Champions League
Profiles of Dinamo Zagreb and Astana, potential opponents of AEK in the third qualifying round of the Champions League
The lottery brought one from Dinamo Zagreb or Astana to AEK, and Sportish brings you profile of Union’s two potential opponents.
AEK found out their opponent’s pairing in the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League and it will be Dinamo Zagreb or Astana. The first game will take place on August 8th or 9th at the OPAP Arena and the second on August 15th away. Let’s look at a few things about each team.
Dinamo Zagreb profile
One of the top teams in Croatia, if not the top, with a lot of good football players, AEK will find it on the way Dinamo Zagreb was founded in 1911, is blue and white in color and plays at the 35,000-seat “Maximir” in the Croatian capital has won 68 titles.
There are 24 Croatian leagues, more than any other team, 16 cups, more than any other team, 8 super cups, 2 independent Croatian leagues, 1 independent Croatian cup, 9 Yugoslav leagues and 9 Yugoslav cups.
The team’s coach is an old acquaintance in Greek football as Igor Biskan, who played at Panathinaikos, runs the club, while last year’s champions Croatia have a star-studded squad.
Josip Sutalo, the Croatia centre-back, is among the top players in the squad along with Dinamo midfielder Martin Baturina and Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who has a market value of €12m and has been linked with several clubs over the summer.
In 1961, Dinamo reached the semi-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup, losing to Fiorentina, while in 2021 they reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League, losing to Villarreal.
The Croatian league started last weekend and Dinamo hosted Hajduk Split and suffered a 2-1 defeat.
This won’t be the first time AEK have run into an opponent, as the two sides faced each other in September 1964. On September 9, 1964, AEK won 2-0 in New Philadelphia with goals from Papaioannou and Nestoridis, marking the Union’s first European victory. However, the “Yellow-Blacks” failed to qualify as they were defeated 3-0 in Croatia.
In Europe, too, they met Olympiakos in three different seasons, in 1977 in the UEFA Cup first round, where they progressed 5-1 and 1-3 (6-4), in 1998 in the Champions League groups, where they lost 2-0 at OAKA and drew 1-1 in Croatia, and in 2015 in the Champions League groups, where they lost twice, 1-0 and 2-1 .
In 2010 he played with PAOK in the Europa League groups and suffered two 1-0 defeats.
Astana’s profile
Astana, on the other hand, was only founded in 2009, wears the colors yellow and blue and plays in the “Astana Arena”, which has a capacity of 30,000 spectators. He won the championship in Kazakhstan seven times and the cup three more times.
In this year’s championship, which is still in full swing, they are second after 17 games and with 12 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses they are 3 behind leaders Ordabasi.
Their coach is Kazakh Grigory Bambarian, while their squad is mostly made up of local players. From there, Gambian striker Debo Darboe, on loan from Al Nasr, Belarusian midfielder Max Ebong of Cameroonian descent, Armenian international Varazdat Haroyan and Skopje defender Aleksa Amanovic stand out.
She is not unknown to the Greek public as she faced Olympiakos in the Europa League group stage in 2016, lost 4-1 in Faliro and drew 1-1 in Kazakhstan, while in 2021 she faced Aris in the second qualifying round of the Conference League and eliminated them by winning the first game 2-0 and losing the second leg 2-1 in overtime.
Source: Sport 24
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Former coach of Dynamo Kiev Alexander Showkovsky He should have been sacked in August after a poor performance in the Champions League qualifiers.
The blue-whites, who lost twice to Cypriot Paphos in the 3rd round of the European Cup (0:1 and 0:2), were relegated to the Europa League and then promoted to the Conference League.
“I know that Dinamo management believes that a change of coach could and should be made in the summer, after they lost to Paphos in the Champions League qualifiers.
Then an opportunity arose. But the necessary candidate was not available,” the source said.
Due to the lack of alternatives, the president of the Kiev club decided to leave Shovkovsky as head coach, but in November the Ukrainian specialist was nevertheless fired and left Dynamo.
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.
We continue to examine the future of Donetsk shakhtar To buy tickets directly to the main stage Champions League 2026/27.
This will be possible if the place reserved for the team that wins the Champions League trophy is redistributed.
All important moments of the match are available in LIVE mode Telegram Sport.ua
Donetsk Miner They are in fourth place with a coefficient of 50.250 among the clubs competing for a possible position at the heart of the Champions League.
In the last European week, the Donetsk club added +2.625 points. This increase was achieved with a 0-0 draw with Croatian Rijeka in the 6th round of the Conference League and a sixth place in the main round final table.
Main rival Greek Olympiacos – 56,500 points remaining. The Miners can regain the 6,250-point lead if they perform well in the spring part of the European Cups.
It is interesting that Shakhtar lost the first place in the UPL (Cherkasy has the same number of points as LNZ – 35 points each), and Olympiacos lost the lead in Greece to the AEK team (36 points against 37). Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk plays for the team of the city of Piraeus.
Positions rangers (59,250), 4th in Scotland and Copenhagen (53.375), placed 5th in Denmark, looks less competitive in the rankings due to its position in the national championships. Leader only in championships Dinamo Zagreb And RB Salzburg (44,000 each) but there is no certainty that the turn will come.
Let us remind you that if the cup holder buys a ticket to the Champions League through the national championship, there will be a vacancy in the main squad in the 2026/27 Champions League. In this case, a balance will arise again and if Shakhtar wins the UPL and is ahead of Olympiacos in the UEFA club rankings (or the Greek club does not become the champion of Greece), it can get a direct ticket to the base of the Champions League.
If the Piraeus team is higher in the rankings and takes advantage of the available space, the Donetsk club will start from the 4th quarter of the Champions League, not the 2nd quarter, in case they win in the UPL.
Candidates for direct tickets to the Champions League 2026/27 main stage
(In case the quota reserved for the Champions League champion becomes vacant)
UEFA Club Rankings 2026
infographics
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.
Champions League
Pedri commented on the new format of the Champions League: An unexpected look from a football player
Barcelona midfielder pedri He answered the question about his attitude towards the new format of the Champions League with the general group stage.
“Do I like the new format of the Champions League? I can’t say with 100% certainty which format I like more: this one or the previous one?”
If I have to choose, I will do something new: There were more matches between strong teams in the first stage,” said Pedri, as quoted by Esquire.
Before the 2024/2025 season, the group stage of the Champions League consisted of eight groups of four clubs each. All participants played six matches in their respective foursomes, home and away, against each of the three opponents.
From the 2024/2025 season, a new Champions League format comes into force with a common group stage of 36 clubs; each participant plays eight matches, four away and four at home; The opponents are determined by lot.”
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.
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