Maribor is the only Slovenian club to have played in the group stage of the Champions League. They last did so nine years ago. Celje are now close to the Champions League group stage, and Kosovar player Milot Avdyli is considered very important in this journey.
Avdyli scored a superb goal for Celje on Wednesday night in a 1:1 draw against Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia, in the first leg of the playoff. Thus, the Slovenian champion team has the advantage for the return leg to be held on August 26 in Celje. With the victory, Celje advances to the league stage, which replaces the group stage of the Champions League.
"I think we positioned ourselves well on the field. After Slovani scored, we took control of the game and scored at a good moment. I had a lot of space to shoot and I took advantage of that. It is challenging to play in this stadium. The opponent has quality, the fans are noisy, but I think we all showed character together and I believe we will repeat this next week," Avdyli told Slovenian media.
The match in Bratislava took place in front of 22 spectators.
The Slovak champion took the lead in the 15th minute, while Avdyli equalized in the 41st minute.
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The performance of 24-year-old Avdyli has been praised by Slovenian media. And not just because of the goal.
"It doesn't matter where I play, in what role. I want to help the team and I will always do my best to realize the dream of qualifying for the Champions League. I think we are on the right path to success," Avdyli added.
According to him, Slovan has not justified its role as the favorite.
"The match was challenging, but we were not afraid of the challenge. I think we proved that we can compete with Slovan. We were at the same level, if not higher. We were not worried that the opponent was the clear favorite. We focused on our game and this has rewarded us. With such an approach, with the help of the fans, we can achieve what we aim for," added the winger.
Avdyli was developed in Kosovo. At the adult level he started at Trepça '89. Then he played four and a half years at Aarau in the second Swiss category. After an unsuccessful period at Vorskla in Ukraine, where he never had the trust of the technical staff, last summer he joined Celje in Slovenia. And now with this team he has approached the Champions League.
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The offensive player has played for Kosovo's younger age groups, up to U21.
Celje twice qualified for the league stage in the “Conference League”. In the 2024/2025 edition, it reached the quarterfinals, while in the previous edition, it stopped in the round of 16, after initially eliminating Drita in the knockout phase playoff. This edition started from the second qualifying round in the Champions. Luckily, it eliminated Egnatia of Albania, and then eliminated Ararat of Armenia. Veton Tusha, transferred from Drita a week ago, also plays for Celje.
