© EuroFootball.com
Panevėžio "Ekranas" will meet the most titled Romanian club "Steaua" in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round.
The "Steaua" club is the winner of the 1986 European Cup and the finalist of 1989. The team from Bucharest has been Romanian champions 23 times. Last season, "Steaua" finished third in the Romanian league.
“Probably this year brought us such opponents. We met with "Anderlecht" and now we will play against another well-known club in Europe, which has a rich history. Romanians play technical and fast football, tough matches await us. But we need to prepare for them and not be caught off guard. However, we understand that setting higher goals for this match will be difficult," said "Ekranas" coach Valdas Urbonas to LFF.lt.
The captain of the Panevėžio club, Ignas Dedura, acknowledged that the draw could have been even more difficult, as "Ekranas" could have faced opponents from Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, and Ukraine.
“Of course, the opponent is stronger than us, there's no point in hiding that. But this option is not the worst. I don't think "Steaua" is a stronger team than "Anderlecht". However, the Romanian style of play is not favorable for us. I know that Lithuanian clubs have not won against Romanian clubs. But why not change history," said Dedura.
The first match is scheduled to be played on August 23 in Bucharest, while the second leg will be on August 30 in Vilnius, at the LFF stadium.
