Bardon a burden for Auxerre

Unusual move
Former French Under-21 international Cédric Bardon made the unusual move of heading to Bulgaria in the summer to try and resurrect his injury-ravaged career, and he proved he still had the goalscoring knack on his return to France by striking first in a 2-1 Levski defeat.

'Strange feeling'
"It is quite a strange feeling to play against a club from your native country," the 28-year-old told uefa.com ahead of the return leg. "I am happy to have scored. I expect a lot of people in France had forgotten my name."

Resurgent form
Having got off the mark for Levski in the UEFA Cup tie, the former Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Rennais FC, En Avant Guingamp and Le Havre AC striker went on to score twice in a 4-4 league draw at PFC Beroe Stara Zagora on 18 September to show he is getting back to his best.

Sofia chance
"Levski is a great chance for me," explained Bardon, who has signed a two-year deal with the Sofia giants. "I jumped at the chance to come here. Levski are aiming high and playing regularly in Europe. I came to win trophies and I am sure that will happen."

Familiar faces
However, he cannot have expected to have his national loyalties tested so early in his spell abroad. "I know all about Auxerre - they are a great club," he admitted. "I know most of their current squad, lads like Sébastien Hamel, Johan Radet and Jean-Sébastien Jaurès, quite well."

Supportive stance
However, for all that friendliness, Bardon would rather Jacques Santini's side did not progress in the UEFA Cup. The Frenchman hopes his away goal will help Levski overcome Auxerre tonight, anticipating a heroic performance from his team-mates on home soil.

Tired legs
"We played really well during the first 45 minutes [in France] and took the lead but we faded after the break, probably because we had played a tense derby against [PFC] CSKA Sofia three days earlier," he said. "We did not play a league game last weekend and I am sure we will be fresh for the return.

Vocal backing
"In the meantime, Auxerre have hit top form and won their last three league games, but I expect they will be tired to some extent," he added. "We will also be relying on our fans. During the league match against CSKA, I saw that our supporters are crazy about their team and I expect them to help us a lot."

'Good mix'
Bardon described the Levski side as "a good mix of young talent and experienced players like Daniel Borimirov, Hristo Yovov and Dimitar Telkiyski". He knew of the veteran Borimirov before moving east, having watched him in action in an infamous French defeat in Paris in November 1993.

'Real leader'
With France needing a draw in that match to reach the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals, Emil Kostadinov struck a late winner for Bulgaria. However, there are no hard feelings for Bordon. "'Bore' is very experienced," he said. "He has played a lot of football in Germany and in Europe. He is a real leader."