Today is a special day in the recent history of Dundee United, as the Tangerines discover just where their European adventure is going to lead them.
The Tannadice men will sit proudly alongside some of the biggest clubs in world football when the draw for the play-off round of the Europa League takes place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, at 12.30pm British time.
Already in the mix before last night’s ties were English big guns Manchester City and Aston Villa, German duo Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, Spanish aces Villareal and Getafe, Italian pair Napoli and Palermo, French clubs PSG and Lille, PSV and Feyenoord from the Netherlands and Russia’s representatives CSKA and Lokomotiv Moscow.
Among the new qualifiers are Liverpool, Sporting Lisbon and Juventus.
A total of 74 sides will go into the hat, comprising the 35 winners from the third qualifying round, 15 drop-outs from the Champions League including Celtic and 24 new entrants like United.
The clubs are divided into seven groups for the draw five of 10 teams and two of 12.
Within the seven groups an equal number of sides will be seeded and unseeded in accordance with the club rankings established at the beginning of the season.
The make-up of these group should be known by mid-morning, narrowing United’s potential opponents down to five or six teams. Teams from the same national association for example, United, Motherwell and Celtic cannot be drawn against each other.
An aggregate victory the two legs take place on August 19 and 26 will see them qualify for the lucrative group stages, with the competition then becoming 12 groups of four teams, with more fresh arrivals from the Champions League and cup holders Atletico Madrid making up the numbers.Mouth-watering prospect for fansSo it is a mouth-watering prospect for the Tangerines and their supporters, many of whom can still readily recall previous Euro glory nights against Barcelona and Borussia Monchengladbach.
They last sampled continental competition in 2005, but suffered a disappointing aggregate defeat to Finnish part-timers Mypa.
Given the gap in time between then and now it is not surprising that there are not too many players on United’s books with experience of the European stage.
However, defender Darren Dods recalled just how exciting it was for him in the 1999-2000 season when he realised his club at the time, St Johnstone, would be coming up against the millionaires from Monte Carlo.
Dods said, “Europe is on the horizon it’s getting exciting.
“I have been through the day of the draw before so I know how important it is that the guys really savour every moment of it.
“When I was at Saints we came out against Monaco, which was an unforgettable experience.
“Seeing some of the names in the hat this time, it could be just as big for United if not bigger.
“So my advice to the younger lads would be to make sure they take it all in and enjoy it as much as they can.””A step into the unknown”He added, “When the draw is made, maybe we will get round a TV.
“At St Johnstone the boys just finished training and went to watch the draw.
“When Monaco came out of the hat there was a huge cheer.”
Dods said, “At United, we don’t have too much European experience. It is a step into the unknown for most of the players here but we will go into it with confidence.
“Obviously, with the seeding system it could throw up a really tough game, but that is the way it works and you just have to take who you get.
“Everyone is looking forward to it and we will go into any game with confidence after the season we had last year.”Houston ready for challengeManager Peter Houston knows there is anticipation among his squad and has vowed that United will give their all whomever today throws at them.
He said, “I am aware that the players are getting excited about the draw and it is a great thing for them to look forward to.
“Of course, we might get a really big side which would make it difficult to progress over the two legs.”
He added, “What we have to do, though, is make sure we are fit, ready and have studied the opposition.
“We will try to do our best whatever team we get and to reach the group stages would just cap a great 2010 for the club.”
Meanwhile, trialist Irmantas Zelmikas has flown home and will mull over United’s offer of a contract.
The Lithuanian international centre-half, who has been called up for a friendly against Belarus on Wednesday, is set to discuss with his wife and family whether to move to Scotland.
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user Ben Sutherland.