2023-2024 UEFA Champions League Preliminary Round

[anty1975]

The goals from Budućnost Podgorica 0-5 Bredablik

The defending from Podgorica was incredible. It almost looks deliberate.

I am 99% sure It was fixed, lots of money on Asian markets on Breidablik to win with AH and over 3 goals both before the match and live. Unreal amount money for a match involving such low profile teams

[Firnen]

Breidablik is obviously the favourite of the Preliminary Round, and given the good results of Icelandic teams last year and the fact that the PR winner might be placed in the North sub-group in Q1 with Baltic/Welsh/Irish sides as seeded, they can aim to be the 1st Icelandic team in Groups this year (if they reach CLQ2 it's more than half the job done).

Told you so.

Breidablik left no grounds to doubt that they were on another level than the Montenegrins.

I wish them best of luck against Shamrock Rovers too.

[mspm89]

The goals from Budućnost Podgorica 0-5 Bredablik

The defending from Podgorica was incredible. It almost looks deliberate.

Except for maybe the 2nd goal, it doesn't look deliberate to me, just mistakes that happen at this level and an overall lousy day for this team. Even in the 2nd goal, when you look closely, the pass just caught the defender wrong-footed. In women's football, you see mistakes like this almost every minute.

I am 99% sure It was fixed, lots of money on Asian markets on Breidablik to win with AH and over 3 goals both before the match and live. Unreal amount money for a match involving such low profile teams

Where do you get this information? Not saying it's impossible, but surely the risk of getting a Skenderbeu-like sanction and lifetime bans is too big for the 3 or 4 Buducnost players (it's usually never the whole team) needed to throw a match. The quick money has to be enough to set them for life, or almost.

[anty1975]

Where do you get this information? Not saying it's impossible, but surely the risk of getting a Skenderbeu-like sanction and lifetime bans is too big for the 3 or 4 Buducnost players (it's usually never the whole team) needed to throw a match. The quick money has to be enough to set them for life, or almost.

I kept track of this market at betfair and some other bookies that specialize in Asian Handicaps like Pinnacle. Again, its only circumstantial evidence but for me price movement together with all those funny "mistakes" by Buducnost players look very suspicious.

[mspm89]

Where do you get this information? Not saying it's impossible, but surely the risk of getting a Skenderbeu-like sanction and lifetime bans is too big for the 3 or 4 Buducnost players (it's usually never the whole team) needed to throw a match. The quick money has to be enough to set them for life, or almost.

I kept track of this market at betfair and some other bookies that specialize in Asian Handicaps like Pinnacle. Again, its only circumstantial evidence but for me price movement together with all those funny "mistakes" by Buducnost players look very suspicious.

The truth always surfaces in match-fixing cases involving players whose wages are less than what big-time punters bet (contrary to the millionaires in the big leagues), though it usually takes a while. But we'll know.

[dyermcryan]

I don't want to add any fuel to the fire, but I did screenshot the odds & graphs on betfair for the 90 minute result myself at kickoff just so I had them, they're on my phone.

On betfair, Breidablik opened at 1.84 (although as one bookie had them at 1.95 a few days before the betfair market opened they would have likely opened just above 2.0) and they were at 1.63 at kickoff. 2 -> 1.63 is a pretty big shift but I didn't think a lot of it as any substantial money (€50,000 matched on 90 mins result) on a market in a "small" football match can move it quite significantly.

[krdel]

You do not care for the ECL at all? Even for Balkan clubs?

No, if they do not care for us, then I do not care for their derogatory consolation competition, which is basically a second tier of EL, so the "big" teams do not have to play us. Also if you are out, you are out, this transition between cups is unnecessary and contrary to sporting spirit.

I really struggle to understand your point of view sometimes. You like "traditional" and historical teams, you dislike money-based modern football and "plastic" teams, but at the same time you don't care about a competition in which traditional teams from non-big countries are the majority, because there aren't enough big names

I do not care for "big" teams. The problem is they do not care for us, just look at Juventus, they do not even want to play this cup. EL was a serious competition with its own fixtures, solid media coverage, its own anthem and rich history (including CWC and UEFA Cup). Conference league has nothing of that and even UEFA treats it like shit. This breadcrumbs mickey mouse cup is basically just a method of further ghettoisation, discrimination and degradation of our clubs.

[matt]

No, if they do not care for us, then I do not care for their derogatory consolation competition, which is basically a second tier of EL, so the "big" teams do not have to play us. Also if you are out, you are out, this transition between cups is unnecessary and contrary to sporting spirit.

I really struggle to understand your point of view sometimes. You like "traditional" and historical teams, you dislike money-based modern football and "plastic" teams, but at the same time you don't care about a competition in which traditional teams from non-big countries are the majority, because there aren't enough big names

I do not care for "big" teams. The problem is they do not care for us, just look at Juventus, they do not even want to play this cup. EL was a serious competition with its own fixtures, solid media coverage, its own anthem and rich history (including CWC and UEFA Cup).

Only after the EL winner gained access to the Champions League many big teams started to treat it seriously again, this wasn't the case before, even if the competition had a long history. Juventus itself are an example of this, with them being eliminated once by... Lech Poznan.


For a team like CSKA Sofia, Levski or Partizan does it really make a big difference playing in EL or ECL?

- the road to GS is almost as difficult as before;
- the money prize is comparable;
- the chance to "overwinter" are again comparable (3rd in a EL group or 2nd in a ECL group);
- if they meet a "big" team, they can end up facing a team with many reserves even in the EL (i remember Legia - Leicester in 2021, a Polish user complained about it in this forum), or the famous case Astana - Manchester Utd.

The only big difference is that they can't obtain CL football through winning the ECL (but Levski or Partizan chances to win the EL are basically zero).

[amenina]

Has a team participating in this round ever made it into the group stage of any UEFA competition in that season?

Every PR winner has lost in Q1 of CL so far.

Teams which played in PR and later dropped down to EL/ECL have reached Q3 four times (since they started there from Q2, it means those teams won a tie), but never to PO.

20/21 EL: Drita beat Sileks
21/22 ECL: Prishtina beat Connah’s Quay Nomads, HB beat Buducnost
22/23 ECL: Vikingur beat TNS

Breidablik are the only CL PR winner to advance to CL Q2.