Sturm a side of similar qualities and last-season experience

Fabio Ingolitsch took over at Sturm Graz during the winter break [Getty Images] Hearts were either going to be drawn against seeded sides Sturm Graz or Fenerbahce in the Champions League second qualifying round and it was the Austrians who came out of the pot. On the one hand, it means they drew a side who finished 26th in last season's Europa League instead of one that finished above Celtic in 19th. However, it also means they will be unseeded for the third qualifying round should they win on aggregate after the games in Graz on 21/22 July and the return at Tynecastle the following week. Facing Fabio Ingolitsch's Austrian Bundesliga runners-up could be considered the slightly easier tie, but either was going to be tough considering their greater European experience. However, it should be viewed as winnable considering Sturm only narrowly defeated Rangers 2-1 at home - and lost to Celtic by the same score in Glasgow - in October at a time when both sides of the Old Firm were facing a bit of turmoil. They had dropped into the Europa League after a 6-2 aggregate thrashing by Norwegians Bodo/Glimt in their Champions League play-off. That was before Ingolitch was appointed during the winter break from Bundesliga rivals Rheindorf Altach with Jurgen Saumel having left with his side sitting third in the domestic table. The 34-year-old former midfielder led his side to the top of the table by the end of the first stage of the season, but they let a one-point lead slip after their version of the league split and ended up two adrift of LASK. A scenario that will sound familiar to Hearts fans. The Austrian has already made four summer signings, none of them household names, and 20-year-old Bosnia-Herzegovina right-back Arjan Malic is their only player at the current World Cup. However, there are some players than might be familiar to British fans outside of those games against the Old Firm. Slovenia defensive midfielder Jon Gorenc Stankovic was signed in 2020 from Huddersfield Town, while defender Emanuel Aiwu had a loan spell with Birmingham City. Georgia midfielder Otar Kiteishvili has featured against Scotland, while midfielder Ryan Fosso, recently made his Cameroon debut after switching allegiance from Switzerland. However, it is not a tie that should strike fear into whoever becomes head coach should Derek McInnes move to Rangers as expected. Does a tie against Lyon, Bodo/Glimt, Olympiacos, or the winner of Fenerbahce against Gornik Zabrze await?