Marsaxlokk, Birkirkara face Croat challenge in UEFA Cup

Birkirkara and Marsaxlokk will face Croatian opponents in this month's UEFA Cup first qualifying round. FA Trophy winners Birkirkara were drawn against Hajduk Split while Marsaxlokk, last season's league runners-up, take on Slaven Koprivnica.

Hajduk Split need no introduction on the international scene. They played friendly and competitive matches in Malta before and thrashed Floriana 8-0 on aggregate in the 1975 Champions Cup first round. Hajduk also eased past Żurrieq in the 1982 UEFA Cup first round, 8-1 over the two legs.

Slaven Koprivnica, often referred to internationally NK Slaven Belupo, had the better of Hibernians 4-2 on aggregate in the opening round of the 2004 Intertoto Cup.

Birkirkara and Marsaxlokk have already started their pre-season training, gearing up for their commitments in Europe and next week's Euro Challenge Cup.

The Stripes, who travel to Split for the first leg, still have Ronnie Hartvig and Emil Yantchev in their ranks but are looking to sign another foreign player following the departure of Ivorian Davy-Amed Sylla.

Birkirkara play a friendly on Friday at the Luxol Ground against Scotland's Dundee, who are conducting a pre-season training camp here. Sources told The Times that Hajduk officials will be in Malta to spy on the Stripes this week and also for Monday's Euro Challenge Cup match against Valletta.

Hajduk, who have former Juve defender Igor Tudor on their books, finished outside the Euro zone in the domestic championship last season but qualified for the UEFA Cup as beaten finalists in the cup competition. They lost 3-0 on aggregate to Croatia champions Dinamo Zagreb.

Marsaxlokk will host the opening leg against Slaven on July 17. Team manager Peter Hartshorne is currently conducting the pre-season training in the absence of coach Brian Talbot who will resume his duties on Monday.

This will be the third time that the Southerners will play in Europe following their first participation in 2004 in the UEFA Cup.

Marsaxlokk's foreigners' list is already defined following the addition of Marcelo Perreira, formerly of Mqabba. He joins fellow Brazilian Renato Conceicao and Argentine Julio Alcorse.

Slaven were the Croatia championship runners-up last season, 28 points behind the dominant Dinamo Zagreb.