The second round of draws have been made in Europe for the three tiers of European club competitions. What does that mean for the Greek teams involved?

The second round of draws have been made in Europe for the three tiers of European club competitions. 

What does that mean for the Greek teams involved?

By Alexander Koutakos

On June 16th, the draw for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League and the newly formed UEFA Conference League were made. Three Greek teams were involved. Olympiacos in the Champions League draw and Aris Thessaloniki and AEK Athens in the Conference League draw. PAOK is the odd team out of the mix as they will be commencing their European journey in the third qualifying round of the Conference League rather than in the second qualifying round. The draw for that will be occurring in the middle of July. In this blog, I will be taking a look at the future opponents of Olympiacos, AEK Athens and Aris Thessaloniki. Each of these teams will face their opponents in a two-legged tie and the winners will advance to the third qualifying round of the respective competitions. 

Olympiacos

Olympiacos has been drawn with the winner of the Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) and Neftci (AZE) two-legged tie for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. On paper, these two teams don’t play at the same level as Olympiacos and don’t have players near the caliber of Olympiacos’ players. However, surprises do occur in qualifiers. So, Olympiacos and their fans should take these games seriously. Nonetheless, I expect this to be somewhat of a walkover for Olympiacos regardless of the opponent whether Neftci or Dinamo Tbilisi. Hopefully, they get two wins out of two and give Greece's coefficient a well needed boost. These two matches will be played without marquee signing Tiquinho Soares who will be serving a suspension. The Piraeus outfit will have a summer transfer window with a ton of ins and outs. If players are sold (like Camara and Sa for example), new and competent replacements are needed. The good news is that Olympiacos and Marinakis are already looking for replacements. Hopefully, Olympiacos push on and make the UEFA Champions League group stage for the third consecutive year.

Aris Thessaloniki

Aris Thessaloniki has just been drawn with Astana FC in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. As an unseeded team in the draw, Aris Thessaloniki were bound to be drawn against a stronger team then AEK Athens were, as AEK Athens are considered as a “seeded team” in the draw. Astana FC finished third in the 2020 Kazakhstan Premier League and are currently 1st in the 2021 edition of the league. So far, they are unbeaten in 15 games and have played some good football. Their schedule is quite obscure and that may benefit Aris Thessaloniki or might not. We’ll have to see how fit Astana FC is when they make the trip to Thessaloniki on the 22nd of July and then in the return leg in Kazakhstan on the 29th. Astana’s danger man is none other than the Armenian international, Tigran Barsegyhan. “Tiko” as they call him is very pacey, possesses flair and has a good shot. He plays as a RW so he will give Ioannou (Aris’ LB) a test to say the least. I find this two-legged tie as the hardest amongst the Greek teams and it will be interesting to see how Akis Mantzios orders and deploys his team. I’m sure that Bruno Gama and the rest of the squad will be eager to make amends in this qualification campaign. In last year’s UEL qualification campaign, Aris Thessaloniki lost to Kolos Kovalivka of Ukraine by a score of 2-1 in the one-legged tie. Aris Thessaloniki are now looking to make some big moves this summer and if that does happen, I would give Aris the edge over Astana FC. But, if the signings don't occur, I think that Aris Thessaloniki and Astana will be quite even and that this tie will be up for grabs.

AEK Athens 

AEK Athens has just been drawn with the winner of the FK Velez Mostar (BIH) and the Coleraine FC (NIR) two-legged tie for the second round of the UEFA Conference League. On paper, AEK should be very comfortable in this tie regardless of it being Mostar or Coleraine that they face. Mostar finished third in the Bosnian league and Coleraine finished 2nd in the Northern Irish league. They are by no means well known on the European stage and have both struggled to make the group stage of a European competition as of late. After AEK’s loss to Zorya(UKR) in the UEL last year, most AEK fans will hope that the club views these fixtures as unsecured wins and wins that must be earned and not claimed. We all saw AEK lose to Zorya 3-0 after winning 4-1 in the first out of the two fixtures. No game’s outcome is set in stone. AEK learned that last year and hopefully, they rethink how they look at games. However, if I was an AEK fan, I would still be quite confident going into this qualifying round. I think that AEK’s superior quality will be too much to handle for either Mostar or Coleraine. 

Final Words

At the end of the day, coefficient points for Greece will be very important this year. Our goal is to finish 15th in the league rankings to be awarded a 2nd Champions League spot. Currently, we only have one spot allocated for the Champions League (currently possessed by Olympiacos). 

I expect and truly hope that all three of these teams progress to the third qualifying round of their respective competitions. It’s certainly doable, however you never know with Greek teams in Europe. There are always 1-2 teams that let us down miserably in the qualifying round annually. Hopefully, this year, that is not the case. These games will come thick and fast, so make sure you update yourself regularly. As usual, Hellas Football will be previewing the games and sending out analysis. Until then, stay tuned for more information and content regarding the Greek teams in Europe for the 2021-22 season. 

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All of the images were retrieved from the IG accounts of the clubs involved (AEK Athens, Olympiacos and Aris Thessaloniki).