UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2014/15 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Stadion Petrovski - St Petersburg Thursday 12 March 2015 18.00CET (20.00 local time) FC Zenit Round of 16, First leg Torino FC Last updated 02/06/2015 04:24CET

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1 FC Zenit - Torino FC Thursday 12 March 2015 - 18.00CET (20.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion Petrovski, St Petersburg

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FC Zenit will hope for an improvement in their home form against Italian clubs as they welcome Torino FC looking to make the next step towards the UEFA Europa League final in Warsaw. What they say André Villas-Boas, Zenit coach: "I like the style Ventura imposes: compact, play the pass, good organisation in midfield, defensive coordination, rapid transition to attack. It's impossible to assess Torino's level based on one match with Udinese; a few mistakes don't mean anything. It's difficult to predict what Ventura will come up with, he's a great coach. You need to make decisions during the game, so nothing can be 100% predicted. Our team is very well prepared." Torino coach Giampiero Ventura: "We talked with [former Zenit coach Luciano] Spalletti ten days ago; we spoke about Zenit of course, but I didn't get clear clear instructions on how to play against them. Zenit are stronger than Athletic. They are first in the league, and have a powerful lineup. For us it will be an important test, for each player and me as a coach. It will test reliability, concentration, and everything else. I have great respect for Zenit, but if we show our best football, we can succeed." Previous meetings • The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition. • Zenit have won only one of their four home games against Italian clubs – 1-0 against – and even that was a disappointment; they had lost the first leg of that 2008/09 UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie 2-0. • Torino lost 2-1 on aggregate to FC Dinamo Moskva in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup second round, their only previous tie against Russian opponents. The winning goal in their 2-1 home loss to Dinamo was scored by Igor Simutenkov – who is one of André-Villas Boas's coaching assistants at Zenit. Simutenkov played in with AC Reggiana (1994–98) and Bologna FC (1998–99). Form guide • Zenit have conceded in only one of their six European home games this term (W4 D1 L1) – a 2-1 defeat against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League. • Zenit's home record in this competition is fearsome; they are unbeaten in their last 12 UEFA Europa League games in Russia (W11 D1). • Torino have lost just once in 12 UEFA Europa League games this season (2-1 at HJK Helsinki in the group stage), and have scored eight in their last two away games – a 5-1 win at FC København and a 3-2 victory at Athletic Club. • Zenit have not progressed beyond the last 16 of a UEFA competition since they won the UEFA Cup in 2008, beating Rangers FC 2-0 in the final. Then they beat Olympique de Marseille in the last 16. • Torino's round of 32 success against Athletic was their first success in a springtime UEFA competition tie since they overcame Real Madrid CF to reach the 1991/92 UEFA Cup final – where they lost to AFC Ajax on away goals. Trivia and links • Zenit's Italian defender Domenico Criscito played alongside's Torino's Cristian Molinaro at Juventus (2007), and was a CFC team-mate of both (2008) and (2009–11). • Zenit's Portuguese defender Luís Neto also played in Italy, representing AC Siena in 2012/13 before moving to Russia. • Torino striker Maxi López scored ten Russian Premier League goals for FC Moskva from 2007–08. He failed to score in two games against Zenit, and was on the losing side in both. • Zenit and AFC Ajax both got through their first UEFA Europa League ties of the season without conceding, but five of the eight sides who transferred from the UEFA Champions League group stage were eliminated in the round of 32. • Torino are one of only three sides left in the competition who started their campaign in the third qualifying round, along with Club Brugge KV and FC Dinamo Moskva. • Zenit (2008) are one of five former UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League winners along with SSC Napoli (1989), FC Internazionale Milano (1991, 1994, 1998), Ajax (1992), and holders Sevilla FC (2006, 2007, 2014). • Torino's Kamil Glik is one of six Polish nationals left in the competition who still have the chance of a dramatic homecoming when the UEFA Europa League final takes place in Warsaw on 27 May. • Torino are one of five Italian clubs in the round of 16; only once before has one nation been represented by so many sides at this stage, West Germany having provided five contenders in the 1979/80 UEFA Cup.

2 FC Zenit - Torino FC Thursday 12 March 2015 - 18.00CET (20.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion Petrovski, St Petersburg

The coaches • Having joined FC Porto's coaching department in his teens after a debate with the club's then coach Sir Bobby Robson, Zenit's André Villas-Boas assisted José Mourinho and spent a season in charge at A. Académica de Coimbra before winning a Liga, Portuguese Cup and UEFA Europa League treble with Porto in 2010/11. He then coached Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC, taking over at Zenit in March 2014. • Villas-Boas (Porto 2011) is one of three coaches involved in the round of 16 who have won the UEFA Europa League since the competition took on its current incarnation, along with SSC Napoli's Rafael Benítez (Chelsea 2013) and Sevilla FC's Unai Emery (Sevilla 2014). • Giampiero Ventura led Torino back to after taking charge in 2011, and is now enjoying – at the age of 67 – his first campaign in Europe. Previously a player at UC Sampdoria, he once guided US Lecce from Serie C to Serie A, and also oversaw promotion to the top tier with Cagliari Calcio as well as winning a club-record 50 Serie A points with AS Bari in 2009/10.

3 FC Zenit - Torino FC Thursday 12 March 2015 - 18.00CET (20.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion Petrovski, St Petersburg Legend Competitions

Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: Second qualifying Res.: Result ET: Extra Time round sg: Match decided by silver GA: Goals against 2nd: second leg FT: Final tournament goal t: Match decided by toss of a PO: Play-off ELITE: Elite round coin Rep: Replay 3rdPO: Third-place play-off GF: Goals for W: Won PO - FT: Play-off for Final GS-FT: Group stage – final gg: Match decided by golden Y: Booked Tournament tournament goal L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow Nat.: Nationality cards) N/A: Not applicable f: Match forfeited Statistics -: Denotes player substituted +: Denotes player introduced *: Denotes player sent off +/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted Squad list D: Disciplinary *: Misses next match if booked S: Suspended QUAL: All UEFA qualifiers UEL: Current season total UEFA Europa League appearances from the group stage onwards prior to the current matchday UEL: Total appearances in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final only UEFA: All-time total appearances in UEFA club competition including qualifying Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

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