9 Sides to Watch in UEFA Club Competitions
Richard Pike's Beyond The Big Five Newsletter: Edition Four
With many transfer windows now closed, squads now finalised and the final four team group stage formats now drawn, the 2023/24 UEFA club competition season feels like it has fully arrived. On the back of a draw, particular teams can be transformed into either a side to watch, or one possessing a certain level of intrigue. Here are nine sides from outside Europe’s Big Five leagues, three in each of the UEFA club competitions to watch in 2023/24.
SL Benfica
An easy place to start is last season’s Champions League quarter-finalists SL Benfica. 2022/23 capped off a fine first campaign in charge for veteran German manager Roger Schmidt with a 38th Portuguese Primeira Liga title secured, in addition to topping a Champions League group including Juventus FC & Paris St Germain. Despite possessing a top seeding, the draw gods were not kind, pairing Benfica in a tough group with Inter Milan, who knocked them out last season, Red Bull Salzburg and Real Sociedad.
As Aguias had a busy summer on the transfers front. Noteworthy exits include promising striker Goncalo Ramos to Paris St Germain, assist-machine fullback Alejandro Grimaldo on a free transfer to Bayer Leverkusen and number one goalkeeper Odyessas Vlachodimos starting a new chapter at Nottingham Forest. However, the summer arrivals look promising, 22 year-old Ukrainian Anatoliy Trubin arrives as Vlachodimos’ replacement, Angel Di Maria returns to Estadio Da Luz after 13 seasons away whilst Benfica proved a surprise destination for central midfielder Orkun Kokcu’s after some stellar seasons at Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Despite a tough group, Schmidt will target replicating last season’s Quarter Final classification. One only has to look at going two games unbeaten vs PSG and two victories over Juventus in last season’s group stage as proof Benfica can mix it with Europe’s best on their day.
PSV Eindhoven
Peter Bosz came into the 2023/24 season as a coach with a reputation to restore following disappointing spells at both Borussia Dortmund & Olympique Lyonnais in addition to a mixed spell at Bayer Leverkusen sandwiched in-between. Despite his struggles abroad, 59 year-old Bosz appeared an understandable choice to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy for Rood-Witten owing to a strong domestic coaching record. Bosz famously led Ajax to a Europa League final in 2016/17, building on past impressive coaching stints at modest-sized clubs such as SBV Vitesse and Heracles Almelo.
PSV’s eight games so far under Bosz in 2023/24 have yielded seven wins and one draw in all competitions, such as the 1-0 win over Feyenoord in the Johan Cruijff Schaal and the 7-3 aggregate win over Rangers in the Champions League play-off round. Departing stars Ibrahim Sangare and Xavi Simons are two-sizeable holes to fill, yet on the incomings front PSV had a good summer, the headline being the return of winger Hirving Lozano to Phillips Stadion after four good years in Serie A with SSC Napoli. As well as the permanent signings, three loanees supplement PSV’s ranks, Sergino Dest should prove an upgrade on Jordan Teze at right fullback, fellow USMNT international Mailk Tillman boosts PSV’s attacking midfield options whilst 21 year-old Armel Bella-Kotchap is a much-needed central defender added to the ranks.
Rood-Witten’s reward for triumphing over Rangers in the final Champions League qualification round sees them paired up with Arsenal FC, Sevilla FC and RC Lens in the group stages. The Gunners will be strong favourites to win this group, yet poor starts for both Sevilla and Lens domestically should encourage PSV who will sense an opportunity to qualify for the Champions League knockouts with a 2nd placed finish.
Royal Antwerp
For certain readers, the name Royal Antwerp brings back memories of a longstanding partnership held between The Great Old and English giants Manchester United. Between 1998 and 2013, several young players from The Red Devils who would go on to enjoy good careers at both Manchester United and other top flight English clubs had productive loan spells at Antwerp. Such names include: Jonny Evans, Craig Cathcart, Fraizer Campbell, John O’Shea, Luke Chadwick and Danny Simpson.
However, as their The Great Old nickname suggests, Antwerp have a famous history long pre-dating the Manchester United partnership. Founded in 1880, they are Belgium’s oldest club procuring four Belgian Pro League titles and five second placed finishes in their glory era between 1914 and 1945. Following heavy investment from owner Paul Gheysens since returning to the Pro League in 2017/18, 2022/23 saw Antwerp win their first league title since 1956/57 in dramatic circumstances on the final matchday.
Antwerp’s first foray into UEFA’s elite club competition since 1957/58 saw them overcome AEK Athens 3-1 on aggregate to qualify for the Champions League group stages. FC Barcelona, FC Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk were paired up with the Belgian champions in what represents a tough draw. With Barca likely to win this group comfortably, the battle for second in this group should be interesting with past European pedigree perhaps classifying Porto as favourites. The Great Old will attempt to target at minimum a 3rd place group finish and Europa League knockout football post-Christmas.
Ajax Amsterdam
2022/23 proved a challenging campaign for AFC Ajax Amsterdam, the first in five seasons under new management following the departure of Erik ten Hag to Manchester United. A transitional period was expected under new coach Alfred Schreuder, yet he didn’t see out the season, rivals Feyenoord Rotterdam broke Ajax’s 3 year title-winning streak and Godenzoden limped to a tame Europa League exit against Union Berlin. A thirteen point difference from their Der Klassieker rival in a 3rd place classification highlighted how disappointing the campaign was, with Europa League football for 2023/24 only secured on the season’s final day.
Despite being early days in 2023/24, a hangover from last season’s disappointment seemingly lingers over Ajax with 2-2 and 0-0 draws on Matchdays 2 & 3 against Excelsior Rotterdam and Fortuna Sittard doing little to lift the mood. Maurice Steijn’s work nearly qualifying Sparta Rotterdam for European competition in 2022/23 appealed to the board at Johan Cruyff Arena to anoint him Schreuder’s replacement. A large playing personnel turnover looks to have had an impact with considerable voids to fill left by first-team departures such as Edson Alvarez, Dusan Tadic, Jurrien Timber and Mohammed Kudus.
Despite a top seeding in the Europa League draw and being touted for a deep European run, Ajax have been handed a tough assignment. Paired up with Brighton & Hove Albion, Olympique de Marseille and AEK Athens, Group B of the competition is a strong candidate for the tournament’s “Group of Death. Roberto de Zerbi’s outfit one of England’s most talked about sides, whilst away trips to Stade Velodrome and Agia Sophia will test a side in a rebuilding phase incorporating a lot of new players.
Sporting CP
2023/24 will be Ruben Amorim’s fourth season in the Sporting CP managerial dugout and could prove pivotal when it comes to defining a legacy at Sporting in addition to catching overseas admirers for future managerial opportunities. A first Portuguese Liga Primeira title triumph in 19 years procured during his first full season in 2020/21, 2022/23 saw Sporting drop down to 4th in the final standings. Knockout competitions have been fruitful for Sporting under Amorim, the 2020/21 league title also saw back-to-back Taca da Liga triumphs, whilst Amorim guided Sporting to the 2021/22 Champions League Round of Sixteen and the 2022/23 Europa League Quarter Finals.
Sporting’s Europa League campaign begins with a group containing Atalanta BC, Sturm Graz and Rakow Czestochowa. Second in the group to secure Europa League knockout football will be Sporting’s target with the possibility of usurping group favourites Atalanta to finish top. Manuel Ugarte’s sale to PSG will be a considerable gap for replacement Morten Hjulmand, a summer signing from Lecce to plug. However, Viktor Gyokeres, after a fine season for English second tier Coventry City and promising young fullback Ivan Fresneda from Real Valladolid look transfer arrival coups for Verde e Brancos.
In the co-efficient race before the much-publicised format changes for UEFA competitions in 2024/25, Sporting’s performances in Europe take on a nationwide dynamic. Portugal will lose a Champions League spot for 2024/25 to the Netherlands and no Portuguese side has participated in the Conference League group stages in its three seasons so far. Portugal’s Big Four clubs all have draws which give either a strong chance for European football after Christmas or strong runs to the latter stages of UEFA competitions in 2023/24, they must take advantage of them.
Sturm Graz
6th April 2005, a date which set a seismic shift in Austrian football as the late Dietrich Mateschitz, co-founder of energy drinks giant Red Bull GmbH purchased SV Austria Salzburg, controversially re-branding them Red Bull Salzburg for 2005/06. Red Bull’s expertise in operating sports teams alongside youth football scouting and player development transformed their Austrian club into the country’s dominant team. The statistics layout the dominance with 14 Austrian Bundesliga titles procured in the 18 completed seasons since the rebrand.
With Austrian football’s traditional giants Rapid and Austria Vienna struggling, Sturm Graz are emerging as a team who could soon eventually snap RB Salzburg’s title winning streak (which currently stands at 10). Runners-up in the last two Bundesliga seasons, Sturm appear to be building a stable project under Christian Ilzer’s management. Lucrative sales in the last two summer windows such as Emanuel Emegha and Rasmus Hojlund are helping finance larger transfer spends, something not always visible in Austrian football circles outside of RB Salzburg.
Based on PSV’s comfortable two-legged victory over Sturm in Champions League qualification, its difficult to make a case for the Austrians to reach the Europa League knockouts given the similar calibre of group opponents Atalanta & Sporting. However, Rakow look a beatable opponent for Sturm and doing so twice could seal a third-placed group finish and Conference League knockout football in the new year. A competition better suited quality wise for a potential long European run for Sturm, which in turn brings in precious prize money.
Fenerbahce
If one considers the remaining four representatives from the “Big Five” leagues as the primary favourites for the 2023/24 Conference League title, Fenerbahce fall into the secondary batch of contenders. Sari Kanaryalar achieved comfortable progression into the group stages throughout the qualifying rounds with 9-0, 6-1 and 6-1 aggregate victories over Zimbru Chisinau, NK Maribor and FC Twente respectively. No losses were recorded amongst the six qualification legs, with surprising margins of victory over awkward-looking opponents in the final two rounds.
Veteran Fener coach Ismail Kartal alongside the club hierarchy have conducted an almost symmetrical spending spree in the transfer window so far, with EUR 56.65 million brought in through sales and EUR 56.81 million spent on new acquisitions. Recent new arrivals, primarily financed by the departures of Arda Guler & Attila Szalai include winger Cengiz Under from Olympique Marseille, midfielder Fred from Manchester United & goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic from Dinamo Zagreb. With the Turkish transfer window open until 15th September, extra additions may occur, yet more likely are fringe player sales given Fener are currently over their maximum 14 foreign players limit.
Fener’s group opponents include perennial Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad, Slovak outfit Spartak Trnava, conquerors of last season’s Quarter Finalists Lech Poznan and Danish Super Liga outfit FC Nordsjaelland. Top position and a bye to the Round of Sixteen will be the target, alongside laying down a marker for the knockout rounds. With 6.250 coefficient points won so far, Turkey is the highest scoring country in UEFA club competitions, Turkish Super Lig officials will hope Fener continue this trend given 8th place in the UEFA rankings remains a possibility at the end of 2023/24.
PAOK FC
Another side displaying true character throughout Conference League qualification was PAOK FC. The UEFA draw gods were not kind to the Northern Greek side, handing them three tough looking ties against Beitar Jerusalem, Hadjuk Split and Heart of Midlothian FC. Yet, much like the aforementioned Fenerbahce, PAOK managed to negotiate all six legs of the three ties without losing. A particular impressive character test was passed against Beitar, when taking a 0-0 home result from the first leg, PAOK triumphed 4-1 away in a tough atmosphere second leg.
Now in his second spell at the Thessaloniki outfit, Razvan Lucescu, son of the legendary Mircea, is amongst PAOK’s most successful coaches having presided over 1 Super League Greece title with an unbeaten season in 2018/19 and 2 Greek Cup wins. Amongst PAOK’s summer arrivals include veteran Nigerian defender William Troost-Ekong and star 26 year-old Bulgarian Parva Liga forward Kirill Despodov, who gets a 2nd chance overseas after a disappointing spell with Serie A’s Cagliari in 2018/19. The most intriguing arrival, however, is Soualiho Meite, signed on season loan with a buy option from SL Benfica. 29 year-old Meite stood out as a regular starter at Torino FC during 2018/19, helping I Granata secure a 7th place in Serie A and arrives in PAOK keen to impress after a turbulent three seasons at AC Milan, Benfica & Cremonese.
Ups and downs have so far characterised PAOK’s three season Conference League history, 2021/22 saw the highs of a Quarter Final classification, 2022/23, the disappointing lows of a 2nd Qualification Round loss to Levski Sofia. The group draw has been relatively kind to Lucescu and his players, drawing them against a Randal Kolo Muani-less Eintracht Frankfurt, Aberdeen FC and HJK Helsinki. The Greeks are tipped to progress to the knockouts with a 2nd place group finish and providing they make their home Toumba stadium a fortress could battle Frankfurt for top spot.
Dinamo Zagreb
Finally we head to Croatia and domestic heavyweights GNK Dinamo Zagreb. After back-to-back losses in Champions League & Europa League qualifying against AEK Athens and Sparta Prague respectively, Plavi land in UEFA’s third tier Conference League for the first time. Unexpected territory, for a side familiar with Champions League group stage participation throughout the 2010’s and early 2020’s.
Dinamo’s youth academy is renounced as one of Europe’s best, sales of such talent alongside money earned from European competition form a big part of their yearly budget. One such academy graduate departed this summer with Ajax paying EUR 20.5 million for 23 year-old central defender Josip Sutalo. 20 year-old attacking midfielder Martin Baturina could be the next big academy product sale, after 6 goals & 13 assists across 48 games in a breakthrough 2022/23, Baturina could be one to watch in 2023/24.
Despite early European disappointment, a top seeding for the Conference League group stages help land Plavi a favourable looking group containing Viktoria Plzen, FC Astana and FC Ballkani. The Conference League provides a platform for powerhouse sides in middle-ranked leagues to enjoy long European runs, FC Basel reaching the semi-finals in 2022/23 being a good example. Dinamo Zagreb will look to follow in the Swiss side’s footsteps in 2023/24 and atone qualification disappointment in UEFA’s other club competitions.