Siroki content to be underdogs

THE news that Hearts have sold in excess of 20,000 tickets for tonight's Champions League qualifying match will have represented a sobering piece of information as far as opponents HNK Siroki Brijeg are concerned.

The town from which the club hail in northern Herzegovina has little over 25,000 inhabitants, roughly the equivalent of Rutherglen. Yet unlike debutants Hearts, they can count on Champions League experience. Two summers ago Siroki Brijeg were eliminated by Azerbaijani opponents PFC Neftchi in the Champions League first qualifying round after having won the Bosnia-Herzogovinan Premier League for the first time. Last season they lifted the title again, confirming themselves as the dominant force in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The team, from a predominantly Croat area of Herzegovina, arrived from Split yesterday morning and spent last night training at Murrayfield stadium, an arena that dwarfs their own Pecara stadium in both reputation and capacity. But manager Ivica Barbaric was not overly impressed, and said he preferred the old-style Tynecastle, where he played for Velez Mostar in a UEFA Cup tie against Hearts back in 1988.

"It is definitely a good stadium," he said with reference to Murrayfield. "I have seen it many times on television. It is impressive, but I played in Spain where there are some equally impressive stadiums. I played against Hearts in 1988, when we lost 3-0 at Tynecastle and won 2-1 away. I was very impressed with the old stadium, and the specific British style of it."

Defenders Mijo Studenovic and Branimir Anic have warned Hearts against falling prey to any notions of superiority, and have referred their hosts back a year to Artmedia Bratislava's humbling of Celtic at the same stage. The Parkhead side kicked off Gordon Strachan's reign in the most inglorious way possible by winning the first leg 5-0. While Celtic clawed back four goals in the return they still fell one goal short of taking the tie into extra-time, and exited Europe with the domestic season having barely begun.

"These days in European football any team can surprise another, so maybe we can do what Artmedia did to Celtic last season," said Studenovic. "In the InterToto Cup Maribor won their game against Villarreal and this was a big surprise. I hope we can do our best and cause a similar upset. I read in the newspapers that Hearts won 2-0 against Osasuna last week and this was a good result for them. We will have to be at our best."

Anic echoed this theme: "Hearts are the favourites, as they are the bigger club. We are a small club but we hope to play well here and be positive."

The Herzegovinan side earned the right to face Hearts after winning through against Belarussian side Shaktyor Soligursk and are hoping to do as they did last season when reaching the first round proper of the UEFA Cup after prevailing in two qualifying rounds. This time, though, it is the third qualifying round of the Champions League which acts as the spur, the stage prior to lucrative group involvement. Last year they overcame Albania's KS Teuta and Montenegrin club FK Zeta to reach the first round of the UEFA Cup, where they lost to FC Basel.

Ahead of their Champions League participation the club have been in training for more than six weeks, initially at their Mostarsko Blato base, then in Slovenia and then back in Siroki Brijeg. The club, whose budget is set at £600,000 a year, believe simply getting to Murrayfield and within touching distance of the Champions League constitutes success.

Barbaric said he was a realist, and understands the nature of the challenge ahead. "I respect the fact Hearts are favourites," he said. "They are stronger than us budget-wise, and I also know that Hearts have broken down the Old Firm dominance. We know there are a lot of international players. They have a good goalkeeper, and I admired the left-back Fyssas. I also know Edgaras Jankauskas will be dangerous."

NK Siroki Brijeg, by contrast, have only one international player - Bosnia's Dalibor Silic. "A win tomorrow would be one of the most significant results in Bosnia-Herzegovinan history," said Barbaric. "But it would still only be half-time."

Taken from the Daily Record