After strong showings in the first leg of the playoff round, both Lyon and Arsenal are in a comfortable position to enter the group stage. Lyon can claim a tenth consecutive group-stage appearance unless they completely fall apart. The French club overwhelmed RSC Anderlecht 5-1 last week, while a 2-0 deficit would appear insurmountable for Celtic FC as they travel to London to take on Arsenal.

Celtic have to overcome a Gunners side in top form if they are to progress – they must win away in Europe for only the second time in 24 matches. Celtic have fought back from a home defeat once already in this season’s qualifiers, beating Dinamo Moscow 2-0 in Moscow on goals from Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras to make overturn a 1-0 first-leg loss in Glasgow. It was Celtic’s first away win in Europe in 23 matches. A win for Arsenal will mean a 12th successive appearance in the UEFA Champions League. On current form, I simply cannot see Arsenal losing 3-0 at home to Celtic

Despite their gutsy performance, Panathinaikos find themselves needing to make history on two fronts to book a place in the group stage of the Champions League. Beyond needing to win on Spanish soil for the first time in their history, they must also mount a first successful comeback from an opening home loss in Europe competition. On the five previous occasions Panathinaikos have entered a return fixture after a defeat in Athens, they have go on to lose the tie. Atletico are sitting in a good spot having scored 3 away goals in the opening leg with strikes from Maxi Rodríguez, Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero.

I think there is simply too much stacked against the Greek side and that we’ll see Atletico celebrating a return to the group stage. Henk ten Cate, the Panathinaikos manager, admitted to uefa.com that he felt some of his players would be affected psychologically by the fires in Athens. The club doctors told the team to refrain from training because the smoke in the air could have been hazardous for the players. I certainly feel for the players and their families and I hope the wildfires are brought under control.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the losers in this playoff round as they will continue their European campaigns in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

The names of the clubs who have claimed multiple UEFA Champions League Football titles are the stuff of footballing legend. Clubs like Manchester United, AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid are recognised as the greatest on the planet partially because of their exploits in the Champions League, and their ability to come out on top in the ultimate battle of the world’s richest, strongest clubs.

The hype over the top clubs in the Champions League naturally overshadows the less than stellar exploits of some of the clubs who have made up the numbers at the tournament over the years.

10. Brøndby IF

Brøndby IF have been the outstanding team in Danish football for the last two decades, winning the Danish championship 10 times since 1985 and finishing as runners-up on another 9 occasions. However, the Champions League has been a different matter entirely. During their only Champions League campaign Brøndby played 6 games, losing 5 games, drawing 1 and conceding 18 goals in the process.

9. Rapid Wien

Looking to outdo Brøndby IF in the totally hopeless stakes are multiple Austrian league title winners, Rapid Wien. The club reached the group stages of the Champions League on two occasions, and clinically disproved the old dictum that ‘practice makes perfect’ by putting in equally inept performances in both campaigns. Rapid Wien failed to win one of its 12 Champions League matches as its porous defence let in 27 goals.

8. Anderlecht

Belgian club Anderlecht has the distinction of bearing the title of the worst of the seasoned campaigners in the Champions League. In eight tournament appearances Anderlecht has progressed beyond the group stages only once, and has managed to amass a goal difference of -50, letting in an average of almost 2 goals a game in all Champions League matches.

7. Steaua Bucuresti

Steaua Bucuresti also doesn’t have much to show for its five Champions League appearances. The Romanian club have won only 4 of their 30 matches in the tournament, and have never managed to progress beyond the group stage of the Champions League.

6. Besiktas

Besiktas are one short of Steaua Bucuresti’s record of 5 Champions League appearances without securing progression to the second round. However, it is not this fact that earns them a place of honour amongst the worst clubs in Champions League history. Instead, Besiktas must be acknowledged for being on the receiving end of the biggest hiding in Champions League history, taking an 8-0 pasting from Liverpool in the group stages of the 2007/2008 Champions League.

5. Lierse SK

Lierse SK is another Belgian Club without much to celebrate in the Champions League. During their single Champions League campaign, Lierse were on the receiving end of 12 goals, scored three of their own, and departed the tournament with just a single victory to show for their time on Europe’s biggest football stage.

4. Willem II Tilburg

One must assume that the ‘II’ in the name of Dutch club Willem II Tilburg was not inserted to commemorate their 2 point haul in the 1999 Champions League. Tilburg qualified for the tournament by virtue of finishing second in the Dutch League and were rewarded for this feat by having 17 goals hammered past their defence as they tumbled out of the tournament without a single win.

3. AIK Stockholm

AIK Stockholm are the only club to have represented Sweden in the Champions League, and were hailed by an expectant Swedish public when they qualified for the tournament in 1999. AIK Stockholm’s Champions League debut proved to be a baptism of fire, as the hapless Swedes lost 5 games and drew 1. AIK Stockholm eventually departed the Champions League with only a single point and a -12 goal difference to show for their efforts.

2. FC Kosice

Just when you thought that clubs had scraped the bottom of the barrel in the Champions League, along comes FC Kosice. The Slovakian Club represented their country in the Champions League in 1998, and in the space of just a few months achieved the significant feat of becoming the first ever club to be knocked out of the Champions League without picking up a single point.

1. Levski Sofia

Not to be outdone by the exploits of FC Kosice, Levski Sofia arrived on the scene in 2006 with the apparent intention of making Kosice’s Champions League record look respectable. The Bulgarian side played 6 fixtures during the course of its Champions League campaign, conceding an average of 3 goals a match and scoring just one goal of its own. The club departed the tournament with no points.

The second qualifying round brought two big upsets as Rangers and Anderlecht became two of the biggest clubs to be knocked out at this stage.

A 2-1 win (video highlights here) in Lithuania saw FBK Kaunas (pictured celebrating at the right) take full advantage of the 0-0 draw they earned at Ibrox to send the beaten 2007/08 UEFA Cup finalists crashing out of the UEFA Champions League. Full marks to Kaunas who played the two-legged tie perfectly and made the most of set-pieces in their home match to overturn an early Rangers goal from Kevin Thomson. Nerijus Radzius scored on a sweetly curled free-kick and Linas Pilibaitis headed in a corner kick from Rafael Ledesma, Kaunas’ talented Brazilian playmaker, three minutes from time to seal the victory.

Rangers had hoped to build upon last season’s thrilling run to the UEFA Cup final and reach the group stage of the Champions League. Reaching the group stage is a £10m (12.5m euro) boost for the clubs that make it. That can often allow a club the financial ability to make an additional quality signing or the ability to offer a pay raise and retain a star player.

FC BATE Borisov were in the driver’s seat after they pulled a surprise victory away against RSC Anderlecht in the first leg. Anderlecht came out flying in the return leg and took an early lead but the game turned in the second half when Anderlecht defender Nemanja Rni? collected a second yellow card on 71 minutes. BATE scored 12 minutes later to once again put themselves in control of the tie. Czech midfielder Jan Polák scored late for Anderlecht to level the game but BATE held on to their aggregate lead and their biggest win in European competition. Highlights of the second leg are available here.

A third major upset was almost had as FC Dynamo Kyiv survived a late scare in their home return leg against Drogheda United FC, holding on for a 2-2 draw to set up a tie against FC Spartak Moskva. After winning 2-1 in Ireland, a bit of overconfidence may have set in and the Ukraine-based team was pushed right to the very death by the Irish minnows.

Taking a quick look at the other second qualifying round games, Fenerbahce, on the strength of four goals from Semih ?entürk, crushed MTK Budapest 5-0 in the second leg to advance 7-0 on aggregate.  The most thrilling tie was between FC Basel and IFK Gothenburg. Basel scored a 4-2 win in the second leg to advance 5-3 on aggregate.

With no parachute into the Uefa Cup both Anderlecht and Rangers are now done with European competition for the season. Unthinkable for the fans of these clubs but delight for fans of their conquerors as they live to fight on for another round.I’ve re-posted the third round matchups, this time with my predictions on who will advance. I was 10 of 14 in the second round, which leaves me at 21/28 (75%) so far. I think this round is going to be the toughest to predict in some respects. While some of the biggest European clubs are entering the competition at this round and there are some clear mismatches, there are also some very even matchups such as the Atletico-Schalke fixture. There will be at least a couple of ‘smaller’ clubs that make it through to the group stage as some are paired together.

I’ve taken a couple of gambles and picked from the heart more than the head in some cases but it’s going to be an exciting third round either way.

2008/09 UEFA Champions League
Third Qualifying Round Fixtures
First leg: 12/13 August
Second leg: 26/27 August

Anorthosis v Olympiakos
Vitoria Guimaraes v FC Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk v Dinamo Zagreb
Schalke 04 v Atletico Madrid
Aalborg v Kaunas
Barcelona v Wisla Krakow
Levski Sofia v BATE
Standard Liege v Liverpool
Partizan v Fenerbahce
Twente Enschede v Arsenal
Spartak Moscow v Dinamo Kiev
Juventus v Artmedia
Brann v Marseille
Fiorentina v Slavia Prague
Galatasaray v Steaua Bucharest
Panathinaikos v Sparta Prague

UEFA has fined the clubs that had crowd trouble during the final qualifying round for the Champions League. Belgium’s Anderlecht were hardest hit as UEFA fined them 20,000 Swiss francs after fans threw missiles and attempted to invade the pitch during their second-leg defeat against Turkish side Fenerbahce in Brussels on Aug. 29. Fenerbahce, who went through 3-0 over the two legs, were fined 8,000 Swiss francs for their supporters setting off fireworks.

Red Star Belgrade were fined 10,000 Swiss francs by the committee after their supporters threw missiles during their qualifier against Rangers, which ended in a 1-0 overall victory for the Glasgow side.

Also, Lazio was fined 12,000 Swiss francs and Dinamo Bucharest were fined 9,000 Swiss francs respectively for incidents of fans setting off fireworks during their third-round meeting. UEFA’s disciplinary committee made no mention of racist behaviour at either match despite media reports of chanting by Anderlecht, Fenerbahce and Lazio fans.

The fines seem quite light considering the offences and I wish UEFA would get a bit tougher with these incidents. What’s worrying is that no investigation into the racist chanting seems to have been done. The number of incidents has been increasing over the last few years and UEFA and FIFA need to step up efforts to push it out of the game. It will be interesting to see what happens if there are more events like these in the upcoming matchdays. The visit of Manchester United to Roma is particularly worrying considering the events of last year when several United supporters were hospitalized after a baton charge by riot police inside the ground.