The Greek Super League’s four representatives have had mixed reactions to their respective draws following the UEFA ceremonies in Nyon, Switzerland last Friday.

The draw affects Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, who will compete in a final play-off round, which will comprise of one home and one away match against their respective opponents.

AEK and PAOK will line up in the play-off round of the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup), in two similar home and away legs.

Joining the Greek pair will be Cypriot side APOEL, who progressed after their impressive knock-out of Serbian side FK Partizan.

Olympiakos vs Sherif Tiraspol

Greek title holders Olympiakos, beneficiaries of UEFA’s new ‘Champions Path’ system (whereby title holders only play other title holders, meaning OSFP were more likely to be drawn against teams from the weaker countries) were drawn against minnows Sherif Tiraspol of Molodova.

The reds are away to Sherif on October 18 while the return leg is scheduled for the 26th of October at Karaiskakis Stadium.

Maxim Vilhelm of Sherif, speaking immediately after the draw said, “We have few chances (of qualification against Olympiakos). I would have to say 20 per cent, but we are a team who fights and we will do this yet again.”

“Its a very difficult draw,” Vilhelm continued. “We were hoping for a less imposing opponent, and I would suggest that we got the most difficult draw possible,” he said.

Sherif have won every Moldavian title since 2001, but have never qualified for the Champions league group stage.

Panathinaikos vs Atletico Madris

Panathiniakos on the other hand, will face more than stiff competition from nine-time Spanish champions Atletico Madrid, the club formerly called home by Greece Euro 2004 champions Demis Nikolaidis and more recently, Giorkas Seitaridis.

PAO will host the first leg at OAKA on the 19th of October and will travel for the crucial return leg to Madrid on the 25th of October.

The draw suits the Spaniards, who could have met Arsenal, Stuttgart or Lyon, whereas Panathinaikos might have been drawn against Romaniani side Timosoara, Anderlecht, Sporting Lisbon or Celtic.

Atletico have met Greek opposition on nine occasions in the past, winning five matches, losing two and drawing two.

Jesus Gracia Pitarts, Football Director of Atletico acknowledged the draw could have been worse, but his side will still need to approach its opponent with caution.

“It is better we did not get drawn against Arsenal or Lyon. But Panathinaikos has a name in Europe, with many Champions League appearances and they deserve respect. This season they have recruited well, with [Costas] Katsouranis and [Djibril] Cisse whereas they have additional players of particular quality, such as [Giorgios] Karagounis and [Gilberto] Silva,” he said.

Should either of the Greek sides qualify, they will be rewarded with the prestige of a spot in the Champions League group stage against Europe’s elite, including last season’s champions Barcelona, and the likes of Juventus, Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United.

A handsome purse of between 12 and 17 million Euros also awaits both sides in the event of qualification.

AEK vs Vaslui

As part of UEFA’s revamped and new-look second tier competition, AEK will travel to little-known Romanian side Vaslui, a side which since its inception in 2002, has gained the respect of the Romanian football establishment.

Of interest is the fact that Vaslui knocked out of the Europa League third round Cypriot side Omonia, who incidentally knocked out AEK of the UEFA Cup in season 2008/09. AEK travel to Romania’s north on the 20th of October to take on Vaslui, while the second leg will take place at OAKA seven days later.

A possible opponent for AEK was also the former side of coach Dusan, Red Star Belgrade.

Not only would the Serbian giants have been a more difficult opponent for AEK on field, but problems between the two sets of fans would also have been inevitable.

Red Star Belgrade’s “Delije’ fans have a ‘brotherhood’ with Olympiakos’ Gate 7 fans, and, as has happened on numerous occasions in the past, both sets of fans would have undoubtedly combined forces against AEK fans.

Vaslui coach, Christian Doulka was also pleased with the draw.

He told reporters, “For me the draw is good. We have a 50 per cent chance of progressing and we will do this. Out of all the teams we could have drawn, first I wanted Slavia (Prague) and second I wanted AEK. Its good that we drew this Greek side with a history in Europe but I think we will beat them.

There are not too many differences between AEK and Omonia, against whom we qualified from the previous round.

PAOK vs SC Heerenveen

PAOK’s qualification will be somewhat more difficult, having been drawn against the former side of Giorgios Samaras, Dutch outfit SC Heerenveen.

Czech-Greek striker Michal Papadopoulos will line-up against PAOK, having transfered to the Dutch side in the summer from Mlada Boleslav.

The meeting with PAOK will be Heerenveen’s second official meeting against Greek opposition, having won one and lost one match against Olympiakos in the Champions League Group Stage in 2000.

Of interest is also Heerenveen’s coach, who is former Olympiakos coach Trond Sollied.

Under the guidance of the Norweigian, the Dutch side held aloft their first piece of silver-wear since its inception 89 years ago.

They captured the 2008/09 Dutch Cup after a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win over FC Twente, thus earning themselves a place in the 2009/10 Europa League.

The Dutch side are a very attacking side, with their main weakness being its defense. Sollied said, “The draw could have been better, but it could also have been worse.

“We recognize well what we are expecting from PAOK, PAOK usually plays defensively with a counterattacking mentality,” he said.

APOEL vs FC Copenhagen

APOEL, Cyprus’ sole remaining representative in Europe and will face Danish Champions FC Copenhagen in the play-off round of the Champions League.

Copenhagen are the highest ranked team in UEFA out of all Scandanavian sides, and is not an easy side for the Cypriots to face, despite having only four points from three matches since the Danish League has begun for season 2009/10.

The first match will take place in Copenhagen on 18th of August, while APOEL will host the Danes in the second leg on the 26th of August. The winner will take its place in the group stage of the Champions League.