http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/soccer/2011/0826/1224303030644.html?via=mrGroup A: Tottenham Hotspur, Rubin Kazan, PAOK Salonika, Shamrock Rovers
Valiant Rovers realise their European dream | 26/08/2011
Soccer: Shamrock Rovers will face Tottenham in the Europa League after being drawn in Group A of the competition this afternoon, alongside Russian side Rubin Kazan and Greek outfit PAOK Salonika.
Rovers’ 3-2 aggregate win over Partizan Belgrade last night secured the League of Ireland Premier Division champions at least €1 million in prize money and a place in history, and they could but could earn a whole lot more in television money having been drawn with Harry Redknapp's Premier League side.
However, without a mainland/central European side, it might not be as lucrative as they would have hoped, and they will hope they do not have to travel to Kazan late in the group stages when the Russian winter has set in.
The group stages are played out between September 15th and December 15th. The fixtures are expected to be finalised by the clubs this afternoon.
Tottenham director of football administration Darren Eales welcomed the prospect of playing Rovers and suggested their visit to Dublin may have to be moved to the Aviva Stadium.
"I must admit after we had Rubin Kazan first out of the hat and then PAOK from Greece I thought I might struggle to go back to White Hart Lane with that draw - but at least we got Shamrock," he said. "It's a great fairy tale for them, the first Irish club to get into the group stage of a European competition, and it's what European football is all about.
"It should be a great night in Dublin. I know their stadium only holds 6,000 so I think they will need to find somewhere with a few more seats than that and it should be a cracking atmosphere there, and a great little trip for our fans."
Asked whether Tottenham would have to prioritise domestic competitions, Eales insisted not.
"We are not going to treat this as a second-class competition but clearly we are going to have to manage our squad to make sure we get the best out of it for all competitions. That's part of the challenge of being in Europe."
Fulham face Dutch side FC Twente, Odense from Denmark and Wisla Krakow from Poland in Group K.
Stoke will play Dynamo Kiev, Besiktas and Hapoel Tel Aviv in Group E, while Birmingham are in Group H with Club Brugge, Braga and Maribor.
If Celtic are successful in replacing Sion, who are alleged to have breached a transfer ban, they would be in Group I with Atletico Madrid, Udinese and Rennes.
Those latter ones are quite tasty.
Done for charity don' you know.
