hearts confident they can avoid the hall of shame

Midfielder Bruno Aguiar knows the pain the Tynecastle side will feel if they fail to beat minnows NK Siroki Brijeg. Stewart Fisher reports

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE qualifying-round ties can quickly become the most traumatic of occasions for a football club. Hearts will host obscure Bosnian opposition at Murrayfield in the second-round first leg this midweek, well aware that any false moves could see NK Siroki Brijeg join a Scottish hall of shame that includes Levski Sofia, Croatia Zagreb and Artmedia Bratislava.

Hearts central midfielder Bruno Aguiar may know little about such precedents, but he is not without his own demons to exorcise. The former Portuguese Under-21 international was handed his full debut for Benfica by Giovanni Trapattoni in a third-round Champions League qualifying tie against Anderlecht two seasons ago, only for the Belgian side to prevail over the two legs and send the club at which he had played since the age of nine packing. The experience is etched upon his memory.

“It was so disappointing against Anderlecht,” the 25-year-old defensive midfielder said. “We were 1-0 up from the first leg at home and then we lost 3-0 in Belgium. It was terrible. But we finished champions of Portugal that season, which helped make up for the disappointment.

“It is so hard when you get so far then miss out and I hope there is no repeat of that this season,” he added. “It was one of the biggest disappointments of my career, for the team and for the Benfica supporters. But now I am with Hearts and I think we can make it into the Champions League group stages.”

Ironically enough, Benfica are one of the bigger guns that could potentially lie in wait for Hearts in the third qualifying round. But, unsurprisingly, Aguiar would rather it didn’t come to that. “I know there’s a chance we can play Benfica in the third-round qualifier but I don’t want that. I want us both in the group stages,” said the player. “Despite the defeat, it was a fantastic occasion and left me wanting to experience the Champions League more. Hopefully, now is that time.

“I believe this team has the quality to play in the group stages; of course it has. It’s hard to compare this team and the one I played in at Benfica but we have great team spirit, which is very important.”

Aguiar, who will start the season in Paul Hartley’s central-midfield berth, is hardly lacking in confidence. The player spent the summer watching his former Portuguese team-mates at age-group level, such as Simao Sabrosa, make it to the World Cup semi-finals, and clearly wants to be at least a footnote in Portugal’s continuing success at club and international level. Despite being shown the door by Jose Mourinho in his brief period in charge at the Stadium of Light, Aguiar draws on the self-styled special one’s achievements with FC Porto for inspiration.

“When FC Porto won the Champions League, they didn't have many superstars but a great work ethic,” he said. “Its only 11 against 11 in football and we have adopted the same attitude. Anything is possible. Our first objective is to play in the group stage, and, after that, we will see.”

The same applies to the SPL championship. “Can we win the league? Why not? Last season we finished second, now it’s a new season but we have the same team and we have chances to improve on it. We will try for first place. We don’t feel extra pressure with Vladimir Romanov’s comments; we go on the pitch every week with the aim of winning.”

For this tie, the Tynecastle club, who will host the first leg at Murrayfield on Wednesday, have the benefit of an extra scout. Bosnian winger Mirsad Beslija has been passing on information about NK Siroki, another Eastern European side with a typical three-strong contingent of Brazilians. Despite the novelty factor that some of his side will experience going into such a high-profile European qualifier, Valdas Ivanauskas was bullish enough last week to envisage killing the tie off in the first leg.

“We have received some information on the team and we are going to prepare and study for it,” Ivanauskas said. “As far as I know they are a strong and good team but we have a good chance. We know ourselves that we have got a good, strong team and we have a lot of international players that have played in European games – so we have a good advantage.

“I have a good feeling about it and I am taking into consideration we have two games coming and we are at home first,” he added. “It is always nice when you reach a good result at home so you can go to another country prepared. It is nice to finish everything in the first game.

“Having said that, the team is made of players who came from the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and they are very technical and strong.”

Hearts will know they have done their job efficiently when NK Siroki Brijeg enjoy their 15 minutes of fame and slip off back to obscurity.

Taken from the Sunday Herald