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MILAN – Inter’s opponents in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League play-offs were revealed at today’s draw in Nyon: Stjarnan of Iceland was the name that came out of the pots for Mazzarri’s men, who will now start preparing for a trip into the unknown.

The Icelandic minnows, based in Garðabær, a city of 13,000 inhabitants close to the capital Reykjavik, are making their bow in European competition this season. They have reached the Europa League play-offs after beating Bangor City, Motherwell and Lech Poznan.

The Welsh outfit were brushed aside 8-0 on aggregate (4-0 in each leg) in the first qualifying round, while the Scots proved to be a far sterner test, Stjarnan eventually winning the second leg 3-2 in extra time after 2-2 draws over 90 minutes both in Scotland and Iceland (5-4 aggregate). The team coached by Rúnar Páll Sigmundsson then pulled off a shock 1-0 aggregate victory (1-0 at home, 0-0 away) to edge past Lech Poznan in the third qualifying round.

Stjarnan play in the Icelandic Premier League (Úrvalsdeild karla), having achieved promotion from the 1. deild karla in 1989. They have never won the title but currently sit second in the 12-team league on 29 points, two behind current leaders FH, just over halfway through the campaign. They are unbeaten thus far, having recorded eight wins and five draws.

The fans’ idol is 34-year-old former Iceland international Veigar Páll Gunnarsson, who returned to his boyhood club last year after a long career that has included spells in Norway and France.

Olafur Finsen has plundered six of the team’s 24 league goals this season, adding another five in the Europa League qualifying rounds.

If you’ve heard of Stjarnan before, it’s probably because they have made something of a name for themselves in recent years thanks to their wacky goal celebrations, which have proved a real hit on the internet.

This Europa League tie will be Inter’s first ever meeting with an Icelandic side. The first leg is to be played in Iceland on 21 August and the return leg at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on 28 August.

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NYON – He may be wearing a different kit and operating in a different role to the one we’re used to seeing him in, but Javier Zanetti’s commitment and attention to detail is unwavering no matter where he’s playing. The Inter vice president was in Nyon for the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League play-off draw today, on his first official ‘assignment’ since moving upstairs.

“This is my first outing representing Inter and I’m very happy to be here,” he admitted.

Commenting then on what UEFA’s pots have handed the Nerazzurri, Zanetti went on: “This competition is hugely important for us and we’d like to go all the way. We can’t underestimate any opponent because there are no easy games in Europe. Stjarnan have been training for longer than we have and they’ve come through three qualifying rounds to get here. We must make sure we prepare for this tie very thoroughly. It’s the first step but one we have to take properly if we want to continue our European path.”

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NYON – The draw for the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League play-offs has just ended and Inter, among the seeded sides in Group 6, have been paired with Icelandic outfit Stjarnan.

Barring any changes made by UEFA, the first leg will to be played in Iceland on 21 August with the return leg back at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Thursday 28 August.

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MILAN – Today is the day when Inter discover what hurdle they must clear in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League play-offs on 21 and 28 August if they are to take part in the group stage.

The draw will be held in Nyon from 13:00. Inter, among the seeds in Group 6, will be pitted against one of the following sides: Stjarnan (ISL), FC Midtjylland (DEN), HNK Rijeka (CRO), Grasshopper Club (SUI), FC Zorya Luhansk (UKR) or FC Krasnodar (RUS).

We’ll be bringing you updates from the draw on Twitter and inter.it.

Here is the full list of teams in today’s draw (seeded teams in bold):

Group 1
1 FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)
2 VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach (GER)
3 AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
4 Villarreal CF (ESP)
5 BSC Young Boys (SUI)
6 FK Sarajevo (BIH)
7 Apollon Limassol FC (CYP)
8 PEC Zolle (NED)
9 FC Astana (KAZ)
10 Debreceni VSC (HUN)

Group 2
1 Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
2 FC Zürich (SUI)
3 CD Nacional (POR)
4 Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
5 FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR)
6 FC Spartak Trnava (SVK)
7 Asteras Tripolis FC (GRE)
8 FC Dinamo Minsk (BLR)
9 AEL Limassol FC (CYP)
10 HNK Hajduk Split (CRO)

Group 3
1 GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
2 FC Twente (NED)
3 PAOK FC (GRE)
4 SK Rapid Wien (AUT)
5 Trabzonspor A? (TUR)
6 Qaraba? FK (AZE)
7 FC Petrolul Ploie?ti (ROU)
8 FC Zimbru Chisinau (MDA)
9 HJK Helsinki (FIN)
10 FC Rostov (RUS)

Group 4
1 FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS)
2 Torino FC (ITA)
3 Hull City (ENG)
4 Celtic FC (SCO)
5 Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
6 RNK Split (CRO)
7 AC Omonia (CYP)
8 KSC Lokeren OV (BEL)
9 FC Aktobe (KAZ)
10 FC Astra (ROU)

Group 5
1 FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
2 FK Partizan (SRB)
3 AS Saint-Étienne (FRA)
4 Rio Ave FC (POR)
5 PSV Eindhoven (NED)
6 Neftçi PFK (AZE)
7 Ruch Chorzów (POL)
8 Kardemir Karabükspor (TUR)
9 IF Elfsborg (SWE)
10 FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR)

Group 6
1 Feyenoord (NED)
2 FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
3 Real Sociedad de Fútbol (ESP)
4 FC Sheriff (MDA)
5 Panathinaikos FC (GRE)
6 Club Brugge KV (BEL)
7 Stjarnan (ISL)
8 FC Midtjylland (DEN)
9 HNK Rijeka (CRO)
10 Grasshopper Club (SUI)
11 FC Zorya Luhansk (UKR)
12 FC Krasnodar (RUS)

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