UEFA Cup Opens with Ajax Amsterdam Looking for Vengeance

The UEFA Cup started last week to a bit of fanfare but some cracking good games as teams played each other to open a two-game home-and-away series for the right to be placed in a 40-team group stage during the month of September.

In the end nothing would be sweeter for Dutch superclub Ajax Amsterdam to avenge its shocking exit from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of FC Copenhagen-if Copenhagen happens to finish third in its Champions League group and is sent packing to the UEFA Cup, as is customary for teams finishing third in the CL.

Guess what? It just might happen, what after Ajax trashed Norwegian newcomer IK Start 5-2 in the first leg of their two-round encounter, in which the winner is crowned based on aggregate goals, or if the teams have the same amount of goals, the team with the most away goals. The group stage shouldn't be any problem for Ajax, who would need to lose by at least 4-0 at home to be eliminated from the Cup.

But not all Norwegian clubs had the same fate, as unknown Molde FK shocked the world by holding Glasgow Rangers to a goalless draw, setting up a cracker of a match at Hampden Park on the return leg.

In the most surprising match of the first leg, however, defending UEFA Cup holders Sevilla got two early goals and held on to win 2-1 at Greek side Atromitos.

Another team that has seen plenty of intrigue in a rough way is Maccabi Haifa of Israel, who first drew major headlines by requesting to have their home game of their two-round Champions League qualifier with English giant Liverpool in war-torn Israel and were denied. The ban on games in Israel has been lifted since.

On September 14 the mood was less subdued, as they fought to a 1-1 tie on the road against FC Litex of Bulgaria. And Maccabi will be able to play at home, given that UEFA is now allowing games in the war-torn region. So will Hapoel Tel Aviv, a team almost entirely comprised of compatriots and a smattering of Argentines. Tel Aviv defeated FC Chornomorets of the Ukraine in the opening leg 1-0.

Newcastle got all it wanted from Estonian team FC Levadia, but eventually came out the victor 1-0. The Magpies should advance since they will play the return leg at St. James Park, but stranger things have happened. Other favorites that struggled were Dinamo Bucharest, squeaking by 4-3 at Greek club Xanthi; Italians Parma prevailing 1-0 at Russian side FC Rubin Kazan despite resting some key players; Tottenham ekeing past Slavia Praha 1-0 and setting up a great game in England. American Oguchi Onyewu and his Belgian side Standard Liege also went the way of defeat, falling 1-0 at home to Celta.

There were some blowouts too, as Swiss sides held the day. FC Basel thumped FC Rabotnicki of Macedonia 6-2 in Basel. Then Grasshoppers had little problem with Swede club Atvidaberg, winning 3-0.
In other matches Partizan Belgrade whacked Germany's FC Groningen 4-2 and at home, Eintracht Frankfurt of the Bundesliga destroyed Sweden's Brondby 4-0.

But the theme of the day? Draws and lots of them, 12 to be exact. Out of 40 games played in the first leg of the UEFA Cup, that's nearly one-third. For teams used to lucrative payouts like Paris St-Germain, Bayer Leverkusen, Blackburn Rovers, Feyenoord, the road ahead is uncharted territory, though all four sides will benefit from playing the second leg in front of their home fans.

And 2005 Champions League darlings FC Artmedia Bratislava of Slovakia may have played their way out of the UEFA Cup, drawing 2-2 to Spanish side Espanyol.

The second and deciding leg of the UEFA Cup is to be played September 28 and should make for some more exciting soccer. Here are all the scores from the first leg of the first round of the Cup.

Lokomotiv Moskva (RUSSIA) VS. Zulte Waregem (BELGIUM) 2-1
Basel (SWITZERLAND) VS. Rabotnicki (MACEDONIA) 6-2
Marseille (FRANCE) VS. Mlada Boleslav (CZECH REPUBLIC) 1-0
Derry (NORTHERN IRELAND) VS. PSG (FRANCE) 0-0
Eintracht (GERMANY) VS. Brondby (SWEDEN) 4-0
Artmedia (SLOVAKIA) VS. Espanyol (SPAIN) 2-2
Levadia (ESTONIA) VS. Newcastle (ENGLAND) 0-1
Partizan (SERBIA) VS. Groningen (GERMANY) 4-2
Achnas (CYPRUS) VS. Lens (FRANCE) 0-0
Panathinaikos (GREECE) VS. Zaporizhya (UKRAINE) 1-1
Ruzomberok (SLOVAKIA) VS. Club Brugge (BELGIUM) 0-1
M. Haifa (ISRAEL) VS. Litex (BULGARIA) 1-1
Setubal (PORTUGAL) VS. Heerenveen (NETHERLANDS) 0-3
Trabzonspor (TURKEY) VS. Osasuna (SPAIN) 2-2
Rubin (RUSSIA) VS. Parma (ITALY) 0-1
Dinamo Zagreb (CROATIA) VS. Auxerre (FRANCE) 1-2
Braga (PORTUGAL) VS. Chievo (ITALY) 2-0
Schalke (GERMANY) VS. Nancy (FRANCE) 1-0
Sion (SWITZERLAND) VS. Leverkusen (GERMANY) 0-0
Start (NORWAY) VS. Ajax (NETHERLANDS) 2-5
Legia (POLAND) VS. Austria (AUSTRIA) 1-1
Fenerbahce (TURKEY) VS. Randers (DENMARK) 2-1
Loko Sofia (BULGARIA) VS. Feyenoord (NETHERLANDS) 2-2
Standard (BELGIUM) VS. Celta (SPAIN) 0-1
Rapid Bucuresti (ROMANIA) VS. Nacional (PORTUGAL) 1-0
Chornomorets (UKRAINE) VS. H. Tel-Aviv (ISRAEL) 0-1
Besiktas (TURKEY) VS. CSKA Sofia (BULGARIA) 2-0
Livorno (ITALY) VS. Pasching (AUSTRIA) 2-0
Salzburg (AUSTRIA) VS. Blackburn (ENGLAND) 2-2
AZ (NETHERLANDS) VS. Kayserispor (TURKEY) 3-2
Slavia (CZECH REPUBLIC) VS. Tottenham (ENGLAND) 0-1
West Ham (ENGLAND) VS. Palermo (ITALY) 0-1
Hearts (SCOTLAND) VS. Sparta (CZECH REPUBLIC) 0-2
Åtvidaberg (SWEDEN) VS. Grasshoppers (SWITZERLAND) 0-3
Hertha (GERMANY) VS. OB (DENMARK) 2-2
Wisla (POLAND) VS. Iraklis (GREECE) 0-1
Molde (NORWAY) VS. Rangers (SCOTLAND) 0-0
Atromitos (GREECE) VS. Sevilla (SPAIN) 1-2
Xanthi (GREECE) VS. Dinamo Bucuresti (ROMANIA) 3-4
Liberec (CZECH REPUBLIC) VS. Red Star Belgrade (YUGOSLAVIA) 2-0