ABERDEEN FC are taking a step into the unknown once again in the Europa League first qualifying round.

They were paired with KF Shkendija, with the away leg in Skopje next week.

Derek McInnes has been watching DVDs of the team in action as he prepares his side for the trip to Macedonia.

Anthony Joseph caught up with Shkendija spokesman and Macedonian TV journalist, Faton Zylbehari, to give the Red Army an insight into the club.

Form

AFTER winning the Macedonian First League and Super Cup in 2011, expectation at Shkendija has grown.

But a shaky start to last season meant that they had to scrape their way into a European spot, winning six of their last seven matches.

Faton said: “Every year now we are expected to win the league.

“We thought we had a good chance at the start of the season, but we did not start well.

“The performances dropped and the manager left.

“We then changed when the new manager came in and things started to happen.

“We picked up our performances in the last few games – especially so in the last seven.”

It was those seven games, between April 24 and May 24, which saved their season.

In that month, Shkedija beat champions Vardar twice, Turnovo, Renova, Sileks and Metalurg.

Faton added: “If we can play to the level of performance like we did in the last few matches in Macedonia, then we have a good chance against Aberdeen.”

Key players

THERE are a few players the Dons must watch out for in the two legs against KF Shkendija.

Top scorer Bojan Vrucina netted 18 times in the Macedonian First League and also scored one in the Europa League qualifiers.

Vrucina is 30 years old and is a Croatian international.

He was a club legend at Croat side Slaven Belupo, scoring 60 goals in less than 150 appearances, before going on loan to Bundesliga outfit MSV Duisburg in 2008.

Before signing for Shkendija in 2013, he had spells at Hapoel Tel-Aviv in Israel, Panserraikos of Greece, Slaven again and Kaposvari Rakoczi in Hungary.

He scored five goals in Shkendija’s last six matches.

Another one to watch is midfielder Armend Alimi, who has been capped nine times for Macedonia.

He is described as a playmaker and links up well with Vrucina.

Faton said: “Alimi is very organised and he likes to start the attacks.

“He has had many assists for Vrucina and they have formed a good partnership together.”

Alimi has played for Macedonians Milano, Istra 1961 in Croatia, Orebro in Sweden, Cypriot sides Nea Salamis and Ermis, before joining Shkendija last year.

Tactics

The manager who led them to Europa League qualification, Jeton Bekjiri, left the club last month.

Albanian coach Shpetim Duro has returned for his second spell at the club and his first match will be against the Dons next Thursday.

Faton said: “The old manager had a very attacking style and wanted Shkendija to press the game.

“Duro is very different.

“He is far more disciplined and makes sure the defence is good.

“Duro had a six-month period at Shkendija last year and he was very successful, because they were in the relegation zone at the time and went on to qualify for the Europa League.

“It will be interesting to see what the tactics are against Aberdeen and for next season under Duro.”

Duro, 55, was assistant manager for the Albanian national team between 2006 and 2007.

Fans

BASED in Tetovo, this club are known for the political activism of their supporters.

Their fans are called Ballistet and are pro-Albanian, often signing the Albanian national anthem at matches.

Their followers have a long history of violence at matches, fuelled by their political agendas. Around 15,000 of them are expected to make the 27-mile trip to Skopje.

Stadium

DUE to reconstruction work on Shkendija’s Gradski Stadium in Tetovo, the game with Aberdeen will be played at the Philip II Arena in Skopje.

The ground was completely revamped in 2011 and holds 33,000 fans.

The stadium is the home ground for the Macedonian national team.

Faton said it will be a big occasion for their players.

He said: “We are not used to playing in huge stadiums like this one.

“In Macedonia our stadiums are not great, but this is a very nice place.

“Aberdeen will be more used to this type of stadium, because in Scotland and the UK there are some very nice ones.”

Scotland played at the newly-revamped Philip II Arena in 2013, beating Macedonia 2-1 in a World Cup 2014 qualifier.

Ikechi Anya and Aberdeen-raised Shaun Maloney scored for Gordon Strachan’s side to win the match.

The stadium is named after King Philip II of Macedon.

It was built in 1947 and is also used for concerts. American pop star Pink performed in front of 20,000 in 2007.

Famous fans

Two of the most famous supporters of the club are footballers – Xherdan Shaqiri of Inter Milan and Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj.

Januzaj, 20, was born in Brussels and is a Belgian international. His family, from Kosovo, moved to Belgium in 1992 to escape the war in Yugoslavia.

The Man United star regularly visits the club when seeing his relatives in Tetovo.

He played at Pittodrie in Neil Simpson’s Testimonial in 2012.

Shaqiri, 23, is a Swiss international midfielder, who was born in Giljan, Kosovo.

He played for FC Basel and Bayern Munich before joining Inter Milan. He scored in Inter’s 3-3 draw with Celtic in the Europa League at Parkhead in February.

Because his parents are Albanian, he supports Shkendija in the Macedonian First League.