Swansea City earned the most difficult matchup of the Europa League Round of 32 when it was drawn into a two-legged playoff against Napoli.
The English squad had control over its destiny heading into the fifth game of the group stage against Valencia. With a win, the team would have earned 11 points and would have had a two-point lead on the Spanish side atop the group; Valencia tied its final game and would have ended up with only 10 points in this scenario. If this had happened, Swansea would have avoided this draw altogether, but it seems that fate was not on its side and now the English club will take on the tournament favorites in the first knockout round.
"Talk about atmospheres," said Swansea Coach Michael Laudrup, according to Wales Online. "They won't let us sleep the whole night before."
"It's probably the hardest tie," he added. "I said before the draw that I felt Napoli and Juventus were the best teams in the competition. But I also said that my players and our fans deserved a big club and Napoli are certainly a big club."
Napoli competed in the Champions League's "Group of Death" against Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille. The team won all of its home games, but faltered away against Arsenal and Dortmund. In the end, goal differential proved to be the difference for the Italian side as it finished with 12 points but was still unable to qualify.
"They won all their home games in the Champions League and for a club to fail to qualify after picking up 12 points is unheard of," said Laudrup. "It is certainly a tie for everyone to look forward to. It will be a great experience for the team, the club, the fans and the city."
The teams will face off on Feb. 20 and 27.
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