Draw Reveals Possible Rivals for Red Star, Partizan
After the draw for the next European qualifying round, Red Star could face the winner of Beer Sheva - Vikingur, while Partizan may draw a rival from the Lithuania - Kazakhstan pair.
- If they clear the Northern Irish hurdle, Red Star would meet the winner of Beer Sheva - Vikingur in the next round, with the first leg away.
- Partizan, after their tie with the Luxembourg side, would draw a rival from the Lithuania - Kazakhstan pair, and the black-and-whites play the first leg at home.
- The draw for the next European qualifying round was held for both Serbian sides on the same day.
The hall in Nyon always looks more like a laboratory than a place where a season’s fate is decided. A table with glass bowls, spinning balls, and a man in a suit pulling out slips of paper without a flicker of emotion. Yet that is exactly where Red Star and Partizan learned, on the same day, who awaits them if they get past their first hurdles. For fans in Belgrade it was a double bill, one tie drawn, then the other, with phones ringing off the hook.
Red Star first have to deal with a Northern Irish rival. If they manage that, the next round brings the winner of Beer Sheva - Vikingur. The detail nobody is hiding: the red-and-whites would play the first leg away, which turns the return match at the Marakana into a decider. It is not insurmountable, but it is awkward. An early goal on the road can flip the whole script, and European qualifiers are full of teams that look twice as dangerous at home as they do on paper.
Partizan have a different path. The black-and-whites first face a team from Luxembourg, and if they advance, the next round hands them a rival from the Lithuania - Kazakhstan pair. Here the schedule is kinder on one important count: Partizan would play the first leg as hosts, in front of their own crowd. That changes the maths. You approach the return leg with a clear idea in your head rather than a calculation of how many goals you can afford to concede.
Was the draw kind to the Serbian clubs?
On paper, neither Beer Sheva nor Vikingur is a name that wakes up all of Europe, and the same goes for the Lithuania - Kazakhstan tandem. But that is precisely where the trap lies. Early qualifiers are not won on reputation, they are won on the pitch, and this is the stage of the season where favourites who show up relaxed tend to fall. Red Star have the tougher assignment simply because of the order of legs, since starting away and then defending a lead at home demands a cool head from the first minute. Partizan are in a more comfortable spot, but comfort in qualifiers lasts exactly until the first goal conceded.
My take is simple. Both teams are favourites in their ties, but neither has the right to a sloppy approach. Anyone who thinks they are through before they have stepped onto the pitch usually ends up stuck at Europe’s door.
What comes next for Red Star and Partizan
Before anyone starts talking about these potential rivals, both clubs have to finish the job already in front of them. Red Star must clear the Northern Irish hurdle, Partizan the Luxembourg side. Only then does this draw carry real weight, otherwise it stays a theoretical exercise. Until then it all comes down to one old truth of European qualifiers: you get past what is in front of you first, and only then do you look at who is waiting in the next row.
So, how do you read the drawn ties, is it harder for Red Star because of that first leg away, or is Partizan the side that needs to be more careful?
