Wouter Vrancken’s side will face some big names in the UEFA Europa Conference League this season including Mo Salah’s Trabzonspor.
The draw for this season’s UEFA Europa Conference League has been made with Hearts learning the six teams they will take on over the course of the League Phase.
The Jambos are set to come up against some very recognisable names over the next few months as they face clubs from France, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Switzerland and more. They are also set to come up against some very recognisable individual names including ex Liverpool, Barcelona and Chelsea superstars.
Wouter Vrancken’s side will play three matches at home and three away during between now and December while hoping to do enough to secure a spot in the next round. Here is a brief profile of all six clubs including their current head coaches and star players:
Monaco
The pot one side that Hearts will face are French giants Monaco who are eight-time Ligue 1 winners with their most recent title coming back in 2017. They finished seventh in the French top flight last season to qualify for this tournament. Les Monégasques are currently managed by former Brazil defender Filipe Luís who they appointed from Flamengo last month. He replaced the new Scotland national team boss Sébastien Pocognoli in the hot seat at the Stade Louis II.
There should be plenty of recognisable names in the line-up when they travel to Tynecastle including former Spurs and England defender Eric Dier, USA national team star Folarin Balogun and ex Motherwell forward Mika Biereth. Their team is packed full of international superstars but probably the biggest dangerman will be winger Ansu Fati, the Spanish international who burst onto the scene at Barcelona as a teenager and is looking to revitalise his promising career with the French club now 23-years-old.
Pafos
Hearts will travel to take on the side who were recently crowned Cypriot Cup winners. Managed by former Portugal international and Sporting CP boss Ricardo Sá Pinto, they finished fourth in the Cypriot First Division last season, having won the league title the previous year, and secured their spot in this competition by beating Apollon Limassol in the cup final, then Dinamo City of Albania in the Conference League play-off round. They lost to RB Salzburg in the Europa League third qualifying round.
Former Aberdeen loan keeper Jay Gorter is on their books but is back-up to Poland cap Radosław Majecki who is on loan from Hearts other opponents Monaco. They are captained by Romanian international midfielder Vlad Dragomir but their most recognisable face is ex PSG, Chelsea and Arsenal centre back David Luiz who is still going strong at 39-years-old.
Borac
FK Borac Banja Luka are the reigning champions of Bosnia and Herzegovina having won their fourth title last season. They dropped into the Conference League after losing a Champions League qualifier to Levski Sofia and beat Hearts previous European opponents Petrocub Hîncești as well as ML Vitebsk and Víkingur Reykjavík to reach the league phase.
Their head coach is 55-year-old Vinko Marinović and their star player is striker Luka Juričić who was the top scorer in last season’s Bosnian Premier League with 25 goals. They aren’t a side filled with immediately recognisable names but experienced midfielder Anderson Esiti has played for some big European clubs including Gent, Ferencvaros and PAOK. He has three caps for Nigeria to his name.
Trabzonspor
Liverpool icon Mo Salah signed for the Turkish side this summer after a legendary career with Liverpool where he scored 257 goals in 442 appearances. He is quite simply one of the most recognisable players on the planet and still has plenty to offer at 34-years-old which he showed with a brace against Basaksehir last weekend.
Also on the books at Papara Park, the 40,000 plus capacity stadium where Hearts will travel to, is Salah’s ex Anfield teammate and Brazilian international defender Fabinho. They also have a host of Turkish internationals as well as on loan Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana to name just a few.
Managed by their former player Fatih Tekke, they finished third in the Super Lig last season. They lost to Ferencvaros in the Europa League play-off round to drop into the Conference League.
Nordsjaelland
FC Nordsjaelland finished third in the Danish Super Liga last season and beat GAIS, Balur and St Gallen in the qualifying rounds to reach the league phase of this year’s Conference League. They have faced Scottish opponents once before in Europe, beating Queen of the South in the Second Qualifying Round of the 2006/07 UEFA Cup in the Doonhamers only ever European tie.
Their head coach is 51-year-old Jens Fonsskov Olsen and Egyptian international winger Ibrahim Adel is a technically gifted player who Hearts will need to watch out for. They also have Norwegian international Ola Solbakken on the other wing so it could be a tough night for the Jambos’ full-backs at Tynecastle.
Thun
The final team Hearts have been drawn against are FC Thun who, despite being the lowest ranked of their opponents, are in fact the reigning Swiss Super League champions having lifted their first ever title last season. The Jambos will travel to the 10,000 capacity Stockhorn Arena to face them.
Head coach Gian-Luca Privitelli’s side lost to Lech Poznan in the Europa League play-off round to drop into the Conference League. Former Fulham midfielder Mattias Kait is an experienced international campaigner with 66 caps for Estonia while 20-year-old striker Riccardo Braschi, signed this summer from Fiorentina, is a promising looking Italian youth international and Martinique forward Brighton Labeau has previously played for the likes of EA Guingamp and Union SG.