Big names enter UEFA Cup fray

Copyright © 2004 UEFA

Eighty teams enter today's UEFA Cup first round draw at 12.30CET in
Monaco knowing they are just one tie from the competition's inaugural
group stage.

Different routes
All 32 winners from the second qualifying round will go into the hat
along with the 29 teams who received a bye to the first round, the
three UEFA Intertoto Cup winners and the 16 teams defeated in the UEFA
Champions League third qualifying round. The teams are split into
eight groups of ten teams, with five seeds in each pool to be drawn
against any of the five unseeded clubs.

Group stage
The sides that emerge victorious from the two-legged ties, scheduled
for 16 and 30 September, will then be split into eight pools of five,
with the first of five group stage matchdays on 21 October.

Former winners
Among the teams in the hat are former UEFA Cup winners Feyenoord -
also one of four former European champions along with SL Benfica, FK
Crvena Zvezda and FC Steaua Bucuresti - and Parma FC, plus Newcastle
United FC, who lifted the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1968/69, UEFA Cup
Winners' Cup victors S.S. Lazio, Sporting Clube de Portugal, FC Dinamo
Tbilisi, Rangers FC and Real Zaragoza.

European debutants
Joining them in the draw are three European debutants from the second-
flights of France, Germany and England - TSV Alemannia Aachen, LB
Châteauroux and Millwall FC - who all lost their respective national
cup finals to Champions League entrants. Another English team making
their bow are League Cup holders Middlesbrough FC. Greece's Egaleo FC
are also on the list of competition newcomers, while FC Schalke 04 and
Villarreal CF cross over from the Intertoto Cup for the second year
running along with fellow winners Lille OSC.

Valencia absent
Holders Valencia CF are not in the running, however, as they will
compete in the Champions League group stage. Yet they could still
defend their trophy, as the eight third-placed teams in that round
will join the top three in each of the UEFA Cup groups in February's
Round of 32.

UEFA Cup first round draw (ties 16/30 Sepember)

Group 1
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Seeded:                           Unseeded:
--------------------------------  --------------------------------
S.S. Lazio (ITA)                  SC Braga (POR)
Besiktas JK (TUR)                 PFC Litex Lovech (BUL)
Lille OSC (FRA)                   FC Metalurh Donetsk (UKR)
Grazer AK (AUT)                   FK Bodø/Glimt (NOR)
Heart of Midlothian (SCO)         Shelbourne FC (IRL)

Group 2
------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeded:                           Unseeded:
--------------------------------  --------------------------------
Parma FC (ITA)                    SK Sigma Olomouc (CZE)
Real Zaragoza (SCO)               FC Dinamo Bucuresti (ROM)
SL Benfica (POR)                  FK Austria Wien (AUT)
Legia Warszawa (POL)              NK Maribor (SLO)
FK Partizan (SCG)                 FK Dukla Banská Bystrica (SVK)

Group 3
------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeded:                           Unseeded:
--------------------------------  --------------------------------
Newcastle United FC (ENG)         PFC CSKA Sofia (BUL)
Sporting Clube de Portugal(POR)   SK Rapid Wien (AUT)
Wisla Kraków (POL)                Djurgårdens IF (SWE)
FC Utrecht (NED)                  Hapoel Bnei Sakhnin FC (ISR)
FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROM)         FC Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)

Group 4
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Seeded:                           Unseeded:
--------------------------------  --------------------------------
Feyenoord (NED)                   FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR)
FC Schalke 04 (GER)               Ferencvárosi TC (HUN)
FC Basel 1893 (SUI)               Odd Grenland (NOR)
Millwall FC (ENG)                 FC Terek Grozny (RUS)
Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)            FHK Liepajas Metalurgs (LAT)

Group 5
------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeded:                           Unseeded:
--------------------------------  --------------------------------
AEK Athens FC (GRE)               CD Nacional (POR)
AJ Auxerre (FRA)                  R. Standard de Liège (BEL)
Sevilla FC (ESP)                  FC Zenit St. Peterburg (RUS)
FK Crvena Zvezda (SCG)            Aalborg BK (DEN)
VfL Bochum 1848 (GER)             NK Gorica (SLO)

Group 6
------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeded:                           Unseeded:
--------------------------------  --------------------------------
VfB Stuttgart (GER)               Panionios NFC (GRE)
Udinese Calcio (ITA)              Trabzonspor (TUR)
Athletic Club Bilbao (ESP)        KSK Beveren (BEL)
PFC Levski Sofia (BUL)            Maccabi Petach-Tikva FC (ISR)
SC Heerenveen (NED)               Újpesti TE (HUN)

Group 7
------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeded:                           Unseeded:
--------------------------------  --------------------------------
Club Brugge KV (BEL)              LB Châteauroux (FRA)
PAOK FC (GRE)                     AZ Alkmaar (NED)
NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)            FC Baník Ostrava (CZE)
Middlesbrough FC (ENG)            IF Elfsborg (SWE)
TSV Alemannia Aachen (GER)        FH Hafnarfjördur (ISL)

Group 8
------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeded:                           Unseeded:
--------------------------------  --------------------------------
Rangers FC (SCO)                  CS Marítimo (POR)
Villarreal CF (ESP)               Egaleo FC (GRE)
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard (FRA)      Stabæk IF (NOR)
Gençlerbirligi SK (TUR)           Hammarby (SWE)
KS Amica Wronki (POL)             FK Ventspils (LAT)