FOUR YANKS LEARN EUROPEAN FATE David Smith - Monday, June 22, 2009
The draw for the early rounds of the European play have been made, with Mikkel Diskerud, Marcus Tracy, Ryan Guy and Jamath Shoffner all set for their summertime jaunts through the obscure reaches of Europe.
Mikkel Diskerud and reigning Norwegian champions Stabaek enter the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, and face off against Albanian powerhouse KF Tirana over two legs starting in mid-July.
Stabaek were brief entrants in last year's UEFA Cup competition, however were quickly dispatched of in the second qualifying round by Carlos Bocanegra's Rennes.
Should they overcome their Albanian opposition, they will advance to the third qualifying round, assuring them a minimum reward of Europa League competition if they do not ultimately advance to the group stage.
Marcus Tracy and Aalborg backed into the second qualifying round of the inaugural Europa League by way of finishing runners up in last season's Danish Cup, and have drawn FK Sarajevo, runners up of the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Aalborg's league struggles in 2008-09 were countered by their remarkable run in European competition, which saw them finish third in their group in the Champions League before only missing out on a quarterfinal berth in the UEFA Cup thanks to a Round of 16 penalty shootout loss to Manchester City.
Tracy found himself in an increasing on-field role for Aalborg throughout the spring before being sidelined for most of the season's last month by a hamstring injury, however is expected to continue his development with the Danish club in the upcoming season.
Ryan Guy and St. Patrick's Athletic must await until completion of the first qualifying round in early-July before finding out their opponent for the second round.
They will face either Valetta FC of the Maltese Premier League or will travel to the land of Björk to face Icelandic club Keflavik FC.
The Dublin-based club enjoyed perhaps their greatest-ever European run in the 2008-09 edition of the UEFA Cup, proving victorious in both the first and second qualifying rounds before narrowly missing out on a berth in the group stage by a 2-0 aggregate loss to German club Hertha Berlin.
Jamath Schoffner, who recently joined Luxembourg National Division team UN Käerjeng 97 from relegated Avenir Beggen, will see his season start in early July with the team's first qualifying round date with Cypriot team Anorthosis Famagusta FC.
Käerjeng's finish as runners up in the Luxembourg's domestic cup competition is enough to see them in Europe for the second time in three years, after having been handily knocked out of the 2007-08 UEFA Cup by Oguchi Onyewu's Liege.
The draw for the third qualifying round, which will include such Yank havens as Fulham, Club Brugge, Valerenga and reported Oguchi Onyewu destination Fenerbahce will take place after the completion of all second-round games on July 17.
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