For Chelsea, something however the Convention League title will probably be thought of an unequivocal failure.
The riches of the west London giants have swept apart all earlier than them on this 12 months’s competitors, seldom needing to step out of second gear to overcome considerably inferior opposition. The Convention League crown seems destined for Stamford Bridge.
Legia Warsaw are Chelsea’s unfortunate adversaries within the quarter-finals, aiming to provide the mightiest of shocks. Ought to they upset the chances in the course of the first leg on residence soil, they will dare to dream upon their go to to the English capital.
Here is the lowdown on Legia forward of their duels with the Blues.
Legia have been fashioned in the course of the First World Warfare and have since gone on to turn into Poland’s most profitable membership. Based mostly within the capital, Warsaw, they’ve received 15 Ekstraklasa (Poland’s high division) titles, yet another than esteemed counterparts Gornik Zabrze and Wisla Krakow. They’re additionally the one group within the nation that has appeared within the high flight however not been relegated since World Warfare II.
Their immense success is much more obvious within the Polish Cup, the place they’ve triumphed on 20 events – 14 greater than some other membership. On the continent, they’ve beforehand reached the European Cup (now Champions League) semi-finals in 1969/70, in addition to the final 4 of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1990/91.
Legia have shut ties with the Polish armed forces having been the primary soccer membership of the Polish Legions at its formation, even enjoying their residence matches on the Polish Military Stadium.
Legia’s supervisor, Goncalo Feio, is likely one of the fashionable recreation’s younger coaches. The 35-year-old Portuguese spent 5 years with the membership’s youth groups after transferring to Poland initially by means of a scholar trade between the colleges of Lisbon and Warsaw.
Apart from a brief spell in Greece, Feio has spent the whole lot of his teaching profession in Poland and was provided his first senior head coach function by Motor Lublin in 2022. He guided the membership to promotion throughout his debut season on the helm and was essential in them incomes a second successive promotion the next marketing campaign, though he departed earlier than the conclusion of 2023/24.
Feio joined Legia on the finish of final season and has failed to completely persuade throughout his first full marketing campaign. Having completed second and third over the last two seasons, Legia at present discover themselves fifth in Ekstraklasa and look unlikely to hassle the European locations this time.
Feio has proven little dedication to 1 singular formation at Legia and has largely switched between 3-5-2, 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. The latter is what has been employed most lately, however their kind has been massively inconsistent this time period regardless of the tactical setup.
Followers with a really eager reminiscence might recall Legia’s midfield basic Bartosz Kapustka, who turned out simply 3 times for Leicester Metropolis in 2016/17. After unsuccessful mortgage spells in Germany and Belgium, he departed the East Midlands completely and teamed up with Legia, the place has since thrived.
This 12 months has been notably eye-catching for the 25-year-old, who’s able to enjoying in an array of roles throughout the engine room. He has managed 12 objectives in all competitions and is donning the captain’s armband successfully.
Ruben Vinagre is one other Premier League alum, the left-back making 57 appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers and 6 for Everton. The ex-Portugal youth worldwide has impressed together with his attack-minded strategy in Poland, managing eight assists in all competitions this season.
Midfielder-cum-defender Rafal Augustyniak has impressed within the coronary heart of the backline this season and the 31-year-old additionally has a watch for objective with 4 to his identify this season. Fellow centre-back Radovan Pankov has confirmed equally troublesome to bypass.
Spaniard Marc Gual is the person Chelsea’s defence must be careful for, with 16 objectives and 4 assists in all competitions this season. Seven of these efforts have come within the Convention League.
The Convention League quarter-final tie would be the first time Legia and Chelsea lock horns in a aggressive fixture however the Polish giants have turned out in opposition to English opposition on eight events beforehand.
They most lately confronted Aston Villa in the course of the Convention League group stage final season, beating Unai Emery’s aspect on residence soil however dropping in England. They achieved the identical throughout their Europa League battles with Leicester in 2021/22.
Legia have been unbeaten throughout two matches with Blackburn Rovers within the 1995/96 Champions League group stage, however they have been unable to overcome Manchester United in a Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final in 1990/91 – dropping at residence and drawing at Previous Trafford.
