Steaua or Shelbourne in the qualifyers
By Thomas Myren, 31 July 2005, 01:07
Rosenborg will face either Steaua Bucuresti of Romania or Shelbourne of Ireland in the 3rd qualifying round to the UEFA Champions League.
SC Fotbal Club Steaua
Established: 7 June 1947
Hometown: Bucharest, Romania
Homeground: Stadionul Ghencea
Capacity: 27,063
Kit colour: All red
Honours: Champion Clubs' Cup (1986), 22 league and 20 cup championships
Head coach: Oleg Protasov
Topscorer 2004/05: Nicolae Marius Dica (18 goals on 30 matches)
Established: 1895
Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Homeground: Tolka Park
Capacity: 9,700
Kit colours: Red shirts, white shorts
Honours: 12 league and 7 cup championships
Head coach: Pat Fenlon
Topscorer 2004: Jason Byrne (25 goals on 36 matches)
The first leg match between the two clubs ended 0-0. Steaua are therefore clear favourites in front of the return match in Romania on Wednesday.
"I think Steaua Bucuresti will be our oppoent, but we anyway will get an opponent we are able to cope with. We could have drawn much harder opposition," Rosenborg head coach Per Joar Hansen tells Trondheim daily Adresseavisen.
Knocked out Valencia Steaua were finalists in the former European Champion Club's Cup in both 1986 and 1989 - won the first of these two finals on penalites against Barcelona, but have been up and down in Europe the last years.
Last season Steaua however had a really good campaign in the UEFA Cup, going through from a hard group including Parma, Besiktas, Athletic Bilbao and Standard Liege, before knocking out Valencia in the 3rd round. In the 4th round Villareal proved stronger.
Old acquaintance Shelbourne is not a new name for Rosenborg. The Irish were opponents in the 2nd qualifying round to the Champions League in the summer of 2000. RBK won comfortablely 3-1 in Dublin, but played just 1-1 in the return match in Trondheim.
While Steaua entered the 2nd qualifying round this week, Shelbourne also had to get through the 1st round. There they won 6-2 on aggregate to Glentoran of Northern Ireland.
RBK have control Rosenborg scouts were in fact present in Dublin at the 0-0 match between Shels and Steaua on Wednesday. This because RBK thought it would be difficult getting video pictures from this match if this pair should turn up to be the result of the draw. The flight ticket to Dublin did consequently prove to be well spent money.
RBK now plan to be ringside at the Romanian Supercup final between Steaua and Dinamo Bucuresti on Sunday, and of course at the return match between Steaua and Shelbourne on Wednesday.
Rosenborg are set to play the 1st leg away on Wednesday 10 August, while the 2nd leg at Lerkendal is set to be played Tuesday 23 August.
Full draw
Basel - Werder Bremen
Artmedia/Celtic - Partizan/Sheriff
Shaktar Donetsk - Inter Milan
Shelbourne/Steaua Bucuresti - Rosenborg Manchester United - Debrecen/Hajduk Split
Malmö/Maccabi Haifa - Dinamo Kiev/Thun
Everton - Villareal
Kanuas/Liverpool - Tirana/CSCA Sofia
Sporting Lisboa - Udinese
Vålerenga/Haka - Club Brugge Dudelange/Rapid Wien - Rabotnicki/Lokomotiv Moskva
Anderlecht/Neftchi - Slavia Praha
Anorthosis/Trabzonspor - Glasgow Rangers
Dinamo Tbilisi/Brøndby - Ajax
Wisla Krakow - Panathinaikos
Real Betis - Monaco
