| The final qualification round for the prestigious UEFA Champions League league phase begins on Wednesday night at the Goffertstadion. Dutch side NEC Nijmegen take on Norwegian champions FK Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of their play-off round tie. Under Dick Schreuder, NEC Nijmegen have enjoyed a solid European qualifying run. They demonstrated defensive discipline and tactical flexibility in the previous round, successfully beating Greek giants Olympiacos to reach this play-off stage. Kjetil Knutsen’s Bodo/Glimt arrive in high-scoring form across all competitions. In the third qualifying round, they played out a thrilling, end-to-end clash against Union Saint-Gilloise. After drawing the first leg 3-3 in Belgium, Bodo/Glimt secured a dramatic 3-2 extra-time win in the return fixture at Aspmyra making the result 6-5 on aggregate. The headline summer recruitment for NEC is Dusan Tadic. The veteran playmaker brings vast Champions League experience and creativity to lead the offensive line. For the guests Joshua Kitolano arrived from Sparta Rotterdam on a free transfer, quickly embedding himself as a dynamic box-to-box engine in Knutsen's midfield. |
