Forgotten Zimbabwean striker Mike Temwanjira’s Romanian Club FC Vaslui were drawn against Italian giants Inter Milan during the Europa League play-offs draw conducted yesterday.
The draw made sure the big former Caps United forward, who is set to make a return to the Warriors, would rub shoulders with some of the finest players in Europe. The first leg will be played on August 23, while the return game has been scheduled for August 30.
FC Vaslui qualified for yesterday’s draw after losing 4-1 to Turkish giants 4-1 on aggregate in the Uefa European Champions League’s third qualifying round on Wednesday, which saw them relegated to the Europa League.
FC Vaslui, who were unseeded during yesterday’s draw, will fancy their chances against the Italians, who just managed to scrape past Croatian club Hajduk Split 3-2 on aggregate in the final qualifying round to secure their place in this draw.
The 30-year-old Temwanjira is one of the longest serving players FC Vaslui, having joined them in 2007 from Serbian club Borac Čačak and currently the club’s second top scorer with 31 goals. Meanwhile, Sweden-based Zimbabwe international midfielder Archford Gutu’s maiden dance in the Uefa Europa League came to an end on Thursday night after his club Kalmar were knocked out by Swiss Club Young Boys.
Kalmar, who had won 1-0 in the first leg of the third qualifying round two weeks ago, only needed a draw in the second leg to progress to the next round, but were thumped 3-0 at the Stade de Suisse in Bern on Thursday evening to go down 3-1 on aggregate.
Gutu, who scored the winner in the 3-1 away win over Croatian club NK Osijek in the second qualifying round last month, could not rescue his side after lasting 56 minutes in the match.
According to reports, the Swedish club had a nightmarish start when Young Boys scored their opening goal through a volley by Zambian international Emmanuel Mayuka after just seven minutes. Young Boys continued to dominate the match, although they didn’t score for the remainder of the first half.
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The Swiss club had to wait until the 69th minute when left-back Mario Raimondi headed in the second goal from a corner before Raul Bobadilla ended Kalmar’s hopes with the third goal in the 82nd minute.
