For Chelsea, anything but the title of the conference league will be considered an unequivocal failure.
The wealth of western London giants have swept through this year’s competition before them, rarely needed to get out of second speed to conquer considerably lower opposition. The crown of the conference league seems intended for Stamford Bridge.
Legia Warsaw are unlucky opponents of Chelsea in the quarter -finals, aimed at providing the most powerful shocks. If they have changed the chances during the first stage of the ground at home, they can dare to dream during their visit to the English capital.
Here is the bottom of the legia in front of their duels with the blues.
Legia was formed during the First World War and has since become the most successful club in Poland. Based in the capital, Warsaw, they won 15 titles Ekstraklasa (Poland in Poland), one more than the estimated counterparts Gornik Zabrze and Wisla Cracow. They are also the only team in the country that has appeared in the elite but has not been relegated since the Second World War.
Their immense success is even more apparent in the Polish cup, where they triumphed 20 times – 14 more than any other club. On the continent, they previously reached the semi-finals of the European Cup (now Champions League) in 1969/70, as well as the last four of the UEFA Cup Cup in 1990/91.
Legia has close links with the Polish armed forces having been the main football club of the Polish legions during her training, even playing their home matches at the Polish army stadium.
The manager of Legia, Goncalo Feio, is one of the young coaches of the modern game. The 35 -year -old Portuguese spent five years with the club’s youth teams after having moved to Poland initially thanks to an exchange of students between the universities of Lisbon and Warsaw.
In addition to a short lance in Greece, Feio spent the entire career as a coach in Poland and was offered his first role as a senior head coach by Motor Lublin in 2022. He guided the club to the promotion during his first season at the helm and was crucial in themselves a second successive promotion of the following campaign, although he left before the end of 2023/24.
Feio joined Legia at the end of last season and failed to convince entirely during her first complete campaign. Having finished second and third in the last two seasons, Legia is currently fifth in Ekstraklasa and seems unlikely to disturb European places this time.
Feio has shown little commitment to a singular training in Legia and has greatly changed between 3-5-2, 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. The latter is what has been used more recently, but their form has been extremely inconsistent for this term, whatever the tactical configuration.
Fans with a very lively memory can remember the LEGIA field general, Bartosz Kapustka, who proved three times for Leicester City in 2016/17. After unsuccessful loan spells in Germany and Belgium, he left the East Midlands permanently and has teamed up with Legia, where has since prospered.
This year was particularly catchy for the 25 -year -old, capable of playing in a range of roles in the machine room. He managed 12 goals in all competitions and effectively puts on the captain’s armband.
Ruben Vinagre is another former first league student, the left back making 57 appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Six for Everton. The former international of young people in Portugal impressed by his approach to attack in Poland, managing eight assists in all competitions this season.
Midfielder-Copain-Defendant Rafal Augustyniak has impressed at the heart of the bottom line this season and the 31-year-old also has an eye for the goal with four in name this season. The back-center Radovan Pankov has proven to be just as difficult to get around.
The Spaniard Marc Gual is the need for the defense of the Chelsea man, with 16 goals and four assists in all competitions this season. Seven of these efforts came to the conference league.
The quarter -final of the conference league will be the first time that Legia and Chelsea Lock Horns in a competitive match, but the Polish giants have proven against the English opposition eight times before.
They recently faced Aston Villa during the group’s group league phase last season, beating the UAI Emery team on the floor at home but losing in England. They achieved the same thing during their Europa League battles with Leicester in 2021/22.
Legia was undefeated in two games with Blackburn Rovers in the Group phase of the 1995/96 Champions League, but they could not conquer Manchester United in the semi -final of the Cup Cup in 1990/91 – losing at home and drawing to Old Trafford.
