With one former champion, two new kids and a few slightly more familiar faces coming back into the fold, it will be more than the new format of the Champions League keeping things fresh next season. Here we get the lowdown on what to expect from six of the clubs already qualified for the league phase
WORDS Simon Hart, Paolo Menicucci, John Atkin, Arthur Renard, Andrew Scott, Johannes Sturm, Matthias Rötters and Aaryan Parasnis
Insight
Girona. Is that where Christopher Columbus came from? No, you’re thinking of Genoa in Italy. Girona is in north-eastern Spain, inland from the Costa Brava in Catalonia. So what’s Catalan for newbies then? Er, pass. But newbies is certainly the right word in English for a club who have never competed in Europe before. Not even a single season? Not one. They’re only just getting established as a top-flight club in Spain. Their 2023/24 La Liga campaign was only their fourth in the 94-year history of a club first promoted to the top tier in 2017.
How have they made it into the Champions League then?
On a flood of goals. They scored 85 times en route to finishing third, with 24 of their goals coming from the since-departed Artem Dovbyk. Title winners Real Madrid scored only two goals more than coach Míchel’s thrill-seekers. This is a team who beat Barcelona 4-2 both home and away last season; fittingly, it was at home against Barcelona that they secured their place in the Champions League with four games to spare.
Speaking of their coach, is that the Míchel who once played for Real Madrid and Spain?
No, this Míchel had a modest playing career and as a coach had led both Rayo Vallecano and Huesca out of the second division as champions, only to be sacked during the subsequent campaign in La Liga. With Girona, it’s proved third time lucky in the top flight.
Do they have any familiar faces in their team?
Two of the more recognisable names are actually in the defence – Éric García, once
of Manchester City, and former Ajax and Manchester United centre-back Daley Blind. Another Ajax/United old boy, Donny van der Beek, joined this summer while Middlesbrough fans will remember Uruguayan forward Cristhian Stuani. Goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga is known to English football fans too for his spells at Southampton, Tottenham and Fulham.
There are other Manchester connections too, right?
Correct. Girona are part-owned by the City Football Group. Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, plays a leading role in running the club.
Does the club have any good nicknames?
Well, since finally ending their play-off curse when winning promotion back to the top flight in 2022 (after five previous defeats), they’ve taken up the slogan ‘Som tossuts’. In short, the stubborn ones.
Anything else we should know?
Tickets for their Champions League games may be hard to acquire given the small size of Montilivi Stadium. The biggest attendances there last season were just over 14,000 for the visits of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Bologna
Is it really six decades since Bologna last qualified for this competition?
Yes, the 60 years have zoomed by… Or maybe not. Anyway, their only appearance came when they won the 1963/64 Scudetto by beating Helenio Herrera’s Grande Inter, who had just claimed their first European Cup title, in a legendary play-off game in Rome after the sides ended the season with the same points.
And what’s this about a coin toss?
Having been held 2-2 on aggregate by Anderlecht in the first round in 1964/65, the teams met for a decider in Barcelona. Goalless after 120 minutes in Catalonia, they tossed a coin to find a winner. Anderlecht were on the money and progressed, ending Bologna’s debut abruptly. Thankfully, Bologna don’t risk a currency-themed calamity under the current UEFA rules.
Apparently, they swapped a Brazilian for an Italian(o)…
Thiago Motta, a former Italian international born in Brazil, was the manager who masterminded last season’s achievements, but he moved to Juventus in June. Now it’s a German-born Italian in charge. Vincenzo Italiano, 46, has joined from rivals Fiorentina with a good reputation after leading the Viola to two consecutive UEFA Conference League finals.
Trivia time: wasn’t Roberto Baggio’s best Serie A season with Bologna?
Oh yes! The Divin Codino scored 22 league goals in his solitary season with the Rossoblù in 1997/98. Italian pop singer Cesare Cremonini sang, “Since Baggio retired, Sundays don’t feel the same anymore”. The same artist, a proud native of the city, celebrated the team’s UEFA Champions League qualification with a piano version of the competition’s anthem. Cue an instant viral sensation. Let’s hope they hit the right notes on the pitch in Europe. Gettit?
Mamma mia, please stop. Can we talk about the stadium instead?
Yes, the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara is pretty hard to ignore, after all, standing with its very own tower. And while there is a tricky history, with its connection to Mussolini, in more recent times the stadium played host to four matches at the 1990 World Cup.
Unai Emery descended from the heavens. The Spanish coach assumed the reins from Steven Gerrard with Villa teetering a solitary point above the relegation zone. Five days later, they beat Manchester United 3-1 and finished Emery’s first campaign in seventh place, qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
Sturm Graz fans with an impressive 3D tifo at Merkur Arena
Aston Villa
This feels like a much-welcome 1980s revival…
Fire up the DeLorean, we’re heading back to 1982. Chariots of Fire is dominating the Oscars, the first computer virus is infecting floppy disks, Duran Duran is dominating European pop charts and Aston Villa are European champions. The Birmingham club reached the quarter-finals 12 months later, falling to Juventus, but are only now back in the competition.
OK, nice — HANG ON, you said they were European champions?
Yes I did. In the 1982 final they defeated hot favourites Bayern München 1-0, with sub keeper Nigel Spink making some magnificent saves and Peter Withe scoring the all-important goal.
What have they been up to in the meantime?
Within six seasons of their final triumph in Rotterdam, the Villans were in the Second Division of English football. It was a brief stay, and since then there have been a couple of League Cup trophies, plus second spot in the Premier League in 1992/93. But they had settled upon mid-to-lower table obscurity until 1 November 2022…
What happened then?
Unai Emery descended from the heavens. The Spanish coach assumed the reins from Steven Gerrard with Villa teetering a solitary point above the relegation zone. Five days later, they beat Manchester United 3-1 and finished Emery’s first campaign in seventh place, qualifying for the Europa Conference League. The record four-time Europa League-winning Spaniard then inspired their scintillating home form last campaign (15 successive home league wins at one point) to seal a fourth-place finish and Champions League football.
Villa Park must have been rocking…
Well, Birmingham is the birthplace of heavy metal, so it’s always rocking (and rolling) – just ask Ozzy Osbourne: he’s a Villan, don’t you know? Villa Park has been home since 1897, and the Holte End produces quite the atmosphere.
Who gets the fans off their seats?
Ollie Watkins was the first player in Europe’s top five leagues last season to register double figures for goals and assists, while World Cup-winning macho-man goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is irrepressible in every sense.
No disrespect to Ozzy, but are there any more refined celebrity supporters?
There is one who has managed Elvis, been in space, run across America and worn the same cowboy suit for thirty years. Tom Hanks, who never plays a villain in his films, is, wait for it, a Villan. Woody has even been to see them play. But as well as the Prince of Darkness and Hollywood royalty, the Birmingham club boasts actual royalty among its supporters, with HRH Prince William a bona fide Villa fan.
'Our Best Shot'
Des Bremner won the European Cup with Aston Villa in 1982 and is happy to see his old club back in Europe’s elite competition
Des Bremner arrived in the Midlands from Hibernian in 1979 and within two years was winning the English title, setting Villa on the path to European glory. Forty years on from triumphing in the competition and now 71, Bremner still plays the game. He isn’t just talking the football talk ahead of Villa’s new campaign, he’s literally walking the walk.
“I’m playing walking football,” he tells Champions Journal. “I was playing indoor football via a foundation of Aston Villa, and one of the guys there introduced me to walking football. There are quite a few competitions going on in walking football; it’s quite popular. There are different age groups with different competitions. In the last league I played in, I think we finished fourth, just like Villa, so maybe we could be playing in Europe as well!”
That fourth-place finish symbolised an impressive rise at Villa in recent seasons, as Bremner remarks: “It has been a steady process, it has taken time, but then the appointment of Unai Emery has really worked out well. He has had a lot of success as a manager before with a great track record in European football. And at Villa he has improved things all round. It’s a great achievement for him to get the club into the Champions League.”
Bremner admits the Champions League will offer the Villa squad a fresh challenge, but recalls their predecessors overcoming the odds in the final against Bayern München. “Bayern were superior and the general expectation was that they would beat us. But we wanted to defy the odds and we were like: ‘Let’s go and give it our best shot and see what happens after 90 minutes.’”
What happened was history-making as Peter Withe tapped in to secure a 1-0 victory. Cue the celebrations: “We were all ecstatic. It was a great night and a fantastic achievement; we never thought for one minute at the start of the competition that we would even get to the final. To actually win it was fantastic.”
After briefly mislaying the trophy, as you do, today a replica stands in pride of place in the tunnel at Villa Park, but the current crop of players will be hoping to get their hands on the real thing. So what does one former European Cup winner make of this generation’s chances?
“Well, we weren’t given any chance to do it when we won it, so it could be the same with this team. Back then, I don’t think any of the lads had any thoughts on how far we were going to go, we just took each round as it came. It will be more difficult now because of the higher number of games they have to play, but in football you can never tell. As they always say: ‘It’s a funny old game.’”
Brest
I’ve never seen them in the Champions League before…
That is because they have never been in it before. In fact, this will be their first ever campaign in any UEFA competition. Before last season, the highest they had ever finished in France’s top flight was eighth in 1987. They spent most of the next three decades in the lower leagues before coming back up to Ligue 1 in 2019 and staying there.
How did they qualify?
Brest benefited from France having an extra guaranteed place in the Champions League under the new format. In previous years, only the top two in Ligue 1 qualified automatically for the competition, with third place entering in the preliminary rounds. This time, the top three qualified directly, and Brest pipped Lille to take third on a dramatic final night of last season.
Who are the best of Brest?
Coach Éric Roy deserves a mention. The former Lyon, Marseille and Sunderland midfielder took over a Brest side in relegation trouble in January 2023. He steered them to safety before plotting their historic performance last season. On the turf, Dutch goalkeeper Marco Bizot, left-back Bradley Locko, central defender Lilian Brassier, midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou and winger Romain Del Castillo were all fantastic in 2023/24.
And who do the slightly older guys and girls in the cafes reminisce about?
David Ginola briefly played for the club in the early 1990s, before going on to star for Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United and Champions League comeback kids Aston Villa. Paul Le Guen, who won Ligue 1 titles as coach of Lyon, comes from near Brest and played for the club early in his career. And Gonzalo Higuaín, the former Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus and Argentina striker, was born in Brest, as his father Jorge was playing for the club at the time.
Not meaning to be rude, but where is Brest?
It is at the end of the world, literally. That is the translation of Finistère, the part of France that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean on the western tip of Brittany. The port city’s maritime connection also explains their nickname Les Pirates. As the crow flies, Brest is closer to Plymouth than Paris.
OK, we know where it is. But apparently they might not play there…
Brest’s home is the Stade Francis-Le Blé, which was inaugurated more than a century ago and has a capacity of just over 15,000. The club want to build a new stadium on the edge of town. However, at the time of going to press, Brest were planning to play their Champions League games just over 100km to the east at the Stade du Roudourou, home of their Brittany rivals Guingamp.
Sturm Graz
You’re telling me someone stopped Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga?
You bet. Sturm Graz halted Salzburg’s attempt to win 11 league titles in a row. And they lifted the ÖFB Cup too. The last time a team other than Salzburg won the double was 18 years ago (Austria Wien). Coach Christian Ilzer and sporting director Andreas Schicker blended clever planning, spot-on tactics, good team spirit and great scouting to do the unthinkable - with a much smaller budget.
The fans are hands on, right?
Correct, they are actively involved in decisions concerning the club. This creates a special relationship between the fans and the club. And they make a lot of noise at their stadium too. A lot.
Talking of stadiums: I’ll be back… in Klagenfurt…
Very clever. Yes, Sturm play in the Liebenau district, and the ground used to be called the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. However, it is not Champions League certified, so home games will be played in Klagenfurt, 140km away at the Wörthersee Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000.
You said the stadium used to be named after Arnie, what happened there?
The honour was bestowed upon him by his hometown club in 1997, but by 2005 the muscle-man asked to have his name removed. Things turned sour after a disagreement between the then Governor of California and city officials. Let’s forget this Terminated-partnership and return to football talk.
Agreed. Tell me about their Danish Dividend…
Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund made his breakthrough at Sturm Graz two years ago and it’s reported he has brought just under €20m into the club’s coffers, including bonus payments. The transfer of Dutch forward Emanuel Emegha to Strasbourg last year also earned €13m.
They were top dogs once, weren’t they?
Prior to last season, Graz had won the Austrian title three times. Their golden period was 1998 and 2000, when they were champions twice and reached the Champions League group stage three times in a row. This era was dominated by star performers Ivica Vastić, Markus Schopp and Mario Haas. Incidentally, Austrian Vastić was the oldest player ever to score a goal at a European Championship, until Luka Modrić pounced against Italy for Croatia this June. Its clearly an -ić thing…
Stuttgart
So what’s the story?
VfB are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2009/10. The Swabians last played in Europe in the Europa League in 2012/13, when they were knocked out in the round of 16 against Lazio.
How did it go last time in the Champions League?
After progressing through the group stage in second place behind Sevilla, with two wins and three draws, Stuttgart faced reigning champions Barcelona in the round of 16, losing 5-1 on aggregate. Stars including Sami Khedira and captain Thomas Hitzlsperger left the club and weren’t sufficiently replaced, hence their long wait to get back into the Champions League.
Someone told me they finished above Bayern München last season. Clearly nonsense…
Oh no, it’s true, they were second to Bayer Leverkusen with 73 points – one point clear of Bayern in third! That would have made Die Roten German champions in 2022/23. It’s an incredible turnaround considering Stuttgart were third from bottom in 2023 and only saved themselves from relegation with a play-off win against Hamburg.
Quite a turnaround. Was there a new man in charge?
Indeed, Sebastian Hoeness, who hit the ground running. The 42-year-old took over the team in April 2023 in last place. Since then, his record reads: 50 competitive matches, 32 wins, 8 draws, only 10 defeats.
There is something familiar about the boss’s name. Is he related to the other two?
Yes, ex-Bayern boss Uli Hoeness is his uncle. Dieter Hoeness, also a former Bayern player and international, is his father. Sebastian was also born in Munich.
And who made things happen on the pitch?
Serhou Guirassy (28 Bundesliga goals) and Deniz Undav (18 goals) hit the bullseye in their first seasons – the former now snapped up by Dortmund. Plus, they borrowed keeper Alexander Nübel from Bayern München. Another fruitful idea.
But don’t mention Leeds United…
Exactly, that’s a nein-nein. In 1992, VfB met Leeds in the Champions League qualifiers. They won the first leg 3-0 and lost the second leg 1-4. The away goal took them through, until it emerged coach Christoph Daum had subbed on a fourth foreign player (Serbian Jovo Simanić) in the era of only three non-nationals. UEFA ordered a play-off, which the Yorkshire side won 2-1 in Barcelona.
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How have they made it into the Champions League then?
On a flood of goals. They scored 85 times en route to finishing third, with 24 of their goals coming from the since-departed Artem Dovbyk. Title winners Real Madrid scored only two goals more than coach Míchel’s thrill-seekers. This is a team who beat Barcelona 4-2 both home and away last season; fittingly, it was at home against Barcelona that they secured their place in the Champions League with four games to spare.
Speaking of their coach, is that the Míchel who once played for Real Madrid and Spain?
No, this Míchel had a modest playing career and as a coach had led both Rayo Vallecano and Huesca out of the second division as champions, only to be sacked during the subsequent campaign in La Liga. With Girona, it’s proved third time lucky in the top flight.
Do they have any familiar faces in their team?
Two of the more recognisable names are actually in the defence – Éric García, once
of Manchester City, and former Ajax and Manchester United centre-back Daley Blind. Another Ajax/United old boy, Donny van der Beek, joined this summer while Middlesbrough fans will remember Uruguayan forward Cristhian Stuani. Goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga is known to English football fans too for his spells at Southampton, Tottenham and Fulham.
There are other Manchester connections too, right?
Correct. Girona are part-owned by the City Football Group. Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, plays a leading role in running the club.
Does the club have any good nicknames?
Well, since finally ending their play-off curse when winning promotion back to the top flight in 2022 (after five previous defeats), they’ve taken up the slogan ‘Som tossuts’. In short, the stubborn ones.
Anything else we should know?
Tickets for their Champions League games may be hard to acquire given the small size of Montilivi Stadium. The biggest attendances there last season were just over 14,000 for the visits of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Bologna
Is it really six decades since Bologna last qualified for this competition?
Yes, the 60 years have zoomed by… Or maybe not. Anyway, their only appearance came when they won the 1963/64 Scudetto by beating Helenio Herrera’s Grande Inter, who had just claimed their first European Cup title, in a legendary play-off game in Rome after the sides ended the season with the same points.
And what’s this about a coin toss?
Having been held 2-2 on aggregate by Anderlecht in the first round in 1964/65, the teams met for a decider in Barcelona. Goalless after 120 minutes in Catalonia, they tossed a coin to find a winner. Anderlecht were on the money and progressed, ending Bologna’s debut abruptly. Thankfully, Bologna don’t risk a currency-themed calamity under the current UEFA rules.
Apparently, they swapped a Brazilian for an Italian(o)…
Thiago Motta, a former Italian international born in Brazil, was the manager who masterminded last season’s achievements, but he moved to Juventus in June. Now it’s a German-born Italian in charge. Vincenzo Italiano, 46, has joined from rivals Fiorentina with a good reputation after leading the Viola to two consecutive UEFA Conference League finals.
Trivia time: wasn’t Roberto Baggio’s best Serie A season with Bologna?
Oh yes! The Divin Codino scored 22 league goals in his solitary season with the Rossoblù in 1997/98. Italian pop singer Cesare Cremonini sang, “Since Baggio retired, Sundays don’t feel the same anymore”. The same artist, a proud native of the city, celebrated the team’s UEFA Champions League qualification with a piano version of the competition’s anthem. Cue an instant viral sensation. Let’s hope they hit the right notes on the pitch in Europe. Gettit?
Mamma mia, please stop. Can we talk about the stadium instead?
Yes, the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara is pretty hard to ignore, after all, standing with its very own tower. And while there is a tricky history, with its connection to Mussolini, in more recent times the stadium played host to four matches at the 1990 World Cup.
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Unai Emery descended from the heavens. The Spanish coach assumed the reins from Steven Gerrard with Villa teetering a solitary point above the relegation zone. Five days later, they beat Manchester United 3-1 and finished Emery’s first campaign in seventh place, qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
Sturm Graz fans with an impressive 3D tifo at Merkur Arena
Aston Villa
This feels like a much-welcome 1980s revival…
Fire up the DeLorean, we’re heading back to 1982. Chariots of Fire is dominating the Oscars, the first computer virus is infecting floppy disks, Duran Duran is dominating European pop charts and Aston Villa are European champions. The Birmingham club reached the quarter-finals 12 months later, falling to Juventus, but are only now back in the competition.
OK, nice — HANG ON, you said they were European champions?
Yes I did. In the 1982 final they defeated hot favourites Bayern München 1-0, with sub keeper Nigel Spink making some magnificent saves and Peter Withe scoring the all-important goal.
What have they been up to in the meantime?
Within six seasons of their final triumph in Rotterdam, the Villans were in the Second Division of English football. It was a brief stay, and since then there have been a couple of League Cup trophies, plus second spot in the Premier League in 1992/93. But they had settled upon mid-to-lower table obscurity until 1 November 2022…
What happened then?
Unai Emery descended from the heavens. The Spanish coach assumed the reins from Steven Gerrard with Villa teetering a solitary point above the relegation zone. Five days later, they beat Manchester United 3-1 and finished Emery’s first campaign in seventh place, qualifying for the Europa Conference League. The record four-time Europa League-winning Spaniard then inspired their scintillating home form last campaign (15 successive home league wins at one point) to seal a fourth-place finish and Champions League football.
Villa Park must have been rocking…
Well, Birmingham is the birthplace of heavy metal, so it’s always rocking (and rolling) – just ask Ozzy Osbourne: he’s a Villan, don’t you know? Villa Park has been home since 1897, and the Holte End produces quite the atmosphere.
Who gets the fans off their seats?
Ollie Watkins was the first player in Europe’s top five leagues last season to register double figures for goals and assists, while World Cup-winning macho-man goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is irrepressible in every sense.
No disrespect to Ozzy, but are there any more refined celebrity supporters?
There is one who has managed Elvis, been in space, run across America and worn the same cowboy suit for thirty years. Tom Hanks, who never plays a villain in his films, is, wait for it, a Villan. Woody has even been to see them play. But as well as the Prince of Darkness and Hollywood royalty, the Birmingham club boasts actual royalty among its supporters, with HRH Prince William a bona fide Villa fan.
'Our Best Shot'
Des Bremner won the European Cup with Aston Villa in 1982 and is happy to see his old club back in Europe’s elite competition
Des Bremner arrived in the Midlands from Hibernian in 1979 and within two years was winning the English title, setting Villa on the path to European glory. Forty years on from triumphing in the competition and now 71, Bremner still plays the game. He isn’t just talking the football talk ahead of Villa’s new campaign, he’s literally walking the walk.
“I’m playing walking football,” he tells Champions Journal. “I was playing indoor football via a foundation of Aston Villa, and one of the guys there introduced me to walking football. There are quite a few competitions going on in walking football; it’s quite popular. There are different age groups with different competitions. In the last league I played in, I think we finished fourth, just like Villa, so maybe we could be playing in Europe as well!”
That fourth-place finish symbolised an impressive rise at Villa in recent seasons, as Bremner remarks: “It has been a steady process, it has taken time, but then the appointment of Unai Emery has really worked out well. He has had a lot of success as a manager before with a great track record in European football. And at Villa he has improved things all round. It’s a great achievement for him to get the club into the Champions League.”
Bremner admits the Champions League will offer the Villa squad a fresh challenge, but recalls their predecessors overcoming the odds in the final against Bayern München. “Bayern were superior and the general expectation was that they would beat us. But we wanted to defy the odds and we were like: ‘Let’s go and give it our best shot and see what happens after 90 minutes.’”
What happened was history-making as Peter Withe tapped in to secure a 1-0 victory. Cue the celebrations: “We were all ecstatic. It was a great night and a fantastic achievement; we never thought for one minute at the start of the competition that we would even get to the final. To actually win it was fantastic.”
After briefly mislaying the trophy, as you do, today a replica stands in pride of place in the tunnel at Villa Park, but the current crop of players will be hoping to get their hands on the real thing. So what does one former European Cup winner make of this generation’s chances?
“Well, we weren’t given any chance to do it when we won it, so it could be the same with this team. Back then, I don’t think any of the lads had any thoughts on how far we were going to go, we just took each round as it came. It will be more difficult now because of the higher number of games they have to play, but in football you can never tell. As they always say: ‘It’s a funny old game.’”
Brest
I’ve never seen them in the Champions League before…
That is because they have never been in it before. In fact, this will be their first ever campaign in any UEFA competition. Before last season, the highest they had ever finished in France’s top flight was eighth in 1987. They spent most of the next three decades in the lower leagues before coming back up to Ligue 1 in 2019 and staying there.
How did they qualify?
Brest benefited from France having an extra guaranteed place in the Champions League under the new format. In previous years, only the top two in Ligue 1 qualified automatically for the competition, with third place entering in the preliminary rounds. This time, the top three qualified directly, and Brest pipped Lille to take third on a dramatic final night of last season.
Who are the best of Brest?
Coach Éric Roy deserves a mention. The former Lyon, Marseille and Sunderland midfielder took over a Brest side in relegation trouble in January 2023. He steered them to safety before plotting their historic performance last season. On the turf, Dutch goalkeeper Marco Bizot, left-back Bradley Locko, central defender Lilian Brassier, midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou and winger Romain Del Castillo were all fantastic in 2023/24.
And who do the slightly older guys and girls in the cafes reminisce about?
David Ginola briefly played for the club in the early 1990s, before going on to star for Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United and Champions League comeback kids Aston Villa. Paul Le Guen, who won Ligue 1 titles as coach of Lyon, comes from near Brest and played for the club early in his career. And Gonzalo Higuaín, the former Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus and Argentina striker, was born in Brest, as his father Jorge was playing for the club at the time.
Not meaning to be rude, but where is Brest?
It is at the end of the world, literally. That is the translation of Finistère, the part of France that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean on the western tip of Brittany. The port city’s maritime connection also explains their nickname Les Pirates. As the crow flies, Brest is closer to Plymouth than Paris.
OK, we know where it is. But apparently they might not play there…
Brest’s home is the Stade Francis-Le Blé, which was inaugurated more than a century ago and has a capacity of just over 15,000. The club want to build a new stadium on the edge of town. However, at the time of going to press, Brest were planning to play their Champions League games just over 100km to the east at the Stade du Roudourou, home of their Brittany rivals Guingamp.
Sturm Graz
You’re telling me someone stopped Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga?
You bet. Sturm Graz halted Salzburg’s attempt to win 11 league titles in a row. And they lifted the ÖFB Cup too. The last time a team other than Salzburg won the double was 18 years ago (Austria Wien). Coach Christian Ilzer and sporting director Andreas Schicker blended clever planning, spot-on tactics, good team spirit and great scouting to do the unthinkable - with a much smaller budget.
The fans are hands on, right?
Correct, they are actively involved in decisions concerning the club. This creates a special relationship between the fans and the club. And they make a lot of noise at their stadium too. A lot.
Talking of stadiums: I’ll be back… in Klagenfurt…
Very clever. Yes, Sturm play in the Liebenau district, and the ground used to be called the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. However, it is not Champions League certified, so home games will be played in Klagenfurt, 140km away at the Wörthersee Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000.
You said the stadium used to be named after Arnie, what happened there?
The honour was bestowed upon him by his hometown club in 1997, but by 2005 the muscle-man asked to have his name removed. Things turned sour after a disagreement between the then Governor of California and city officials. Let’s forget this Terminated-partnership and return to football talk.
Agreed. Tell me about their Danish Dividend…
Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund made his breakthrough at Sturm Graz two years ago and it’s reported he has brought just under €20m into the club’s coffers, including bonus payments. The transfer of Dutch forward Emanuel Emegha to Strasbourg last year also earned €13m.
They were top dogs once, weren’t they?
Prior to last season, Graz had won the Austrian title three times. Their golden period was 1998 and 2000, when they were champions twice and reached the Champions League group stage three times in a row. This era was dominated by star performers Ivica Vastić, Markus Schopp and Mario Haas. Incidentally, Austrian Vastić was the oldest player ever to score a goal at a European Championship, until Luka Modrić pounced against Italy for Croatia this June. Its clearly an -ić thing…
Stuttgart
So what’s the story?
VfB are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2009/10. The Swabians last played in Europe in the Europa League in 2012/13, when they were knocked out in the round of 16 against Lazio.
How did it go last time in the Champions League?
After progressing through the group stage in second place behind Sevilla, with two wins and three draws, Stuttgart faced reigning champions Barcelona in the round of 16, losing 5-1 on aggregate. Stars including Sami Khedira and captain Thomas Hitzlsperger left the club and weren’t sufficiently replaced, hence their long wait to get back into the Champions League.
Someone told me they finished above Bayern München last season. Clearly nonsense…
Oh no, it’s true, they were second to Bayer Leverkusen with 73 points – one point clear of Bayern in third! That would have made Die Roten German champions in 2022/23. It’s an incredible turnaround considering Stuttgart were third from bottom in 2023 and only saved themselves from relegation with a play-off win against Hamburg.
Quite a turnaround. Was there a new man in charge?
Indeed, Sebastian Hoeness, who hit the ground running. The 42-year-old took over the team in April 2023 in last place. Since then, his record reads: 50 competitive matches, 32 wins, 8 draws, only 10 defeats.
There is something familiar about the boss’s name. Is he related to the other two?
Yes, ex-Bayern boss Uli Hoeness is his uncle. Dieter Hoeness, also a former Bayern player and international, is his father. Sebastian was also born in Munich.
And who made things happen on the pitch?
Serhou Guirassy (28 Bundesliga goals) and Deniz Undav (18 goals) hit the bullseye in their first seasons – the former now snapped up by Dortmund. Plus, they borrowed keeper Alexander Nübel from Bayern München. Another fruitful idea.
But don’t mention Leeds United…
Exactly, that’s a nein-nein. In 1992, VfB met Leeds in the Champions League qualifiers. They won the first leg 3-0 and lost the second leg 1-4. The away goal took them through, until it emerged coach Christoph Daum had subbed on a fourth foreign player (Serbian Jovo Simanić) in the era of only three non-nationals. UEFA ordered a play-off, which the Yorkshire side won 2-1 in Barcelona.
How have they made it into the Champions League then?
On a flood of goals. They scored 85 times en route to finishing third, with 24 of their goals coming from the since-departed Artem Dovbyk. Title winners Real Madrid scored only two goals more than coach Míchel’s thrill-seekers. This is a team who beat Barcelona 4-2 both home and away last season; fittingly, it was at home against Barcelona that they secured their place in the Champions League with four games to spare.
Speaking of their coach, is that the Míchel who once played for Real Madrid and Spain?
No, this Míchel had a modest playing career and as a coach had led both Rayo Vallecano and Huesca out of the second division as champions, only to be sacked during the subsequent campaign in La Liga. With Girona, it’s proved third time lucky in the top flight.
Do they have any familiar faces in their team?
Two of the more recognisable names are actually in the defence – Éric García, once
of Manchester City, and former Ajax and Manchester United centre-back Daley Blind. Another Ajax/United old boy, Donny van der Beek, joined this summer while Middlesbrough fans will remember Uruguayan forward Cristhian Stuani. Goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga is known to English football fans too for his spells at Southampton, Tottenham and Fulham.
There are other Manchester connections too, right?
Correct. Girona are part-owned by the City Football Group. Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, plays a leading role in running the club.
Does the club have any good nicknames?
Well, since finally ending their play-off curse when winning promotion back to the top flight in 2022 (after five previous defeats), they’ve taken up the slogan ‘Som tossuts’. In short, the stubborn ones.
Anything else we should know?
Tickets for their Champions League games may be hard to acquire given the small size of Montilivi Stadium. The biggest attendances there last season were just over 14,000 for the visits of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Bologna
Is it really six decades since Bologna last qualified for this competition?
Yes, the 60 years have zoomed by… Or maybe not. Anyway, their only appearance came when they won the 1963/64 Scudetto by beating Helenio Herrera’s Grande Inter, who had just claimed their first European Cup title, in a legendary play-off game in Rome after the sides ended the season with the same points.
And what’s this about a coin toss?
Having been held 2-2 on aggregate by Anderlecht in the first round in 1964/65, the teams met for a decider in Barcelona. Goalless after 120 minutes in Catalonia, they tossed a coin to find a winner. Anderlecht were on the money and progressed, ending Bologna’s debut abruptly. Thankfully, Bologna don’t risk a currency-themed calamity under the current UEFA rules.
Apparently, they swapped a Brazilian for an Italian(o)…
Thiago Motta, a former Italian international born in Brazil, was the manager who masterminded last season’s achievements, but he moved to Juventus in June. Now it’s a German-born Italian in charge. Vincenzo Italiano, 46, has joined from rivals Fiorentina with a good reputation after leading the Viola to two consecutive UEFA Conference League finals.
Trivia time: wasn’t Roberto Baggio’s best Serie A season with Bologna?
Oh yes! The Divin Codino scored 22 league goals in his solitary season with the Rossoblù in 1997/98. Italian pop singer Cesare Cremonini sang, “Since Baggio retired, Sundays don’t feel the same anymore”. The same artist, a proud native of the city, celebrated the team’s UEFA Champions League qualification with a piano version of the competition’s anthem. Cue an instant viral sensation. Let’s hope they hit the right notes on the pitch in Europe. Gettit?
Mamma mia, please stop. Can we talk about the stadium instead?
Yes, the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara is pretty hard to ignore, after all, standing with its very own tower. And while there is a tricky history, with its connection to Mussolini, in more recent times the stadium played host to four matches at the 1990 World Cup.
Unai Emery descended from the heavens. The Spanish coach assumed the reins from Steven Gerrard with Villa teetering a solitary point above the relegation zone. Five days later, they beat Manchester United 3-1 and finished Emery’s first campaign in seventh place, qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
Sturm Graz fans with an impressive 3D tifo at Merkur Arena
Aston Villa
This feels like a much-welcome 1980s revival…
Fire up the DeLorean, we’re heading back to 1982. Chariots of Fire is dominating the Oscars, the first computer virus is infecting floppy disks, Duran Duran is dominating European pop charts and Aston Villa are European champions. The Birmingham club reached the quarter-finals 12 months later, falling to Juventus, but are only now back in the competition.
OK, nice — HANG ON, you said they were European champions?
Yes I did. In the 1982 final they defeated hot favourites Bayern München 1-0, with sub keeper Nigel Spink making some magnificent saves and Peter Withe scoring the all-important goal.
What have they been up to in the meantime?
Within six seasons of their final triumph in Rotterdam, the Villans were in the Second Division of English football. It was a brief stay, and since then there have been a couple of League Cup trophies, plus second spot in the Premier League in 1992/93. But they had settled upon mid-to-lower table obscurity until 1 November 2022…
What happened then?
Unai Emery descended from the heavens. The Spanish coach assumed the reins from Steven Gerrard with Villa teetering a solitary point above the relegation zone. Five days later, they beat Manchester United 3-1 and finished Emery’s first campaign in seventh place, qualifying for the Europa Conference League. The record four-time Europa League-winning Spaniard then inspired their scintillating home form last campaign (15 successive home league wins at one point) to seal a fourth-place finish and Champions League football.
Villa Park must have been rocking…
Well, Birmingham is the birthplace of heavy metal, so it’s always rocking (and rolling) – just ask Ozzy Osbourne: he’s a Villan, don’t you know? Villa Park has been home since 1897, and the Holte End produces quite the atmosphere.
Who gets the fans off their seats?
Ollie Watkins was the first player in Europe’s top five leagues last season to register double figures for goals and assists, while World Cup-winning macho-man goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is irrepressible in every sense.
No disrespect to Ozzy, but are there any more refined celebrity supporters?
There is one who has managed Elvis, been in space, run across America and worn the same cowboy suit for thirty years. Tom Hanks, who never plays a villain in his films, is, wait for it, a Villan. Woody has even been to see them play. But as well as the Prince of Darkness and Hollywood royalty, the Birmingham club boasts actual royalty among its supporters, with HRH Prince William a bona fide Villa fan.
'Our Best Shot'
Des Bremner won the European Cup with Aston Villa in 1982 and is happy to see his old club back in Europe’s elite competition
Des Bremner arrived in the Midlands from Hibernian in 1979 and within two years was winning the English title, setting Villa on the path to European glory. Forty years on from triumphing in the competition and now 71, Bremner still plays the game. He isn’t just talking the football talk ahead of Villa’s new campaign, he’s literally walking the walk.
“I’m playing walking football,” he tells Champions Journal. “I was playing indoor football via a foundation of Aston Villa, and one of the guys there introduced me to walking football. There are quite a few competitions going on in walking football; it’s quite popular. There are different age groups with different competitions. In the last league I played in, I think we finished fourth, just like Villa, so maybe we could be playing in Europe as well!”
That fourth-place finish symbolised an impressive rise at Villa in recent seasons, as Bremner remarks: “It has been a steady process, it has taken time, but then the appointment of Unai Emery has really worked out well. He has had a lot of success as a manager before with a great track record in European football. And at Villa he has improved things all round. It’s a great achievement for him to get the club into the Champions League.”
Bremner admits the Champions League will offer the Villa squad a fresh challenge, but recalls their predecessors overcoming the odds in the final against Bayern München. “Bayern were superior and the general expectation was that they would beat us. But we wanted to defy the odds and we were like: ‘Let’s go and give it our best shot and see what happens after 90 minutes.’”
What happened was history-making as Peter Withe tapped in to secure a 1-0 victory. Cue the celebrations: “We were all ecstatic. It was a great night and a fantastic achievement; we never thought for one minute at the start of the competition that we would even get to the final. To actually win it was fantastic.”
After briefly mislaying the trophy, as you do, today a replica stands in pride of place in the tunnel at Villa Park, but the current crop of players will be hoping to get their hands on the real thing. So what does one former European Cup winner make of this generation’s chances?
“Well, we weren’t given any chance to do it when we won it, so it could be the same with this team. Back then, I don’t think any of the lads had any thoughts on how far we were going to go, we just took each round as it came. It will be more difficult now because of the higher number of games they have to play, but in football you can never tell. As they always say: ‘It’s a funny old game.’”
Brest
I’ve never seen them in the Champions League before…
That is because they have never been in it before. In fact, this will be their first ever campaign in any UEFA competition. Before last season, the highest they had ever finished in France’s top flight was eighth in 1987. They spent most of the next three decades in the lower leagues before coming back up to Ligue 1 in 2019 and staying there.
How did they qualify?
Brest benefited from France having an extra guaranteed place in the Champions League under the new format. In previous years, only the top two in Ligue 1 qualified automatically for the competition, with third place entering in the preliminary rounds. This time, the top three qualified directly, and Brest pipped Lille to take third on a dramatic final night of last season.
Who are the best of Brest?
Coach Éric Roy deserves a mention. The former Lyon, Marseille and Sunderland midfielder took over a Brest side in relegation trouble in January 2023. He steered them to safety before plotting their historic performance last season. On the turf, Dutch goalkeeper Marco Bizot, left-back Bradley Locko, central defender Lilian Brassier, midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou and winger Romain Del Castillo were all fantastic in 2023/24.
And who do the slightly older guys and girls in the cafes reminisce about?
David Ginola briefly played for the club in the early 1990s, before going on to star for Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United and Champions League comeback kids Aston Villa. Paul Le Guen, who won Ligue 1 titles as coach of Lyon, comes from near Brest and played for the club early in his career. And Gonzalo Higuaín, the former Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus and Argentina striker, was born in Brest, as his father Jorge was playing for the club at the time.
Not meaning to be rude, but where is Brest?
It is at the end of the world, literally. That is the translation of Finistère, the part of France that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean on the western tip of Brittany. The port city’s maritime connection also explains their nickname Les Pirates. As the crow flies, Brest is closer to Plymouth than Paris.
OK, we know where it is. But apparently they might not play there…
Brest’s home is the Stade Francis-Le Blé, which was inaugurated more than a century ago and has a capacity of just over 15,000. The club want to build a new stadium on the edge of town. However, at the time of going to press, Brest were planning to play their Champions League games just over 100km to the east at the Stade du Roudourou, home of their Brittany rivals Guingamp.
Sturm Graz
You’re telling me someone stopped Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga?
You bet. Sturm Graz halted Salzburg’s attempt to win 11 league titles in a row. And they lifted the ÖFB Cup too. The last time a team other than Salzburg won the double was 18 years ago (Austria Wien). Coach Christian Ilzer and sporting director Andreas Schicker blended clever planning, spot-on tactics, good team spirit and great scouting to do the unthinkable - with a much smaller budget.
The fans are hands on, right?
Correct, they are actively involved in decisions concerning the club. This creates a special relationship between the fans and the club. And they make a lot of noise at their stadium too. A lot.
Talking of stadiums: I’ll be back… in Klagenfurt…
Very clever. Yes, Sturm play in the Liebenau district, and the ground used to be called the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. However, it is not Champions League certified, so home games will be played in Klagenfurt, 140km away at the Wörthersee Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000.
You said the stadium used to be named after Arnie, what happened there?
The honour was bestowed upon him by his hometown club in 1997, but by 2005 the muscle-man asked to have his name removed. Things turned sour after a disagreement between the then Governor of California and city officials. Let’s forget this Terminated-partnership and return to football talk.
Agreed. Tell me about their Danish Dividend…
Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund made his breakthrough at Sturm Graz two years ago and it’s reported he has brought just under €20m into the club’s coffers, including bonus payments. The transfer of Dutch forward Emanuel Emegha to Strasbourg last year also earned €13m.
They were top dogs once, weren’t they?
Prior to last season, Graz had won the Austrian title three times. Their golden period was 1998 and 2000, when they were champions twice and reached the Champions League group stage three times in a row. This era was dominated by star performers Ivica Vastić, Markus Schopp and Mario Haas. Incidentally, Austrian Vastić was the oldest player ever to score a goal at a European Championship, until Luka Modrić pounced against Italy for Croatia this June. Its clearly an -ić thing…
Stuttgart
So what’s the story?
VfB are back in the Champions League for the first time since 2009/10. The Swabians last played in Europe in the Europa League in 2012/13, when they were knocked out in the round of 16 against Lazio.
How did it go last time in the Champions League?
After progressing through the group stage in second place behind Sevilla, with two wins and three draws, Stuttgart faced reigning champions Barcelona in the round of 16, losing 5-1 on aggregate. Stars including Sami Khedira and captain Thomas Hitzlsperger left the club and weren’t sufficiently replaced, hence their long wait to get back into the Champions League.
Someone told me they finished above Bayern München last season. Clearly nonsense…
Oh no, it’s true, they were second to Bayer Leverkusen with 73 points – one point clear of Bayern in third! That would have made Die Roten German champions in 2022/23. It’s an incredible turnaround considering Stuttgart were third from bottom in 2023 and only saved themselves from relegation with a play-off win against Hamburg.
Quite a turnaround. Was there a new man in charge?
Indeed, Sebastian Hoeness, who hit the ground running. The 42-year-old took over the team in April 2023 in last place. Since then, his record reads: 50 competitive matches, 32 wins, 8 draws, only 10 defeats.
There is something familiar about the boss’s name. Is he related to the other two?
Yes, ex-Bayern boss Uli Hoeness is his uncle. Dieter Hoeness, also a former Bayern player and international, is his father. Sebastian was also born in Munich.
And who made things happen on the pitch?
Serhou Guirassy (28 Bundesliga goals) and Deniz Undav (18 goals) hit the bullseye in their first seasons – the former now snapped up by Dortmund. Plus, they borrowed keeper Alexander Nübel from Bayern München. Another fruitful idea.
But don’t mention Leeds United…
Exactly, that’s a nein-nein. In 1992, VfB met Leeds in the Champions League qualifiers. They won the first leg 3-0 and lost the second leg 1-4. The away goal took them through, until it emerged coach Christoph Daum had subbed on a fourth foreign player (Serbian Jovo Simanić) in the era of only three non-nationals. UEFA ordered a play-off, which the Yorkshire side won 2-1 in Barcelona.
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Insight
'Such a buzz'
Thomas Hitzlsperger played in two Champions League campaigns with Stuttgart and knows just what to expect
One man who will be watching the draw with special interest is former German international Thomas Hitzlsperger. The midfielder spent five seasons with Aston Villa between 2000 and 2005 before winning the Bundesliga with Stuttgart in 2007 and getting a first taste of the Champions League the following season. So who would he be rooting for should they meet in the autumn?
“That’s a tough question! I’ve recently been back at Villa and I watched them and I really enjoyed it. And I love the club, of course; I’ve got to thank them for so much. So it’s a tough one. I’d say, okay, whoever wins, it’s going to be fine.”
But when it comes to the Champions League, Hitzlsperger admits it “is just a different level. The first time going to the Camp Nou, or having Barcelona at home, with some of the best players in the world played there: Xavi, Iniesta, Messi. It was a huge honour to have played them. It’s about having that experience.”
Even if that experience was tough at times. Stuttgart finished bottom of their group in 2007/08 and picked up just three points from their six matches – a 3-2 win against the Scottish champions Rangers on Matchday 5.
“In the Bundesliga, we had jumped to the top so quickly and we weren’t ready,” Hitzlsperger recalls. “You meet the best teams in Europe. We played Rangers, Barcelona, Lyon, and we found it so difficult. It wasn’t a great pleasure watching us in the Champions League.”
Stuttgart returned to the top table in 2009/10 and fared better second time round, reaching the knockout phase before falling to reigning champions Barcelona.
There will be a great buzz of anticipation as Stuttgart prepare to go again, but Hitzlsperger cautions calm. “Usually you get stuff like, yeah, go out and enjoy it, which is nice for you to say, but why would you enjoy that, playing a big team? You want to win. So focus on your job, listen to the manager, understand your role. Joy comes with winning. Don’t enjoy it before you’ve actually started to play.
“In the build-up, the whole city, all the people, get behind the club. They create such a buzz that players have to be careful not to get carried away with the emotion. You go to training and there’s hundreds, sometimes thousands of people watching, asking for autographs. You have to understand the size of the club. There are a lot of big clubs in Germany and Stuttgart is definitely one of them.”
In recent months, Stuttgart has been back in the limelight as host city at EURO 2024. Famous as the home for big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Hitzlsperger says locals expect the best. “It’s known for hard-working people and lots of ambitious people, a lot of successful people. There is a certain amount of wealth in the area. People earn it, but they expect a lot, from the football team – why should they be anything less than top division or even in the Champions League?
“There has always been that constant push to be at the top. Strong academy, great history, a huge fan base and a really nice region. You go there, you have a really good time.” Which is exactly what fans of Die Roten will be hoping for from their forthcoming Champions League journey.
Share this feature:
Insight
'Such a buzz'
Thomas Hitzlsperger played in two Champions League campaigns with Stuttgart and knows just what to expect
One man who will be watching the draw with special interest is former German international Thomas Hitzlsperger. The midfielder spent five seasons with Aston Villa between 2000 and 2005 before winning the Bundesliga with Stuttgart in 2007 and getting a first taste of the Champions League the following season. So who would he be rooting for should they meet in the autumn?
“That’s a tough question! I’ve recently been back at Villa and I watched them and I really enjoyed it. And I love the club, of course; I’ve got to thank them for so much. So it’s a tough one. I’d say, okay, whoever wins, it’s going to be fine.”
But when it comes to the Champions League, Hitzlsperger admits it “is just a different level. The first time going to the Camp Nou, or having Barcelona at home, with some of the best players in the world played there: Xavi, Iniesta, Messi. It was a huge honour to have played them. It’s about having that experience.”
Even if that experience was tough at times. Stuttgart finished bottom of their group in 2007/08 and picked up just three points from their six matches – a 3-2 win against the Scottish champions Rangers on Matchday 5.
“In the Bundesliga, we had jumped to the top so quickly and we weren’t ready,” Hitzlsperger recalls. “You meet the best teams in Europe. We played Rangers, Barcelona, Lyon, and we found it so difficult. It wasn’t a great pleasure watching us in the Champions League.”
Stuttgart returned to the top table in 2009/10 and fared better second time round, reaching the knockout phase before falling to reigning champions Barcelona.
There will be a great buzz of anticipation as Stuttgart prepare to go again, but Hitzlsperger cautions calm. “Usually you get stuff like, yeah, go out and enjoy it, which is nice for you to say, but why would you enjoy that, playing a big team? You want to win. So focus on your job, listen to the manager, understand your role. Joy comes with winning. Don’t enjoy it before you’ve actually started to play.
“In the build-up, the whole city, all the people, get behind the club. They create such a buzz that players have to be careful not to get carried away with the emotion. You go to training and there’s hundreds, sometimes thousands of people watching, asking for autographs. You have to understand the size of the club. There are a lot of big clubs in Germany and Stuttgart is definitely one of them.”
In recent months, Stuttgart has been back in the limelight as host city at EURO 2024. Famous as the home for big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Hitzlsperger says locals expect the best. “It’s known for hard-working people and lots of ambitious people, a lot of successful people. There is a certain amount of wealth in the area. People earn it, but they expect a lot, from the football team – why should they be anything less than top division or even in the Champions League?
“There has always been that constant push to be at the top. Strong academy, great history, a huge fan base and a really nice region. You go there, you have a really good time.” Which is exactly what fans of Die Roten will be hoping for from their forthcoming Champions League journey.
Insight
'Such a buzz'
Thomas Hitzlsperger played in two Champions League campaigns with Stuttgart and knows just what to expect
One man who will be watching the draw with special interest is former German international Thomas Hitzlsperger. The midfielder spent five seasons with Aston Villa between 2000 and 2005 before winning the Bundesliga with Stuttgart in 2007 and getting a first taste of the Champions League the following season. So who would he be rooting for should they meet in the autumn?
“That’s a tough question! I’ve recently been back at Villa and I watched them and I really enjoyed it. And I love the club, of course; I’ve got to thank them for so much. So it’s a tough one. I’d say, okay, whoever wins, it’s going to be fine.”
But when it comes to the Champions League, Hitzlsperger admits it “is just a different level. The first time going to the Camp Nou, or having Barcelona at home, with some of the best players in the world played there: Xavi, Iniesta, Messi. It was a huge honour to have played them. It’s about having that experience.”
Even if that experience was tough at times. Stuttgart finished bottom of their group in 2007/08 and picked up just three points from their six matches – a 3-2 win against the Scottish champions Rangers on Matchday 5.
“In the Bundesliga, we had jumped to the top so quickly and we weren’t ready,” Hitzlsperger recalls. “You meet the best teams in Europe. We played Rangers, Barcelona, Lyon, and we found it so difficult. It wasn’t a great pleasure watching us in the Champions League.”
Stuttgart returned to the top table in 2009/10 and fared better second time round, reaching the knockout phase before falling to reigning champions Barcelona.
There will be a great buzz of anticipation as Stuttgart prepare to go again, but Hitzlsperger cautions calm. “Usually you get stuff like, yeah, go out and enjoy it, which is nice for you to say, but why would you enjoy that, playing a big team? You want to win. So focus on your job, listen to the manager, understand your role. Joy comes with winning. Don’t enjoy it before you’ve actually started to play.
“In the build-up, the whole city, all the people, get behind the club. They create such a buzz that players have to be careful not to get carried away with the emotion. You go to training and there’s hundreds, sometimes thousands of people watching, asking for autographs. You have to understand the size of the club. There are a lot of big clubs in Germany and Stuttgart is definitely one of them.”
In recent months, Stuttgart has been back in the limelight as host city at EURO 2024. Famous as the home for big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, Hitzlsperger says locals expect the best. “It’s known for hard-working people and lots of ambitious people, a lot of successful people. There is a certain amount of wealth in the area. People earn it, but they expect a lot, from the football team – why should they be anything less than top division or even in the Champions League?
“There has always been that constant push to be at the top. Strong academy, great history, a huge fan base and a really nice region. You go there, you have a really good time.” Which is exactly what fans of Die Roten will be hoping for from their forthcoming Champions League journey.
Thanks for your interest
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