Rangers hold key to Scotland regaining second Champions League place
Rangers players go into the Champions League group stage this year fighting for country as well as club. The Ibrox club need to ensure the combined efforts of three Swiss teams in Europe this season do not bring four or more wins than them in order for Scotland to win back its second Champions League spot.
Only the SPL champions will enter the qualifying stages of the competition in 2011/12 but the opportunity remains for the second spot to be back after a one year absence.
As it stands, Scotland occupy 15th spot in the Uefa country coefficient rankings, 1.441 points better off than Switzerland one place behind. That number is calculated depending on the results of teams in Europe this season, which is then averaged.
From this point forward in either the Champions League or Europa League, teams will receive two points for winning a match and one for drawing. Those points are then divided by the number of teams representing any given country in Europe during the season. In both Scotland and Switzerland’s cases, that number is five.
Four wins between Switzerland’s remaining participants in Europe – Basel in the Champions League and Young Boys and Lausanne in the Europa League – will give them 1.6 points overall, enough to leapfrog Scotland into 15th place and maintain their two entrants in the Champions League for the 2012/13 season.
A win for either Rangers or the three Swiss teams will contribute 0.4 points to the coefficient, with a draw contributing 0.2. Therefore, Rangers will have to hold off the challenge with only six games to do so, while the other contenders will attempt to win four from 18.
If, in their combined efforts, Basel, Young Boys and Lausanne manage to win four more games than Rangers, Scotland will slide to at least 16th place in the rankings, meaning the 2011/12 SPL champions will again have to enter the Champions League at the third qualifying round of the Champions Path.
Only some positive results for Motherwell and Celtic ensured Scotland still have a fighting chance of winning back their second Champions League spot, with Celtic’s two wins and Motherwell’s three wins in the qualifying stages helping to boost this season’s coefficient.
In the qualifying rounds, one point is given for a win and half a point for a draw, meaning Motherwell have contributed three and a half points and Celtic two. Dundee United’s draw in Athens brought a further half point to the table which, when divided by the five entrants, results in a coefficient of two.
All hopes will rest with Rangers to increase that number by picking up points in their Champions League group, where they will face Manchester United, Valencia and Bursaspor.
Basel are in the Champions League and will face Bayern Munich, Roma and CFR Cluj. Young Boys and Lausanne will discover their fate on Friday afternoon in the Europa League.
Rangers will also be fighting to bring back an additional Europa League spot for Scotland. Should they secure 15th place, the third and fourth placed sides in the SPL, together with the Scottish Cup winners, would enter the competition.
As it stands for the 2011/12 season, and potentially for the season after if Switzerland jump ahead, the Scottish Cup winners would enter together with the second and third placed teams in the SPL.
Rangers players go into the Champions League group stage this year fighting for country as well as club. The Ibrox club need to ensure the combined efforts of three Swiss teams in Europe this season do not bring four or more wins than them in order for Scotland to win back its second Champions League spot.
Only the SPL champions will enter the qualifying stages of the competition in 2011/12 but the opportunity remains for the second spot to be back after a one year absence.
As it stands, Scotland occupy 15th spot in the Uefa country coefficient rankings, 1.441 points better off than Switzerland one place behind. That number is calculated depending on the results of teams in Europe this season, which is then averaged.
From this point forward in either the Champions League or Europa League, teams will receive two points for winning a match and one for drawing. Those points are then divided by the number of teams representing any given country in Europe during the season. In both Scotland and Switzerland’s cases, that number is five.
Four wins between Switzerland’s remaining participants in Europe – Basel in the Champions League and Young Boys and Lausanne in the Europa League – will give them 1.6 points overall, enough to leapfrog Scotland into 15th place and maintain their two entrants in the Champions League for the 2012/13 season.
A win for either Rangers or the three Swiss teams will contribute 0.4 points to the coefficient, with a draw contributing 0.2. Therefore, Rangers will have to hold off the challenge with only six games to do so, while the other contenders will attempt to win four from 18.
If, in their combined efforts, Basel, Young Boys and Lausanne manage to win four more games than Rangers, Scotland will slide to at least 16th place in the rankings, meaning the 2011/12 SPL champions will again have to enter the Champions League at the third qualifying round of the Champions Path.
Only some positive results for Motherwell and Celtic ensured Scotland still have a fighting chance of winning back their second Champions League spot, with Celtic’s two wins and Motherwell’s three wins in the qualifying stages helping to boost this season’s coefficient.
In the qualifying rounds, one point is given for a win and half a point for a draw, meaning Motherwell have contributed three and a half points and Celtic two. Dundee United’s draw in Athens brought a further half point to the table which, when divided by the five entrants, results in a coefficient of two.
All hopes will rest with Rangers to increase that number by picking up points in their Champions League group, where they will face Manchester United, Valencia and Bursaspor.
Basel are in the Champions League and will face Bayern Munich, Roma and CFR Cluj. Young Boys and Lausanne will discover their fate on Friday afternoon in the Europa League.
Rangers will also be fighting to bring back an additional Europa League spot for Scotland. Should they secure 15th place, the third and fourth placed sides in the SPL, together with the Scottish Cup winners, would enter the competition.
As it stands for the 2011/12 season, and potentially for the season after if Switzerland jump ahead, the Scottish Cup winners would enter together with the second and third placed teams in the SPL.