UEFA (English)
June 23 2006
UEFA CUP: Brøndby braced to show Valur
/noticias.info/ Brøndby IF and Valur Reykjavík are both realistic
when considering their chances of UEFA Cup progress when they meet
over two legs on 13 and 27 July – a common view among the 70 clubs
who lined up for today’s first qualifying round draw in Nyon,
Switzerland. uefa.com gathers the reaction.
Strong showing
"I do not know a lot about Valur, but we have never had any problems
with Icelandic teams," admitted Brøndby captain Per Nielsen to
uefa.com, well aware that his team’s strong showing in last season’s
Danish Superleague marks them out as clear favourites. "They are
definitely a side we have to be able to beat – but then again, so are
all the teams at this stage of the tournament." For their part, Valur
know the task facing them. Willum Thor Thorsson, the Icelandic club’s
coach, said: "We probably got the best team possible but at least we
can learn something from these games."
‘Adventure continues’
Three of the sides involved have qualified via the UEFA Fair Play
draw and two of them, Gefle IF and SK Brann of Sweden and Norway
respectively, encounter opposition from the United Kingdom in
Llanelli FC from Wales and Glentoran FC from Northern Ireland. The
other Fair Play beneficiaries were KSV Roeselare of Belgium and they
find themselves up against FK Vardar of F.Y.R. Macedonia. "We have
entered the UEFA Cup through the Fair Play competition after our
debut year in the Belgian top flight, so our adventure continues,"
said Roeselare’s sporting manager Luc Devroe. "We are glad to be
involved, and we will try to make the best of it."
Balanced view
Many were left content if cautious. NK Varteks coach Zlatko Dalic
said his team would fancy their chances of keeping the Croatian
challenge alive against KF Tirana of Albania. "They are definitely
the opponent we wanted. We don’t want to underestimate them though.
They have high ambitions, but our main task is to reach the next
round." Likewise, in Bulgaria, Stefan Grozdanov, coach of PFC
Lokomotiv Sofia, said his troops would have to be careful against FK
Makedonija Skopje from F.Y.R. Macedonia. "The draw could have been
better, but also could have been harder. Most of our players do not
have European experience and that could be a problem."
More than happy
FK Sarajevo of Bosnia-Herzegovina have been regulars in recent
European campaigns and will therefore be expected to dispose of
Andorran challengers FC Ranger’s. "I think the draw is fine, although
there aren’t any easy rivals these days," said coach Husref
Musemić. "I think we have quality and we are favourites to reach
the second round." FC Haka boss Olli Huttunen is banking on the fact
many of the Finnish club’s fans will be able to travel to in-form FC
Levadia Tallinn in Estonia. "It’s a short trip to Estonia and we will
probably get good support in Tallinn as well as at home. They are one
of the toughest opponents we could get and are doing well this
season."
First trip
Skonto FC, of Latvia, have a longer trip as they head to Luxembourg
and AS Jeunesse Esch. Paul Ashworth, Skonto’s English coach, is
relishing the prospect. "I am happy we got Jeunesse. I haven’t had a
chance to play in Luxembourg before and this will be an interesting
experience." In contrast, knowledge will be power for FC MIKA against
Swiss opponents BSC Young Boys according to the Armenian outfit’s
defender Hovhannes Tahmazyanyan. "Our fellow Armenians, Artur
Petrosyan and Harutyun Vardanyan, used to play for that club. It’s a
very tough draw for us. We will try to do our best and maybe we’ll
get lucky." A sentiment shared by all 70 sides no doubt.
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