query: when does the champions league group stages start

pos: 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage by UEFA (local times are in parentheses). 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage began on 12 September and ended on 6 December 2017. A total of 32 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 16 places in the knockout phase of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League. The draw for the group stage was held on 24 August 2017, 18:00 CEST, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four, with the restriction that teams from the same association could not be drawn against each

neg: Bosnian football clubs in European competitions ten more clubs played in European competitions with none making the group stages. Four teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina qualify to European competitions. Premier League champions qualify to UEFA Champions League, while three other teams (one being the national Cup winner) qualify to UEFA Europa League. Champions League teams start in the second qualifying round while teams in Europa League start in first or second qualifying round. To date, no teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina played in group stage of both European competitions. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Bosnia and Herzegovina was placed 35th. The list below shows

neg: FC Shakhtar Donetsk in European football first qualification to a group stage in a European competition took place in the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League, when Shakhtar Donetsk played against Arsenal, Lazio and Sparta Prague in Group B. While being a constant presence in Champions League group stages, Shakhtar have only reached UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League group stages twice (2005–06 and 2009–10). In 2009, Shakhtar Donetsk won the UEFA Cup over Werder Bremen in the final held in Istanbul, becoming the first team in the independent Ukraine to win a European trophy. In 2010–11, Shakhtar reached the quarter-finals of Champions League, being eliminated by Barcelona; this was

neg: APOEL Nicosia quarter-finals of the competition by topping the group and eliminating Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16, becoming the only Cypriot club to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. APOEL's European competitions highlights include also appearances in the group stages of the 2009–10 & 2014–15 UEFA Champions League and the group stages of the 2013–14 & 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. They marked their most successful UEFA Europa League campaign during the 2016–17 season, when they managed to top their group (along with Olympiacos, Young Boys and Astana) and eliminated Athletic Bilbao in the round of 32, to reach the last 16

neg: APOEL FC for the quarter-finals of the competition by topping the group and eliminating Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16, becoming the only Cypriot club to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. APOEL's European competitions highlights also include appearances in the group stages of the 2009–10 and 2014–15 UEFA Champions League and the group stages of the 2013–14, 2015–16, and 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. They marked their most successful UEFA Europa League campaign during the 2016–17 season, when they managed to top their group (along with Olympiacos, Young Boys, and Astana) and eliminated Athletic Bilbao in the round of 32, to reach

neg: Igor Bišćan against Macedonia on 13 June 1999. At the start of his career, Bišćan began to amass an impressive level of playing experience, representing Croatia at youth football level and then captaining his club, Dinamo Zagreb, in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup. He was part of what is considered the most successful era of Dinamo in the Prva HNL, winning two consecutive league titles in 1999 and 2000 and participating in two consecutive group stages of Champions League (Group A, 1998–99 and Group D, 1999–2000). During his four seasons in Croatia, Bišćan scored 11 goals in 84 appearances

neg: Krisztián Lisztes 1993 at the age of 17, when he had to replace Hungary's then probably biggest star Lajos Détári on a quick note when Détári was transferred to Italy. He led Ferencvaros to the group stages of the UEFA Champions League in 1995, making them the first Hungarian team to get there. Scoring the first goal against Grasshoppers in a 3–0 victory, he also became the first ever Hungarian player to score in the Champions League group stages. His performances at the European level caught the attention of several big clubs and he would go on to join VfB Stuttgart in

neg: Rui Costa of his €4.6 million per year contract with Milan after he had dreamt of his return to Benfica year after year. His return saw former Benfica and Portugal international Eusébio praise Costa's return. Costa's first match back saw him start in a 2006–07 UEFA Champions League qualifier against Austria Wien in August 2006. The return leg saw Costa score in his return to the Estádio da Luz in the 21st minute. Benfica would go on to win 3–0 and clinch a place in the group stages of the Champions League. Following the start of the season, Costa would suffer a

neg: Stephen Kenny (footballer) 2016, Kenny led Dundalk to a 3-1 aggregate win over BATE Borisov in the Champions League, leaving Dundalk just one win away from making the group stages of the competition. Dundalk fell to Legia Warsaw in the final playoff round and failed to reach the group stages of the Champions League, but they were already guaranteed a place in the Europa League group stages. Dundalk were drawn in Group D with Zenit St. Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Dundalk began the group stages with an away tie at Alkmaar and become the first Irish club side ever to

neg: 2013–14 PSV Eindhoven season 2013–14 PSV Eindhoven season The 2013–14 PSV Eindhoven season saw PSV competing in the Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. PSV finished the season in 4th place in the Eredivisie, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League again, where knocked out of the KNVB Cup by Roda JC in the Third Round. In Europe PSV where knocked out of the Champions League at the Play-off Round by A.C. Milan, ending up in the Europa League group stages, from which they did not progress. Phillip Cocu was appointed as the teams manager at the start of the

neg: Buriram United F.C. start of the 2012 season, the club was renamed Buriram United Football Club. In the first match of the group stages of the 2012 AFC Champions League, Buriram beat the 2011 J-League champion, Kashiwa Reysol, 3–2 and became "the first Thai and South East Asian club" to earn a victory against a J-League club in ACL since starting the Champions League system in 2003. On the second match, Buriram was the visiting team against the 2011 CSL Champion, Guangzhou Evergrande. Buriram also became "the first Thai and South East Asian club" to earn a victory against a Chinese club "in

neg: Jiang Bo (footballer) promote rising goalkeeper Han Feng as the team's first choice goalkeeper to start the 2010 league season. Jiang would go on to win back his place as the club's starting goalkeeper at the end of the season and help guide the club to a fourth-place finish and entry into the AFC Champions League for the first time. Within the AFC Champions League, Jiang would play in all six games for the club as they crashed out within the group stages. In February 2014, Jiang moved to China League One side Beijing Baxy on a one-year loan deal. After a stellar

neg: History of Celtic F.C. (1994–present) Champions League group stages for the first time since 2013. Celtic's new signings Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembélé also helped the club make a strong start to their league campaign, with Sinclair scoring in each of the first six league matches and Dembélé scoring a hat-trick in Celtic's 5–1 win over newly promoted Rangers, becoming the first Celtic player to score three goals against Rangers since Harry Hood in 1973. The team's opening match in the Champions League on 13 September 2016 proved to be a humbling experience though as Barcelona delivered a footballing lesson in a 7–0 rout, the

neg: 1999–2000 Arsenal F.C. season start to the campaign as reigning league champions and failed to progress past the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. After defeat to Aston Villa in December 1998, Arsenal embarked on a 19 match unbeaten run (21 in all competitions) to climb up the league table. The run in all competitions ended against Manchester United in a FA Cup semi-final replay. In April Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League after beating Middlesbrough 6–1, albeit having played a match more than Manchester United. A 3–1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur put Arsenal three points clear as United

neg: Shandong Luneng Taishan F.C. the start of the 2010 league campaign in hopes of revitialising the team's midfield. Once again their continental campaign saw them knocked out in the group stages of the 2010 AFC Champions League, however unlike previous seasons Shandong were able to recover from this disappointment and with the inclusion of Julio César de León during the season they were able to win the league title. The club's defense of their league title saw promising youngster Zhang Chi seriously injured in the first game of the 2011 league season. The repercussion of his injury saw Shandong have a slow start to

neg: Dražen Ladić time against Newcastle United in the second qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League and got all the way to the third round, where they lost 2-1 on aggregate against Atlético Madrid. In the autumn of 1998, Ladić debuted with Dinamo Zagreb in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League and played all six group matches before the club was eliminated from the competition by finishing second in their group, behind Olympiacos. The club repeated the success of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stages the following year, with Ladić making four group-stage appearances before being injured in

neg: 2013–14 EHF Women's Champions League group stages 2013–14 EHF Women's Champions League group stages This article describes the group stage of the 2013–14 EHF Women's Champions League. The 16 teams were split into four groups, consisting of four teams. Each team played a home and away game against all opponents in the group. The first two ranked teams advance to the main round where the same format was used to determine the final four participants. The draw of the group matches was held on 28 July in Vienna. A total of sixteen teams were concerned in the process, to be divided into four pots of four. Teams

neg: Sinan Bolat resulting play-off, winning 2–1 on aggregate, with Bolat keeping another clean sheet in the process, and were crowned champions on 24 May 2009. In his first season, he managed to keep six clean sheets out of nine matches and also saved a penalty. Winning the league automatically qualified Liège for the group stages of UEFA Champions League in the 2009–10 season. English Premier League clubs Manchester United and Arsenal were said to have made an offer for him in May 2009. Prior to the start of the 2009–10 season, Bolat helped his side to a 2–0 win in the 2009

neg: Trent Alexander-Arnold Michael Owen and David Fairclough. During the group stages of the competition, Alexander-Arnold scored again in a 7–0 Champions League win over Maribor on 17 October, a result which was the joint-largest ever away win in the competition, and largest away win by an English club. He then scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool on Boxing Day, netting in a 5–0 win over Swansea City at Anfield. On 4 April 2018, Alexander-Arnold became the youngest English player to start in a Champions League quarter-final match and performed strongly in a 3–0 win over Manchester City. His performance saw

neg: Conor McCormack (footballer) endured a frustrating time at the club, failing to make a first-team start during his two and a half years there. After a proposed loan deal to a Lega Pro side fell through at the last minute in May 2010, McCormack made his intentions to leave clear. He returned to Ireland to sign for League of Ireland champions Shamrock Rovers at the beginning of the 2011 season, playing a huge part in their journey to the Europa League group stages. In 2012 McCormack signed for a further 2 seasons. McCormack signed for League of Ireland champions, St Patrick's Athletic for

neg: Rangers F.C. championship was won with a 3–0 victory at Celtic Park on 2 May 1999. A second-consecutive league title was won by a record 21-point margin, the club securing a domestic double with a 4–0 Scottish Cup final victory over Aberdeen. Rangers' campaign in the Champions League saw them defeat UEFA Cup winners Parma en route. Advocaat's third season saw Rangers fail to compete domestically against Celtic under new manager Martin O'Neill. Despite investment in the team, including Tore Andre Flo for a club-record £12 million, European success beyond the Champions League group stages again proved elusive. After a slow start

neg: NK Maribor history. In the 2013–14 season, Maribor qualified to the group stages of the Europa League for the third consecutive year after losing to Viktoria Plzeň in the Champions League play-off stage. This time, the team earned seven points and progressed through the group stages for the first time after defeating Wigan Athletic 2–1 in the final matchday. In the Round of 32, they were eliminated by the future competition winner Sevilla with an aggregate score of 4–3. In the next season, Maribor qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stages for the second time in their history after eliminating Scottish

neg: 2015 HJK season 2015. Veikkausliiga takes place in the spring to autumn season, due to harsh winter weather conditions in Finland. 2015 HJK season The 2015 season was Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi's 107th competitive season. HJK is the most successful football club in Finland with 27 Finnish Championships, 12 Finnish Cup titles, 5 Finnish League Cup titles, one appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stages and one appearance in the UEFA Europa League group stages. As Veikkausliiga 2014 champions, HJK entered the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. The Under-19 team, including several players from Klubi-04 participated in the 2015–16 UEFA Youth League.

neg: 2015 HJK season 2015 HJK season The 2015 season was Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi's 107th competitive season. HJK is the most successful football club in Finland with 27 Finnish Championships, 12 Finnish Cup titles, 5 Finnish League Cup titles, one appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stages and one appearance in the UEFA Europa League group stages. As Veikkausliiga 2014 champions, HJK entered the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. The Under-19 team, including several players from Klubi-04 participated in the 2015–16 UEFA Youth League. In: Out: In: Out: The 2015 Veikkausliiga season begins on April 12, 2015 and ends on October 25th

neg: FC VSS Košice position of the Rezeš clan (Alexander Rezeš was economy minister of Vladimír Mečiar's government in 1994–97) represented the beginning of the end of the "millionaires". Their home stadium was the Všešportový areál. 1. FC famously became the first Slovak club to reach the lucrative UEFA Champions League Group Stages when they did so in the 1997–98 season. Also during this Champions League campaign, 1. FC Košice became the first club in the Champions League history to record no points at all in the group stage, losing all their six games. 1. FC Košice are best known outside their homeland for

neg: Valencia CF August 2015, Nicolás Otamendi was sold to Manchester City for £32 million and Aymen Abdennour was signed from Monaco for £22 million as his replacement. Valencia defeated Monaco in the Champions League playoff round with a 4–3 aggregate victory. However, Valencia had a poor start to the 2015–16 season, winning 5 out of 13 matches and failing to progress from the Champions League group stages. The fans were also increasingly concerned about the growing influence of Jorge Mendes in the club's activities. On 29 November, Nuno resigned as manager and former Manchester United defender Gary Neville was hired as his

neg: 1998–99 UEFA Champions League single match, despite having competed in a group with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Brøndby, plus two highly rated Italian clubs in the knock-out stages. However, United became champions with just five wins in total, the lowest number of wins recorded by a champion in the Champions League era to date, though the competition now has an extra round of two matches in the knock-out stages. It was the first time the Champions League was won by a team that had neither won their domestic league nor the Champions League the previous season and therefore would not have qualified for the

neg: 2005–06 FA Premier League table Sunderland at Old Trafford killed United's title hopes. The momentum was back with Chelsea who didn't need a second bite at the apple with wins over Bolton, Everton and finally Manchester United giving the west Londoners their second successive championship under Mourinho. The top two clubs at the end of the season earned the right to participate in the UEFA Champions League group stages, while the third- and fourth-placed clubs get places in the Champions League Third Qualifying Round (where they progress to the Champions League group stages if they win or the UEFA Cup if they lose). However,

neg: Igor Akinfeev and second Russian Cup with CSKA and was awarded the "Zvezda" trophy, for the year's best football player from the former Soviet Union. In the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Akinfeev went 362 minutes without conceding a goal until Ricardo Quaresma scored past him for FC Porto in his team's fifth group match. This began a record breaking run of 43 consecutive matches without keeping a clean sheet in the Champions League. His Champions League run without a clean sheet finally ended 11 years later, when CSKA Moscow beat AEK Athens 2–0 away in the qualifying stages of the Champions League

neg: Viktor Goncharenko 2007 Viktar become a head coach of BATE and won the national championship (2008, 2009, 2010). Under Hancharenka's leadership, BATE in 2008 became the first club from Belarus to qualify for the lucrative group stages of the UEFA Champions League and in 2009–2010 of the UEFA Europa League. In 2011 Hancharenka and his BATE defeated AZ 4–1 in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League and this allowed the team to advance to the 1/16 stages of the UEFA Europa League Cup. In August 2011 Hancharenka led his club into the group stage of the Champions League again. On

neg: Du Zhenyu translate his prolific goalscoring record from midfield by scoring seven league goals to help Changchun place fourth in the league. The 2007 league season was to prove the most successful for Du Zhenyu, as he played a significant part in the title-winning Changchun Yatai team, subsequently winning the Footballer of the Year award in the process. The following season saw Changchun play in the AFC Champions League; however, despite scoring several goals and a winning start against Bình Dương F.C., Changchun were unable to get out of the group stages. The 2008 league season wasn't to prove much more successful

neg: League of Ireland Premier Division champions in 2010 and 2011. In 2011 Rovers also created history when they became the first team in League of Ireland history to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. In 2012 Sligo Rovers won their first Premier Division title and their first top level title in thirty five years. St. Patrick's Athletic won their fifth Premier Division in 2013. Under Stephen Kenny, Dundalk emulated Shamrock Rovers, winning the title in 2014 and 2015 titles before qualifying for the group stages of the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. In contrast three Premier Division clubs – Sporting Fingal, Galway

neg: 2017 FC Dallas season 9, 2017." Western Conference FC Dallas' group stage matches during the 2016–17 Champions League were played during the 2016 regular season. FC Dallas will not play Champions League fixtures until the 2018 season. 2017 FC Dallas season The 2017 FC Dallas season is the club's 22nd season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of the United States soccer league system. Competitive fixtures began in February 2017, when FC Dallas began their matches in the knockout stages of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League. The club kicked off their 2017 MLS season in March. Dallas entered the season as the defending

neg: Rickie Lambert 1 October, Lambert made his debut in European competitions for Liverpool in a 1–0 defeat against Swiss champions FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League group stages. His first goal for Liverpool came at Crystal Palace on 23 November, when he scored in the second minute following a through ball from Adam Lallana. Liverpool went on to lose the match 3–1. Four days later he scored his first goal in European competition, the first equaliser in a 2–2 draw away to Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League group stage. As a result, Lambert had scored in the top four divisions

neg: 2013–14 EHF Women's Champions League group stages are divided into four pots, based on EHF coefficients. Clubs from the same pot or the same association could not be drawn into the same group. The draw of the group matches was held on 19 November at the Gartenhotel Altmannsdorf in Vienna. A total of eight teams were concerned in the process, to be divided into two pots of four. Teams were divided into two pots, based on EHF coefficients. Clubs from the same pot or group could not be drawn into the same group. 2013–14 EHF Women's Champions League group stages This article describes the group stage of

neg: 2000–01 Rangers F.C. season serious challenge and finished the season 15 points off top spot. In the domestic cup competitions Rangers lost 3-1 to Celtic in the semi finals of the League Cup and also surrendered their Scottish Cup crown with a 1-0 loss away to Dundee Utd. In Europe, Rangers qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive time after two qualifying rounds and were drawn alongside Sturm Graz, Galatasaray and AS Monaco. Rangers made a good start to the group with six points from two matches, including a 5-0 win at home to Sturm Graz and

neg: 2002 UEFA Champions League Final 2002 UEFA Champions League Final The 2002 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The show-piece event was contested between Bayer Leverkusen of Germany and Real Madrid of Spain at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on Wednesday, 15 May 2002, to decide the winner of the Champions League. Leverkusen appeared in the final for the first time, whereas Real Madrid appeared in their 12th final. Each club needed to progress through two group stages, and two knockout rounds to reach the final. Real Madrid won their group and

neg: History of Celtic F.C. (1994–present) winning goal in injury time. The cup final win saw Celtic go through the entire domestic season unbeaten. Celtic entered the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League at the 2nd qualifying round, they defeated Linfield 6–0, Rosenborg 1–0 and Astana 8–4 on aggregate to enter the group stages. Celtic achieved only 3 points over the six games, but did win 3–0 away at Anderlecht, their first group stages (Champions League and Europa League) win in 16 games. Celtic finished the group in third place despite losing 5–0 (at home) and 7–1 (away) to Paris Saint Germain. On 26 November 2017, Celtic won

neg: Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. half did they score the three goals (to no reply) that pushed their goal difference past Maccabi Haifa and brought the Championship plate back to the Maccabi Tel Aviv trophy cabinet. Maccabi's most significant achievement of the decade came in the 2004–05 season when the team reached the group stages of the Champions League.<ref name="Group D 04/05"></ref> In the play-off stages they beat the Greek side PAOK Thessaloniki and became Israel's second club, after Maccabi Haifa two years earlier, to reach the group stages. There they were drawn against three giants of European football, the German Bayern Munich, the Italian

neg: Gareth Bale 16 goals but Real Madrid were unable to reclaim the title, finishing in third. The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League competition saw Bale scoring once prior to the final. This goal came from the match against Borussia Dortmund in the group stages, when he opened the scoring in a 3–1 victory in Germany. In the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final, Bale scored two goals, first an overhead kick and then a long distance strike, resulting in a 3–1 victory over Liverpool, to help Real Madrid win their thirteenth Champions League trophy. He became the first substitute to score twice in a

neg: David Villa as a late substitute in a 1–0 first leg loss against Red Bull Salzburg. He went on to start the second leg and scored in a 3–0 win which saw Valencia qualify for the Champions League group stages. Crucial goals against Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk helped Valencia qualify for the knockout stages, where they faced Inter Milan. Villa scored a free-kick goal in the first leg away from home, while one of Inter's defenders complained that Villa had "made us look like idiots, all on his own". Valencia went through to the quarter-finals, where they faced Chelsea. Villa featured in

neg: Victoraș Iacob the next knock out stage. However they were eliminated in the quarter finals by Villareal. The following season the club qualified for the UEFA Champions League but were beat in the qualifying rounds by Rosenborg. They then played in the UEFA Cup group stages where they defeated teams like RC Lens, Heerenveen S.C., Real Betis in the group stages and one of their traditional Romanian rivals, Rapid Bucureşti, in the quarter finals. Steaua played the semifinal but were beaten by Middlesbrough F.C. after two dramatic games. In the 2006–07 seasonm Steaua qualified for UEFA Champions League group stage, where they

neg: 2009–10 UEFA Champions League the reserved title holder spot in the group stage was effectively vacated. To compensate: League positions of the previous season shown in parentheses. All draws held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland unless stated otherwise. In a new system for the Champions League, there are two separate qualifying tournaments. The Champions Path (which start from the first qualifying round) is for clubs which won their domestic league and did not automatically qualify for the group stage, while the Non-Champions Path (which start from the third qualifying round) is for clubs which did not win their domestic league and did not

neg: Rafael Benítez much of the season through injury and Liverpool failed to challenge Chelsea and Arsenal for the league title, finishing fifth. Benítez, however, did reach his first English domestic cup final, losing the League Cup final against Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium 3–2 after extra time. In the Champions League, however, Liverpool fared differently, despite their poor start. Liverpool began their campaign with an unimpressive 2–1 aggregate win over Grazer AK in the qualifying rounds and were minutes away from going out of the competition in the group stages. However, an 87th-minute goal by Steven Gerrard defeated Olympiacos 3–1 and saw

neg: Joe Ledley SPL." In total, Ledley made 32 appearances in the league that season, scoring 7 times. On 8 August 2012, Ledley scored in Celtic's 2–0 away victory against HJK Helsinki in the second leg of the Champions League Third Qualifying Round. Ledley featured in both legs of Celtic's next qualifier against Helsingborg, which the club won 4–0 on aggregate to progress to the group stages of the Champions League. He then took part in 5 of these matches, including the club's first ever away win in the group stages – 3–2 vs Spartak Moscow – and the memorable 2–1 win over

neg: 2018 Malmö FF season play started on 2 April and concluded on 11 November. The season concluded with the last UEFA Europa League group stage match on 13 December. The club's chairman, Håkan Jeppsson, passed away unexpectedly on 7 December, a week before the last match of the season. Malmö FF won five Swedish championships and participated in two UEFA Champions League group stages, as well as two UEFA Europa League group stages, under his reign. For the first time in the history of the club, Malmö FF managed to qualify for the knock-out stages of the UEFA Europa League. It was also the

neg: History of NK Maribor against Lazio, as teams already met each other in the 1999–2000 Champions League group stages, when Maribor lost both games 4–0. Maribor bounced back in the next round, as they managed to hold Tottenham Hotspur to a draw at the home turf. Maribor even took the lead at the end of the first half, but "The Spurs" equalised in the second half. In the fourth round of the Europa League group stages, they didn't manage to surprise Tottenham at the White Hart Lane, as they lost 3–1, with Jermain Defoe scoring a hat-trick. They later lost both remaining games in

neg: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim lost 3–6 on aggregate. Due to their elimination from the play-off stages, the club would continue playing European football in the Europa League group stages, however, the club would suffer elimination from the tournament as they would finish rock-bottom of their group. In the 2017–18 Bundesliga season, Hoffenheim had a successful season, finishing third, automatically qualifying for next year's UEFA Champions League. Before being promoted to the 1. Bundesliga in 2008, the club played in Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion which was built in 1999 with a capacity of 5,000 (1,620 seats). "TSG 1899 Hoffenheim" made their loftier ambitions clear in 2006 when the

neg: 2014–15 APOEL F.C. season the bar twice. The win guaranteed that APOEL would feature in the group stages of a European competition for the fourth time in six years, as even if they were to suffer defeat in the play-off round, they would go directly into the UEFA Europa League group stage. APOEL were drawn to face Danish champions Aalborg BK in the play-off round of the Champions League, as they attempt to reach the group stages for the third time in their history. On 20 August 2014, APOEL came from behind to earn a valuable 1–1 draw against Aalborg at Nordjyske Arena in

neg: Celtic F.C. in European football in the Champions League group stages since the redevelopment of the tournament in the 1990s. Celtic made their debut in the group stages of the Champions League on 18 September 2001, losing 2–3 to Juventus in Turin. Celtic had recovered from a 2–0 deficit to level the match at 2–2, but lost a third goal near the end from a controversial penalty. Celtic recovered from that set-back to win their next two home matches against Porto and Rosenborg, but lost the away matches against the same opposition. Celtic's final group match was against Juventus at Parkhead on 31 October 2001.

neg: Liverpool F.C. in European football in the group stages. They progressed from their group as winners but were beaten by Benfica in the first knock-out round. In the 2006–07 Champions League, Liverpool progressed from the group stages and beat holders Barcelona, PSV and Chelsea to face Milan in a rematch of the 2005 final. The Liverpool team, which contained only five players from the 2005 final, enjoyed more possession than in 2005, but two goals from Filippo Inzaghi gave Milan their seventh European Cup in a 2–1 win. Liverpool were eliminated from the 2007–08 Champions League in the semi-finals by Chelsea, who they had beaten

neg: Ivan Jovanović (football manager) career at APOEL he won 9 trophies, 4 Championships, 1 Cup and 4 Super Cups. He also helped APOEL to qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stages for the first time in their history in 2009. Two years later, he repeated his achievement and just not only helped APOEL to qualify for the group stages of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, but achieved also to qualify for the quarter-finals by topping their group, beating Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16 on penalties, before being knocked-out by Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. He is considered as the most successful manager

neg: FC Rostov Anderlecht. After a 2–2 home draw, they beat Anderlecht 2–0 away. In the play-off, Rostov were drawn against Dutch giants Ajax. In the first leg in Amsterdam, Netherlands, they held on to a 1–1 draw, which gave them an away goal advantage. In the return leg, Rostov earned a historical 4–1 surprise win over Ajax and qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stages, a stunning performance as was their first qualification into the group stages of a European tournament. Rostov were drawn in Group D, against Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid and PSV Eindhoven, gaining their first Champions League victory

neg: 2015 D.C. United season 2015 D.C. United season The 2015 D.C. United season was the club's twentieth season of existence, and their twentieth in Major League Soccer, the top tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club entered the season as the defending Eastern Conference regular season champions. Outside of MLS regular season play, the club participated in the 2015 U.S. Open Cup, as well as the knockout stages of the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League and group stages of the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League. D.C. United entered 2015 with fresh memories of the team's remarkable 2014 campaign, during which the team registered the greatest

neg: European Cup and EHF Champions League records and statistics European Cup and EHF Champions League records and statistics This page details statistics of the European Cup and Champions League. Some countries ceased to exist during the early 1990s. SC Magdeburg is the only handball club who has won the European club title while representing two different countries (e.g. East Germany and Germany)." The following is a list of clubs that have played in or qualified for the Champions League group stages. Note: In the 1994, 1995 and 1996 seasons there were no semi-finals as the finalists qualified via a group stage. The winners (Braga and TEKA Santander in 1994,

neg: 2009–10 in Turkish football second and Malatya Belediyespor won the promotion play-offs. In continental competition, Beşiktaş and Sivasspor took part in the UEFA Champions League, while Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Trabzonspor took part in the Europa League. Beşiktaş were drawn into Group B alongside Manchester United F.C., PFC CSKA Moscow, and VfL Wolfsburg. They finished last in the group with four points. Sivasspor were knocked out of the Champions League by R.S.C. Anderlecht in the second qualifying round, and were ousted out of the Europa League by reigning champions FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the first round. Fenerbahçe made it to the group stages of the

neg: History of Celtic F.C. (1994–present) 2001–02 Champions League, turning in an outstanding performance. First-half goals from Dutch winger Bobby Petta and Didier Agathe gave Celtic a 2–1 lead at half-time. Chris Sutton added a third in the second half with a powerful header to give Celtic an impressive 3–1 win. A nervy second leg performance at Parkhead saw Celtic lose 0–1 on the night but progress to the group stages on aggregate, their first involvement in the Champions League group stages since the redevelopment of the tournament in the 1990s. This was the first of three occasions that O'Neill's Celtic side qualified for the group

neg: Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin Ahmad Latiff made his debut for Singapore Armed Forces FC in the S.League. It was his third spell at the club after previously playing for the Warriors in 1999 and 2002. Latiff made very important contributions to SAFFC in his third spell, scoring against PSMS Medan in the qualifying round to send the Warriors into the AFC Champions League group stages for the very first time. He also netted a splendid volley against Shanghai Shenhua in the fifth game of the competition's group stages, helping his team win their first ever point in the AFC Champions League. In 2010, Ahmad

neg: FC Basel FC Basel FC Basel 1893 ("Fussball Club Basel 1893"), widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss football club based in Basel. Formed in 1893, the club has been Swiss national champions 20 times, Swiss Cup winners 12 times, and Swiss League Cup winners once. Basel have competed in European competitions every season since 1999–2000. They have qualified for the Group Stages of the Champions League more times than any other Swiss club – a total of seven times – and are the only Swiss club to have ever qualified to the Group Stages directly. Since

neg: 2009 Champions League Twenty20 divided into three stages: the group, league and knockout stages. If a match ends in a tie, a Super Over will be played to determine the winner. The group stage has the teams divided into four equal groups, with each playing a round-robin tournament. The top two teams of each group advances to the league stage. The league stage merges the remaining teams from Groups A and B to form League A, and the remaining teams from Groups C and D to form League B. Another round-robin tournament is played in each league. Teams that have faced each other from

neg: Milenko Ačimovič to qualify for the Champions League. Also, in his first year at Lille, he was part of the team's UEFA Cup campaign, when Lille reached the last sixteen before being eliminated. The following year, he played in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, when Lille reached the group stages. Ačimovič scored Lille's only goal of the campaign against Manchester United in Lille's 1-0 victory in Paris. After two-and one-half seasons in Lille, he fell out of favour and joined Al-Ittihad for the 2006–07 season. After failing to adapt to life in Saudi Arabia, he agreed on a mutual

neg: 2009–10 Beşiktaş J.K. season Super League champions, Beşiktaş started the 2009–10 Turkish Super League season with a 1–1 draw with İstanbul B.B. Beşiktaş J.K. participated in the Turkish Super Cup as the defending champions. By finishing the Turkish Super League in 1st place last year, Beşiktaş automatically qualified to the group stages. After losing their first 3 games Beşiktaş was eliminated from the cup. Beşiktaş qualified for the UEFA Champions League by becoming the champion of the Turkish Super League last year. Beşiktaş was seeded in group D along with Manchester United (England), CSKA Moscow (Russia) and Wolfsburg (Germany). 2009–10 Beşiktaş J.K. season The

neg: Shay Given stages. Given played every game in the second round. Given played all 38 league games for the club, as well as his 12 European appearances, as the team finished in third place in the Premier League, meaning the club would enter the Champions League qualifying round in 2003–04. Having finished third in the league in May 2003, Given and Newcastle lost 4–3 on penalties to Partizan Belgrade early in the 2003–04 season, meaning that Newcastle failed to reach the group stages of the Champions League. The club instead qualified for the UEFA Cup, where they reached the semi-finals. A fifth-place

neg: Mumbai Indians in 2010 Rahul Shukla and Chandan Madan. Players with international caps before the start of the 2010 IPL season are listed in bold. Mumbai Indians in 2010 Mumbai Indians were one of the eight teams that took part in the 2010 Indian Premier League. They were captained by star batsman Sachin Tendulkar. They finished as runners-up of the tournament after losing to Chennai Super Kings by 22 runs in the finals. With this, they qualified for the 2010 Champions League Twenty20, where they could not progress past the group stages. Mumbai Indians had a dismal run in the 2009 edition of the

neg: Jack Wilshere area as Arsenal defeated West Brom 4–1 to clinch a spot in the group stages of next season's UEFA Champions League. The goal would later be voted as the BBC Goal of the Season, making Wilshere the first player to win award in consecutive seasons since the start of the Premier League. On 30 May, Wilshere came on as a substitute in the 2015 FA Cup Final, a 4–0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium. On Arsenal's victory parade after winning the final, he led fans in a chant calling local rivals Tottenham "shit". Having previously been warned by

neg: Liverpool F.C. in European football Championship, where they lost 1–0 in the final to Brazilian team São Paulo. A fifth-place finish in the Premier League in 2004–05 meant Liverpool were not guaranteed entry into the Champions League, and faced the prospect of not being able to defend their European title. UEFA eventually ruled that they would be allowed to do so, but would be required to start in the first qualifying round, with no country protection, meaning they could face a team from England in the group stages. This turned out to be the case—Liverpool advanced through three qualifying rounds and were drawn with Chelsea

neg: David N'Gog in a friendly game against Villarreal on 30 July 2008 and scored his first goal one game later against Rangers in another pre-season friendly. He then followed this up by scoring Liverpool's final goal in their next pre-season friendly, a 4–1 win over Norwegian side Vålerenga IF. He made his Premier League debut against Aston Villa, coming on as a substitute for Fernando Torres. N'Gog scored his first goal for Liverpool in their 3–1 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. N'Gog made his first start for Liverpool on 7 February 2009 against Portsmouth,

neg: European Cup and UEFA Champions League history The final retained the potential for a replay until the late 1970s. Since the addition of a group phase to the European Cup in the 1991–92 season, the earlier stages of the competition have been classified as qualifying rounds and from the 1994–95 season, all rounds prior to the group stage have been considered qualification rounds. The following nations have had representation at the group stage of the competition: European Cup and UEFA Champions League history The history of the European Cup and UEFA Champions League spans over sixty years of competition, finding winners and runners-up from all parts of

neg: History of Feyenoord win. During the UEFA Champions League 1999-00 Feyenoord participated in the UEFA Champions League for the second time. This time the club managed to finish second in their group behind Rosenborg, but in front of Borussia Dortmund. Feyenoord reached the second group stage and secured wins versus Olympique Marseille (at home) and S.S. Lazio (away). Chelsea FC won both clashes and as a result Feyenoord had to win their last group match away to Marseille to reach the knock-out stages. The final result was 0–0 and Feyenoord were eliminated. Feyenoord again participated in the Champions League in 2001-02, finishing third

neg: FK Ventspils In 2008 FK Ventspils participated in the Champions league for the second time. The first opponents of the team were again the champions of Wales, Llanelli. In the 2009–10 season FK Ventspils became the first Latvian club to participate in the group stages of UEFA club competitions after beating BATE Borisov from Belarus in the last UEFA Europa League qualification round. FK Ventspils opponents in the group stages were Sporting CP from Portugal, Hertha BSC from Germany and Heerenveen from the Netherlands. Adding several experienced players to the squad, FK Ventspils showed a remarkable performance, playing 1–1 draws away in

neg: Shay Given enter the qualifying stages of the UEFA Champions League the following season. During the summer he competed in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but could not prevent the Republic of Ireland being eliminated by Spain after a penalty shoot-out. Given again found himself competing with Steve Harper during the following season. After a 5–0 qualifying round win, Newcastle progressed to the group stages of the Champions League. He played in the first three group matches, all of which Newcastle lost. Given found himself out of the team for the next two games, as Harper replaced him in goal. Given returned

neg: 2003–04 Rangers F.C. season saw Rangers fall behind Celtic in the title race and ended up finishing 17 points off top spot. The Scottish Cup campaign ended in the third round after a 1–0 defeat to Celtic. The League Cup campaign also ended in defeat at the semi-final stage to Hibernian at Hampden Park, 4–3 on penalties. In Europe Rangers managed to qualify for the group stages of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League with a win over F.C. Copenhagen in the third qualifying round. They were drawn in the group stages alongside English Champions Manchester United, Stuttgart and Panathinaikos. Despite earning 4 points from

neg: Arsenal F.C. in European football was granted permission from the Football Association and UEFA to host their home Champions League matches at Wembley Stadium. The club faced French champions Lens, Ukraine's Dynamo Kiev and Panathinaikos of Greece in the group stages of the competition. Although they began the campaign in good stead, with two draws and a win, Arsenal lost 3–1 to Dynamo Kiev and at home to Lens – watched by a record crowd of 73,707, meaning the club could not reach higher than third place, failing to make the quarter-finals. Arsenal ended the 1998–99 league season as runners-up, qualifying for the group stages

neg: 2005–06 FC Artmedia Bratislava season Champions League second qualifying round match. The stunned Celtic side could not quite recover, only managing to win the return leg 4–0, and Artmedia held on to progress in the tournament. On 23 August 2005 they clinched a place in the group stages after overcoming Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 aggregate scoreline, thus becoming the second Slovak club after 1. FC Košice in 1997–98 to reach the coveted Champions League group stages. Their success was even more remarkable considering Artmedia's entire annual budget was just over £1 million. Artmedia also made history by becoming one

neg: Muriqui (footballer) in December 2011. At the start of the 2012 season, Muriqui helped Guangzhou win the 2012 Chinese FA Super Cup by beating Tianjin Teda 2–1 on 25 February. He scored his first AFC Champions League goal in a 2012 AFC Champions League group stage match, the club's first AFC Champions League match, as Guangzhou defeated K-League champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 5–1 away on 7 March. He scored twice in another Champions League match which Guangzhou beat J. League Division 1 champions Kashiwa Reysol 3–1 at home on 17 April. His three goals in the group stage ensured Guangzhou Evergrande to

neg: Richard Bok leading SAFFC into the AFC Champions League group stages by defeating PEA of Thailand & PSMS Medan of Indonesia in the East playoff. SAFFC made Singapore football history by being the first team in Singapore to qualify for the premier club tournament in Asia. In the 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage, SAFFC were grouped with J League Champion Kashima Antlers of Japan, K-League Champion Suwon Samsung Bluewings of Korea and Chinese Super League runners up Shanghai Shenhua of China. SAFFC were last in the group with 1 point from a draw with Shanghai Shenhua of China, played at Jalan

neg: Nottingham Panthers in the Champions Hockey League after Belfast Giants had to turn down the offer due to ice time issues. The Group Draw, which took place in Minsk on the 21 May saw Panthers come up against Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Lukko Rauma of the SM-liiga and Luleå Hockey from the Swedish Hockey League. In October 2017, the Panthers made history when they became the first UK side to reach the knockout stages of the Champions Hockey League, a best-on-best European club tournament. Before the competition began, the team were seeded 32nd out of 32 teams. On 16

neg: History of Celtic F.C. (1994–present) for Celtic, with victory in the Wembley Cup. He brought Marc-Antoine Fortuné, Landry N'Guémo and Danny Fox to the club. Things looked very promising when Celtic comprehensively beat Aberdeen in the opening SPL game. Because of the previous season league position, two qualifying rounds were required to enter the Champions league group stages. After a 1–0 loss to Dynamo Moscow at home, Mowbray lead Celtic to a 2–0 win in Moscow, ending a long run of not winning any away games in the Champions league. This was also the first time ever that Celtic had won a European tie after

neg: 2002–03 Arsenal F.C. season Cup in the third round, where they were drawn at home to Premier League club Sunderland. Although Arsenal went two goals ahead in the first half, Sunderland responded, scoring three times in 15 minutes. The result was Wenger's fifth defeat in six matches. Arsenal were drawn in Group A, along with German club Borussia Dortmund, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven and French side Auxerre. A deflected goal by Bergkamp and a counterattack, finished off by Ljungberg on his comeback from injury gave Arsenal the perfect start in the group stages, at home to Borussia Dortmund. At the Philips Stadion, Arsenal produced

neg: 2004 UEFA Champions League Final Champions League final. Both teams started their UEFA Champions League campaigns in the group stage and defeated former European champions on their way to the final. Porto beat 1968 and 1999 winners Manchester United while Monaco defeated nine-time champions Real Madrid. Both teams were considered underdogs in the competition before the final stages and were led by young managers: Monaco had former France national football team star Didier Deschamps and Porto were led by rising star José Mourinho, who left the team for Chelsea after the final. Monaco became the second French team to reach the Champions League final. Marseille

neg: UEFA coefficient in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League and 2020–21 UEFA Europa League. As of 13 December 2018 the coefficients are as follows: UEFA uses this coefficient system to decide which teams gain automatic entry to the group stage and which teams must go through qualifying. The teams who occupy the top four league places in the countries ranked 1 to 4 in UEFA competition gain automatic entry into the group stages for the following season’s Champions League competition. The first and second placed teams of the country ranked 5 and 6 also gain automatic entry as do the champions in the

neg: Neil Lennon award for November 2011. The club went on to win the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League and Lennon was made SFWA Manager of the Year. Lennon then guided Celtic through two qualification rounds to reach the group stage of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, where Celtic beat Barcelona one day after the club's 125th birthday. Celtic qualified out of their group to the knock-out stages of the Champions League. Celtic were comfortably beaten on aggregate by Juventus in the last 16 round, but both Celtic and Lennon were still praised for their overall Champions League campaign. On 21 April 2013, Celtic

neg: English clubs in the European Cup and UEFA Champions League and second rounds were replaced by four mini-leagues of four teams each, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the quarter-finals. As one of eight seeded teams, Manchester United were given a bye directly to the group stage, but missed out on the quarter-finals after finishing third, behind Barcelona on goal difference. In 1995–96, Blackburn Rovers were England's Champions League representatives, but their campaign was not a successful one as they won just one of their six group games and failed to qualify for the latter stages. Manchester United's return to the Champions League in 1996–97 was

neg: HNK Rijeka 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage. Rijeka also participated in the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage, where they defeated Feyenoord and Standard Liège and drew with title-holders and eventual winners Sevilla. In 2017, Rijeka reached the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League play-off, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Greek champions Olympiacos, and automatically qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage. In the group stage they recorded a famous home win (2–0) against AC Milan but once again failed to progress to the knockout stages. In February 2012, Gabriele Volpi – an Italian businessman and the founder of

neg: 2006 UEFA Champions League Final introduction of Henrik Larsson as a Barcelona substitute. Larsson provided two assists, one each for Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti. The 2–1 victory was Barcelona's second triumph in the competition 14 years after they won the European Cup in 1992. Teams qualified for the Champions League group stage, either directly or through three preliminary rounds, based on both their position in the preceding domestic league and the strength of that league. Both Arsenal and Barcelona entered the competition in the group stages: Arsenal by finishing second in the 2004–05 FA Premier League, and Barcelona by winning La Liga. The group

neg: 2005–06 in Portuguese football start of the season: These teams were qualified for the UEFA competitions of 2006-07: These teams were relegated to the League of Honour at the end of the season: The SuperLiga will be reduced from 18 to 16 teams for 2006–07. To accommodate this, four teams were relegated from the SuperLiga, with only two promoted from the Liga da Honra. UEFA Champions League third qualifying round UEFA Cup first round UEFA Champions League group H UEFA Champions League group D UEFA Champions League first knockout round UEFA Champions League quarter-finals UEFA Cup first round UEFA Cup first round UEFA Cup

neg: UEFA Europa League do not qualify for European competition through their domestic performance. In that case, the fourth-placed team in that association will join the Europa League instead of the Champions League, in addition to their other qualifying teams. More recently, clubs that are knocked out of the qualifying round and the group stage of the Champions League can also join the UEFA Europa League, at different stages (see below). Formerly, the reigning champions qualified to defend their title, but since 2015 they qualify for the Champions League. From 1995 to 2015, three leagues gained one extra place via the UEFA Respect Fair

neg: Daniel Levy (businessman) Champions League for the first time. 2010–11 proved another excellent season for Tottenham, as they finished top of their Champions League group, beating holders Inter Milan along the way, and then dispatching AC Milan in the knock-out stages. Their Champions' League run ended at the hands of Real Madrid. Tottenham finished fifth in the Premier League, missing out on Champions' League qualification but securing a place in the Europa League after overtaking Liverpool with victory at Anfield in the penultimate game of the season. On 13 June 2012, Redknapp was relieved of his duties. On 3 July Levy appointed former

neg: League of Ireland Premier Division United and Monaghan United – all withdrew from the League of Ireland. Sporting Fingal also went out of business completely. The top team in the Premier Division currently qualifies for the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. The second-placed and third placed-teams and winners of the FAI Cup qualify for the UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk have both qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. In 2011 Rovers became the first team in League of Ireland history to reach the group stages and Dundalk repeated the feat in 2016. The League of

neg: Aleksandar Stanojević thus became the first Serbian coach to lead one Serbian team into the UEFA Champions League group stage. He managed the team through another successful campaign as Partizan won the 2010–11 double. In late May 2011, Stanojević signed new 2-year contract with Partizan. However, start of 2011–12 season brought disappointing results in qualifications for UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, when FK Partizan did not succeed to reach the group stage in either of those competitions. Despite lack of success in international competitions, performance in domestic competition in the first half of the 2011/2012 season was successful, as Partizan

neg: FC Twente Vrouwen between the Dutch and Belgian league champions) losing 1–4 against Standard Liège. In 2012 the BeNe League was created when the Dutch and Belgian leagues merged into a single one. Despite the departure of players Ashley Nick, Blakely Mattern, Joyce Mijnheer and Lorca Van De Putte in pre-season and Courtney Goodson in the winter break, the first team brought in Sherida Spitse and Jill Roord. The 2012–13 BeNe League was played in two stages, the first had a group of eight Dutch teams (BeNe League Orange) and FC Twente topped the group without losing a match. The second stage had

neg: Henrik Larsson title for the club. It also marked the club's first foray into the UEFA Champions League group stage. Larsson scored his first Champions League goal with a penalty in Celtic's opening fixture in a controversial 3–2 defeat to Juventus in Turin. He scored again for Celtic in their Champions League campaign with the solitary goal in a 1–0 victory over Porto, and again from the penalty spot against Juventus in a thrilling 4–3 victory at Celtic Park. Despite achieving a Scottish record of nine points in the group stage, Celtic failed to qualify for the latter stages and parachuted into

neg: Chrysis Michael Champions League group stage for first time in their history by scoring two goals against F.C. Copenhagen in GSP Stadium for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Play-offs. In that match, APOEL won 3-1 and overturned the 1-0 win of F.C Copenhagen in the first game. Chrysis Michael appeared in five official group stages matches of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League with APOEL. APOEL supporters and people in Cyprus believe that he is the best transfer of a Cypriot player in the modern history of APOEL . In May 2011, it was announced that Chrysis Michael was released

neg: RCD Espanyol cantera which is dependent on final league group position. In these nationwide competitions the opposition includes the academy teams of Atlético Madrid, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. It is possible for Espanyol Juvenil to participate in the UEFA Youth League, either by winning the previous season’s Copa de Campeones or by way of the senior team qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stages, but so far neither has been achieved - they came close when Villarreal prevailed in the 2015 final of the Copa Campeones after extra time. The first intake of boys from the Province of Barcelona are

neg: 2010–11 Manchester United F.C. season Steven Naismith and Wayne Rooney scored the resulting penalty. The win put United through to the knockout stages and also relegated Rangers to the UEFA Europa League competition. However, a comprehensive victory for Valencia in their fifth group match meant that United still needed at least a point from their final Group match to top the Group. United got the required point by drawing 1–1 in their last Group match at home to Valencia. After passing up a host of chances, United went behind after a half hour when Pablo Hernández slotted home through the legs of Champions League debutant

neg: NK Maribor in European football appeared in the most UEFA matches for Maribor; Tavares has also scored the most goals with 28. As of the 2018–19 season, Maribor is the only Slovenian club that has managed to qualify for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, and one of five clubs from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia who have participated in the group stages of the competition since the breakup of the country in 1992. Maribor won their only European honour in 2006, when they defeated Villarreal in the third round of the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup, becoming one of the eleven

neg: Mihai Neșu a place in the starting eleven and became an important player for the team. He played the full 180 minutes of the Champions League third round qualifier against Standard Liège and helped Steaua qualify for the group stages for the first time since 1996-97. In the group stages he provided an assist for Steaua's second goal in the 4–1 win against Dynamo Kyiv. In the European Cups he played in 20 games but did not score any game. He debuted in the season 2003–2004 in UEFA Cup when played 3 games2. After only one European game in 2004–2005 he had

neg: Bobby Petta also saw him called up to the Dutch national team but injury prevented him from playing for his country. The following season (2001–02) saw Petta continue his sparkling form. A goal away to Ajax in a Champions League qualifying tie helped Celtic to a 3–2 aggregate win and the club's first participation in the group stages of that competition. Celtic's first game in the group stages was away to Juventus. Celtic lost 3–2 on the night, but Petta made an outstanding contribution when he came on as a substitute for Alan Thompson in the second half; to the extent that

neg: NK Maribor in European football Maribor lost 2–1 to Dynamo at the home turf. In the final round, Maribor prevented Bayer from qualifying to the further stages: te match ended in a scoreless draw, while Bayer needed a win to secure the second place in the group. Maribor were eliminated from the competition, finishing in the fourth and last place with four points. In each of the next four seasons, Maribor were eliminated in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. The decline of the club in European competitions started in the 2000–01 season, when Maribor were surprisingly knocked out of the Champions League

neg: Celtic F.C. in European football saw Strachan guide Celtic into last 16 of the Champions League for the first time. Celtic secured their progress from the group stages courtesy of Shunsuke Nakamura's 30-yard free-kick against Manchester United in a 1–0 win at Parkhead. The win on the night, and qualification to the last 16, was clinched when Artur Boruc saved Louis Saha's 88th-minute penalty kick. Celtic lost 0–1 in the last 16 round to the eventual winners of the cup, AC Milan, after a goal from Kaká in extra time. Strachan took Celtic to the last 16 of the Champions League again in 2007–08, were

neg: Colorado Rapids open tryout during preseason. The Rapids made the headlines when Irish International and former Hull City striker Caleb Folan signed with the club. The primary departure was defender Julian Baudet. Since Colorado won the 2011 MLS Cup, they automatically qualified for the group stages of the 2011–2012 CONCACAF Champions League. On September 9, Colorado signed versatile defender Miguel Comminges. The Guadeloupe International can play at either Left or Right back. On September 13, Comminges made his debut for Colorado as a substitute in a 4–1 home loss to Club Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League. The 2012 season began