All roads lead to Berlin as Saints hit the jackpot
Saturday August 30 2008
St Patrick's Athletic are set for a €750,000 windfall after they were handed a lucrative tie with German side Hertha Berlin in the first round proper of the UEFA Cup.
With German TV companies indicating a strong interest in showing both legs, the Saints can expect to receive a hefty bonus to go on top of the €250,000 that they will receive from UEFA for reaching this stage of the competition.
Such is the interest in the game, the date for the first leg (provisionally Thursday, September 18) has not been confirmed.
"Hertha have indicated that they are working on securing a TV deal for the game and that may mean switching the first leg to the Tuesday or Wednesday," said St Pat's chief executive Richard Sadlier.
"There are six German teams involved in Champions League and UEFA Cup games, so we have to be flexible if we want to gain the maximum exposure on TV."
While the Saints' fans, players and management may have been disappointed to miss out on a clash with AC Milan, the Bundesliga side will certainly not lessen the financial rewards on offer -- or diminish the scale of the task.
The 61-times capped Arne Friedrich is captain of a Hertha team that also boasts international quality in the shape of Serbian striker Marko Pantelic and Croatian defender Josip Simunic.
Though a trip to the 82,000 capacity San Siro is off the radar, the Saints can look forward to playing in the 74,500 Olympic Stadion in Berlin, the venue for the 2006 World Cup final.
The return leg is scheduled for the RDS on Thursday, October 2, but that date is also subject to change to facilitate TV coverage.
Talk of revenue will be the last thing on manager Johnny McDonnell's mind as he prepares his heroes for the mammoth task of competing in what he considers to be the biggest tie in the club's history.
"If we beat Hertha Berlin and you go into the group stages of the UEFA Cup, that would mean being more successful -- and I don't mean that in a disrespectful way -- than winning any competition in this league.
"The profile of the club, the league, everything, would soar. When you get to that stage, you are on to a different level in terms of sponsorship, finance, and attracting players.
"It is going to be a huge task, but we will go and do our work and the players won't be fazed by it."
With matches in the Setanta Cup and FAI Cup also pending, the Saints are facing the prospect of playing eight games in September, so some of those fixtures may have to be rescheduled to accommodate the club's European ambitions.
Meanwhile, Sadlier insisted that midfielder Keith Fahey is not moving abroad.
- Neil McCann
