New Delhi: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 campaign finally returns tonight with a brand new format and some familiar faces that are making their own comeback into the competition after a long absence. These clubs have waited a long time since their last Champions League appearance and 2024/25 season is the one where they will be given the opportunity to finally return to Europe’s greatest club competition and try to make their presence felt. Last season, we did witness some teams that made their comeback after a long absence from the competition, including the likes of the French side Lens, the English underdogs Newcastle United and also the Belgian side Royal Antwerp.
Despite the fact that none of these sides managed to make it out of their group, these clubs did produce some shock results with Newcastle winning 4-1 against Paris Saint-Germain and Lens defeating Arsenal 2-1. Another big Premier league club that made a comeback to the competition after six years and they made an instant impact by reaching the Quarter Finals of the competition.
This season, fans will get to witness some familiar faces from the past campaigns as these clubs will be making their return to the biggest European club competition after a long absence. They will certainly be hoping to get the job done as these teams a determined to perform at the biggest stage against some of three best European football clubs.
Bologna
The players of Bologna FC celebrate victory as they pose for a team photo following the Serie A TIM match between Bologna FC and Atalanta BC (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
The Italian underdogs had their best ever Serie A campaign where they finished fifth and acquired a direct qualification to the Champions League 2024/25 campaign. Bologna, under the guidance of Thiago Motta achieved tremendous heights last season and as they head towards the start of Champions League, they will be returning to the competition after more than 50 years of absence. The last time I Veltri played the competed in this competition was back in 1964/65 campaign and now the Italians will be making their long awaited return.
However, this might just turn into a long campaign after the departure of a few key figures from their previous campaign, such as the coach Thiago Motta who joined Juventus as their head coach, star defender Riccardo Calafiori making his summer move to Arsenal and their previous season’s top scorer Joshua Zirkzee who joined Manchester United.
Sparta Praha
Players of Sparta Praha celebrate after qualifying in the Play-Off during the UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round Second leg match between FCSB and Sparta Praha at Stadionul Steaua on August 13, 2024 in Bucharest, Romania. (Photo by Vasile Mihai-Antonio/Getty Images)
Sparta Praha coached by Lars Friis will be making their return to the competition after 19 years. The last time they qualified for UEFA Champions League was back in the 2005/06 campaign, where they were unable to make it out of their group. However, the Czech side did make their presence felt in the 2003/04 campaign, where they made it out of their group finishing second, after Chelsea to reach the round of 16.
The Czech side were eliminated by the mighty AC Milan, but it certainly was a great journey for them. This time, it won’t be the easiest of jobs for them after the implementation of the new format, as they face RB Salzburg in their opening matchday of UEFA Champions League.
SK Slovan Bratislava
Tigran Barseghyan of SK Slovan Bratislava celebrates after scoring a goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying Round (Photo by Laszlo Szirtesi/Getty Images)
The Slovak champions, Bratislava will be making their return to Champions League after a long absence of more than 30 years from the competition. They last qualified in the 1992/93 campaign as they were unable to make it out of the qualifying rounds in recent campaigns. The Belasi have finally managed to break that run as they dominated the Slovak Super Liga, to qualify for this season’s UEFA Champions League.
However, it won’t be an easy job for the Slovak side as their inexperience in the competition might become a problem for them as they face the Scottish champions Celtic in the first match day of Champions League 2024/25.
Aston Villa
Pau Torres and Jhon Duran celebrates following the team’s victory in the Premier League match between Leicester City FC and Aston Villa FC (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
One of the most exciting returning teams in this season’s Champions League draw would certainly be Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, who had a brilliant Premier League season, where the the underdogs finished fourth in the league to qualify for the Europe’s biggest club competition. The 1981/82 European Cup champions make their comeback to the competition after more than 40 years of absence and they look more confident than ever to cause some major upsets to get the job done.
Villa have had a more than decent start to their new Premier League campaign and they will be looking to carry this form in the Champions League. They will be facing Young Boys tonight to kick their campaign off, and they will be looking to perform against the Swiss side to get a strong start to their campaign.
SK Sturm Graz
Otar Kiteishvili of Sturm Graz celebrates his goal to 1:2 with teammates during the Admiral Bundesliga match between LASK and Sturm Graz (Photo by Severin Aichbauer/SEPA.Media /Getty Images)
The last time SK Sturm Graz qualified for the Champions League was back in 2000/01 European Cup campaign, as they topped their first group stage to qualify for the second group stage, where they finished third, ending their European journey for that season. Sturm Graz make their return to the Champions League after 23 years as they face another returning club, Brest on their first opening day of Champions League campaign.
The Austrian champions managed to end RB Salzburg’s long 10 year run of lifting consecutive Austrian Bundesliga titles. It was a historic moment for the Austrian side Sturm as they lifted their fourth ever Austrian Bundesliga title to qualify for European football.
Stade Brestois 29
Romain Del Castillo of Brest (C) celebrating his goal with his teammates during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match between Olympique Lyonnais and Stade Brestois (Photo by Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Brest will be playing in the UEFA Champions League for the first time after having a fantastic Ligue 1 season and placing third. This was a huge surprise because Brest had spent the majority of their campaigns fighting relegation since they were promoted to the French top division football in the 2019–20 season. They did, however, have a fantastic run in the French league the previous season, where they improved and achieved their highest-ever finish. After finishing third behind AS Monaco, the Pirates scored their highest-ever total of 61 points.
After Roy’s first two months in charge saw Brest win only one league game, the team appeared destined for relegation with just 20 points from their first 25 games. In fact, it was their worst start to a Ligue 1 season in almost thirty years. Brest will now aim to compete in the Champions League following a strong league season.
Girona FC
Cristian Portugues ‘Portu’ of Girona FC celebrates with his teammates Pablo Torre and Yan Couto after scoring his team’s first goal during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Girona FC and UD Las Palmas (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Girona’s dominance in the first half of the La Liga season was one of the major surprises of the previous year. They dominated the most of the season and had such a strong run of results that many people believed Girona may pull off the unbelievable and win the 2023–24 Laliga season. It didn’t quite work out that way, though, as Real Madrid eventually passed them and won the championship, shattering the hearts of Girona. Girona had an outstanding campaign however, placing third for the first time in their history. This implied that, for the first time in their history, they will be participating in the Champions League.
VFB Stuttgart
Hiroki Ito of VfB Stuttgart celebrates with teammates after scoring the team’s first goal during the Bundesliga match between VfL Bochum 1848 and VfB Stuttgart (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Stuttgart’s rise to the top has truly been astonishing. Leverkusen ending the season as invincibles and winning the title wasn’t the only surprise produced by Bundesliga, as it was the runners up Stuttgart who played some eye catching football to finish above teams like Bayern Munich and Dortmund. This meant that the German side would be making their return to the Champions League after 15 long years. The 2009/10 season was a special one for them as they managed to finish second in their group, which was topped by Sevilla, to progress through to the knockout rounds. However, their journey ended by the hands of Barcelona who beat them 5-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.
However, Stuttgart are back in the European competitions to compete against the very best and they will be looking to cause a few major upsets. Stuttgart will be having a tough opening day against the 15 times Champions League winners, Real Madrid who will be the clear favourites to win the clash.
As we head towards the start of UEFA Champions League 2024/25 campaign, here’s a look at the teams that are making their debuts and also the clubs who will be participating after a long few years of absence from the competition. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
