FCB Magpies v FC Copenhagen: Pub team in Europa Conference League

In Rooney’s first spell he took Magpies to the Conference League qualifiers, only to lose to Belfast-based Crusaders and miss out on a meeting with FC Basel.

He stepped down in May 2023 after winning the Rock Cup, the club’s first silverware, and finishing third in the Gibraltar Football League to secure European football again, but returned last September.

Rooney and his squad are now looking to emulate the biggest result in Gibraltar club history, the Red Imps’ 1-0 win over Celtic in 2016.

It will also not be Copenhagen’s first trip to the British Overseas Territory having beaten the Red Imps 4-0 in the Champions League group stage in 2021-22.

A 3-2 aggregate win over Derry City in the first qualifying round this month secured Magpies their glamour tie, with Rooney happy to call it what it is.

“It’s the biggest game in the club’s history. Will there be a bigger game for Bruno’s Magpies against Copenhagen in the future? Will it be in my time, someone else’s?” he says.

“We won’t realise it until we finish the away leg , come away from the arena with our families and we are hopefully in a respectable position in terms of the result.

“When we shake hands with the opponents and both badges are there on the programme it’s massive history. We can’t stop, we have to embrace the next one, keep pushing and hope to have this feeling again.”

Copenhagen, under Jacob Neestrup, reached the last 16 of the Champions League last season, for the first time since 2010-11.

They finished second in Group A, beating Galatasaray and drawing at Bayern Munich, while also coming from 2-0 down to topple Manchester United 4-3.

It leaves Rooney in no doubt about the challenge but it is one they will raise a glass to, whatever the outcome.

He adds: “Will they relax or come here and want to get the job done, will they have one eye on the league? It’s the question we’ve asked ourselves. They have every resource going and we don’t.

“It’s a test of mentality. Hopefully we find ourselves in a good moment and stand up to the challenge.

“We seem to be a team who like the big games. It’s another opportunity. We’d like to write more history. If it’s from the performance, brilliant, or from result, even better, but we’re going to do it together.”