Hibs possible European opponents profiled after Europa League and Europa Conference League draws
Here is everything you need to know about Fredrikstad FK, Partizan Belgrade and FС Olexandriya.
Hibs will get their latest European adventure underway on Thursday when they face Danish club FC Midtjylland in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie.
David Gray’s men will hope to take the first steps in building on the momentum gained by last season’s third place finish in the Premiership table by laying the foundations for progress with a win at Midtjylland’s MCH Arena before finishing the job at Easter Road seven days later.
No matter what comes to pass in the tie, Gray and his players will extend their European journey as victory over two legs would secure progress into the third qualifying round and defeat would bring a place in the same stage of the Europa Conference League.
Monday brought confirmation of who would provide Hibs’ opponents in the third qualifying round of UEFA’s secondary and tertiary club competitions - and here is the rundown on the three possible opponents in the next step of their European adventure.
Europa League
Fredrikstad (Norway)
Manager
The Aristokratene (The Aristocrats) are currently managed by 39-year-old Andreas Hagen. The former Jerv and Viborg midfielder ended his playing career with Fredrikstad and returned to the club as assistant manager in 2023 before making a permanent step into the main role in the dugout 12 months. Hagen guided the club into the Norwegian Cup Final in December last year and they lifted the trophy for the eleventh time with a penalty shoot-out win against Molde.
Star Player
Ghanian star Maxwell Woledzi has become a key player within the Fredrikstad side since he joined the club on a free transfer during the summer of 2023 following a spell with Portuguese side Vitória Guimarães. Since making that switch, the versatile defender has made over 70 appearances and has appeared in a number of positions during that time.
Stadium
The Aristokratene have player their home games at the Fredrikstad Stadion since 2007 after spending the previous 93 years at the old stadium of the same name. Their current home has a capacity of around 12,560 and has played host to several Norway Under-21 internationals and an Elton John concert in the past.
Trophy history
Last December’s Norwegian Cup Final win against Molde ensured Fredrikstad joined Odds BK as the joint most successful club in the history of the competition. They are also nine-time winners of the Eliteserien (top tier) - although their last title win came way back in 1961 and they have won the second tier title on one occasion.
European record
Fredrikstad’s European record is modest at best as they have suffered defeats at the first hurdle in nine of their ten ventures into continental competition. Their last European adventure was ended by Polish side Lech Poznan as they inflicted a 7-3 aggregate defeat on Fredrikstad in the third qualifying round of the 2009/10 Europa League. Significantly, Fredrikstad’s solitary European win came with a 4-0 aggregate victory over Dutch giants Ajax in the 1060/61 European Cup - although their adventure came to an end with a 4-0 defeat against Danish side AGF Aarhus in the following round.
Europa Conference League
Oleksandriya (Ukraine)
Oleksandriya Manager
Oleksandriya’s head coach is 33-year-old Kyrylo Nesterenko, who has been in coaching since 2015 after his playing career was cut short by two unsuccessful surgeries on a cruciate ligament injury. After spending time in the youth setup at Stal Kamianske, he moved into an assistant manager at the same club before moving on to Shakhter Karagandy, Caspiy and Levski Sofia. However, Oleksandriya have provided him with a first chance as a head coach following his appointment earlier this year.
Oleksandriya Star Player
Ukrainian clubs have a history of signing Brazilian players and Oleksandriya are no different. Former Vasco da Gama winger Juan Alvina is a prime example and the 22-year-old has impressed after providing 18 goal contributions in 39 appearances since joining the club September 2023.
Oleksandriya Stadium
Oleksandriya’s home is the 7,000 capacity Nika Stadium, which they have called home since 1998. However, due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, their home matches in the Conference League will be held at the GKS Katowice Stadium in Katowice, Poland, which has a capacity of around 6,700.
Oleksandriya Trophy history
In terms of major honours, Oleksandriya are two-time winners of the Ukrainian First League (second tier) and one-time winners of the Second League (third tier).
Oleksandriya European record
Oleksandriya have four three previous ventures into European competition. Their maiden campaign ended at the first hurdle with a 6-1 aggregate defeat in a Europa League third qualifying round tie against Croatian side Hadjuk Split in 2016 before they saw off Romanian club Astra Giurgiu at the same stage of the same competition 12 months later. A play-off round defeat against BATE Borisov ended any thoughts of a place in the group stage of the Europa League.
However, that would be Oleksandriya’s destination in the 2019/20 Europa League as they claimed three points from a tough-looking group containing Wolfsburg, Gent and Saint-Etienne. That meant the Ukrainians ended the campaign at the foot of their group.
Partizan Belgrade
Partizan Belgrade Manager
Partizan’s manager is the vastly experienced Srđan Blagojević, who has spent time in charge of the likes of Astana, Debrecen and Kovačevac during a 17-year career in the dugout. He was named as Partizan manager earlier this year.
Partizan Belgrade Star Player
Ghana winger Ibrahim Zubairu is Partizan’s danger man and he has scored 11 goals and provided four assists in 34 appearances since joining from second tier side FK Jedinstvo during the summer of 2024.
Partizan Belgrade Stadium
The Partizan Stadium has a capacity of 29,775 for matches but can be increased to 40,000 for concerts. It has hosted the Serbian on several occasions with the last coming in 2017 as Partizan claimed a notable win over arch rivals Red Star.
Partizan Belgrade Trophy history
Working back through their entire history, Partizan were 11-time winners of the Yugoslav First League and added a further 16 First League of FR Yugoslavia, First League of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbian Superliga titles over the last 32 years. There have won 16 national cups over the last 80 years and one solitary Yugoslav Super Cup in 1989.
Partizan Belgrade European record
Partizan are regular competitors in Europe and actually came close to winning the European Cup (now Champions League) in 1966 as they suffered a narrow 2-1 final defeat against an all-conquering Real Madrid side containing the likes of the legendary Paco Gento and Ramon Grosso. Partizan also reached the quarter-final of UEFA’s premier cup competition on two occasions during the previous decade and reached the last eight of the Cup Winners Cup in 1990. However, progress to the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup, Europa League and Europa Conference League has been their best performance since then. Partizan have inflicted two European exits on Newcastle United, beating the Magpies on away goals in the Cup Winners Cup in 1998 before claiming a penalty shoot-out win at St James Park in the second leg of a Champions League qualifier five years later.
Your next Hibernian read: Hibs star sets European target 11 years after maiden continental adventure and two missed chances