Panathinaikos has learned who its opponent will be in the Conference League playoffs. The “Clover,” which has already eliminated Paksi and CSKA 1948, must now overcome Hradec to advance to the League Phase of the competition.
The Czechs were unable to advance after facing Besiktas of Turkey, thus being eliminated from the Europa League. As a result, they will face the Greek team. The matches will take place on August 20 and 27, with the first leg at OAKA and the second leg at “FINEP Arena.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The “Black Eagles” opened the scoring in the 40th minute. Olaitán played a through ball to Černi, who broke away very quickly on the counterattack and beat Zandrail.
Profile of Hradec
Founded in 1905, Hradec is based in the city of the same name, with white and black as its colors. Its home arena is the “FINEP Arena,” which seats 9,300 spectators. It has never won the Czech championship, and the fourth-place finish it achieved in the 2025–26 season is the best in its history in the Czech league, although it did win the championship in the unified Czechoslovakia in 1960. This is the club’s third appearance in European competition in its history, following the 1960–61 European Champions’ Cup and the 1995–96 European Cup Winners’ Cup.
Its coach is the Czech David Horej. Before joining Hradec, he coached at České Budějovice and Jablonec. The biggest name on the roster—and the team’s captain—is Vladimir Darida, who previously played in Greece for Aris. In the second qualifying round of the Europa League, they eliminated Tromsø of Norway with two wins (0-1, 3-1).
With the exception of the Slovaks, Jakub Uhrinczat and Samuel Danczak, as well as Elione Fernandes Neto and Latvian Marko Regza, all of the team’s other players are Czech.
*photo source: KYPE
