Birkirkara to play Diosgyori today

by Ayrton Galea - 3rd July 2014

Birkirkara FC will kick off their European Competition commitments in the UEFA Europa League this evening, when at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, they will face the Hungarian side, Diosgyori VTK.

In the draw that was held on the 23 June at the UEFA Headquarters at Nyon, Birkirkara, who were seeded for the draw, were drawn to face the second highest quoted team from the unseeded pool, Diósgyőri VTK from Hungary.

Birkirkara placed second in the last BOV Premier League season following losing the league title in the last match against Valletta. The Stripes have been participating in European Competitions for the last seventeen years and this will be the eighteenth year for the Club. During the last years, Birkirkara managed to qualify twice to another round, once in the UEFA Champions League and once in the UEFA Cup, which is now known as the UEFA Europa League.

The Stripes acquired three new foreign players in the Summer Transfer Market. These are Adrian Sanchez, offensive midfielder Rafael Ledesma and striker Eliandro Dos Santos. The Club also secured the services of the Maltese midfielder, Edmond Agius from Valletta FC.

On the other hand, Diosgyor VTK is one of the most popular teams in Hungary. The Club is based in the city of Miskolc and they are known for their passionate supporters. During the last season, they ended in the fifth position in the Hungarian's top division with forty-seven points.

They have participated four times so far in European Competitions and this will be their fifth time following an absence of sixteen years. In the 1998 Intertoto Cup, they met the Maltese side, Sliema Wanderers FC and managed to qualify with a 5-2 aggregate.

Alejandro Mendoza, who played a key-role in the heart of the Birkirkara's defence last season was one of the three foreigners retained from last season and the Spanish defender shared his views before this important match.

“We are really looking forward to play against them and achieve something good from this match. From the beginning of the pre-season we have been working hard and preparing ourselves really well. Even the club has made the effort to take us to France for a training camp, which was a very good experience. Now, here in Hungary, we feel that we are well prepared and we just need to play.”

The match will be played at the Nagyerdei Stadion, in Debrecen, and is scheduled to kick off at 20:30.

Come on the Stripes!

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