Käerjéng 'living in a dream world'

UN Käerjéng 97 president Nico Zenner told uefa.com the semi-professional side from Luxembourg "still cannot believe" they pulled off a shock by knocking Lillestrøm SK out of the UEFA Cup.

Stunning result
A 1-0 home win against the Norwegian giants saw Käerjéng win through on away goals, following a 2-1 defeat in the first leg, and book a place in Friday's second qualifying round draw in Nyon. It is the best result that any club from Luxembourg has achieved since F91 Dudelange knocked NK Zrinjski out of the UEFA Champions League first qualifying round in 2005, and Käerjéng president Zenner is struggling to take it all in.

'In a dream world'
"We are living in a dream world," he told uefa.com. "We still cannot believe this has happened, that such a small club - the smallest club in the competition - has advanced to the next round." He added of Bascharage, a village of 1,000 inhabitants: "We are from such a small town but we live football seven days a week. I am so proud of the team and the coach. We feel such joy. This is just madness what has happened here."

Chelsea mauling
Founded in 1997 with the merger of US Bascharage and Jeunesse Hautcharage, the beaten 2007 Luxembourg Cup finalists are making their European debut. Local residents with long memories might remember - in their darker hours - that Hautcharage once played Chelsea FC in a 1971/72 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup tie, losing 21-0 on aggregate - a result which contrasts sharply with Käerjéng's current achievement, earned thanks to Rachid Boulahfari's goal just after the interval.

Coach shocked
Hopes had not been high following the first leg in Norway, which the home side dominated, leaving coach Angelo Fiorucci reflecting on a second-leg miracle. "The whole team worked together to achieve the impossible," he said. "Our keeper Sergio Silva Costa was great, but every member of the team gave it everything. When Boulahfari scored right after the interval, I wouldn't have thought it possible for us to hang on to that result until the end."

Hamburg hopes
Having already crossed the border into a footballing dreamland, Zenner is now hoping that Friday's draw can help him realise another dream - a pairing with one of the UEFA Intertoto Cup winners from neighbouring Germany on 16 and 30 August. "We now wish to play against Hamburger SV," he said. "In Luxemburg, we follow German football passionately. Hamburg are a big team and it would be an honour for us to play against them."