The Top 8 Teams in the 2011-2012 Europa League

While much of our attention is on the Champions League group stage, some of us fans may have overlooked Europe’s second most prestigious club football competition, the UEFA Europa League.

In its third season since UEFA’s rebranding and redesign of the former UEFA Cup, this year’s Europa League features a tidy fixture list with lots of exciting match-ups between some European heavyweights.

Without accounting for the teams that will enter the Europa League knock-out stages by coming in third in their Champions League groups, there is still a sizable contingent of teams that are more than capable of making an impressive run towards the final stages of this year’s campaign.

In light of the upcoming group stage fixtures, here is a list of eight potential quarterfinalists in order by group.

Tottenham Hotspur: Class and Creativity

This summer’s transfer window saw Harry Redknapp make some astute, cut-price signings in the form of Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor. Spurs managed to keep classy playmaker Luka Modric after his will-he-or-won’t-he transfer saga with Chelsea, and with other creative midfield options in Rafael van der Vaart, Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon and Niko Krancjar, they possess one of the finest midfield combinations in the Europa League.

With a strong midfield and strikeforce, as well as some experienced goalkeeping options in Brad Friedel, Carlo Cudicini and Heurelho Gomes, Tottenham’s most suspect department is in defence. Without the oft-injured Ledley King and besides the vastly experienced but temperamental William Gallas, their central defenders are liable to be exposed either due to lack of pace (see Michael Dawson) or lack of concentration and top-level experience (Younes Kaboul and Sebastien Bassong).

Spurs’ strength in depth and in the frontline means that they are more than capable of a run towards the latter stages of this year’s campaign, but their backline may ultimately be exposed by a Champions League strike partnership.

Lazio: New-Look Frontline

As with Spurs, Lazio also brought in some bargain purchases. Manager Edy Reja has injected abundant European experience and top-class finishing ability in the form of Miroslav Klose and Djibril Cisse. Lazio also possess an array of fine midfield talent, including Hernanes, Stefano Mauri, Cristian Ledesma and Lorik Cana. Stefan Radu and Giuseppe Biava marshal a well-assembled defence with new signings Marius Stankevicius and Abdoulay Konko, completing a well-balanced squad capable of making a strong impact both in Europe and in Italy.

Reja has turned Lazio from underachievers back into a force in Serie A. With plenty of expectations and some fine summer signings, as well as a group draw that should ensure relatively easy passage into the knockout rounds, his challenge is to ensure that Lazio make a splash once again on the European stage. With such a talented and experienced squad, he might just lead them all the way.

Sporting CP: All-out Attack

Sporting CP also strengthened considerably and impressively this past summer, bringing in Dutch hotshot Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Spanish flyers Diego Capel and Jeffren Suarez and Dutch powerhouse Stijn Schaars. Add Valeri Bojinov and Matias Fernandez to the equation, and you have a Sporting frontline with plenty of pace, invention and flair.

The ambitious Portuguese outfit will be looking to this year’s Europa League campaign to make a statement, following some years of having the domestic headlines stolen by Porto and Benfica. With so many attacking options, Sporting CP will pose a tough challenge on many opponents on the continent, but their defence may struggle to hold off the best strikers that the Europa League has to offer.

Besiktas: Wing Wonders

A look at Besiktas’ squad list is enough to show that they possess a solid and experienced spine. Goalkeeper Recber Rustu is still going strong at 38, and talented Brazilian defender Sidnei has joined from Benfica to add to Ibrahim Toraman and Tomas Sivok’s experience. Manuel Fernandes, former Real star Guti and German midfield general Fabian Ernst are significantly experienced options in the middle of the park, and striker Hugo Almeida is the owner of a powerful left-foot capable of the spectacular.

When compared with their two star Portuguese wingers, however, all of the above-mentioned players are shifted to the sidelines. Ricardo Quaresma and Simao Sabrosa, both very impressive captures, continue to light up the Turkish domestic league with individual flair, outrageous trickery and a regular supply of goals. Even if the experienced Besiktas spine might not be able to handle counterattacking and physically dominant teams, rest assured Quaresma and Simao will light up the Europa League with some dazzling wingplay.

Stoke City: Battlers from Britain

Tony Pulis deserves major credit for establishing Stoke as a solid and ambitious Premier League team, as well as turning their home stadium into the “Fortress Britannia.” Their famed physical and defensive approach has brought them both grudging admirers and outspoken critics from domestic and foreign managers and players alike. Ryan Shawcross skippers an enterprising and no-nonsense team, with competitiveness written into the entire team’s DNA, and once Stoke go into an all-out defensive mode, even the best Europa League teams will find it hard to break them down. And that’s without bringing in Rory Delap’s famed long throw-ins.

Just mentioning their defensive and battling qualities does them an injustice, though. Pulis has also crafted his team into effective and efficient attackers, with wingers Matthew Etherington and Jermaine Pennant complementing towering new signings Peter Crouch, Cameron Jerome and powerhouse Kenwyne Jones. Many a Europa League team will struggle against this stereotypically British style of play, and while this is Stoke’s first European campaign in many years, they’ve made many observers sit up and take notice of their skilful navigations of the potential banana skin qualifiers against Hadjuk Split and FC Thun.

We all saw what an underrated Fulham team was capable of achieving not so long ago, simply by not giving up, and Tony Pulis’ side never gives up. Don’t be surprised if they make a strong run towards the final four.

Paris Saint-Germain: Splashing Their Way to Success

Manchester City Mark II? Qatar Investment Authority’s ambitious takeover of Paris Saint-Germain has been followed by ambitious and expensive swoops for top-tier performers. Promising youngsters Jeremy Menez and Javier Pastore, the latter presented as a major victory over the likes of Chelsea, have joined defensive-minded reinforcements in Uruguayan captain Diego Lugano and no-nonsense tackler Mohamed Sissoko. This completes a very accomplished squad with young captain Mamadou Sakho, one of Europe’s most promising defenders, the uncompromising and effective midfield partnership of Mathieu Bodmer and Clement Chantome and Brazilian wing wizard Nene.

In my book, PSG’s success this year lies off the pitch rather than on it. With such an extravagant outlay for some eye-catching summer transfers, their new Qatari owners will no doubt expect some very good performances from technical director Leonardo, formerly of AC Milan and Internazionale, and his backroom team. Rumors are abound that current manager Antoine Kombouare is facing an uncertain future while the new owners are searching for a big-name coach, and he’ll do well to balance these increased pressures and ambitions. A not-so-bright start to their season has not improved the situation either.

If off-field stability can be established, however, this is a team that has all the makings of potential Europa League champions. It’s up to the owners to oversee a smooth transition of PSG into one of Europe’s big boys.

Atletico Madrid: Brilliant and Frustrating

Gregorio Manzano oversaw and authorized some headline-grabbing activities by Atletico Madrid this summer: Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan, out; Radamel Falcao, in. Previously one of La Liga’s best strike partnerships, Aguero was allowed to leave for even-more-ambitious Manchester City, and Forlan fell out of favor before moving to Inter Milan. Flush with cash from the Aguero sale, Atletico promptly got their name on the front pages of many European newspapers with their club record signing of Porto star and Colombian goal-machine, Falcao.

In many ways, this sums up the underlying “attack first” transfer policy at the Estadio Vicente Calderon. Less heralded was the signing of Turkish star Arda Turan from under the alleged noses of Arsenal and Liverpool, among many others, and he will provide a steady source of goals, assists and dribbles down the Atletico flank. Diego, the mercurial but inconsistent Brazilian playmaker, also joined from Wolfsburg, adding yet again to the inconsistency that blights his new team season on season.

Brilliant at times and frustrating just as often, this is an Atletico team that will go into this Europa League campaign with high expectations. Atleti fans be wary, though: While Falcao broke the Europa League/UEFA Cup scoring record during his last year at Porto, he will now take on the combined scoring burdens of both Aguero and Forlan. Is he up to the task? Moreover, are Atletico finally going to fulfill their billing as one of Europe’s most exciting teams?

Schalke 04: Solid and Experienced

Vastly experienced with an evenly balanced squad, Schalke 04 never seem to produce any eye-catching, headline-making performances. But this is a team that consistently produces the goods year in year out, spearheaded by none other than Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez. Alongside him is Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who used to score goals for fun in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Ralf Ragnick’s well-balanced team also includes young German midfield star Lewis Holtby and promising Greek stopper Kyriakos Papadopoulos, as well as the unpredictable pair of Jefferson Farfan and Jose Manuel Jurado. Their weakest link lies in the goalkeeping department, however. Following Manuel Neuer’s sale to Bayern Munich, they’ve had to rely on former reserve star Ralf Fahrmann. He will have plenty to prove on Europe’s second biggest stage to ensure that he’s not a liability against some of Europe’s finest strikers.