Tottenham's manager, Harry Redknapp, said he was impressed by the way Young Boys of Bern played against Fenerbahce in the previous qualifying round. Photograph: Joao Santos/AFP/Getty Images Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of reaching the group stages of the Champions League were given a huge lift today when they were drawn against Young Boys of Bern in the play-off round.Although the Swiss Super League runners-up knocked out Fenerbahce in the previous round, Harry Redknapp will be relieved to have avoided Dynamo Kyiv, Braga, Sampdoria and Auxerre, all of whom were potential opponents, and would have carried a much greater threat.Young Boys have started their domestic season but have failed to win any of their opening three matches and their disappointment at being paired with Spurs, who last appeared in Europe's premier club competition in the 1961-62 season, was acute. Alain Baumann, the club's sporting director, described the draw as "the worst that we could have" and conceded that their chances of going through were "very, very little".
Spurs will face Young Boys at the Stade de Suisse on 17 or 18 August, with the second leg at White Hart Lane the following Tuesday or Wednesday. "We'll be favourites, obviously, but we have to give Young Boys the utmost respect," Redknapp, the Spurs manager, said. "They beat Fenerbahce in the last round and we watched the first leg on DVD. They could have won four or five – they hammered them at home. They then went away and won in Turkey and that's a fantastic result. They also have an astroturf pitch at their stadium and they play well on it, so it will be a tough game for us."One person in Bern who was delighted with the draw is Scott Sutter, the 24-year-old Young Boys right-back who was born in Enfield and grew up supporting Spurs. Sutter left England for his father's native Switzerland at the age of 16 and has not returned since. "To be drawn against the team I grew up supporting is a special, special feeling for me," Sutter said. "Hopefully I'll stay injury-free beforehand so I can play in the stadium where I once was as a supporter."In the Europa League play-offs, Liverpool travel to Turkey to face Trabzonspor, with the home leg taking place at Anfield on 19 August before the two teams meet in Turkey a week later. Manchester City look like enjoying a comfortable passage into the group stages after Roberto Mancini's side were drawn against the Romanian club Timisoara, who finished fifth in their domestic league. City are away in the first leg. "Any team from Romania will provide stiff opposition, particularly on their own ground," Mancini said.Aston Villa have a chance to avenge last season's defeat by Rapid Vienna after they were paired with the Austrian side at the same stage of the competition for the second year running.
"We had the feeling beforehand that we'd probably find ourselves drawn against Rapid Vienna again," Martin O'Neill, the Villa manager, said. "This won't be easy because Rapid was as tough a draw as we could have encountered, but we'll be ready to go."Celtic, who have dropped into the Europa League after they were defeated in their Champions League qualifier in midweek, are up against the Dutch side Utrecht, who finished seventh in the Eredivisie last season. In the other ties involving British clubs, Motherwell face the Danish side Odense, Dundee United take on AEK Athens and the Welsh Premier League team TNS play CSKA Sofia.
Spurs will face Young Boys at the Stade de Suisse on 17 or 18 August, with the second leg at White Hart Lane the following Tuesday or Wednesday. "We'll be favourites, obviously, but we have to give Young Boys the utmost respect," Redknapp, the Spurs manager, said. "They beat Fenerbahce in the last round and we watched the first leg on DVD. They could have won four or five – they hammered them at home. They then went away and won in Turkey and that's a fantastic result. They also have an astroturf pitch at their stadium and they play well on it, so it will be a tough game for us."One person in Bern who was delighted with the draw is Scott Sutter, the 24-year-old Young Boys right-back who was born in Enfield and grew up supporting Spurs. Sutter left England for his father's native Switzerland at the age of 16 and has not returned since. "To be drawn against the team I grew up supporting is a special, special feeling for me," Sutter said. "Hopefully I'll stay injury-free beforehand so I can play in the stadium where I once was as a supporter."In the Europa League play-offs, Liverpool travel to Turkey to face Trabzonspor, with the home leg taking place at Anfield on 19 August before the two teams meet in Turkey a week later. Manchester City look like enjoying a comfortable passage into the group stages after Roberto Mancini's side were drawn against the Romanian club Timisoara, who finished fifth in their domestic league. City are away in the first leg. "Any team from Romania will provide stiff opposition, particularly on their own ground," Mancini said.Aston Villa have a chance to avenge last season's defeat by Rapid Vienna after they were paired with the Austrian side at the same stage of the competition for the second year running.
"We had the feeling beforehand that we'd probably find ourselves drawn against Rapid Vienna again," Martin O'Neill, the Villa manager, said. "This won't be easy because Rapid was as tough a draw as we could have encountered, but we'll be ready to go."Celtic, who have dropped into the Europa League after they were defeated in their Champions League qualifier in midweek, are up against the Dutch side Utrecht, who finished seventh in the Eredivisie last season. In the other ties involving British clubs, Motherwell face the Danish side Odense, Dundee United take on AEK Athens and the Welsh Premier League team TNS play CSKA Sofia.