July 05, 2006: European Cup Preview

Over the coming weeks, B36 Tórshavn, GÍ Gøta and Skála will be occupied with European soccer. Below is a short preview. – In addition to these 3 clubs, HB Tórshavn have already played its matches in the Intertoto Cup.

Champions League: B36 Tórshavn vs. Birkirkara FC (Malta)
Faroese Champions 2005, B36 Tórshavn, take on Maltese champions Birkirkara in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League 2006/2007. The 1st leg will be played in Malta on July 12, while the 2nd leg takes place in Tórshavn on July 19.

It's difficult to guess what chances B36 have against the Maltese champions, but if the level of the national teams of the Faroe Islands and Malta can be used as a yardstick, then B36 should have a good chance of beating the Maltese as the Faroe Islands have beaten Malta every time they have played – that's on 3 occasions; twice in World Cup qualifiers in 1997 and once in a friendly in 2004.

The winner of the tie will meet Turkish side Fenerbache in the second qualifying round.

B36 seem to be in good spirit that they will progress to the second qualifying round, because on their website, they interpret the increased number of visitors from Turkey as that Fenerbache expect B36 to win…

B36 have played against a Turkish side before. In the UEFA Cup 1999/2000 B36 played Ankaragücü. B36 lost 1-0 in Turkey and in the return leg in Tórshavn, B36 gave them some stiff resistance, but late in the game, Ankaragücü score and won 2-0 on aggregate.

Last year, B36 played in the UEFA cup, where they first overcame ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar and then they narrowly lost to Danish Superliga-club FC Midtjylland (1-2 away and 2-2 at home).

UEFA Cup, IBV Vestmannaeyar - B36 Tórshavn, first leg
UEFA Cup, B36 - IBV Vestmannaeyar, 2nd leg
FC Midtjylland vs B36 Tórshavn UEFA CUP 2nd qualification round
B36 Tórshavn vs FC Midtjylland UEFA CUP 2nd qualification round

UEFA CUP: Skála vs. Start Kristiansand (Norway)
As last season's runners up (2005), Skála are represented in the UEFA cup this season (2006/2007). In a preview on Skála's website, they wrote that they hoped to meet Start Kristiansand from Norway in the UEFA Cup. And indeed, their dream was fulfilled as Start was the team Skala were drawn to play against.

The first leg will be played in the Faroe Islands on July 16. The return leg will be played in Kristiansand, Norway, on July 27.

The reason for Skala's hope of meeting Start is that x-Faroe Islands international, Todi Jónsson, is playing for Start. Last season Start were a “post-out” (or 4!) from winning the Norwegian title ( Todi Jónsson and Start Kristiansand miss out on the Norwegian title ). This will (probably) be a last chance to see Todi Jónsson (Faroe Islands' best ever player) play in the Faroe Islands.

In the 2005/2006 season, Skála participated in the UEFA Intertoto Cup where they played against Tampere United from Finland. Skála lost 2-0 at hone and 1-0 away (UEFA Inter Toto Cup, Skála vs. Tampere United).


UEFA Cup: GÍ Gøta vs. FK Ventspils (Latvia)
As Cup winners 2005, GÍ Gøta are entered into the UEFA Cup where they'll play against Latvian outfit, FK Ventspils. The first leg is in Latvia on July 13 and the 2nd leg in The Faroes on July 27.

In 2004, B68 Toftir played against Venspils and lost 11-0 on aggregate (0-3 at home and 0-8! away). If that is anything to go by, then GÍ will have a hard time.

But surely, it won't be that bad for GÍ, as B68 had a very weak team in 2004 and were in fact also relegated from the best division at the end of the season.

It should also be mentioned, that when B68 played the away game against Venspils, they actually, incredibly, didn't travel from the Faroe Islands before on the match-day itself and were back later that same evening. No wonder they lost 8-0.

Actually, B36 Tórshavn traveled with B68 Toftir on the same plane, as B36 were also playing UEFA cup in Latvia the same day against Metalurgs Liepaja. And of course B36 couldn't expect to get a descent result either, after a long flight from the Faroe Islands on match day. B36 lost 8-1!


UEFA Intertoto Cup: HB Tórshavn vs. FC Dinaburg (Latvia)
HB have already played their UEFA Intertoto Cup-match against FC Dinaburg on June 18 and 24.
HB Tórshavn - FC Dinaburg, UEFA Intertoto Cup 2006

| Faroese Soccer | Table | Fixtures/Results | Top Scorers |
| Home of Soccer and Equipment |