In this month of the homeland, from Europe, three Panamanians will honor the country by playing in the most important competition on the old continent at the club level. Andrés Andrade with LASK, Cristian ‘Fulo’ Martínez and César Blackman with Slovan Bratislava They will face each other in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League 2026-2027.
This will be an unprecedented duel in the entire history of national soccer, as well as within the tournament in which for the first time two or more Panamanians will face each other.
Whatever happens in the match, this match will be important for their respective teams, since the LASK has barely added one win (2-3 against Sporting Portugal), while Slovan Bratislava is bottom of the tournament with zero units.
In recent seasons it has become common to see Panamanians competing in the Champions League, however it will be for the first time that two ‘panas’ see each other as rivals in this competition which is classified as one of the most important in this sport.
Blackman himself and Amir Murillo had previously been seen playing this tournament, but for this yearThere are up to three who are competing in the competition and as if it were the work of destiny, this trio will do so on the playing field, this time at the home of the Austrian LASK.
Both Andrade, Blackman and ‘Fulo’ Martínez are completely contrasted in their clubs, one more than others, but all three are important figures in their position for their respective clubs.
With Andrade, perhaps it is one of the most attention-grabbing cases. The 27-year-old defender was captain in the match between LASK and Liverpool. The Panama international became the first Panamanian to jump with the captain’s armband in a Champions League match.
In this second stage that he is experiencing at LASK, after his year and a half at Arminia Bielefeld in Germany, he has become a fundamental asset for his team. In this campaign alone, he has played 18 games spread across three competitions, in which he has scored three goals and distributed two assists.
Despite the important match ahead against Slovan Bratislava, the Panamanian has just played 90 minutes with his team against WSG Tirol last Saturday, October 31.
Slovan Bratislava, leaving the basement
The goal for the Slovak team led by Yaya Touré will be to get at least their first point in this tournament. This is Slovan’s second participation in the Champions League, however in 11 matches played they have never been able to add any unity.
Against LASK they will have this golden opportunity to change the dynamic, a match in which the Panamanians ‘Fulo’ Martínez and Blackman will surely see action.
Both players will arrive rested for this match since they played a few minutes last Saturday, October 31, against Zeleziarne Podbrezová. Both ‘Fulo’ Martínez and Blackman started on the bench and it was not until the second half when they both came on. The first played 16 minutes, while the second only four.
In the case of ‘Fulo’ Martínez, in recent games he has been alternating between the bench and the starting team. In the last five games he has barely made a start and has played a total of 115 minutes between the league and the Champions League.
However, his rest in the last game suggests that he could see a considerable amount of minutes against LASK.
Finally, Blackman is a starter contrasted with Yaya Touré, in which he has barely been absent from the starting 11 in three games throughout the season.
LASK will host Slovan Bratislava this Tuesday, November 3 at 3:00 pm (local time) for the fourth day of the league phase of the Champions League.
