Wroclaw come unstuck in Champions League third round qualifier

The opposition are a bit of a surprise package. Last season’s Polish champions fell apart in their third round Champions League qualifier against Swedish side Helsingborgs IF. After overcoming Montenegro’s Buducnost Podgorica in the previous round, Wroclaw suffered a 3-0 first leg defeat, before losing 3-1 in the return match. WKS revealed some weaknesses in their defence, which were also present during their title winning campaign. On the other hand, the team from Wroclaw are very dangerous going forward.

Draw gives 96 a small advantage

96 have the benefit of firstly competing in Wroclaw’s Euro 2012 stadium on August 23rd, before having a home advantage in the second leg. When asked about the draw, Mirko Slomka said: “A match against WKS Slask Wroclaw is no easy feat. Sure they were comprehensively beaten in the Champions League qualifier, but we should remain cautious. It won’t be easy competing with the Polish champions over two games. We’ll build a picture of their squad over the next few days. On Sunday they’re playing in the Super Cup against Legia Warsaw, and their first league match is on August 18th against Widzew Lodz. We’ll look closely at the games and start preparing for our match. It’s ‘only’ 350 miles from Hannover to Wroclaw as the crow flies – it would be nice if lots of fans came to support us. Then in the return leg, we want to get the result with the home supporters behind us. “

A trip to Sobiech’s home country

Polish 96 striker Artur Sobiech is looking forward to the upcoming challenge in his homeland: “Wroclaw is a beautiful city. The new stadium is great as well with a capacity of over 40,000.” He can also give Mirko Slomka a few bits of useful information about the opponents: “I saw highlights of both of their games against Helsingborgs. Even though they lost the two matches, they’re still dangerous opponents; they were the Polish champions last season. But I can say even more convincingly, that we are a good team and we want to get into the group phase.”

Kowalczuk is looking forward to Wroclaw

Even 96 fitness coach Edward Kowalczuk is looking forward to the trip to Wroclaw and can whet the appetite of 96 fans ahead of the game: “I was at the stadium for the Euro 2012 match between Poland and Czech Republic. The atmosphere was electric. Everything is new: the stadium, the airport, the whole infrastructure. Not just new, but perfect too.” Seems like good conditions for the Reds to continue their mission, Europe 2.0.


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