FCK draw Lille in Champions League playoff

FC Copenhagen will play LOSC Lille of France for a place in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. The draw was made at 12:00 CET in Nyon and is the last phase of qualifying for the tournament.

Pitted in the group of non-champions, Copenhagen could have faced Udinese, Fenerbahce, Borussia Monchengladbach or Málaga CF, but came out last in the draw against Lille.

The first leg will be played in PARKEN on 21 or 22 August, with the reverse tie in France a week later.

Lions head coach Ariel Jacobs spoke to FCK.dk after the draw to offer his opinions on what is set to be a tough test against Lille:

- Despite their name, Lille are a big club and tough opponent. I know about them because the city is located just 100km from my hometown, and because they have a long history of Belgian players.

- It is a hard-working club that was rewarded with the French championship two years ago and can now call themselves a permanent fixture at the top of the French league. But there is good confidence in our squad and we believe that we can take our opportunity to get into the group stage.

Jacobs’ position is also reflected in captain Lars Jacobsen, who stated:

- It’s a big challenge and we will have two very tough matches. Lille are certainly not our dream opponents, but it will be an interesting task. I believe it is possible for us, but they are stronger and better than Club Bruges, and therefore it will be even harder to progress. Their domestic league is only just about to start and this is one of the things that might be an advantage for us.

Copenhagen will start at home and then play a return match in Lille. For Jacobs, the apparent disadvantage of playing away in the second leg is not something he is worried about:

- We can take things from our successful experience against Club Bruges that we can use when we face Lille. These are two cities close to each other geographically, and we’ve now good experience of what to expect. So it does not bother me that we start at home in PARKEN.

Jacobsen agrees:

- At home one can start with a positive result, and it can provide useful and necessary self-confidence with a tough away game to follow. So I don’t see starting at home as a drawback. Our own experience shows in fact that it is probably closer to the contrary.