European returns: Aston Villa, Newcastle and Osasuna back on the scene
Whether they are big clubs led by Newcastle or Lens, or more modest teams like the Czech Bohemians or Hungarian Kecskeméti, they are united by the fact that their fans have had to wait patiently and often painfully for their comeback to the prestigious stage.
For some, it took several generations:
Newcastle
For over a decade, the Magpies were absent from the European stage, last appearing in the 2012/13 Europa League season.
Back then they made a great impression, coming from second place in the group to secure a play-off place, in which they beat Kharkiv and Makhachkala, only to crash out in the quarter-finals to Benfica.
Hardly any supporters of the traditional club from the northeast of England would have guessed that this would be their last European appearance for more than a decade. But Newcastle survived a difficult period, which included relegation to the second division, and secured an outright Champions League group spot with this year's fourth-place finish.
The last time they had a taste of that was 20 years ago.
Aston Villa
Another big name from the cradle of football, another case of fans being severely tested. After all, the Villains won the then European Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in the past, only to gradually disappear from Europe.
Their last cup run dates back to the 2010/11 season, but they didn't make a dent in Europe then.
In the preliminary round, they fell to Rapid Vienna after a 1-1 draw at home 2-3 and said goodbye to UEFA competitions.
In England, Aston Villa also went through relegation to the Championship and a subsequent rise, which culminated under coach Unay Emery with this year's seventh-place finish guaranteeing qualification for the Europa Conference League.
Lens
Lens played their last European fixture to date on 4 October 2007. In the UEFA Cup first-round rematch, they lost 2-1 in extra time in Copenhagen and, with a 1-1 home draw, said goodbye to Europe. The same goes for the successful period of the club, which for the next few years flitted between the first and second league.
After two seventh-place finishes this season, the club finished second and only one point behind champions PSG, their best result since 2002. Their reward is a return to Europe after almost 16 years, straight into the Champions League group stage.
Osasuna
The Pamplona side will play in Europe for the first time in 17 years. A 2-1 win over Girona in the final round of La Liga, with both goals from Croatian midfielder Ante Budimir, ensured qualification for the ECL, with Osasuna reaching the coveted seventh place in the final standings. The memories of the last appearance are faded, but pleasant.
Club Atlético did crash out to Hamburg in the 2006/07 Champions League preliminary round, but then went on an impressive journey through the then UEFA Cup.
They finished second to Parma in the group stage, and in the play-offs they successively knocked out Bordeaux, Rangers and Leverkusen before losing to Sevilla in the semi-finals, who eventually dominated the competition.
Bohemians
The Kangaroos have been missing in Europe for a full 36 years. In the 1987/88 season, they were knocked out in the first round of the UEFA Cup against Beveren, but before that they managed to make a good name for themselves abroad.
Especially in the 1982/83 season - the most successful in the club's history - when they won their only domestic title and reached the semi-finals of Europe's second most prestigious competition.
On their way to the final four that season, they put a stop to Admiralty, Saint-Étienne, Servette and Dundee United, stopping only at Anderlecht, who won the subsequent final against Benfica.
Bohemians then went through a period of darkness, dropping down to the third division and facing relegation, but thanks to a fourth-place finish last season they made it to Europe again.
Kecskeméti
The side from the town of Kecskemét in central Hungary had a dream season, finishing second in the league and securing a place in the ECL preliminary round. Yet their biggest achievement so far was their domestic cup triumph in the 2010/11 season, after which they tasted European football for the first time in the club's 112-year history.
However, it did not go well, playing only two matches in the Europa League preliminary round and after a 1-1 draw at home and 0-0 away to FC Aktobe, the club said goodbye to the competition.
Then came a steep fall, until three years ago they were still in Hungary's third division. But after bagging promotion, they subsequently breezed through the second-highest competition and now return to Europe after 13 years.
