Slovan Bratislava ready for Champions League battle against Europe’s giants

Slovan Bratislava will face some of Europe’s biggest names in the 2024/2025 Champions League group stage, including Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb, Celtic, VfB Stuttgart and Girona.

The draw, held on Thursday in Monte Carlo, sets the stage for a thrilling campaign, with Slovan’s first match scheduled for September 18, writes Sportnet, The Slovak Spectator’s sister publication.

Slovan’s manager, Vladimír Weiss, expressed his excitement: “We’re up against arguably the strongest team, Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola at the helm. It’s something I’m really looking forward to.” Weiss added that several of his players’ wishes had been fulfilled by the draw. One such player, Juraj “Kuco” Kucka, is particularly excited to face AC Milan.

“I know a lot of people at the club and still have friends there,” said Kucka, who played for the Rossoneri ('red and blacks', AC Milan's club colours) from 2015 to 2017.

(source: UEFA Champions League)

Weiss’s son, Vladimír Weiss Jr., along with winger Róbert Mak, is eager for the challenge of facing Manchester City, where both developed in their youth careers. The manager also highlighted Marko Tolić’s upcoming clash with Dinamo Zagreb as a personal highlight, given the Croatian midfielder’s connections to his home country.

“That will definitely be an extra source of motivation for him,” said Weiss.

This season’s Champions League introduces a new format, expanding the group stage to 36 teams from the previous 32. Consequently, the number of matches will increase from 125 to 189. Slovan Bratislava will play home games against Manchester City, AC Milan, Dinamo Zagreb, and VfB Stuttgart, while they will travel to face Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Girona, and Celtic.

(source: UEFA Champions League)

“We’re heading to some of the biggest and most beautiful stadiums out there. We’re in for the best atmosphere in the world – Celtic Park is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s absolutely unreal,” said Weiss.

Slovan’s path to the Champions League was hard-fought, beginning with a first qualifying round victory over FK Struga of North Macedonia (4-2, 1-3). They followed that up by knocking out NK Celje of Slovenia (1-1, 5-0) and edging past Cypriot side APOEL (2-0, 0-0) in the third round. In the playoff round, after a 1-1 draw at FC Midtjylland, Slovan triumphed 3-2 in the return leg at Tehelné Pole in Bratislava on Wednesday night.

The Slovak champions will play one match against each of their group stage opponents, with points tallied in a massive 36-team table. The top 24 teams will progress to the knockout rounds in the spring. The top 8 automatically advance, while teams placed 9th to 24th will compete in a playoff for a place in the Round of 16.