UEFA Cup draw soon

By: Dan Clough | August 31st, 2007

Rovers opponents in the UEFA Cup 1st round will be decided in an hour and the teams we could face have already been narrowed down.

We will face one of these five in a two-legged encounter to see who goes through to the group phase of the competition (team information from Rovers official website):

NK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Undoubtedly the toughest of the five possible opponents for Rovers, Dinamo Zagreb dropped down from the Champions League after losing 5-3 on aggregate to German side Werder Bremen in the third qualifying round having previously defeated Lenkoran of Azerbaijan and Domzale of Slovenia.

One of Croatia’s most famous and successful football clubs, Dinamo are Croatian league champions for the last two seasons, and look to be heading that way for a third season in a row, for after six games in the Prva Liga they stand top of the table with a 100% record of six wins out of six.

Their Maksimir Stadium is currently being renovated, with a current capacity in the region of 38,000, however in the game against Bremen the attendance was 22,500.

Former Dinamo players currently plying their trade in the Premiership include Niko Krancjar of Portsmouth, Eduardo of Arsenal and Vedran Corluka who is at Manchester City, whilst one-time Aston Villa striker Bosko Balaban returned to the club in the summer.

Last season’s UEFA Cup campaign ended at the first round when they were defeated 5-2 on aggregate by Auxerre.

FK Mlada Boleslav (Czech Republic)

Mlada Boleslav qualified directly for the first round of the UEFA Cup, courtesy of a third place finish in the Czech top division last season.

Currently ninth in the Gambrinus liga after one win, one draw and two defeats from their four games. Based in the city of the same name, Mlada Boleslav is just to the north of the Czech capital Prague. Their Mestsky stadium holds just 5,000 fans.

Defeated Marseille in the first round of the UEFA Cup last season, but were unable to progress through the group stages after failing to win any of their matches.

PFC Lokomotiv Sofia (Bulgaria)

Lokomotiv reached the first round of the UEFA Cup after defeating Romanian side FC Otelul Galati, 3-1 on aggregate. All the goals came in their home leg, Martcho Davtchev, Zoran Baldovaliev and Vladimir Djilas grabbing the goals in a comfortable victory.

Last season they finished third in their league, level on points with one of Rovers’ previous opponents in the UEFA Cup, CSKA Sofia, thus gaining a place in Europe.

After three games in the Bulgarian top division, Lokomotiv currently lie in fifth place with two wins and a draw from their opening three games.

The capacity at the Lokomotiv Stadium is 25,000.

AE Larissa (Greece)

Managed by former Rovers winger Georgios Donis, Larissa reached the first round of the UEFA Cup courtesy of winning the 2006/07 Greek Cup for only their second time in their history after defeating heavily fancied Panathinaikos 2-1 in the final, meaning participation in the UEFA Cup for the first time in 22 years.

AEL, as they are often known, play their games at the Alkazar Stadium, with a current capacity of 13,000, however this is currently being refurbished with a new 21,000 stadium expected to be completed by 2009. On the mainland of Greece, Larissa is towards the East coast in the centre of the country.

Larissa are captained by former Newcastle United defender Nikos Dabizas. They get their league season underway this weekend when they face Asteras Tripolis.

Hammarby IF (Sweden)

Stockholm-based club Hammarby, like Rovers, have found their route into the first round of the UEFA Cup courtesy of the Intertoto Cup and UEFA Cup qualifiers.

They started their European campaign in the first round of the Intertoto Cup, defeating KI 3-1 over the two legs, the second round saw them defeat Cork City 2-1 on aggregate, before a third round away goals win over Dutch side Utrecht.

In the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, they overcame Norwegian side Fredrikstad 3-2 on aggregate.

Whilst successful in Europe, their league campaign hasn’t been too promising, currently in 8th place if 14 teams after 19 games with 8 wins, 3 draws and 8 defeats. A third place finish in the Allsvenskan last season meant a place in Europe.

Their Soderstadion in the Swedish capital holds some 16,000 supporters.