In six days' time the 2014/15 season will officially open with Maccabi's 2nd round Champions League qualifier against Andorran champions FC Santa Coloma. Introducing Europe's "little engine that could"
Last night, after the return leg of their Champions League first round qualifier against Armenian titleholders FC Banants resulted in a 3-3 aggregate, FC Santa Coloma advanced on the away goals rule to the second qualifying round. There they will face our very own Maccabi Tel Aviv for a two-legged affair that will determine who will reach the third qualifying round. The Andorran champions earned their place in the Champions League qualifiers after a neck and neck title race with municipal rivals Unio Esportiva Santa Coloma, which saw FC Santa Coloma win their eighth league title by a margin of three points. Along with nine State Cups and another four Super Cups, FC Santa Coloma are far and away the most decorated club in this small, mountainous principality nestled in the Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain. With so much silverware in the club's trophy cabinet, Santa Coloma are also Andorra's premier European club, with eleven appearances in European competition. And now for the first time in their history this small but highly regarded club has advanced to a second stage in European competition, a fact that no doubt will motivate them during the two legs in their efforts to reach yet a higher stage at Maccabi's expense.
They'll be aided in those efforts by a largely veteran squad who have had experience playing outside Andorra as well. Their Spanish goalkeeper Eloi Casals, whose dramatic last-gasp goal sent his side through to the second round, is but one of a number of stalwarts that are at the heart of the team's success. Born in the Spanish town of Lleida, Casals spent time with a number of clubs in Spain's lower divisions, even coming out of semi-retirement to join Santa Coloma for the 2012/13 season. Despite being called in last night to deputise as a striker, Casals will return to his accustomed place between the posts when he makes his seventh European appearance in the first leg against Maccabi. Casals' advanced line of defence in the back four includes another experienced player, veteran Andorran defender Ildefons Lima, who scored Santa Coloma's first goal in their 3-2 loss to FC Banants. Like Casals, he too has drifted between a number of Spanish clubs, including Rayo Vallecano, then in Spain's third division, RCD Espanyol B and UD Las Palmas. Lima also played in various leagues in Italy, Switzerland, Greece and even for a short while in the Mexican Premier League. He's made over 80 appearances for the Andorran national side. Together with Casals and Lima yet another veteran of Spain's secondary division is 35 year-old midfielder Juvenal Edjogo-Owono, Juvenal for short, from Equatorial Guinea. Andorran striker Marc Pujol, Santa Coloma's star player last season with ten goals in a twenty match season, is also over 30 and has 63 caps for the national side to his credit. Along with fellow international Lima, Pujol is likely to meet counterparts from Maccabi Tel Aviv even after this qualifying round when Israel and Andorra fight it out in the same group for qualification for Euro 2016. Joining Pujol in attack is the 36 year-old veteran Spanish striker Iban Parra, who joined Santa Coloma in 2013 after a long and impressive career in Spain's lower divisions, where he scored 133 goals in 11 seasons. He didn't score against Banants but was credited with an assist in the only goal scored in the home leg in the Andorran capital. On the touchline will be 38 year-old head coach Richard Imbernon, who led his side to the league title after a long spell as a player at Santa Coloma's main rival Unio Esportiva Sant Julia.
This may be Santa Coloma's first foray into a second round of European competition, but experience teaches that no rival should ever be taken for granted. In Spain's second division one can learn a thing or two about football and with club history having already been made by advancing to the second qualifying round, Santa Coloma are already at complete liberty to go for broke. So even with Maccabi ranked 27 places higher in the UEFA second qualifying round table, predicting the outcome of the two legs might prove to be a tricky business. All we know now is that despite the allure of the World Cup finals in Brazil, it's our lads in Yellow that we're really waiting to see march out onto the pitch. And on the 15th of July that waiting will be over, when the race for a coveted berth in the group stage of the Champions League will begin in earnest.
