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Scottish Football in Europe

This site gives a view of European football from a purely Scottish perspective. There is historical statistics on Scottish participation in Europe since 1955/56 and also more detailed analysis of Scotland's performance in Europe since the inception of the new format for the Champions League and UEFA Cup in 1999/2000 season. The site is broken up into 2 main sections, Statistics and News, which contain the following information.

The Statistics section gives historical records of Scottish participation in European football over the years, containing the following information:

Results by team

Every Scottish result in Europe ever, grouped by Team

Results by 1^st Leg Score

Every 2-legged game played by Scots summarising the end result depending on the first leg scores

Close calls

Final conclusion of all Scottish games in Europe which were tied after 2 legs

UEFA Ranking

The History of Scottish UEFA Ranking

The News section gives a personal editorial and a detailed summary of Scottish participation in Europe since the inception of the new format for the Champions League and UEFA Cup

Statistics

Results by team

Results by 1st leg scores

News

1999/2000 (Review)

Editorial

After a generally average season in Europe in year 2000/01. Scotland have dropped in the ranking to 16^th place resulting in a loss of the extra Champions League place gained for the 2001/2 season. Performances below expectations from Rangers, Celtic and especially Aberdeen have contributed to this drop in the rankings. To be honest though it was more a case of our nearest rivals for a top 15 spot, Belgium and Austria having exceptional years especially Sturm Graz and Anderlecht's performances in The Champions League.

As we start to look at next season, it will be interesting to see how the Scottish teams will perform in the Champions League. Luck of the draw will play a prominent part in how well the Scottish teams will perform. The following page gives a predicted listing of all teams in next seasons Champions League and also their projected seedings. This data is based on League positions and UEFA coefficients as at 1^st March 2001.

Champions League participants for 2001/2

Season 2001/2

Scotland having secured 15^th in the European Rankings at the end of Season 1999/00 ensures 2 Champions League places for Season 2001/2. Scotland were infact equal on points (20.500) with Austria in 15^th Place but because Scotland had a better coefficient for 1999/2000 (Scotland 5.125, Austria 3.875) they secure 15^th place on count back. European places played for in the domestic season 2000/1 for the 2001/2 European tournaments are as follows:

Champions	3^rd Qualifying Round of Champions League
Runners up	2^nd Qualifying Round of Champions League
3^rd in League	Qualifying Round of UEFA Cup
Cup Winners	1st Round of UEFA Cup

For this season the Scottish teams will be seeded for the various tournaments dependant on each teams UEFA ranking. This is calculated by taking half the country coefficients and adding all points gained by that team (2 for a win 1 for a draw) from the 1^st round on over the previous 5 years in Europe. The Scottish teams rankings and points total used for next season are as follows:-

NB As Rangers Celtic and Hibs are virtually certain of qualifying for Europe next season their points and ranking(provisional) will be as follows:

Team	Points	Rank
Rangers	38.313	63rd
Celtic	25.313	94th
Hibs	11.313	199th

To see how this compares to other teams in Europe the full (provisional) list of European rankings for season 2000/1 to be used in season 20001/2 can be seen in the following page:- (to be added)

Review of Season 2000/1
Scotland were ranked 21^st in Europe for this season resulting in the following levels of participation:-
Champions (Rangers)	2^nd Qualifying Round of Champions League
Runners up (Celtic)	Qualifying Round of UEFA Cup
3^rd in League (Hearts)	Qualifying Round of UEFA Cup
Cup Winners (Aberdeen)	Qualifying Round of UEFA Cup

For this season the Scottish teams were seeded for the various tournaments dependant on each teams UEFA ranking. This is calculated by taking half the country coefficients and adding all points gained by that team (2 for a win 1 for a draw) from the 1^st round on, over the previous 5 years in Europe. The Scottish teams rankings and points total used for this season are as follows:-

Team	Points	Rank
Rangers	32.250	71^st
Celtic	25.250	96^th
Aberdeen	14.250	154th
Hearts	11.250	183rd

All seedings and results for this years participation in Europe can be seen in the following pages:-

A table containing all rankings points gained by Scottish clubs this season is shown below with points being awarded as follows. In the Qualifying rounds, 1 pt is awarded for a win and 0.5 pts for a draw. From the 1st round onwards:- 2 pts are awarded or a win and 1pt for a draw. Rangers awarded 1 bonus point for reaching 1st League phase of Champions League

	Cup	Win	Draw	Loss	Bonus	Points	Average
Rangers	EC/UC	6	3	3	1	12.5
Celtic	UC	3	1	2	0	5
Hearts	UC	3	0	1	0	4
Aberdeen	UC	1	0	1	0	1
Scotland Total		14	4	7	0	22.5	5.625

Summary
Scotland with a season coefficient of 5.625 added to the previous 4 years coefficients, have finished this season in 16^th place in the rankings having fallen behind both Belgium and Austria. Even though the season is not finished, since all Scottish teams and those of the countries ranked below Scotland have been knocked out, then Scotland will definitely finish the season in 16^th Place. This means that Scotland will revert back to 1 Champions league place and 3 UEFA cup places for season 2002/3. Detailed European country rankings for season 2000/1 to be used for season 2002/3 can be seen in the following page:- (to be added)

Review of Season 1999/2000
Scotland were ranked 26th in Europe for this season resulting in the following levels of participation:-
Champions (Rangers)	2^nd Qualifying Round of Champions League
Runners up (St Johnstone)*	Qualifying Round of UEFA Cup
Cup Winners (Celtic)	Qualifying Round of UEFA Cup
Kilmarnock	Fair Play Award

NB St Johnstone take up runners-up spot as Celtic take Cup Winners Spot

Team	Points	Rank
Rangers	22.313	102nd
Celtic	19.313	115th
Kilmarnock	9.313	210th
St Johnstone	8.313	227th

All seedings and results for this years participation in Europe can be seen in the following pages:-

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1999/2000 (to be added)
UEFA CUP 1999/2000 (to be added)

A table containing all rankings points gained by Scottish clubs this season is shown below with points being awarded as follows. In the Qualifying rounds, 1 pt is awarded for a win and 0.5 pts for a draw. From the 1st round onwards:- 2 pts fare awarded or a win and 1pt for a draw. Rangers awarded 1 bonus point for reaching 1st League phase of Champions League

	Cup	Win	Draw	Loss	Bonus	Points	Average
Rangers	EC/UC	6	1	5	1	11.0
Celtic	UC	4	0	2	0	6.0
St. Johnstone	UC	1	2	1	0	2.5
Kilmarnock	UC	1	0	3	0	1.0
Scotland Total		12	3	11	0	20.5	5.125

NB If Kilmarnock had not been awarded a fair play place then Scotland would have attained a more impressive season coefficient of 6.167

Summary

Scotland finished this season in 15^th Place in UEFA ranking edging out Austria on count back resulting in an additional Champions League Place for season 2000/01. Indeed, only a disputed injury time equaliser for Parma against Sturm Graz in the UEFA cup resulted in the game being drawn and ultimately Austria finishing the season with the same coefficient as Scotland. With Scotland having a higher coefficient of 5.625 against Austria's 3.875 for this season then Scotland fill the important 15^th place in UEFA's Ranking.

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