Former Bundesliga coach Thomas Doll has made a dream debut in the Champions League qualification at APOEL Nicosia. The 53-year-old won the return leg of Azerbaijani champions Qarabag Agdam with the Cypriots in the third round 2:0 (1:0) and thus turned the 1:2 home defeat from the first leg around.
“It’s a fantastic moment for a wonderful club,” said Doll, who was introduced last Thursday to the record champions from Cyprus. In the play-offs, APOEL will face the Dutch champion Ajax Amsterdam in the fight for entry into the group phase. The semi-finalist from the previous season trembled against the Greek champion PAOK Saloniki to a 3:2 (1:1) and can continue to hope for a repeat of the success run in the premier class after the 2:2 in the first leg.
Celtic Glasgow must, however, bury his Champions League dream. The Scottish champions lost against CfR Cluj from Romania 3:4 (0:1) and have to make do with the Europa League group stage after the 1:1 from the first leg.
FC Porto has also been eliminated. Despite a 1-0 draw in the first leg, the Russian representative FK Krasnodar was defeated by a 2-3 defeat at home. The same goes for FC Basel (2-5 against LASK) and Dynamo Kiev (3-4 against Club Brügge).
