Pleasant surprises in the previous phases of the 2021-22 Champions League. Sheriff Tiraspol has aroused great interest in Colombian territory thanks to its coffee quota: Frank Castañeda (captain), Danilo Arboleda and Hansel Zapata.
All three have had minutes both locally and internationally and are very close to making history.
It is worth remembering that the Sheriff arrived at the highest European competition as the representative of his country, that due to the fragility of his local tournament, he must do the process from the first preliminary phase.
In this vein, the ‘Yellow and Black’ thrashed Teuta from Albania (5-0), defeated Alashkert from Armenia (4-1) and dispatched Estella Roja from Serbia 2-1. All this led him to the decisive round of play-offs, a phase in which he currently has a 3-0 lead over Croatian Dinamo Zagreb.
If they manage to maintain the advantage, they will enter the group stage and there they could face PSG, Atlético de Madrid, Manchester City … A total dream considering that it would be their first time in the Champions League as such.
While all this is happening, there is a curiosity on the payroll led by the Ukrainian Yuriy Vernydub. This team has a total of 15 different nationalities! A figure that could be a record, taking as an example the greats of the continent such as City (12), Bayern (8), Real Madrid (12) or Inter Milan (14).
The Sheriff has three South American countries: one Peruvian, two Brazilians, and three Colombians. Likewise, it has a representative from Central America thanks to Keston Julien, born in Trinidad and Tobago. There are four.
Four African countries: one footballer born in Malawi, one from Ghana, another from Ivory Coast and three from Mali. There are eight.
And finally, seven European nationalities: six from Moldova, two from Greece and one from Serbia, Bosnia, Ukraine, Luxembourg and Slovenia. A total of 15.
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