The head coach of Botev (Plovdiv) Dušan Kerkez spoke to the club television on the occasion of today's draw for the first preliminary round of the Europa League tournament, BTA reported.
"The Yellow and Black" reached the European tournaments after winning the Bulgarian Cup and will argue first with the Slovenian giant Maribor.
The first meeting is in Plovdiv at the "Hristo Botev" stadium. on July 11, and the rematch of "Ludski Vrat" in Maribor it is on the 28th of the other month.
"There are no weak opponents in Europe. It doesn't matter who our opponent is, whoever we play against will be tough games. We know that Maribor is a strong team, they have been playing regularly in Europe for many years, they have reached the group stage," began Kerkez.
"They are favourites. But we know that we also have some chances and we will prepare well. What is important for me is that the players are healthy in training. We will analyze the opponent and we have to play two strong games, perform well. It's also important to perform at a tactical level and to be organized and go to the next round.
When asked if Botev having a home game first would have any impact, he replied: "It doesn't matter much to us if we play first at home or away. We have to play two games anyway – at home and as guests. Anyway, the correct way to score a goal on a foreign field no longer exists. This means we have to fight for a good result in both matches to advance to the next round. This is important. I'm sure the fans will come to support us. To be here, we work for a whole year. And I'm sure everyone is happy. And I'm sure that the audience will support us at the home match, and also as guests, because it's not that big of a distance to Slovenia," Kerkez concluded.