After just one two-game series, Jagiellonia Białystok is certain to play in the league phase of European cups in the fall. By eliminating Lithuanian FK Panevėžys, Jagiellonia has secured participation in the league phase of the Conference League. Adrian Siemieniec's team is still in the running for the Champions League, where they will play Norwegian Bodo/Glimt in the third round of the qualifiers. “I think that we can only gain something in this area, and certainly not lose anything. We want to fight with every opponent to advance to the next round. I don't see much pressure on us,” Siemieniec said at the pre-match press conference.
Bodo/Glimt will play a Polish team for the third time in history. In the 21/22 season, Legia Warsaw defeated the Norwegians 5-2 in a two-legged tie in the first round of the Champions League qualifiers. In the 22/23 season, Bodo/Glimt faced Lech Poznań in the 1/16 finals of the European Conference League. Lech won 1-0 then, with Mikael Ishak scoring the only goal in the two-legged tie.
– Fans in Norway don't know much about Jagiellonia and don't realize how strong the team is. They expect them to win both matches. If Jagiellonia can keep the ball, Bodo's players will get frustrated. The Norwegian champions really don't like it when they're not allowed to play their style. This isn't a team that likes to run after the ball – Trond Olsen, former Bodo/Glimt footballer and current Avisa Nordland TV expert, told us.
What words about Jagiellonia Białystok. “Maybe a better team than Ajax”
Patrick Berg decided to share an interesting opinion about Jagiellonia. The Bodo/Glimt midfielder compared the Polish champions to… Ajax Amsterdam. – I would say that in terms of attack, this is a team that is perhaps better than Ajax. In this respect, this will be our toughest challenge this year. This is a good team that, compared to many of our previous rivals in Europe, forms a harmonious collective. We usually play against rivals who stand out individually, not as a team. A real test awaits us – said Berg in an interview with “Avisa Nordland” (translated from: transfers.info).
Bodo/Glimt had the opportunity to compete with Ajax in the 1/16 finals of the Europa Conference League. In the Netherlands, there was a 2:2 draw, while in Norway Ajax won 2:1 and advanced to the 1/8 finals. It is worth adding that the loser of the two-legged match between Jagiellonia and Bodo will play in the Europa League play-off round with the winner of the Panathinaikos Athens – Ajax Amsterdam pair. In turn, the opponent of Jagiellonia or Bodo in the Champions League play-offs will be Crvena Zvezda Belgrade.
Jagiellonia is a team that may not have the biggest budget or the best players in the Ekstraklasa, but they are the best team. They are a very innovative team. Jagiellonia is a team that is typically focused on attack, I really like their style of play. They function very well in the structure, find spaces, often operate behind the opponents' backs. In my opinion, we now have a typical 50/50 situation – said Kjetil Knutsen, coach of Bodo/Glimt.
Live text coverage of the match Jagiellonia Białystok – Bodo/Glimt on Wednesday from 8:45 p.m. on Sport.pl, as well as in the Sport.pl LIVE mobile application.