Who are Shamrock Rovers' Champions League first round qualifier opponents Breidablik?

Shamrock Rovers play the first leg of the Champions League first qualifying round against Breidablik on Tuesday at Tallaght Stadium (kick-off 8pm).

So who are Breidablik?

They aren’t part of a multi-club model but rather their football club is part of a multi-sport club and with 3,000 members they claim it is the biggest in Iceland. The club, as well as football, has teams in track & field, handball and even chess!

The name Breidablik is from Norse mythology and was the home of Norse God Baldur.

The Prose Edda book said that Baldur ‘dwells in the place called Breidablik, which is in heaven; in that place may nothing unclean be’ so Rovers fans please wear appropriately clean attire at the away leg.

The club were founded in 1950, with their first football team kicking off for the first time seven years later.

It took them till 2010 to win their first Urvalsdeild title, going out of Europe the following season at the first hurdle losing to Motherwell 1-0 both home and away.  

They are the Icelandic champions – they won the title by ten points last season and finished runners up the previous year.

Who is their manager?

Óskar Hrafn Þorvaldsson, who was capped three times at senior international level for Iceland, has been Breidablik’s manager since 2020. He is former journalist so it is a case of poacher-turned-gamekeeper at the pre-match press conferences!

Which players should we watch out for?

Their squad is packed with Icelandic internationals along with two Faroese internationals including Klaemint Olsen who has 57 caps and ten goals and leads Breidablik’s front line as their main striker.

Much of the ball goes through Damir Muminovic. The right side central defender has played over 300 times for the club. Gisli Eyjolfsson is an influential left side attacking midfielder who also is a threat running with the ball and with key passes.

Their skipper is Hoskuldur Gunnlaugsson. The right back, who likes to get forward and takes their corners, has eight international caps to his name and spoke with Mark Ogden for this excellent report from ESPN on the recent Champions League Preliminary Round competition.

"Shamrock Rovers are the best team in Ireland, but it will be a 50-50 match," Breidablik captain Gunnlaugsson told ESPN. https://t.co/DecVc51vOq

— Macdara Ferris (@macdarabueller) July 3, 2023

They will likely be missing 21 time capped Faroese international Patrik Johannesen who picked up an injury back in May.

What European pedigree do Breidablik have?

Pretty good actually. They have played in Europe in each of the last six seasons. Their record over that time reads: P15 W8 D1 L6

In 2021 in the Conference League qualifiers, they knocked out Racing Luxembourg, winning both legs and going through 5-2 on aggregate, Austria Vienna 3-2 on aggregate, before their elimination by Aberdeen 5-3 after two legs.

They went three rounds again last season, knocking out Andorran side Santa Coloma (5-1), winning home and away, and Buducnost Podgorica (3-2) before losing 6-1 on aggregate to Istanbul Basaksehir.

They hosted the preliminary round of the Champions League where they beat San Marino side Tre Penne 7-1 in the semi-final and Montenegrin champions Buducnost Podgorica 5-0 in the final.

Stefan Sigurdson scored in both the semi-final and the final and has ten league goals to his name this season but it seems he has played his last game for the club now that the transfer window is open.

How has Breidablik’s season gone so far?

Like in Ireland, a summer league is played in Iceland and they are 14 games into the season in their 12-team league but Breidablik are well off the pace.

They are 11 points behind league leaders Vikingur Reykjavik.

They played two games last week – losing on penalties in the Cup and last Friday defeating Fylkir, who sit second from bottom, 5-1, thanks to four second half goals.

What formation do they play?

They play with a 4-1-3-2 formation 69% of the time and 4-2-3-1 26%.

Where do they play?

They are based in Kopavogur, just south of the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik. It is a town of around 40,000 inhabitants. The tallest building in Iceland is located here. The Smaratog Tower is 77.6m tall – Dublin’s Liberty Hall is a mere 59m.

Their stadium has a 3,009 capacity with 1,709 seats in two stands.

How have Rovers done against Icelandic opposition in the Europe before?

The Hoops have played twice against Icelandic opposition and have won home and away legs on both occasions.

In 1982 they beat Fram Reykjavik 4-0 at home and 3-0. Six seasons ago they defeated Stjarnan 1-0 in both legs – Ronan Finn, Trevor Clarke, Pico Lopes and Graham Burke played in that tie.

Who will the winners play in the next round?

Copenhagen are the opposition set for the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Winners of that tie will be guaranteed at least an appearance in the Europa Conference League group stages.

Who will the loser play in the next round?

The losing side will drop into the second qualifying round of the Europa Conference League where they will face the defeated team from the KI Klaksvik (Faroe Islands) and Ferencvaros tie.

Who is the match official for this tie?

Cypriot official Chrysovalantis Theouli will take charge in Tallaght. He was the referee in charge of Ireland’s 1-0 friendly win away to Malta on the eve World Cup.

Marissa Sheva: ‘The Irish will be loud and proud in that stadium’ https://t.co/EqWRvV5UP1pic.twitter.com/dLIDvinpj1

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) July 9, 2023