FC Differdange 03 were involved in their maiden UEFA Champions League tie as champions around the continent have kicked off in their quest to secure a place among Europe’s finest. The Luxembourgers faced an early setback, however, losing 2-0 to Faroese champions KÍ.
Before the Champions League draw was conducted in Nyon last month, Differdange’s situation was clear: win the first tie, and they could get within one round of a European group stage, the first such occurrence since F91 Dudelange entered the Europa League in 2020. In the event of a loss in their opening match-up, though, and they would be required to win all three remaining battles in the Europa Conference League, which looks borderline insurmountable at first glance.
The draw pitted FCD against one of last season’s biggest underdogs in the continent in Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag, who knocked out the Hungarian and Swedish champions respectively en route to the Europa Conference League, where they also recorded a win against Olimpija Ljubljana.
As a non-seeded team, Differdange had no real chances of getting an inferior opponent. In light of that, Klaksvík sounded one of the more favourable opponents for Pedro Resende’s team, despite the apparent coefficient gap.
The Luxembourgish delegation embarked on their journey to the picturesque Faroe Islands on Monday morning, and after a connecting flight in Copenhagen, they had their first away training session of the season later that day. Gym preparations and team-bonding activities then continued. All new signings were required to come up with a short, spontaneous music performance, much to the sheer delight of the staff and team-mates in attendance.
A video analysis session was held by Resende later that evening, before Tuesday marked the final preparations for the task at hand. On the eve of the game, the team were allowed to train in the stadium the game would be held in. Við Djúpumýrar, the home of Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag, has a synthetic turf, which is an often underestimated game changer for the more inexperienced players out there. For a Differdange team made up of a significant South American/Mediterranean contingent, the concept of playing on anything other than natural grass could seem nothing short of unfathomable.
As it turned out, the grass (or the lack thereof) did have an impact on the team’s performance on Wednesday night, too, the first sign coming as soon as the fourth minute. Experienced goalkeeper Felipe had to ask for the game to be paused in order to switch to a more convenient pair of boots on the tricky playing surface. Astroturf pitches famously require a slightly different type of studs than most players’ boots have, while through balls can often prove too long to reach due to the ball’s reaction to a more even surface.
FCD’s Faroese opponents were naturally suited to the weather conditions and the turf, and it meant much of the difference between the sides on the day. Árni Frederiksberg found the net after a brilliant solo run dazzling the entire Differdange midfield only 10 minutes in, before he added a second from the penalty spot eleven minutes later. Juan Bedouret’s sliding tackle was judged as too harsh by Scottish referee David Munro, and the VAR check brought no changes to the initial decision. The experienced Frederiksberg put the ball away calmly past Felipe’s outstretched arms.
After the interval, Differdange modified their structure from the 5-at-the-back setup that won them the league last season to something more resembling a 4-3-1-2, with full-backs Lucas Pruzzo and Geoffrey Franzoni providing the width and creating a plethora of chances from their crosses.
Through these attacking substitutions, FCD managed to increase the pressure on their opponent and continue to dominate the game, however, they often came up short with their end product. Jorginho, deadly in the BGL Ligue in 2023/24, looked lively and motivated, but his shots let him down. Gustavo Simôes, summer reinforcement up front, looked unremarkable and lacklustre before being taken off after only 45 minutes.
Federico Almada’s introduction in the final few minutes were supposed to provide the spark needed for a breakthrough, but even he struggled to find a way past Mark Jensen in goal, despite his strong physical presence.
Altogether, a performance without any notable individual errors (apart from a few eyebrow-raising decisions from the eccentric Felipe) brought no success. KÍ built their game plan on quick counter-attacks and dogged defending from early on, and it worked flawlessly. For all the FCD possession game and chance creation, much of their attacking intent was completely nullified by the large number of bodies inside the Faroese box at all times.
The 2-0 scoreline paints a pessimistic picture ahead of next Tuesday’s return leg at the Stade Municipal, but with the display Differdange had yesterday, it is far from an impossible ask. While KÍ did an impressive job defending the constant waves of attack this time around, they will find it harder to execute away from home, in vastly different circumstances.
Unless Differdange overthrows a two-goal deficit, they will find themselves in the Europa Conference League’s second qualification round, alongside Progrès Niederkorn. The other two representatives of the Grand Duchy, F91 Dudelange and UNA Strassen, will enter the same competition one round earlier today (Thursday), against Atlétic d’Escaldes and Kuopio PS respectively.
