Trabzonspor launches campaign for Champions League spot

Trabzonspor travels to Copenhagen for a Champions League qualification playoff round first leg game, hoping to get an advantageous score to advance to the group stage of the top European club competition.

The Black Sea side, which won the Turkish league title for the first time in almost four decades last season, has not featured in the Champions League proper since its tournament debut in the 2011-12 season.

The team has made a good start to its campaign to defend its league title, having won both of its games so far.

The supporters are eagerly waiting to hear the Champions League anthem at the Senol Güneş Stadium, and coach Abdullah Avcı aims to help them.

"On Tuesday, we will play an important match both for us and for the country's football," Avcı said after Aug. 12's 1-0 home win over Hatayspor in the Süper Lig.

"We will specially prepare for the Copenhagen match," he added.

"We will do competitor studies and analysis. The teams we will play against are the teams that play in the Champions League every year. It will be a good game and I think we will come back with a good result."

Copenhagen's most recent foray into the group stage was in 2016, but it did reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League in 2020, losing to beaten finalist Manchester United in the last eight.

Trabzonspor player Andreas Cornelius will have mixed feelings on a familiar ground when he returns to the city where he grew up.

The forward came through the youth ranks at Copenhagen and went on to score 46 goals in 125 league games for the club, winning the Danish title in 2013, 2016 and 2017, and the Danish Cup in three consecutive campaigns.

Also on Aug. 16, a club that has already got its hands on the trophy will be...