up that was shown weekly on TV when I was a kid.

I remembered them, and for some reason Eintracht Frankfurt (who won the league one year I think), along with the more conventional Bayerns, Borussias, and Stuttgarts from the nineties. This I told him. Much to my amazement, the lad went delirious. He was ecstatic, that in this land of football heathens (as he considered Canadians to mostly be) there was someone who had not only heard of his team but thought they were all right. He became quite garrulous, friendly even, while we went on to share many a pint while discussing various recent high points of German football. The Italia '90 win, unmerited, I jostled him. Dortmund's Champions' League triumph, bought, he insisted. Steffen Effenberg's middle finger salute at USA '94, brilliant, we agreed.

I never saw Gunther again.

Still, I like to believe I did not imagine him. And I'm certainly not hallucinating Karlsruhe's lofty league position.

They've started well, still unbeaten, having comprehensively beaten Schalke away, handing the Ruhr team their first loss, while shutting out Stuttgart and thrashing Dortmund. Their team is a good admixture of Germans with the usual sprinkling of Eastern Europeans and the odd African. I did some research and Wikipedia tells me that Oliver Kahn came through their youth ranks and that they once thrashed Valencia 7-0 while reaching the UEFA Cup semifinals. So they have a decent amount of pedigree too. And I was obviously paying attention to that European Football review show.