These are the six opponents of Paphos in the League Phase of the Conference League!
Paphos made the upset against Cluj and will be introduced for the first time in a European competition! A little while ago the regular draw was completed and the Cypriot Cup winners have learned the six opponents they will face in the Legaue Phase of the Conference League.
1st group: Fiorentina away from home
2nd group: Heidenheim at home
3rd group: Astana at home
4th group: Lugano away
5th group: Petrocube away
6th: group: Tselje in seat
The Italian team is well-known, as it is a great team from the country which also stands out in this event. In the last two years they reached the final, but without celebrating having lost to West Ham and Olympiacos. Last year he finished in 8th place in the league, but got the ticket for the third consecutive competition, after Juventus won the Cup.
This year the league has not started well since it counts two draws in the same number of matches and is in 13th place. It had a tough time in the League Phase, after beating Puskas Academy on penalties, after 3-3 in Italy and 1-1 in Italy.
Its coach is Raffaello Palladino, who took over this summer. He is only 40 years old and this is only his second team as head coach after Monza.
On Transfermarkt the team is valued at €246.05 million and one of their biggest stars is former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea. Among others, Jonathan Ikone and Moise Keen stand out, players with careers in France and Italy.
Heidenheim was founded in 1846 and is last year's surprise of the German league!
Coming from the second the country's division last season was the unwavering favorite for the relegation zone… yet managed to finish in 8th place securing a place in Europe for the first time in its history! He faced Hacken in the Conference League playoffs and prevailed in both ties (1-2 away and 3-2 at home).
The German championship has started and Heidenheim in the first matchday took the three points in an away appearance against San Pauli with a score of 2-0.
The reins of the team are held by Frank Schmidt. The 50-year-old German coach has been on the team's bench since 2007. It should be noted that Heidenheim is the team he coached.
From there, in terms of the market value of this group, it reaches 46.15 million. The standouts from the roster are midfielder Paul Wanner and Moloney. Wanner came this summer season on loan from Bayern and his value is around 8 million, while Moloney plays as a defensive midfielder and his value reaches 5 million.
The team from Kazakhstan was founded in 2009 and since then until today it has won a total of seven championships. Astana is known in the Cypriot football community because of the matches against APOEL.
The country's championship is at an advanced stage, as a total of 17 matches have been completed. It should be noted that the “blue and yellow” have by no means had the expected course so far in the “Premier League” since they are in 13th place with ten points away from the relegation position.
As for the effort of team last season, finished in 2nd place behind Ordambasi to lock up a place in the Conference League qualifiers.
In the qualifiers, she faced Mislami (Moldavia), Corvinul (Romania) and Bran (Norway). It is worth saying that in the first match against Barn in Norway, they lost 2-0 and in the second leg they prevailed 3-0 and managed to be in today's draw.
The coach of the team is Grigori Babagia. The 44-year-old is at the helm from 2022, while in the past he once again held the reins of the bench.
From there, Astana's live potential reaches a market value of 9.55 million euros. The footballers who stand out from the roster are the central defender Kalaitsa (700 thousand euros) and the left winger Astanov (500 thousand euros).
Lugano plays in the Swiss league and its base is in the city of the same name . It was founded in 1908 and counts 3 championships and 4 cups.
The “Super League” in which Lugano participates is ongoing and so far a total of five matches have been completed. The “black and white” are at the bottom of the standings with ten points.
In last year's marathon they finished 2nd in the standings behind Young Boys, securing a place in the Champions League qualifiers. Their journey to the top club competition ended prematurely as they were eliminated by Fenerbahçe. Then he reached the Europa League playoffs, where he was eliminated again by a Turkish team, this time by Besiktas. Now its European journey continues in the Conference League.
The boss of the team is the Swiss coach Matthias Kross-Torti, who has been there since 2017 (with a short break) initially as an assistant coach and since in 2021 he has taken over the reins of the bench.
The market value of the roster reaches 35.3 million euros and most of the players are Swiss. The stars that stand out are Zannetti and Hajjari. Initially, as for Zanotti, he was acquired by Inter (2.5 million) and plays as a right back, while Hajjari is a central defender who was acquired by Juventus last summer and his value reaches 3 million.
Petrocub is last year's champion of Moldova and will compete for the first time in the final phase of a European competition. It was founded in 1994 and has won a championship and two cups. The team from Moldova was eliminated by APOEL in the first qualifying round of the Champions League, then reached the playoffs of the Europa League where they were eliminated by Ludogorets with two defeats.
Petrokub in this year's championship has competed in two games and has collected four points.
The team is coached by Andrei Martin, who has been in charge since August 2023. The 50-year-old coach's favorite system is 3-4-3 , with last year's team having both the best offense and the best defense.
As for the roster, a large percentage consists of Moldovan footballers. The value of the club from Hîncești (a city in Moldavia) according to the famous football stock exchange transfermarkt, is just over six million.
At the top of the relevant list is the captain of the team, Vladimir Ambros, with value 550,000 euros. The 30-year-old international footballer is the main striker and has scored 88 goals and 57 assists in a total of 223 appearances.
Another key member of the team is Michael Platika. The 34-year-old is the definition of an all-rounder, as we say in football slang, as so far in his career he has played in a total of 10 different positions! However, at least as a Petrocub player he mainly competes at the top of the attack.
The two together were directly involved (goals and assists) in a total of 45 goals during last season and were among the main protagonists in winning the title. In most cases, Ambros starts the match as a right winger and Platika at the top of the attack and as you can imagine these are two players who need special attention.
Celije competes in the Slovenian league and was founded in 1919. So far, she has two championships and one cup in her trophy case.
The Slovenian championship is ongoing and the truth is that Celje is not doing well as it has collected only five points in five matches.
In last year's marathon, it won the title of champion with 12 points difference from Maribor and tried to claim a place among the stars of the Champions League…but failed. The dream was extinguished in the 2nd qualifier after being eliminated by Slovan while in the Europa League qualifiers he did not go far as he was eliminated in the 3rd round by Shamrock Rovers. Then in the playoffs of the Conference League, he qualified against Piunik, even making the upset.
The team's driver is the Spaniard Albert Riera, who took over this summer. The 44-year-old came off the bench at Bordeaux while he was an assistant at Galatasaray.
In conclusion, the total of the team comes to 13.21 million and most of the players are from Slovenia. The ones that stand out are the right back Karnicnik (1.5 million) and the left winger Brits (1.2 million) who was acquired on loan from Olympiakos.
