Birkirkara in tough test against NK Maribor
by Ayrton Galea - 16th July 2013
Maltese Champions Birkirkara FC will start to chase their dream in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League this afternoon, when they will face the strong Slovenian side of NK Maribor.
Having won their fourth Premier League title, the Stripes won the right to compete in the UEFA Champions League, and for the first time ever, the Maltese Champions will begin their commitments from the second qualifying round.
Having returned to training on 10 June, the Stripes had an intense preparation for this match. They were involved in five friendly matches, three of which were in the Euro Cup Friendly Tournament, to prepare in the best way possible for this match.
The Maltese Champions strengthened their squad by four new players namely defenders Jonathan Marciel and Ricardo Jimenez and forwards Demba Toure and Frank Temile. Goalkeeper Ini Akpan moved to our Club on a permanent move while Zach Muscat renewed his contract for another three years.
However, the next match will be anything but easy, as NK Maribor is considered as the strongest side in Sloveni, being the most successful club in the country.
In the 2012-2013 season, NK Maribor wrote a new page in their history by winning all three domestic cups available. The Slovenians already kicked off their new season in style by clinching the Slovenian Super Cup. Maribor have also start their league campaign by a 2-1 victory over Zavrc.
In the European competitions, the Violets also made a drastic improvement and in fact in the 2012-2013 UEFA Champions League, they managed to advance to the play-offs stage before they were eliminated by the Croatians' side Dinamo Zagreb, with an aggregate of 3-1.
This will be the second time that these two teams will square off. In 2007 they crossed swords in the Intertoto Cup with NK Maribor advancing with an aggregate of 5-1.
The match will be played at the National Stadium and it is scheduled to kick off at 19:30. Transport from Valley Road is available and will leave at 18:30.
Instructions about the game have been published already and can be read here here.
Come on the Stripes!
| Last Matches Played |
|---|
|
30 June 2007 - UEFA Intertoto Cup
 Birkirkara FC
1-2
 NK Maribor
|
|
24 June 2007 - UEFA Intertoto Cup
Birkirkara FC
0-3
NK Maribor
|
