Brothers play in the Europa League on the same night: Zidan for Ararat-Armenia, Daniel for Benfica

An interesting story emerged in the opening round of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League league phase as brothers Zidan and Daniel Banjaqui took to the pitch on the same evening for two different clubs in the competition.

The older brother, 27-year-old Zidan Banjaqui, who plays for Ararat-Armenia, featured in the historic match for Armenian football against Sparta Prague.

Zidan started for the Yerevan side and spent 80 minutes on the pitch. Ararat-Armenia suffered a 4-1 defeat, while Banjaqui received a 6.8 rating from SofaScore.

The match was a special one for the Armenian club, as Ararat-Armenia became the first team from the country to play in the main stage of the Europa League.

Younger Banjaqui makes European debut at San Siro

The evening was even more successful for Zidan’s younger brother, 18-year-old Daniel Banjaqui.

The Benfica right-back made his European debut in an away match against Italian giants AC Milan at San Siro.

Daniel played the full 90 minutes as the Portuguese club claimed a 2-0 victory. The young defender earned a 7.5 SofaScore rating for his performance.

Thus, the Banjaqui brothers began their Europa League league-phase campaigns on the same night, representing Ararat-Armenia and Benfica.

Interestingly, the two players operate in opposite roles on the same flank. Zidan Banjaqui primarily plays on the left wing in attack, while Daniel is a right-back. Therefore, if the two clubs were to meet in the knockout stage, the brothers could find themselves directly facing each other on the same flank.

A potential family showdown is still some way off, but the brothers already have one opponent in common.

Daniel played his first Europa League match of the season against Milan, while Zidan is also set to face the Italian club on January 28, 2027. In the eighth and final round of the league phase, Ararat-Armenia will visit Milan.