Meet Connah’s Quay Nomads’ first UEFA Conference League opponents NK Bravo

Connah’s Quay Nomads will kick off their UEFA Conference League campaign this week against NK Bravo of Slovenia.

The first leg will take place in Slovenia on Thursday July 11^th, with the second leg taking place a week later at Bangor’s Nantporth Stadium.

Ahead of the Nomads’ next European foray, we take a closer look at their opponents.

History

When we take a look at the history of the opponents of various Welsh clubs, they are normally vast with plenty of notable moments and players to pick out. NK Bravo are a little different.

Nicknamed Šiškarji (The Boys from Šiška), Bravo were only formed in 2006, and their growth has been pretty impressive.

In the span of five years, they went from the fifth tier of Slovenian football all the way to the top tier, which they achieved in 2019.

Since gaining promotion to the PrvaLiga, Bravo have consistently finished in the top half of the table, apart from the 2022-23 season, where they finished one place above the relegation zone.

Despite a poor showing, they bounced back in tremendous fashion and recorded a fourth-place finish last season, their highest ever finish in their history. Fourth place was enough for them to qualify for this season’s Conference League.

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Stadium

The match will take place at the Šiška Sports Park, which is where Bravo play all their home matches.

Located in the centre of the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, the ground holds a total of 2,308 supporters.

The ground is also used by the women’s team of Slovenian giants Olimpija Ljubljana.

Manager

NK Bravo are managed by 39-year-old Aleš Arnol.

Having not played professionally, Arnol took on the role of Bravo manager midway through the 2022-23 season and managed to steer them away from danger and keep them in the top tier.

In his first full season in charge, Arnol guided the club to their best ever finish.

Players to Watch

The strongest part of this Bravo side certainly seems to be in the defence. At right back, you will find Mark Španring. While he may be a right back by trade, the defender is versatile, and can play on the left and in the centre. At the heart of the backline, you will find Nemanja Jakšić. A centre back who came through the youth system of Red Star Belgrade, the Serb knows how to organise a defence.

Sitting in front of the backline you will find the captain, Gašper Trdin. Having been at the club since 2021, Trdin has made over 100 appearances for Bravo.

European pedigree

NK Bravo’s European history is short and sweet. They have never been involved in any European competition before.

This is completely unchartered territory for the club, who also don’t have any major Slovenian trophies to their name. The closest they’ve got to major silverware was in the Slovenian Cup, but they finished runners-up in 2021.

This will be Bravo’s biggest fixture ever, and they will want to make an impression in Europe and to a wider audience.

(Featured Image: Nik Mesney/FAW)