Borussia Dortmund

Last season’s start quickly turned into a nightmare. The first half of the Bundesliga ended with Borussia Dortmund stuck at the bottom of the table and any dreams of claiming the title could be construed as a joke. The Westphalia club stepped on the throttle after the winter break and managed to stage a comeback and secure a spot in European competitions at the last stretch of the season. Jürgen Klopp’s era came to a close, as the coach who revived the team after their financial troubles in the beginning of the century stepped down. The team’s backbone remained the same, and some interesting touches were added, such as Gonzalo Castro signed from Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Borussia’s aspirations in the new season is to win the Bundesliga, earn a UEFA Champions League and making it all the way to the trophy of the UEFA Europa League. A club with the history and pedigree of Borussia Dortmund cannot but aspire to the top in all competitions.

Head coach

Thomas Tuchel

The German coach will travel to Greece for a second time. Last summer, his troops at 1.FSV Mainz 05 suffered a painful elimination by Asteras Tripolis. After a successful five-year spell at Mainz and one season off, as he stayed away from managing last season, he undertook the herculean task of filling Jürgen Klopp’s shoes at Dortmund.

Star player

Marco Reus

Each summer there are growing rumours he will leave Dortmund, as offers of many millions come his way. However he is not fazed by these sagas. His only concern is to remain healthy and catapult his team back to success. Contrary to former teammates who jumped ship after the UEFA Champions League final of 2013, Reus remained with the “schwarzgelben” and will lead them into post-Klopp era.

FC Krasnodar

FC Krasnodar were deprived of second place in the league at the finishing line last season by PFC CSKA Mosow and that meant relinquishing a spot in the UEFA Champions League. They are making huge steps ahead in recent years and –contrary to other Russian clubs- they don’t spend much but invest instead on their youth squads that are considered the country’s best right now. The club is just 7 years old, as they were established in 2008. Three years later they got promoted to the top flight league for the first time. Last season they participated once again in the UEFA Europa League group stage and finished third behind VfL Wolfsburg and Everton FC, but ahead of LOSC Lille Métropole. Their aim in the current season is to secure their first ever qualification to the knock-out round of the competition.

Head coach

Oleg Kononov

He came across PAOK in the past as head coach of Karpaty Lviv and was eliminated from the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. He started his career as assistant coach and, after an excellent run at FC Sheriff Tiraspol, he was presented with the offer of Karpaty Lviv. He did well but was eventually fired in 2011. He didn’t leave Ukraine and joined FC Sevastopol in 2012-13 to lead them to the top-flight league. The Belorussian became a permanent citizen of Russia and is considered the architect of FC Krasnodar’s success and non-stop progress.

Star player

Vladimir Bystrov

The 31-year old right winger has distinguished himself at the ranks of FC Spartak Moscow and FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. He is a Russia international and participated in the UEFA Euro 2008. He wasn’t picked by Fabio Capello for Russia’s expedition to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and at the same time he left Zenit. Looking for new challenges in his career and having to offer experience, quality and pace, he accepted the offer of FC Krasnodar and stood out in his team’s success.

Qäbälä FC

This season’s Cinderella story. Qäbälä FC are the lowest-ranked among the 48 clubs participating in the group stage. Their performances however tend to defy the UEFA Club Ranking. Both Panathinaikos and Apollon Limassol FC suffered shocking eliminations by the Azeri club. Last season they made their debut in European cups’ qualifiers, but failed to make it past a round. It’s a whole different story this season however, as eased through four qualifying stages and celebrated a great yet unexpected success in Leoforos on Thursday, eliminating Panathinaikos.

Head coach:

Roman Hryhorchuk

The Ukrainian coach became a title collector in his four years at the helm of Latvian club FK Ventspils. In 2010 he returned to his homeland and took over FC Chornomorets Odesa. He led them to the Ukrainian Cup final in 2013 and in the UEFA Europa League group stage in the following season. He was appointed by Qäbälä FC last December and impressed this summer as his troops went all the way from the 1st qualifying round to the group stage. They will play their first ever group stage match in a European competition on 17 September, when they host PAOK in Azerbaijan.

Star player

Dodô

Luiz Paulo Hilário, known as Dodô, introduced himself to European audiences with his brace against Panathinaikos on Thursday at “Leoforos”. He signed for Qäbälä FC in 2011, after previous spells at GNK Dinamo Zagreb and NK Lokomotiva Zagreb on loan. He is a lively forward who can take advantage of the slightest of chances to score and marking him is quite a handful for rival defences.