Eight former champions including Ajax, Feyenoord, Parma and Sevilla advanced to the group stage of the UEFA Cup on Thursday (Sep 28th) when 40 clubs were eliminated after the two-leg first round matches.

Ajax of the Netherlands beat IK Start of Norway 4-0 for a 9-2 aggregate score with double goals from Markus Rosenberg and one each from Zdenek Grygera and Ryan Babelwith.

Fellow Dutch club Feyenoord, the 2002 UEFA Cup champion, made the group stage with away goals after a goalless draw at home and a 2-2 aggregate score against Lokomotiv Sofia of Bulgaria.

Defending champion Sevilla of Spain beat Atromitos of Greece 4-0 to advance 6-1 on aggregate, thanks to own goals from Vasilios Apostolopoulos and Dimitrios Ioannoy in the first 10 minutes, before Luis Fabiano and Kepa Blanco added the others.

Other former champions who also make Tuesday's draw for the group stage, which starts Oct. 19, included Tottenham (1972 and 1984), Eintracht Frankfurt (1980) and Bayer Leverkusen (1988).

Also advancing were English Premier League clubs Newcastle and Blackburn, Scotland's Rangers, Spain's Celta Vigo, Osasuna and Espanyol and French sides Paris Saint-Germain, Auxerre and Lens.

Big names who failed to advance, included 1997 champion Schalke 04 of Germany and Marseille of France, winners in 1993.

Schalke 04 lost 3-1 at French club Nancy to be eliminated 3-2 on aggregate. Their German striker Gerald Asamoah also suffered a broken left leg in a tackle by Papa Diakhate.

Marseille lost 4-2 at Mlada Boleslav, allowing an injury time goal by Tomas Sedlacek to ensure the Czech club eliminated the 1993 Champions League winner 4-3 on aggregate.

Two-time winner Parma beat Russian Rubin Kazan 1-0 on 18-year-old Daniele Paponi's first career goal and advanced on 2-0aggregate.

Fellow Italian club Palermo advanced 4-0 on aggregate over West Ham after a 3-0 win in the Sicilian capital. Brazilian midfielder Fabio Simplicio scored twice, with David Di Michele adding the other.

For Hapoel Tel-Aviv, its 3-1 win over Chornomorets of Ukraine marked the first soccer match to be hosted in Israel since UEFA lifted a ban on Sept. 15. Hapoel advanced 4-1 on aggregate.

Editor: Donald