Okay, I'll give it to you, perhaps the Primera Divisió d'Andorra, the top league in Andorran football, isn't the most widely followed league in the world, or Europe, or probably even in Andorra, but we'll delve in and have a deeper look, shall we?
What has brought the Andorran league to my attention is the success of last years league champions UE Sant Juliá in the Champions League First Qualifying Round. Before you get too excited, I should probably point out that the team they ousted from the competition were Tre Fiori, a team from San Marino, who battled back from 2-1 down on aggregate to 2-2 before Sant Juliá got the better of them on penalties.
Sant Juliá claimed their 2nd league title, which brought them level with FC Encamp and FC Ranger's and one behind CE Principat. FC Santa Coloma remain the most succesful team, claiming 4 titles. The eight teams that compete in the Andorran league play 14 league games (all at the Estadi Comunal d'Aixovall or the Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella). At the end of this the top 4 play-off for the Championship, and the bottom 4 enter relegation play-offs, so always something to play for at the end of the season!
After their success over Tre Fiori, UE Sant Juliá have progressed to face Levski Sofia in the 2nd Champions League Qualifying Round. A very tall order for the Andorran club, in which it will probably be a struggle to keep the score respectable rather than to have any realistic chance of progressing further. As will be the task facing last seasons runners-up, FC Santa Coloma when they face FC Basel of Switzerland in the 2nd Qualifying round of the Europa League.
No comments:
Post a Comment