Dejan Stankovic, coach of Estrella Vermelha, did not praise SC Braga, but confirmed that his team will enter without fear against Minho to enter the group stage of the European League with a victory.
“For me it is the fourth club in Portugal. It is a team that historically used to play in Europe and in 2010/11 they played the Europa League final with FC Porto. It has many talented players, Portuguese and Brazilian, and the great Spanish striker Abel Ruiz. It is a very offensive and fast team”, he said in the preliminary preview of the match Thursday (17.45 hours), in Belgrade.
He added: “We respect SC Braga a lot, but we are not afraid. Especially in our house.”
The 43-year-old former Serbia international midfielder highlighted Estrella Vermelha’s European experience and took on the power of the 12th player to beat the team led by Carlos Carvalhal:
“We have experience, yes, but every year a new adventure. Things change from year to year. With another year of experience and an open stadium that could be an advantage for us. It could also be a disadvantage because the fans expect to win, but we must warn our fans that Braga is a great team.”
