Borca’s footballers will have the opportunity to raise the bar of success in the history of the Banja Luka club even higher today at 18:45, as they face Rapid Vienna at the Allianz Stadium in Vienna.
“There is no pressure on us, the pressure is on Rapid,” said Borac’s head coach, Mladen Žižović, ahead of the second-leg match in the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16.
Žižović is right—the Banja Luka team has already achieved the greatest success in the club’s history and can play tonight without pressure, yet with courage and determination, giving them a realistic chance to reach the quarter-finals.
There is no doubt that the Austrian team is the favorite, as reflected in the betting odds (Rapid win 1.45, draw 4.40, Borac win 7.50). However, football is played “11 against 11,” and favorites on paper do not always win, which is exactly why football is the most popular sport in the world.
Rapid’s coach, Robert Klaus, has urged caution, announcing an attacking approach to minimize Borac’s chances, as the red-and-blues are known for making the most of even the smallest opportunities.
The stakes are high—not only financially (€1.3 million) but also in terms of a favorable potential quarter-final opponent, with Swedish side Djurgården or Cypriot club Pafos (first leg 0:1). The winner of the Vienna clash will have a decent chance of making it to the final stages of the Conference League, which would be a true sensation.
This would be an extraordinary achievement, not just for Borac, who could only dream of such success until now, but also for Rapid, which last reached the final eight of a European competition nearly three decades ago. In 1996, they played in the final of the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup, just as they did 11 years earlier.
We sincerely hope that it will be the red-and-blues from Banja Luka advancing—if they show courage, as the saying goes, fortune favors the brave!
The main referee for Thursday night’s match in Vienna will be Dutchman Allard Lindhout, assisted by linesmen Roger Honig and Johan Balder. The fourth official is Sander van der Eijk, while the VAR room will be manned by Clay Ruperti and Ingmar Östrom, also from the Netherlands.
Unfortunately, Borac’s fans will not be in the stands due to a UEFA ban, meaning no one wearing the club’s colors will be allowed inside the stadium. However, we hope that our people living in Austria have managed to buy tickets and will provide support for Žižović’s team.
Source: Atv
