Trabzonspor launches campaign for Champions League spot

ISTANBUL

Trabzonspor travels to Copenhagen for a Champions League qualification playoff round first leg game, hoping to get an advantageous score to advance to the group stage of the top European club competition.

The Black Sea side, which won the Turkish league title for the first time in almost four decades last season, has not featured in the Champions League proper since its tournament debut in the 2011-12 season.

The team has made a good start to its campaign to defend its league title, having won both of its games so far.

The supporters are eagerly waiting to hear the Champions League anthem at the Senol Güneş Stadium, and coach Abdullah Avcı aims to help them.

“On Tuesday, we will play an important match both for us and for the country’s football,” Avcı said after Aug. 12’s 1-0 home win over Hatayspor in the Süper Lig.

“We will specially prepare for the Copenhagen match,” he added.

“We will do competitor studies and analysis. The teams we will play against are the teams that play in the Champions League every year. It will be a good game and I think we will come back with a good result.”

Copenhagen’s most recent foray into the group stage was in 2016, but it did reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League in 2020, losing to beaten finalist Manchester United in the last eight.

Trabzonspor player Andreas Cornelius will have mixed feelings on a familiar ground when he returns to the city where he grew up.

The forward came through the youth ranks at Copenhagen and went on to score 46 goals in 125 league games for the club, winning the Danish title in 2013, 2016 and 2017, and the Danish Cup in three consecutive campaigns.

Also on Aug. 16, a club that has already got its hands on the trophy will be eager to grab one of the last six group slots and the cheque that goes with it.

Each club advancing to the group stage is guaranteed 15.64 million euros ($16.04 million) for taking part. They can also collect 2.8 million euros for every group stage victory and 930,000 euros for a draw. Teams that miss out, drop to the Europa League group stage where they are guaranteed 3.63 million euros.

PSV Eindhoven, which needed an extra-time goal to eliminate Monaco in the previous round, face Rangers.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, who replaced Schmidt as coach at the 1988 European champion, faces old international teammate and club adversary Giovanni van Bronckhorst, in Glasgow.

The two coaches were long-time Netherlands teammates.

They played on opposite sides the last time the clubs met in the Champions League.

Rangers, with Van Bronckhorst in midfield, won home and away in the 1999 group stage. Van Nistelrooy scored PSV’s goal at Ibrox as Rangers won 4-1.

“We are ready,” declared van Bronckhorst after a 4-0 league win over St. Johnstone on Aug. 14.

“We have two days to prepare and make the players fresh again and make sure we have our game plan in mind and execute the game plan as best as possible.”

“It is a big game for us.”