Aston Villa  prepare for its first European group stage match in 14 years

On Thursday evening, Aston Villa will play their first UEFA Europa Conference League group stage match at Legia Warsaw, in a competition where they are one of the favorites to win.

The clubs have much in common: two major teams in their respective leagues with varying success in recent years, but this season and last have seen both teams promoted. flowers under the guidance of successful coaches. For Villa, this match has special significance as it is their first proper European match in more than 13 years.

For Legia Warsaw, this is a huge opportunity to make a statement and take an important step towards qualifying for the knockout stages. This feeling will be a recurring theme for opposition fans during Villa’s Conference League adventure.

And that is certainly the case with Legia Warsaw, says Maciej Frydrych, a football journalist for the popular Polish sports newspaper and website Przeglad Sportowy. In recent seasons, life has not been easy for Legia, who have not qualified for the Champions League since 2016.

He explained: “The 2021/22 season has been dramatic, the worst in many years. “Last season, the team rebuilt and took second place, even winning the Polish Cup. This year, all the fans are talking about is [winning] the championship. Because” Now they are satisfied! No defeats in the league”, promotion to the Conference League after very exciting matches, plus interesting and shrewd transfers.

Legia have certainly been in excellent form so far this season. They have conceded 2 goals in 5 matches, won 4 and drawn 1, which puts them comfortably top of the Polish top flight, Ekstraklasa.

They qualified for the Conference League group stage after a tough qualifying round, which included a narrow victory over Danish side FC Midtjylland on penalties. On the European stage, Frydrych emphasized Legia’s pride in the face of “massive” opposition.

“[I remember] Legia’s match against Leicester, when the Warsaw club won 1-0,” he said. “It was a big surprise that the fans were also hoping for [the match against Villa]. [In 2016] Legia were placed in a [Champions League] group with Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Sporting CP. In the end, they ranked 3rd in the group and even equalized against Real Madrid.

Legia supporters are famous for creating an intimidating atmosphere at Stadion Wojska Polskiego, which Frydrych believes only serves to strengthen the home team.

He continued: “Whatever the result, Legia supporters remain at the highest level in the world. “Loud cheering can be heard throughout the match, they often use pyrotechnics and various types of choreography…Legia fans are their 12th player, especially Żyleta, the stands of their most fervent fans.

At times, the nature of this environment veered from intimidating to problematic, even violating UEFA regulations in some cases. The club were sanctioned following crowd disturbances against Borussia Dortmund in 2016, which included incidents in which home fans allegedly filmed matchday stewards spraying pepper spray .

They booed Leicester players (and some of their own) for taking a knee in support of Black Lives Matter before a Europa League match in 2021 and in 2014, UEFA charged Legia after racist behavior clan of his fans. On the field, much of the Polish team’s recent success is due to the arrival of a head coach with many changes, similar to Unai Emery with Villa.

“Kosta Runjaić is an excellent coach. He has played very well at Legia so far, but this season will be crucial. In Poland, it is difficult for clubs to combine European Cup and championship. Will this time be different? We’ll see, but it looks like things are moving in the right direction.

He added:
“Paweł Wszołek has performed excellently this season. He is quick, records many assists and opponents often have difficulty with him. He was even called up to the Polish national team. The same thing happened with Bartosz Slisz, a very important football player in the midfield. Elitim shoots well, but Josue is the captain, leader and most important player.

“The Portuguese player is not appreciated by fans of other teams because he gave his all for Legia. He can do amazing things with the ball, he passes the ball brilliantly. He is the good spirit of the team. In attack, Tomas Pekhart plays excellent headers and moreover, young player Ernest Muci is playing better and better. They are Legia’s strike force. »