Breaking The Lines

The penultimate round of qualifying came to an end last week, with 30 more teams being eliminated from Europe. That played a key role in the five-year UEFA coefficient rankings, where several battles are in play. How many of these races will continue to the league phase will largely depend on how the playoff round goes. With several conclusions to be had, here is a look at where things stand in the UEFA coefficient rankings, and what is at stake for the last two weeks of the summer.

Last weekend saw the conclusion of the UEFA Women's Champions League second qualifying round mini-tournaments. Eleven sides ended up winning their MTs, pushing themselves one step closer to the competition's league phase. In the third place matches, the winning teams kept their European journey going into the UEFA Women's Europa Cup alongside the losing finalists, while the fourth place finishers are out of Europe.

23h ago7 min As they prepare for their first Premier League season in a decade, Hull City have started to invest heavily in their squad with several shrewd signings. They've purchased two new goalkeepers in Jack Butland (€3.5m) and Konstantinos Tzolakis (€23.3m) from Rangers and Olympiacos, whilst they've also replenished their midfield with Óscar Zambrano (undisclosed) from sister club Maribor and Jens Hjertø-Dahl (€9.5m) from Tromsø.

Another week of qualifying round action is complete, with several moves being made in the UEFA coefficient ranking. With three weeks to go before the league phase draw, about 100 teams are still in contention for those remaining spots. However, coefficient points continue to be on the line, which play a big role in each nation's not-too-distant future. UEFA Coeffiicents 26/27: Qualifying Week 4 Where do we stand now? Here is a look at the UEFA coefficient battles after week five of qualification.

The UEFA Women's Champions League second qualifying round began on Tuesday and Wednesday with a whopping 22 games. With some unexpected results, it means the UEFA women's coefficient rankings had some significant changes, and will see some more on Friday and Saturday when the round concludes. Eleven more teams will be eliminated from Europe, while another 22 will enter the UEFA Women's Europa Cup. So, where do we stand women's coefficient rankings after the season's third matchday? Here is a look.

Breaking The Lines co-creator Zach Lowy spoke to Gonçalo Feio about leaving Portugal for Poland, leading Legia Warsaw to the Polish Cup, why he decided to reject a contract extension with Tondela, and what he's looking for in his next destination in the first episode of the Zach Zeitgeist.

The UEFA Conference League has just hit the second half of its qualifying round campaign. So far, 75 teams have seen their continental journey come to an end in July. In August, another 54 will suffer the same fate. This is the third qualifying round, and will feature two direct entrants, 49 winning teams from the second qualifying round, and nine sides falling from the Europa League. That brings it to a total of 60 teams in this stage, where league phase football is now just four games away.

The most important round of the UEFA Europa League qualifiers is here, with the penultimate qualifying round in play. A total of 26 sides are involved hoping to secure league phase football for the fall by the end of the two legs. Ahead of what is a crucial stage of the UEL, here is a preview of all 13 ties to occur. Champions Get Second Chance This is the first and only round of the Europa League where there is a dedicated champions path.

There is no time for rest in the UEFA Champions League as the third qualifying round is already here. The previous round provided plenty of drama as 14 teams secured league phase football for the fall, joining six direct entrants in this round. With two rounds in the qualifiers to go, 24 teams - 20 that will play in this round - push to take the competition's final seven league phase places. Here is a preview of the 10 ties in this third qualifying stage.

3h ago14 min This piece is part of a series on Barcelona's tumultuous era between Johan Cruyff's departure in 1996 and the Blaugrana's Champions League win in 2006 featuring Josep Lluís Núñez, Joan Gaspart, Luís Figo, a host of managerial changes, successes, failures and more. Part 1 can be found here. Replacing Cruyff was never going to be easy, but Barcelona’s next attempt at doing so was a man they felt was as close as you could get to a replica: Louis van Gaal of Ajax.