Europa League - Group A
Credit: Extratime Team (ETPhotos)
Tottenham Hotspur were the top seeds in Group A and are the highest ranked club in this season's Europa League. Last season they were Champions League quarter-finalists, losing to Real Madrid after coming through a tough group which including Inter Milan, FC Twente and Werder Bremen. Spurs came second in the group and went on to beat AC Milan in the round of 16 before tumbling out to Real Madrid at the quarter-final stage.
Spurs have won the Uefa Cup twice (1972 and 1984) and were runners-up in 1974. They can also count the 1963 Cup-Winners Cup amongst their successes. It takes its place in a trophy cabinet which also includes two league titles, eight FA Cups and four League Cups.
The Harry Redknapp-managed side finished fifth in last season's Premier League, losing just eight times on the road to Europa League qualification. The north London club had a disappointing start to this season though, losing 3-0 to champions Manchester United. Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and Vedran Corluka - who all played for Croatia in Dublin last month - are all members of the first-team squad. Players like Rafael Van Der Vaart, Gareth Bale and Roman Pavlyuchenko will all be immediately recognisible to Irish fans.
Rubin Kazan take their place as second seeds in Group A after losing 4-2 on aggregate to Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League play-off. Rubin beat Dynamo Kiev 4-1 in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, which they qualified for through their third-placed finish in the Russian Premier League last season.
Last season saw Rubin make their second appearance in the group stage of the Champions League. They were drawn in the same group as Barcelona, Copenhagen and Panathinaikos. The club from Kazan, the largest city in the autonomous Russian region of Tatarstan, beat Copenhagen (1-0) and drew with both Barcelona (1-1) and Panathinaikos (0-0) at home.
But their away form let them down. Losses in Barcelona and Copenhagen and a 0-0 draw in Athens saw them finish third in the group. But third place was enough to secure a berth in the Europa League round of 32 , where they lost 4-2 on aggregate to FC Twente.
The 2009-10 season saw Rubin's debut in the Champions League when they also met Barcelona in the group stage, beating the Catalans 2-1 at the Camp Nou and earing a scoreless draw back in Russia. Recent seasons have been the most fruitful in Rubin's history. Since promotion in 2002, they have won two domestic league titles, one Russian Cup and one Russian Super Cup. Former players include ex-Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins who will be a familiar name to Irish fans, while Nelson Valdez featured for Paraguay in their run to the semi-finals of the Copa America this summer. Captain Roman Sharonov is one of several Rubin players with caps for Russia and midfielder Carlos Eduardo has five caps for Brazil.
PAOK are from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki (Salonika) and finished fourth in last season's Greek Superleague. They comprehensively beat Norwegian side Valerenga 5-0 on aggregate to reach the play-off for this seasons Europa League. Their next opponents were Karpaty Lviv, who were impressive in their defeat of St. Pats last month. PAOK beat the Ukrainians 2-0 at home before drawing 1-1 in Lviv to seal their progression to the group stage.
They have a rich history in European competition, which stretches back to the 1965-66 Fairs Cup. Last season they made the round of 32 in the Europa League, coming through a group also including semi-finalists Villareal, Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb. PAOK lost narrowly to CSKA Moscow to end last season's participation in European competition.
The club has won the Greek top-flight twice, with their second-placed finish in the 2009-10 season their best finish since their 1985-86 league win. Four Greek Cup wins put PAOK among the top Greek clubs.
Chilean international defender Pablo Contreras played at the 2010 World Cup, where he earned some of his 59 international caps. Pablo Garcia, who anchors the side in midfield, played for Uruguay at the 2002 World Cup but retired from international football in 2008. Four current PAOK players - most notably striker Dimitris Salpigidis- are involved with the Greek national side. Winger Bertrand Robert is the younger brother of former Newcastle star Laurent.
Spurs have won the Uefa Cup twice (1972 and 1984) and were runners-up in 1974. They can also count the 1963 Cup-Winners Cup amongst their successes. It takes its place in a trophy cabinet which also includes two league titles, eight FA Cups and four League Cups.
The Harry Redknapp-managed side finished fifth in last season's Premier League, losing just eight times on the road to Europa League qualification. The north London club had a disappointing start to this season though, losing 3-0 to champions Manchester United. Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and Vedran Corluka - who all played for Croatia in Dublin last month - are all members of the first-team squad. Players like Rafael Van Der Vaart, Gareth Bale and Roman Pavlyuchenko will all be immediately recognisible to Irish fans.
Rubin Kazan take their place as second seeds in Group A after losing 4-2 on aggregate to Olympique Lyonnais in the Champions League play-off. Rubin beat Dynamo Kiev 4-1 in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, which they qualified for through their third-placed finish in the Russian Premier League last season.
Last season saw Rubin make their second appearance in the group stage of the Champions League. They were drawn in the same group as Barcelona, Copenhagen and Panathinaikos. The club from Kazan, the largest city in the autonomous Russian region of Tatarstan, beat Copenhagen (1-0) and drew with both Barcelona (1-1) and Panathinaikos (0-0) at home.
But their away form let them down. Losses in Barcelona and Copenhagen and a 0-0 draw in Athens saw them finish third in the group. But third place was enough to secure a berth in the Europa League round of 32 , where they lost 4-2 on aggregate to FC Twente.
The 2009-10 season saw Rubin's debut in the Champions League when they also met Barcelona in the group stage, beating the Catalans 2-1 at the Camp Nou and earing a scoreless draw back in Russia. Recent seasons have been the most fruitful in Rubin's history. Since promotion in 2002, they have won two domestic league titles, one Russian Cup and one Russian Super Cup. Former players include ex-Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins who will be a familiar name to Irish fans, while Nelson Valdez featured for Paraguay in their run to the semi-finals of the Copa America this summer. Captain Roman Sharonov is one of several Rubin players with caps for Russia and midfielder Carlos Eduardo has five caps for Brazil.
PAOK are from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki (Salonika) and finished fourth in last season's Greek Superleague. They comprehensively beat Norwegian side Valerenga 5-0 on aggregate to reach the play-off for this seasons Europa League. Their next opponents were Karpaty Lviv, who were impressive in their defeat of St. Pats last month. PAOK beat the Ukrainians 2-0 at home before drawing 1-1 in Lviv to seal their progression to the group stage.
They have a rich history in European competition, which stretches back to the 1965-66 Fairs Cup. Last season they made the round of 32 in the Europa League, coming through a group also including semi-finalists Villareal, Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb. PAOK lost narrowly to CSKA Moscow to end last season's participation in European competition.
The club has won the Greek top-flight twice, with their second-placed finish in the 2009-10 season their best finish since their 1985-86 league win. Four Greek Cup wins put PAOK among the top Greek clubs.
Chilean international defender Pablo Contreras played at the 2010 World Cup, where he earned some of his 59 international caps. Pablo Garcia, who anchors the side in midfield, played for Uruguay at the 2002 World Cup but retired from international football in 2008. Four current PAOK players - most notably striker Dimitris Salpigidis- are involved with the Greek national side. Winger Bertrand Robert is the younger brother of former Newcastle star Laurent.
About Niall Farrell
Niall Farrell is our correspondent at Tolka Park, covering the goings-on at Shelbourne. You can visit Niall's website for further information and contact details- niallf.net. View Full Profile