It's not quite where Hearts wanted to be but the Europa Conference League isn't a bad consolation prize, is it?
Robbie Neilson and his team will dust themselves down after their FC Zurich disappointment on Thursday night and their eyes are now firmly on that prize with Basaksehir, Fiorentina and Latvian side Riga in the cross hairs. It's a tough group but it's six fixtures the Jambos' faithful will relish as European group stage football comes back to Tynecastle.
They'll need to be at their very best to keep it competitive with Basaksehir and Fiorentina in particular posing a serious threat. But now the groups are out, the scouting missions can begin, with Neilson, Joe Savage and co. targeting knockout stage football for the first time since 2004. Neilson played in the side that overcame Braga in 2004, which landed the capital club plum ties against Feyenoord, Schalke 04 and Ferencvaros.
Here is everything you need to know about each of their opponents this time around.
BASAKSEHIR
Manager: Once named as one of Pele's best 125 players alive, Emre Belozoglu is a big name in Turkish football and only retired from playing in 2019. He's a well-respected coach too with ambitious Basaksehir.
Stadium: Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium, 17,300 capacity
Star Player: All eyes from Hearts fans will be on a certain Mesut Ozil. The former Arsenal and Real Madrid star hasn't featured much since arriving from Fenerbahce but he's slowly returning to fitness and they'll hope to have him firing by the time they face the Jambos.
Interesting fact: Basaksehir only founded in 1990 but have rapidly risen to the top of the Turkish game and won their first league title in 2020. They made their Champions League debut the following season...
Euro pedigree: ...and famously beat Manchester United in the group stage. They first qualified for a group stage when they made the 2017/18 Europa League and have only missed out once since - losing to Burnley in the qualifiers in 2018/19. This will be their Conference League debut.
FIORENTINA
Manager: Such is the way in Italian football, manager Vincenzo Italiano has earned his stripes with a variety of coaching roles. He guided Spezia to the top flight and kept them up in 2020/21 - earning him the Fiorentina top job.
Stadium: Stadio Artemio Franchi, 40,100 capacity
Star Player: Winger Nicolas Gonzalez enjoyed a flying end to last season and finished on 15 goal-involvements in all competitions. If he doesn't get a big move before the window closes, he'll be one to watch.
Interesting fact: Only four clubs have played in more Serie A seasons that Fiorentina, who have won the league twice.
Euro pedigree: A well-established team on the European scene, Fiorentina are one of fifteen teams to have appeared in the final of the Champions League/European Cup, Europa League/UEFA Cup, and the Cup Winners' Cup. They famously won the latter in 1961.
RFS
Manager: Viktors Morozs, a well respected figure in Latvian football who managed 24 caps for his country. He's managed RFS since 2020.
Stadium: LNK Sporta Parks, 2,500 capacity
Star Player: Key striker Andrej Ilic finished last season with 12 goals in 24 games and hit three over two legs against Hibernians to help his team get this far. He has four caps for Serbia Under-21s.
Interesting fact: Riga Futbola Skola (their full name) knocked out Linfield to reach this stage, equalising through an own-goal in the 120th minute before winning on penalties.
Euro pedigree: They will be making their group stage debut, having lost out to Gent in the third qualifying round of last season's Conference League.
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