It’s the biggest European tie Easter Road has hosted since … well, that’s where the debate begins. No matter your vintage or your understanding of Hibernian history, though, few dispute that this Europa Conference League play-off against Legia Warsaw deserves its place in the pantheon of enormous contests across the ages.
Where does it rank, in the long and illustrious story of a club celebrating its 150th anniversary year? There’s little point in listing games in a strict order, given how much football has changed over the decades. But, certainly in the modern era, this contest with formidable-but-beatable opposition holds the potential to be one of the great experiences for Hibs fans.
In Edinburgh on Thursday night, and then in the Polish capital a week later, David Gray’s men have the chance to become the first side to reach the group stage/league phase of European football since UEFA did away with the old straight knock-out format for their club competitions. That, in itself, elevates this far above the norm for a side who still revel in their historic status as European pioneers.
And to those who say that, well, Hibs reached the exact same stage of the European Conference League a couple of seasons ago? With all due respect, and bearing in mind how much fun everyone had in Birmingham, drawing Aston Villa put a full stop to all hope and ambition for a team who would lose their manager in between the first and second legs of that one-sided 8-0 aggregate loss.
This feels different. Because Hibs have more than a fighting chance to get past Legia. And, yes, because it’s hard to remember a more exciting time to be an Easter Road regular.
Because it’s ‘Sir’ David Gray at the helm. Because of how hard the start to his managerial career was. Because he came through the fire tempered and strengthened harder than steel. And because they’ve had to do things the hard way, since Aberdeen’s shock Scottish Cup victory over Treble-chasing Celtic robbed them of guaranteed league phase football as a prize for finishing third in the Scottish Premiership.
As another Easter Road sell-out looms, with fans no doubt happy that at least this big European night CAN’T go to extra time, let’s take a look back at some of the truly great contests – home and abroad – in the history of Hibs.
1. Where it all began – Hibs v Rot-Weiss Essen
There’s a reason why Hibs invited the German lower-league side to play in a special match (pictured) kicking off this 150th anniversary year. They were the first European opposition faced by the Hibees when they became the first British club to compete in the inaugural European Cup back in season 1955-56. A comfortable 5-1 aggregate win over the Germans saw Hibs on their way. | SNS Group
2. European Cup semi-final heartbreak
After beating Essen, with Eddie Turnbull becoming the first British player to score in European competition, Hibs made it past Djurgarden in the quarter-finals. In a vastly smaller competition unrecognisable to the modern fan, that put them into the last four. They lost 2-0 to mighty Reims, inspired by Raymond Kopa – generally held to be the third best French footballer of all time, behind Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane – at the Parc des Princes in Paris. That defeat didn’t prevent 45,000 turning out to Easter Road for the return leg on a midweek night in April 56, with the French – who would lose to Real Madrid in the final - running out 1-0 winners. | AFP via Getty Images
3. A love affair with the Fairs Cup
The precursor to the UEFA Cup, now the Europa League/Conference League, proved a joyous competition for Hibs during the 1960s. Nobody was complaining, certainly, following an astonishing 7-6 aggregate win over Barcelona in the quarter-finals in the spring of 1961. For the record, Hibs drew 4-4 in the Nou Camp before winning 3-2 in front of around 50,000 fans back at Easter Road. That set up a semi-final against AS Roma. Which is where it got really interesting. | TSPL Photo: National World
4. Two games in the Eternal City
After a 2-2 draw at Easter Road and a 3-3 draw at the Stadio Olimpico, and with the away goals rule not yet a factor, Hibs and Roma were forced to do it all over again in a one-legged play-off back in Rome a month later in the spring/summer of '61. They lost 6-0. And so they ended another European season as losing semi-finalists. Not the worst fate … Hibs would go on to reach the quarter-finals twice again before the decade was out. Photo: Unknown