In difficulty this season in the league, Mainz is having a good time on the European scene. Last night, Urs Fischer’s men won 2-0 against the Czechs from Sigma Olomouc and thus reached the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League. A first in the history of the club.
Defender Danny da Costa, who had some great European evenings with Eintracht Frankfurt, perfectly understands what this kind of qualification means:
“It’s beautiful, because we have achieved something historic and because we all dream of playing in this final which will take place in Leipzig this year. We have taken another step towards this final, and that is the most important thing tonight”he declared after the meeting.
In the next round, Mainz will face Strasbourg. Elsewhere, Rayo Vallecano will face AEK Athens, Crystal Palace will play Fiorentina, while Shakhtar Donetsk will play against AZ Alkmaar.
Friborg qualifies in style
Another historic qualification, but in the Europa League this time: that of SC Fribourg. After a narrow 1-0 defeat in Belgium last week, the Friborg team turned things around and won 5-1 against RC Genk. The joy was palpable in the words of midfielder Vincenzo Grifo after the match:
“We felt all the energy that the fans gave us from the warm-up. The supporters told us that they would support us from the first to the last second. That’s what makes Friborg such a special club”declared the Italian international (9 caps).
“We celebrated much more than usual because everyone deserves it here. It was a magical evening during which we wrote a beautiful page for the club.”
Stuttgart remains at the dock
In the quarter-finals, Friborg will face Celta Vigo, defeaters of Olympique Lyonnais.
On the other hand, it did not work for VfB Stuttgart, who lost 2-0 against FC Porto, 4-1 over the two matches. Porto who will face Nottingham Forest. For its part, Aston Villa will play against Bologna. Finally, Bétis Sevilla will play against Braga.
The quarter-finals of these two competitions are scheduled for April 9 and 16.
