CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR'S hopes of reaching the group stages of the Champions League were given a huge lift yesterday when they were drawn against Young Boys of Bern in the play-off round. Although the Swiss Super League runners-up knocked out Fenerbahce in the previous round, Harry Redknapp will be relieved to have avoided Dynamo Kyiv, Braga, Sampdoria and Auxerre, all of whom were potential opponents, and would have carried a much greater threat.
Young Boys have started their domestic season but have failed to win any of their opening three matches and their disappointment at being paired with Spurs, who last appeared in Europe’s premier club competition in the 1961-’62 season, was acute.
Alain Baumann, the club’s sporting director, described the draw as “the worst that we could have” and conceded that their chances of going through were “very, very little”.
“We’ll be favourites, obviously, but we have to give Young Boys the utmost respect,” Redknapp, the Spurs manager, said. “They beat Fenerbahce in the last round and we watched the first leg on DVD. They could have won four or five – they hammered them at home. They then went away and won in Turkey and that’s a fantastic result. They also have an astroturf pitch at their stadium and they play well on it, so it will be a tough game for us.”
In the Europa League play-offs, Liverpool face Trabzonspor, with the Anfield side at home in the first leg. Manchester City were drawn against the Romanian club Timisoara, who finished fifth in their domestic league. “Any team from Romania will provide stiff opposition, particularly on their own ground,” City manager Roberto Mancini said.
Celtic, who have dropped into the Europa League after they were defeated in their Champions League qualifier in midweek, are up against the Dutch side Utrecht, who finished seventh in the Eredivisie last season.
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