Coefficients. Football's "secret" ranking system introduced

I'm sure a lot of football fans aren't even aware that UEFA has a ranking system which decides how many clubs their country gets in European competition each year and - sometimes as importantly - whether their clubs are seeded or not once they get there. Of those that are aware very few care.

Of course this indifference may not be quite as great elsewhere in Europe as it is in England. After all England has been sitting comfortably with Italy and Spain in the top three positions since 2001, when it completed it's climb back up the rankings after the five year ban following the dark days of Heysel & is unlikely to have to worry about falling off the top table any time soon. The only time I really hear the subject mentioned here is when the Champions League seedings are announced and, at least until this year, Chelsea always found themselves outside the list of top-ranked countries and appeared quite indignant at the fact. For anyone who cared to look the reasons were pretty obvious - the rankings are based on results over the past five seasons and up until last year they included the ignominious defeats against both Hapoel Tel Aviv and Viking Stavanger in the UEFA Cup. This year Chelsea - despite still bearing the burden of their lowly points tally from the second of these defeats - have joined the other three English clubs amongst the top eight clubs and hence in the highest seeded pot.

To get the greatest benefit - dare I say enjoyment - out of understanding and following coefficients though you really have to look at the bigger picture. For many clubs the issue of being "seeded" or "not seeded" at various stages of the European competitions is hugely significant - the Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round being probably the most significant of all. The topsy-turvy end to the last domestic season in France was probably thrilling enough without added distractions but somehow knowing that the result also had enormous significance in Sofia added to the occasion. Had either Lens or Bordeaux finished third - as was generally expected going into final round of games - Levski, the Bulgarian Champions would have been the first unseeded club in the draw rather than the last seeded. Toulouse win over Bordeaux - combined with Lens shock capitulation in Troyes meant instead that Levski crept onto the seeded list. Now for a seeded club the recent draw could have been kinder - regular Champions League visitors Rosenberg over two legs is no shoo-in to the Group Stage. Indeed this is one of those games where who is "seeded" and who isn't really doesn't matter at all. The real significance is in the clubs you're sure to avoid - Arsenal, Liverpool, Sevilla, Valencia to name but a few. After all if Lens or Bordeaux were in the draw instead of Toulouse someone else would have been going to Anfield and it could quite easily have been the Bulgarians.

The real story of the coefficient list in recent seasons has been the rise of Romania. From a lowly 25th place in 2005 the runs of Steaua and Rapid Bucuresti in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup lifted them up as high as 10th place. Solid performances, and the fact they were still playing with three clubs last year (the coefficient is calculated by dividing the total points obtained by all clubs by the number of clubs taking part in the main European competitions) saw a further rise to 7th at the end of last season - meaning a guaranteed Champions League spot next season - and a provincial 5th place at the end of this year - which would mean two teams straight in at the group stage in 2009-10. Of course there is a long way to go but Romania - like Chelsea - are still offloading scores from "darker days" so the possibility is nowhere near as far fetched as it might appear to the uninitiated.

From a more parochial English perspective it's worth pointing out that, of this year's UEFA Cup representatives, only Tottenham would have been seeded in the Champions League 3rd qualifying round this year - and they would have only just scrapped in. Therefore - assuming all four teams have at least some pretensions of breaking into the top four at some stage soon the benefit of every hard won point now - shouldn't be underestimated. After all would you rather be contemplating a trip to the Mestalla or a jolly boy's outing to Belarus to decide your fate at this stage of the season?

For anyone interested in full details of how the UEFA coefficients are calculated I cannot recommend this site highly enough.