Winners and Losers from Europa League Group-Stage Draw
The UEFA Europa League group-stage draw has been completed, and teams all over the continent have learned their fates. Forty-eight teams were drawn from four pots and split into 12 groups of four, forcing calendar adjustments and re-scheduling across Europe as a result.
Many look down on the competition, but for those searching for its merits, just ask Sevilla: Thanks to a rule change commencing the 2014-15 season, the winner of this competition bags a UEFA Champions League spot for the following campaign—a worthy prize worth millions of pounds.
For lesser-known teams across the continent, the tournament provides the opportunity to expand a global profile. "Competing in the UEFA Europa League for a second consecutive year improves our club's status and enhances our prestige," Asteras Tripolis coach Staikos Vergetis told UEFA.com ahead of the draw.
Here, Bleacher Report breaks down the winners and losers from the group-stage draw.
Winner: Schalke
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Schalke landed an overwhelmingly easy selection; they could feasibly qualify from Group K with maximum points.
APOEL Nicosia are famous for a fairytale run in the Champions League in 2011-12, but they won't have the storyline to fuel them this time around. Sparta Praha lost two key players this summer and stand weak in comparison to the German giants, while Asteras Tripolis will only be half-praying for an upset.
Schalke have started the season strongly and have a rebooted Julian Draxler spearheading the attack. The gulf in quality is insurmountable.
Loser: Tottenham Hotspur
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We imagine Mauricio Pochettino's reaction to the group-stage draw looked somewhat similar to the picture above. He'll be looking at Schalke's group and thinking, "Why couldn't we have been given that?"
Given Tottenham Hotspur are miles off finishing in the Premier League top four, the Europa League is their only feasible route to Champions League football next year. But after drawing Anderlecht, Monaco and Qarabag, even reaching this competition's knockout stages could be a stretch.
Qarabag is just under 3,000 miles away and will require a 12-hour round trip of flights, Monaco are a stronger side and Anderlecht are a tough cookie—as Arsenal found out last season.
B/R's French football expert Jonathan Johnson expects Monaco to qualify, leaving Spurs and Anderlecht to scrap it out for second. How seriously will Pochettino take this tournament?
Winner: Napoli
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Maurizio Sarri may have started his Napoli career with a humiliating loss to Sassuolo in Serie A, but he'll be fist-pumping after seeing his side draw a welcoming selection of teams in the Europa League.
Club Brugge flashed ability against Manchester United but are clearly a weaker side, while Legia Warszawa and FC Midtjylland are handy but lack the star quality to truly trouble a side boasting Gonzalo Higuain and Marek Hamsik.
The travel's not bad either.
Loser: Celtic
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If Group J (Tottenham, Monaco, Anderlecht, Qarabag) isn't your pick for the Group of Death, Group A probably is. That puts Celtic in a hot spot, as they landed alongside Ajax, Fenerbahce and Molde.
Molde don't look much on paper due to a lack of star names, but they can be a tough nut to crack and cannot be underestimated. The Turkish league is strong in 2015, and that makes Fenerbahce a threat, while Ajax have started the season like a house on fire, really clicking thanks to new signings and a fresh outlook.
Few would have predicted Celtic would crash out to Malmo in the Champions League qualifier, but an upset occurred. Now they're the veritable underdogs; can they cause one of their own?
Winner: Marseille
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Marseille had a rough summer, being gutted of most of their top talent. Dimitri Payet, Andre Ayew and Andre-Pierre Gignac, among others, all departed for pastures new. Then Marcelo Bielsa resigned one game into the season, and new man Michel has been drafted in to plug what appears to be about 1,000 leaks.
He's started that job superbly, recording a 6-0 victory over Troyes last weekend. The club will need to build on that to re-establish themselves as a domestic power, and a difficult European schedule could well have put a spanner in the works there.
Fortunately, they drew Braga, Slovan Liberec and Groningen in a cushty Group F. They should have no issues finishing top of that set and qualifying for the latter stages.
Loser: Thomas Tuchel
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It's difficult to work out if Borussia Dortmund are winners or losers here. They drew by far the easiest group on paper but will rack up an obscene amount of mileage travelling to and from their away games.
PAOK, from Greece, are the closest geographical opponent. After that, BVB face a trip to Russia to play Krasnodar and a mammoth trip to Azerbaijan to play Qabala. That's good news for the players if they enjoy playing card games on airplanes, but it's bad news for those managing fitness and fatigue.
We don't envy Thomas Tuchel here at all. He has the tough decision of how strong a squad to send to these faraway destinations, balancing a lust for European success with a need to bounce back and challenge for the Bundesliga trophy to reaffirm their status as a top German club.
Would you send Marco Reus to Russia if you really needed the points or keep him stowed away for Bundesliga duty only?
It's a bittersweet draw for BVB.
