MILAN – The pots in Nyon have given their verdict and Inter can now look forward to a meeting with Hajduk Split or Skonto in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.
Goals by Vukusic and Trebotic gave Hajduk a 2-0 win in Split last night, putting them in the driving seat ahead of the second qualifying round return leg to be played at Skonto Stadium in Riga on Thursday 26 July (20:30 kick-off).
Let's take a closer look at Inter's potential opponents:
HNK Hajduk Split
The Croatian side from Split, founded in 1911, have played their home games at the Stadion Poljud (34,500 capacity) since 1979.
They achieved their best UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup result in 1983/84, when they lost to eventual winners Tottenham in the semi-finals.
Miso Krsitevic is their current manager. Last season he led them to a second-place finish on 54 points in the 16-team national league (Prva HNL), behind champions Dinamo Zagreb on 75 points. Ante Vukusic wasd Hakduk's topscorer with 12 goals.
Hajduk and Inter have never met before.
The club's honours list includes 17 national titles (7 Yugoslav and 8 Croatian championships), 9 Yugoslav Cups, 5 Croatian Cups and 5 Croatian Super Cups.
Skonto F.C.
Under the stewardship of Marian Pahars, the team finished as runners-up in last season's Virsliga with 36 points, 4 notches below winners Daugava.
Skonto currently hold the European record for most consecutive league championships won (1991-2004).
They previously crossed paths with Inter in a Champions League qualifier in 1998/99: Gigi Simoni's Nerazzurri won the first leg in Pisa 4-0 (Zamorano 4, Simeone 10, Ventola 21, Baggio 59) and the return leg in Riga 1-3 (Zamorano 8, Galanta 54, Djorkaeff 70).
Skonto's honours list includes 15 Latvian championships, 8 Latvian Cups, 3 Livonia Cups and 1 Baltic League.
