Europa League: The Italian teams' rivals on matchday one

Rome 22 September 2024 - The football weekend is already over with the championships, and leaves room for the continental competitions. In fact, if last week in Europe the football season began Champions League, this Wednesday will be the time to raise the curtain on the season of Europa League. The second UEFA club trophy, just like its bigger sister, has undergone a restyling and will no longer be made up of 32 teams divided into groups of 4 teams each, one for each band of membership linked to the position in the ranking, but will be played in a single championship where the algorithm has drawn 8 opponents for each team (two for each reference band). Thus following the format of the Champions for a competition that will see its final chapter played on May 21, 2025, at the San Mames in Bilbao, "the Cathedral" of Basque football. Representing Italy in the competition will be Rome e Lazio.

Lazio's opponent: Dynamo Kiev

For the Lazio It will be a European competition to be discovered, not so much for its novelty: it is not the first time that President Lotito's team has faced it in recent years; but because it will be the first European experience of their coach, Marco Baroni. The calendar in this sense has helped the Biancocelesti team, providing the Capitoline team with an affordable opponent on the first day, despite the away match. In fact, the Biancocelesti will face Dynamo Kiev on neutral ground in Hamburg, at the Volksparkstadion, due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The stadium is one of the largest and most beautiful facilities in Germany, despite the city's historic team, which was also capable of winning a Champions League in the past, playing in Bundesliga 2. It will then be the white and blue colours of the team from the Ukrainian capital that will bring Europe back to the city.

The Kiev team is led on the bench by Oleksandr Shovkovskiy, former goalkeeper of the national team and icon of the club of which he is now the coach. He who arrived on the bench of Dynamo after the experience with Mircea Lucescu, Romanian coach, who brought the title back to the capital, breaking the hegemony of the Shakhtar in 2020-21. As a player he was part of the Ukraine team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, only to lose to Italy 3-0, along with Shevchenko, of which he was assistant on the national team bench, before this interim election at the club of which he was captain. 

Shovkovskiy he is a coach who preaches the 4-2-3-1 in a similar way to his white and blue colleague in Rome: his team has a strong vertical traction, with quick plays to enhance the speed of its players. Compared to the past, in fact, the Ukrainian team boasts less talent, but some prominent elements with their experience are able to act as an example to younger and up-and-coming boys. Among the experts, the goalkeeper is worth keeping an eye on Bushchan, deputy of Troubin in the national team, the captain Buyalskyi and the attacker Yarmolenko, the latter former Borussia Dortmund e West Ham. Among the young people, the talented ones shine Mykhavko (full back born in 2005), Brazhko (midfielder born in 2002) and Vanat (centre forward born in 2000). 

In the challenge against the Lazio la Dynamo Kiev will come after a draw in the last matchday played, the sixth of the Ukrainian championship. The team of Shovkovskiy has stopped its victories at five in as many league matches, 0-0 is the result of the match against Rukh Lviv, at the end of a match where both teams missed important goal-scoring opportunities. The opponent of the Lazio has shown that it can suffer high pressing, not having great ball handlers, but also that it remains a solid team in defense. In the rankings, Dynamo in fact it leads the championship with 16 points in 6 games, jointly withOleksandriya.

Roma's opponent: Athletic Club Bilbao

If the last appointment of the competition is set at the San Mamés in Bilbao, it is curious to note how it is precisely from theAthletic Club of Bilbao the adventure of the will begin Rome. In fact, the Giallorossi will host the Basques on the first day of Europe League, in a challenge without doubt among the most complicated of the European season for Roma. Despite their inclusion in the fourth tier, the "Lehoiak" (lions in Basque) are among the favorites of the competition, given the great widespread quality of the squad, among the strongest versions of the last red and white seasons.

The Spanish team is led on the bench by Ernesto Valverde, in charge of the club's operations since 2022, in what is his third spell with theAthletic Club, after those from 2003 to 2005 and from 2013 to 2017, in the middle theEspanyol, L 'Olympiacos (twice), the Villareal, Valencia and also the Barcelona. For him, the reference formation is 4-2-3-1, with great quality on the wings in the thirds of the pitch and rapid, low vertical passes. 

The team at his disposal is a perfect mix of Basque-style boys from Lezama, the youth team of theAthletic, and some veterans of a thousand battles, often returning to Bilbao after experiences abroad. If the Roman team can boast champions like Dybala and the top scorer of last season League including dovbyk in pink, then in the Basque Country the two brothers Williams, Iñaki e Nico, bring the talent scales back into balance., the latter of the two was in fact the owner of the Spain European champion in the summer, one of the talismans of the Red Furies. In addition to them, the talent of the goalkeeper, also from the national team, shines Unai Simon, as well as that of the attacking midfielder sancet. Among the most experienced players, however, are undoubtedly the captain From Marcos and the midfielders Ander Herrera e Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta.

The Basques have had a very high start to the season: in seven games played, they have gained 13 points, which have lifted them to third place in the standings, albeit with one game more. On the last day, theAthletic he managed to overcome the Celta Vigo in a fun challenge that ended 3-1 in favor of Lehoiak. The brace of guruzeta, interrupted by the rigor of Iago Blades, he scores the first two goals for the home team, while the match is closed by Boy, who turns the beautiful acceleration of Iñaki Williams. A demonstration of strength from a distance, in response to the first seasonal success of the Rome, for a challenge scheduled for Thursday evening at 21pm in what is the real big match of the first day of Europe League.