All soccer teams, no matter if they are one of the biggest or one of the smallest in their nation, will always want the chance to prove themselves on the international stage. There, you get to travel to foreign lands, experience some culture away from your own country and get to take on sides that you’ve only ever read about in books or seen play on television. For fans, it is the dream away day trip, an excuse to forget about work and home life for a few days and get on a flight to somewhere you’ve never been before.
The Europa League, or UEFA Cup as it was previously known as is considered by some to be European soccer’s secondary competition. While these days the Champions League is certainly the more glamorous and prestigious tournament, the Europa League still provides thrilling matches and plenty of excitement, for fans of teams participating and neutrals out there.
It has been taking place since 1971, and in its time has seen mainly winners from Spain (13) England (9) Italy (9) Germany (6) and the Netherlands (4). Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Belgium, Ukraine and Turkey have also all had at least one winner.
One nation that hasn’t produced any winners yet is Scotland. This doesn’t mean that the Scottish clubs don’t take it seriously; on the contrary, whenever one of them makes it into the tournament, they give absolutely everything they have to try and win it. If fans were to use a sports betting app such as Heritage Sportsbook, they would be able to find odds on the Scottish teams who are competing this season in the Europa League.
It is odd that, while a Scottish team has won the Champions League and the Winner’s Cup, not the Europa League. Well, not yet anyway. Let’s look at the Scottish teams who have competed in the tournament down the years, and try to decide whether those in the competition this season have a chance of winning it.
The Gers were a whisker away in 07/08
Rangers are Scotlands most successful side, having won the top league title on 55 separate occasions, and are the current reigning champions. They are not doing very well in this year’s Europa League, having lost their two games to Lyon and Sparta Prague. This is a shame to Rangers fans, as in the last two seasons they have made it to the last 16 of the tournament, so were hopeful of another successful run in the competition this year.
Their best performance in the Europa League came in the 2007/08 season, where they made it to the final against the Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg. Unfortunately for the Scottish side, they were beaten 2-0, with goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov.
The Bhoys came close in 2002/03
Celtic are the second most successful club in Scotland, with 51 league titles. They have one over their rivals Rangers, as they also won the European Cup (now known as the Champions League) in 1968, before any other team from the UK. Until last season, they had been Scottish champions nine times in a row, meaning they would be able to qualify for the Champions League. More often than not, they would not make it through the preliminary stages, so would end up in the Europa League.
They have had several good runs in the competition, making it out of the group stage four times since 2015. However, they have seemingly struggled to get beyond the round of 32, as it is at this stage they often seem to fall short.
Their best performance in the competition was in the 2002/03 season when they made it all the way to the final (of the UEFA Cup as it was known then), but ultimately lost to Porto. They are struggling this year, having lost both of their games so far.
Other notable performances in the competition
It is not just the big two who have made it all the way to a final, as way back in 1987 Dundee United fought their way to the last two of that season’s UEFA Cup to take on the Swedish side IFK Goteborg. Back then, the final was held over two legs, with each side playing home and away. Dundee lost the home fixture 1-0, and could only draw the second 1-1, to lose 2-1 on aggregate.
In the Europa League era, Aberdeen has made it to the third qualifying stage on numerous occasions, but have always fallen short at the last minute. Similarly, Motherwell, St Johnstone and Hibernian have all taken part in the preliminary rounds, but haven’t been able to progress into the group stages.
As the sole representatives at this year’s Europa League, both Celtic and Rangers have a lot of work to do if either side is going to make it into the knockout stages. Let’s hope they find some form in the next four games.