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AS Roma is the favorite. The three-time Italian champion has not won a major international title because he lost both of his finals (1984 championship cup, 1991 UEFA cup). The Romans started the new season with a disastrous 3-0 in Verona, but they rehabbed with a 2-2 win against Juventus in Turin. The undisputed star of the team remains Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko at 34. Portuguese Paulo Fonseca’s team finished the last season of Serie A in fifth place.
YB’s second rival is Romanian champion Cluj, whom FC Basel in particular knows very well. The two teams each won their home games in the 2010/11 Champions League. In the 2012 Champions League playoffs, Bebbi won both matches and progressed to the group stage. The Romanians failed in the second qualifying round for the Champions League five weeks ago at Dinamo Zagreb. It is very fine in the penalty shootout.
And it continues with parallels with FCB: YB has a chance to exact revenge for Basel’s misfortune on Thursday against CSKA Sofia. As a reminder: Basler failed in third place in the Bulgarian league in the finals after a 1-0 lead. CSKA Sofia is one of the 48 teams in the Europa League with the clearly weakest coefficient.
YB Sporting Director Christoph Spycher on the draw: “AS Roma are the clear favorites to win the group, everything seems possible behind them. We think we have a chance of surviving this group, but to do so we have to outgrow ourselves. “
Coach Gerry Seoana also conveys a certain optimism: “We met three opponents who are used to often winning in national championships. The hierarchy in the group, of course, is led by AS Roma, a top European team. And Sofia won 3-1 in Basel. That says everything about its quality. “
After qualifying against Tirana, the YB coach was unfamiliar and refreshing and energetic: “We obviously have the ambition to do what Basel did last season. That would be sensational. “In memory of. Basel reached the quarter-finals.” But we certainly have the ambition to play for the top two places. It doesn’t matter which group. “
