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During the UEFA Europa League play-offs, Panevezys will face Tel Aviv's "Hapoel" from Israel in the main group stage.
The first match will take place at home on August 18, followed by the return leg in Tel Aviv a week later. According to "Ekrano" strategist Valdas Urbonas, the first task is to gather information about the opponents.
"It's difficult to evaluate the opponent immediately after the draw. We drew a team name that tells us almost nothing. We are completely unfamiliar with this team. That's just how draws work. There's no point in debating which opponent would have been more favorable or beneficial to meet. That's something for football fans to do.
First of all, we will start searching for and accumulating information about the club and gradually prepare for the upcoming matches. These are the things that concern us the most," said the head of "Ekrano" right after the UEFA Europa League draw.
According to Panevezys club striker Andrius Velicka, draws and opponents can be assessed ambiguously: "An Israeli club is not like an English or Spanish team. If we were to compare with other potential opponents, "Hapoel" is one of the "toughest" teams we could have faced. However, on the other hand, it is definitely a high-level club. There are no weak teams there. I don't know the strength of the Israeli championship, but I don't think "Hapoel" will be weaker or much stronger than BATE."
Last season, "Hapoel" finished in second place in the national championships, five points behind the champion "Maccabi" Haifa. The new Israeli football season will start on August 20. The team is coached by experienced 66-year-old specialist Dror Kashtan, who also led the Israeli national team for four years (2006-2010).
In the UEFA Europa League tournament, the team started from the third qualifying round and faced the team from Liechtenstein, "Vaduz". "Hapoel" defeated their opponents 4-0 in Israel, but lost 1-2 in Liechtenstein.
According to a 2010 survey, "Hapoel" is the least liked club in their country.
Panevezys could also have faced Bilbao's "Athletic", Salonika's PAOK, London's "Tottenham", and Moscow's "Spartak".
