Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens for Brighton in Europa League
Brighton & Hove Albion will face Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens in the group stage of the Europa League. Chalk that one down as a sentence you never expected to read as an Albion fan.
Ajax and Marseille are both former Champions League winners and the biggest clubs in their respective countries. AEK Athens are a powerhouse of Greek football. If you wanted the Albion to face the biggest and best in their debut European campaign, then the draw could not have gone much better.
It is a friendly group too in terms of away allocations. The Johan Cruyff Arena holds in excess of 50,000 people whilst the Stade Velodrome is the biggest club ground in France.
Everyone towards the top of the loyalty points system should be guaranteed a ticket, unlike if Brighton were paired against Rakow Czestochowa or Fudbalski klub TSC – although part of me is kind of disappointed on missing out on the meltdown either of those games would have caused.
Amsterdam, Marseille and Athens are all relatively straightforward to get to, connected via international airports and with good rail links. Just remember to take your stab proof vests to France and Greece.
In football terms, Brighton should be capable of avoiding bottom spot. That will mean the European adventure continuing into the new year, with the two two progressing in the Europa League and the third place side dropping into the Conference.
Much more will undoubtedly be written about the places and clubs the Albion will face once dates and times are confirmed.
For now though, here is your guide to the three teams and cities Brighton will play and visit on their maiden Europa League adventure.
Ajax Amsterdam
The football team
One of the most famous names in world football and with good reason. Not only have Ajax dominated football in the Netherlands, but they were the second most successful European club of the 20th century.
They are one of only five teams that have earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge thanks to their four titles.
The Ajax academy has produced some of the greatest players ever to play the game and it was the Total Football approach pioneered by Ajax which made the Netherlands side of the 1970s one of the most exciting international teams in history.
The stadium
Ajax play at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Opened in 1996, it has a capacity of 55,865. Based on away clubs receiving a five percent allocation in the Europa League, Brighton could expect around 2,800 tickets.
The stadium features a retractable roof and was officially opened by Queen Beatrix. The Queen made a curtain fall inside the stadium, revealing the world’s largest painting sized 80 x 126 meters.
Trijntje Oosterhuis sang the hymn “De Zee”, composed for the opening ceremony by John Ewbank. An eight day torch relay with 375 runners over 1400 km through the Netherlands reached the stadium.
The first runner had been Johan Cruyff starting in Ajax’s old stadium De Meer, and the last runner was Frank Rijkaard arriving in the new stadium.
And we thought the time Dick Knight cut a giant birthday cake on the pitch at Withdean to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Albion was unnecessarily over-the-top.
The place
Amsterdam is sure to be a popular destination with Brighton fans. Relatively close, easy to get to and the chance to eat lots of lovely cake which renders you so out of it you do not realise the Albion are getting hammered. Could have done with that sort of option throughout the Sami Hyypia Reign of Terror.
Its canals have been given UNESCO World Heritage Status and it has been home to some of the most famous and important people in world history, including Vincent van Gogh, Anne Frank, Rembrandt and Michel Kuipers.
Links with Brighton
Dependable Dutch defender Joel Veltman has become a firm fan favourite at Brighton since signing for a bargain £900,000 from Ajax in the summer of 2020.
In that time, Veltman has pocketed Wilfried Zaha and Jack Grealish, broken his nose on his debut and live streamed himself using nothing but a pair of oven gloves to rescue a seagull which had become stuck in the chimney of his home in Hove.
Marseille
The football team
One of the most successful clubs in the history of French football, Marseille were founded in 1899 and have won nine league titles, 10 Coupe de France and the 1993 Champions League.
Their victory over AC Milan in Munich’s Olympic Stadoium made Didier Deschamps and Fabien Barthez the youngest captain and goalkeeper to lead a side to European Cup glory.
The triumph was, however, tinted when one year later Marseille were relegated to the second division due to financial irregularities and a match fixing scandal involving then-president Bernard Tapie.
Les Phoceens finished third in Ligue 1 last season. A penalty shootout defeat to Panathinaikos in Champions League qualifying drops them into the Europa League for 2023-24.
The stadium
Stade Velodrome just happens to be the most spectacular stadium your correspondent has ever visited, having been in Marseille for THAT England v Russia game at Euro 2016.
So spectacular in fact that it almost made up for the Russians unprovoked attacks on England fans, the friendly locals unprovoked attacks on England fans, he Marseille ultras unprovoked attacks on England fans and the subsequent riots.
It has a capacity of 67,394. Based on away clubs receiving a five percent allocation in the Europa League, Brighton could expect around 3,370 tickets.
Marseille are the best supported club in France with some rather fanatical supporters. A matchday there will be quite the experience… providing you have adequate life insurance.
The place
With its Mediterranean location, Marseille was one of the greatest ports of the French Empire. It linked France with the North African colonies of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
It remains a melting pot of cultures to this day and is currently the second biggest city in France after Paris, home to 870,321 inhabitants.
In 1792, the city became a focal point of the French Revolution. Although the French national anthem (best in the world bar none) was born in in Strasbourg, it was first sung in Paris by volunteers from Marseille. Hence, its name of La Marseillaise.
Links with Brighton
Marseille nearly signed Neal Maupay from Brighton before Everton completed a £15 million deal for the French forward last summer.
Having missed out on Maupay, Marseille were forced into signing Alexis Sanchez from Inter Milan instead. Sanchez scored 18 times in 44 appearances on his way to winning Player of the Season. You might say that worked out quite well for Les Phoceens in the end.
AEK Athens
The football team
AEK Athens were established in 1924 by Greek refuges who had settled in Athens after fleeing Constantinople (now Istanbul) in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War.
Their distinctive gold and black colours are reflective of the club’s connections with Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire.
AEK are the only club to have won all the competitions organised by the Hellenic Football Federation. They are 13 time Greek champions, 16 time Greek Cup winners, two time Super Cup winners and have one League Cup to their name.
The 2022-23 season saw AEK win the Super League Greece title. They will partake in the Europa League in 2023-24 after losing out to Antwerp in Champions League qualifying.
The stadium
AEK play at the OPAP Arena, the newest football ground in Greece having opened its doors in 2022. It has a capacity of 32,500.
Based on away clubs receiving a five percent allocation in the Europa League, Brighton could expect around 1,600 tickets.
The stadium is built on the site of the old Nikos Goumas Stadium, which was demolished in 2003 by former AEK president Giannis Granitsas.
Granitsas claimed it was too damaged by the 1999 Athens earthquake to be a viable home, arranging for it to be knocked down without any concrete plans or permission for how to rebuild it.
Numerous delays meant AEK remained homeless until moving into OPAP Arena some 19 years later, having used the Olympic Stadium from 2004 as a “temporary” home.
The place
With a recorded history spanning over 3,400 years, Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.
Its rich history, climate and numerous sights makes Athens a popular destination with tourists. Pre-pandemic, the city attracted over five million visitors per year to see sights such as the Acropolis, the Panathenaic Stadium and Thanasis Gyros Restaurant.
Links with Brighton
Gus Poyet He Who Must Not Be Named spent six months in charge of AEK between October 2015 and April 2016 before being the master of his downfall once again with comments to the press.
This time, Poyet You Know Who told the media that he would not be staying at AEK beyond the end of the season.
Those comments went down like a lead balloon with the board, who subsequently sacked Poyet The Dark Lord immediately despite AEK being in the semi finals of the Geek Cup and challenging for a place in the Champions League.
