\n<\/p>\n
The beauty of the third-tier Conference League is it enables team from smaller countries to compete in the group stages – and allow teams that don’t win many trophies to succeed.<\/p>\n
And Chelsea.<\/p>\n
Until the Blues steamrolled everyone last season to win the Conference League, the previous winners had been Roma, West Ham and Olympiakos.<\/p>\n
Roma ended a 14-year trophy drought, while it was 43 years for West Ham – and a Greek club had never won a European trophy before Olympiakos.<\/p>\n
So it is far from inconceivable that a team like Crystal Palace could lift it this time.<\/p>\n
The top seven countries in Uefa’s rankings only had one team each in it.<\/p>\n
They are Palace, Fiorentina, Rayo Vallecano, Mainz, Strasbourg, AZ Alkmaar – and Santa Clara, who lost to Shamrock Rovers so are out.<\/p>\n
And, having won the FA Cup in May, the Eagles actually have better recent pedigree than any of those other teams.<\/p>\n
Since 2002, of those teams, only Strasbourg (two French League Cups) and AZ (one Dutch title and one Dutch Cup) have won anything.<\/p>\n
Palace defender Chris Richards said: “Everybody is super excited. We are an ambitious club, and now is time to win some games in Europe. We are ready to make history.”<\/p>\n
Boss Glasner won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021-22.<\/p>\n
Former Palace striker Glenn Murray, speaking on Channel 5, added: “Oliver Glasner has done it at the European level. To have him in charge, they have a special talent there.<\/p>\n
“I feel as though they will navigate it, and they will weigh the balance of the Premier League and Europe. Hopefully they can reach the later stages.”<\/p>\n
Ex-England defender Matt Upson, who had a brief loan spell at Palace in 2001, said: “They have shown they can navigate cup competitions. <\/p>\n
“They have a manager who is very pragmatic and knows how to get there, which gives them every chance.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n