Lugano opens the European Cup season. On Tuesday, the Ticinesi will host Fenerbahce in the 2nd qualifying round for the Champions League. In front of numerous Turkish fans.
On Tuesday evening, FC Lugano will play the first of at least three matches in Thun. The runner-up from last season’s Super League chose the Bernese Oberland for its exile after in previous European Cup years the stadiums in St. Gallen and Zurich had to step in for the home Cornaredo.
Large contingent of “Fener” fans
At least for the first appearance as the home team in the Thun Stockhorn Arena, the Luganesi will not enjoy the full support. Although almost all of the available 6000 tickets have already been sold, about 5000 have gone according to Thuner Tagblatt to Fenerbahce fans traveling from the surrounding area. The fact that the guest sector must remain closed on the orders of UEFA does not matter. The 19-time Turkish champions will not lack for supporters.
A few days after the season starts in the Super League, Lugano faces a mammoth task to stay in the Champions League – and then must immediately aim for the next exploit against the French from Lille. The path to the group stage of the Champions League is tough.
A simple calculation
The group stages in the Europa or Conference League seem more realistic. The calculation is simple: 3 wins in the qualifying rounds mean Champions League, 2 Europa League, 1 Conference League, and none means an early exit from the European Cup.
Lugano can look forward to the encounter with Fenerbahce with a certain ease. “They are better, but we have nothing to lose,” explained coach Mattia Croci-Torti. The guests bear the greater pressure, as they will play their first competitive match under José Mourinho.
Since the championship in Turkey does not start for over 3 weeks, Fenerbahce had to intensify their recent preparations. This seems to have gone well with significant test match victories against England’s second division Hull City (5:1) and Ligue 1 club Strasbourg (4:0).
Lugano has an intense match against the Turks under their belt and can be satisfied with it. The 2:1 victory against Grasshoppers on Saturday prompted Croci-Torti to joke. When asked about the weak start phase and the 0:1 halftime deficit, the coach said: “It’s my fault. The players must have understood 18:30 instead of 18:00 when I spoke of kick-off.” However, he noted that they showed character after the unsuccessful first half-hour.