Who are Cardiff Met’s Europa League opponents Progrès Niederkorn? What you need to know about the Luxembourgian side

After already making history in becoming the first British student-only team to qualify for Europe, the students of Cardiff Metropolitan University will be hoping to make more history on the continent.

The Archers are away for the first leg as they travel to Luxembourg before returning to the South Wales capital for the second leg, a week later, where they’ll be hopeful of remaining in the tie against tough opposition.

For the first time in their current guise, the Met will be able to experience football from another country. 

So with the unknown quantity of Progres Niederkorn, let us guide you through Met’s opponents.

The history of Progrès

The Luxembourg National Division side celebrated their 100th year as an established club this year as they secured Europa League qualification for the third season in succession.

How did they qualify for Europe?

Progres finished fourth in the league campaign en route to qualifying for European football once again under manager Cyril Serredszum.

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Who’s the gaffer?

A day after the preliminary draw had taken place, Roland Vrabec was named as the new manager of Niederkorn.

He’s joined at the Stade Jos Haupert by Olivier Ciancanelli. Ciancanelli was the manager of Progres from 2014 to 2016 and guided them back into European football after a 33-year exile.

Vrabec will be a somewhat known name to followers of Welsh football, as during his spell at FC Vaduz he not only won two Lichtenstein cups but also ended Bala Town’s European adventure back in 2017.

The German-born manager, had a relatively small playing career and retired from playing at the age of 26. Instead he focused on the Sports Science aspect of football, before being given his first break at FSV Frankfurt. 

Upon his appointment as manager of the Progres, Vrabec described his style of play as one which emphasizes ball possession. With his preferred formation of a 4-1-4-1. 

One of the highlights of Vrabec’s career will have been when he was in charge of German side FC St. Pauli, having previously worked there in an interim period.

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Previous European experience

The south-western Luxembourg outfit are not a team to mention around Rangers fans, either. They overcame a 1-0 deficit back in 2017 with a 2-0 victory at the Stade Jos Haupert to end Rangers’ hopes, and get their first ever European win under their belts.

Last year saw them enjoy an even greater campaign. They ousted FK Gabala and Budapest Honved FC, before losing out on a potential Rangers rematch against Russia’s FC Ufa.

What is their domestic performance like?

Progres are three-time Luxembourg National Division champions but haven’t been crowned champions since 1981, however, they did finish runners-up during the 2017-18 campaign.

Progres won 26 and lost 14 games in the Luxembourg National Division last season. However, they did tend to struggle against the upper echelon teams, winning just one of their five matches against the three teams who finished above them.

Traveling to Luxembourg will be a tough test for Cardiff Met as they lost just three matches last season, with two of those coming against title winners, Dudelange.

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Players to look out for

Sebastien Thill and Emmanuel Francoise will also be ones to keep an eye on as both managed five goals last season. Thill captains Progres from the centre of the park, while Francoise bagged five goals in just seven appearances in the last campaign.

Francoise will likely be the first choice for Vrabec up top following the departure of talisman Alexander Karapetian – who found the net 11 times last season as well as scoring in Armenia’s 3-2 win over Greece on Tuesday.

Marvin Martins has experience in playing on Welsh soil; he featured in a 1-1 draw against Wales U21 whilst playing for Luxembourg U21s. The Welsh outfit that Martins had played against contained the likes of Harry Wilson, Joe Rodon and Daniel James – who was recently unveiled as a Manchester United player.

How have they prepared?

Unlike Met, who can only make an addition, should they enrol at the University, Progres have been making a number of acquisitions. 

No fewer than ten players have arrived at the club with a majority moving on from other clubs in Luxembourg.

Midfielder Florik Sala from Racing FC Union Luxembourg was their latest addition. He scored eight goals in the league last season.

Christian Silaj, Gullit Ramos, Issa Bah, Jonni Correia, Kenan Agovic, Tom Laterza, Yannick Cervellera and Youn Czekanowicz have all moved from across the league.

Yannick Cervellera and Aldin Skenderovic played in Germany last season for SV Eintracht Trier 05 U19 and SV 07 Elversberg respectively. 

One big blow could be the departure of top scorer Aleksandre Karapetian who is poised to join RFCU Luxembourg according to Luxemburger Wort. 

So can Met do it?

The booze has been cut at the Cardiff Metropolitan University as a European tour beckons, and you can’t blame them for taking it seriously.

They might be one of the lowest-ranked team in the competition, but with the prospect of facing Manchester United or Arsenal further down the line, the students will be giving it their all.