Hearts learn their Champions League opponents as UEFA draw hands them a tough tie
European campaign at Tynecastle starts in July
Hearts were handed a difficult tie in the Champions League's second qualifying round today when they were drawn to face Austrian club Sturm Graz. The Edinburgh club knew they would face either Turkish giants Fenerbahce or Sturm, and UEFA paired them with the Austrians at this morning's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
The first leg is due to take place on 21/22 July, with the return leg on 28/29 July. UEFA say final dates for both legs should be confirmed within the next 24 hours and fans are encouraged not to book any travel until then. Sturm finished second in the Austrian Bundesliga this season, losing out on the title to LASK Linz by two points. They will be a tough opponent, although Hearts will be relieved to have avoided Fenerbahce in the draw.
Sturm confirmed on Tuesday that they can host Champions League qualifiers at their own ground this summer. The Liebenauer Stadium - renamed the Merkur Arena through sponsorship - was undergoing renovation work which was not expected to be finished until the end of July. The Austrians had anticipated playing their first home European match in Klagenfurt, 83 miles south of Graz. Sturm staged last season’s Champions League qualifying tie against Bodo/Glimt there, but they have now announced that they can stage the game at home after all. The Liebenauer has a capacity of 16,364.
Sturm are guaranteed to provide an extremely stern test for Hearts. Their squad contains numerous established international players, including Georgian midfielder Otar Kiteishvili, Bosnian defender Arjan Malic, and Polish cap Filip Rozga. Head coach Fabio Ingolitsch is regarded as one of Austria’s brightest managers at the age of 34. He began coaching 10 years ago as injury curtailed his playing career and took charge of Sturm midway through last season. The club made it to the league phase of this season’s Europa League but narrowly missed out on a knockout play-off place by finishing 26th in the table. They beat Rangers 2-1 in Graz and lost 2-1 against Celtic in Glasgow during the campaign.
Hearts are back involved in Europe's premier club competition for the first time in 20 years. They finished second in this season's Premiership after narrowly missing out on the title and will play in the Champions League qualifiers for the first time since 2006. They will first appoint a new head coach, with Derek McInnes having agreed to join Rangers on a three-year deal after overseeing this year's title challenge.
Hearts have an element of security for their Champions League adventure which will offer fans and directors some comfort as they await daunting ties. If Hearts manage to progress to the Champions League’s third qualifying round and lose at that stage, they would drop directly into the league phase of the Europa League. That would be worth around £8m to £10m in revenue.
Defeat in the Champions League second qualifying round would see Hearts parachute into the Europa League’s third qualifying round. Again, they would be unseeded and would come up against a difficult opponent. Benfica of Portugal, Czech side Viktoria Plzen, Midtjylland from Denmark, Greek giant PAOK Salonika would all be seeds, assuming they progress from the second qualifying round. Austrians Red Bull Salzburg are already there as a seed. Hearts lost to both Plzen and PAOK in European competition in 2024 and 2023 respectively.
There is no guarantee of league-stage European football for Hearts this year. They enter the Champions League second qualifying round and, if they lose at that stage, they are given a parachute down into the Europa League third qualifying round. Defeat in the Europa League third qualifying round carries a second parachute into the Conference League play-off round. However, that would be the critical point for the Edinburgh club. A win would take them into the Conference League’s league phase, but defeat would see Hearts exit European competition before the end of August.