Two historic teams are his potential rivals PAOK in the playoffs of the Champions League, as if they eliminate Malmo, they will find one of them on their way Sparta Prague or Steaua Bucharest.
THE Sparta Prague founded in 1893, plays in the 19,400 capacity epet Arena and has dark red and white colors. He has won the Czech championship 38 times, counting two titles in a row, while last season he did the double by also winning the Cup. It has reached the semi-finals of the European Cups twice, in 1992 in the Champions League and in 1973 in the Cup Winners. The coach of the team is Lars Friss from Denmark, while the 21-year-old Czech stopper Martin Vitik, the 26-year-old Serbian winger Veliko Birmancevic and the 27-year-old Czech forward Jan Kuchta stand out in its roster. Its potential also includes the 28-year-old Albanian midfielder Kazim Latsi, who had played for Olympiakos. In the second qualifying round, they eliminated Shamrock Rovers from Ireland with two wins (0-2 and 4-2). In the current Czech championship, they are first with three wins in as many matches.
THE Steaua Bucharest founded in 1947, it is based in the “Arena Nazionale” 55,600 spectators and the colors are red and blue. The team is owned by the eccentric Gigi Becali and the Cypriot coach Ilias Charalambous, who had played for PAOK from 2005 to 2008. Steaua has won the league 27 times and last season for the first time since 2015, while also winning 4 Cups. The highlight of its history was winning the Champions League in 1986. The team’s roster includes captain and international Romanian midfielder Darius Olaru, 24-year-old goalkeeper Stefan Tarnovanu, while the most well-known name on the roster is 35-year-old Romanian stopper Vlad Kirikes. In the first qualifier, he eliminated Virtus from San Marino with an aggregate score of 11-1, while in the second round he threw out Maccabi Tel Aviv with a 1-1 in Bucharest and a 1-0 victory in Budapest. In this year’s championship, Steaua has started badly with two draws and one defeat in three matches.
Source: Sport Fm
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