PRESS KITS Group stage - Group G - Matchday 5 Wednesday, 15 December 2004 - 20:45 (local time) Gottlieb-Daimler -

VFB STUTTGART NK DINAMO

MATCH OFFICIALS Referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez (ESP) Assistant referees Rafael Guerrero Alonso (ESP), Carlos Lopez Villate (ESP) Fourth official Javier Turienzo Alvarez (ESP) UEFA delegate Eduard Dervishi (ESP)

MATCH BACKGROUND All to play for in Stuttgart Two sides on the cusp of qualifying for the knockout stage meet at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadium as VfB Stuttgart host NK Dinamo Zagreb for the second time in UEFA club competitions.

Stuttgart success The clubs were paired together in the second round of the 1989/90 UEFA Cup, and Stuttgart took the lead at Zagreb with a 3-1 win thanks to goals from current German national coach Jürgen Klinsmann, Fritz Walter and Michael Schröder, who took them to a 3-0 lead before home forward Drazen Bezek grabbed a consolation. In the return leg, Radmilo Mihajlovic closed the gap even further with a 62nd minute goal before Walter eased Stuttgart worries with an equaliser six minutes later, as Stuttgart advanced 4-2 on aggregate. The Germans reached the final where they lost to Diego Maradona’s SSC Napoli 5-4 on aggregate.

Mixed fortunes Stuttgart have played two other Croatian teams in UEFA club competitions. In 1981/82 the Germans were eliminated by HNK Hajduk Split from the UEFA Cup at the first round stage by 5-2 on aggregate, while in 2002, Stuttgart advanced to the finals of the UEFA Intertoto Cup after winning both games against FK Slaven Koprivnica in the semi-final. Two goals from Thomas Schneider gave Stuttgart a 2-1 home win, and scored the only goal of the return leg, as Stuttgart went on to beat LOSC Lille Métropole in their final. The German side defend an unbeaten home record of one win and two draws against Croatian clubs, and an overall record of three wins, two draws and one loss in their six previous games.

Dinamo defeats But Dinamo have yet to beat a German club in UEFA club competitions. The Croatians have lost their three previous ties, where the six games have produced two draws and four defeats. Besides the games with Stuttgart, Dinamo lost both legs to FC Schalke 04 by 3-1 and 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the 1969/70 UEFA Cup, while their other meeting was with a club then based in the German Democratic Republic, namely 1. FC Magdeburg. The two sides met in the second round of the 1976/77 UEFA Cup, and after losing the first leg 2-0 in Magdeburg, the Croatians were held 2-2 at home despite two goals from Zlatko Kranjcar. The former striker is now the Croatian national team coach, while his son is the current Dinamo captain.

State of play: Group G SL Benfica have qualified and VfB Stuttgart will follow them through if they avoid defeat at home to NK Dinamo Zagreb. The German side could lose and still advance if fail to win at home to KSK Beveren, who are already out. Dinamo are ahead of Heerenveen on and are sure to qualify if they match the Dutch club's result against Beveren. A draw will take Heerenveen through should Dinamo lose.

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PLAYERS PROFILES VfB Stuttgart Goalkeepers No Name Nat. DoB 1 GER 05.04.1979 Part of the German squad at UEFA EURO 2004™ finals...has one cap...has come through from the club’s youth academy...outstanding reflexes...no goals conceded in opening eight league games last season. 23 Dirk Heinen GER 03.12.1970 Former No1 for , Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Turkish club ...won DFB-Pokal medal with Leverkusen in 1993, fractured skull in 1994...is nine years older than Hildebrand. 31 Diego Benaglio SUI 08.09.1983 Swiss U21 goalkeeper who has played over 50 times for at various age-group levels...joined from Grasshopper-Club in summer 2002. Defenders No Name Nat. DoB 2 GER 26.03.1982 Part of the German squad at EURO 2004™ finals...has been an international since spring 2003...from the club’s youth academy, sixth season in first-team squad. 3 Martin Stranzl AUT 16.06.1980 20 caps for ...joined in summer 2004 from relegated TSV 1860 München...fifth season, and been an international since 2000...replaced Brazilian Marcelo José Bordon in the team. 4 Boris Zivkovic CRO 15.11.1975 5 Markus Babbel GER 08.09.1972 Recovered from serious illness when at Liverpool FC...EURO '96™ winner, and has UEFA Cup medals with FC Bayern München in 1996 and Liverpool in 2001...won three Bundesliga titles with Bayern and also played for Blackburn Rovers FC and Hamburger SV. 6 POR 05.06.1978 Defender, who is now being groomed to take over in midfield from ...signed from SL Benfica in summer 2001...has 21 caps and was in the 2004 Olympic squad...but not at UEFA EURO 2004™ finals. 12 GER 11.07.1972 180 Bundesliga games for VfB Stuttgart and previously with DSC and 1. FC Nurnberg...two caps for ...is mainly a cover now for the younger Philipp Lahm and Aleksandr Gleb...at Stuttgart since 1999. 17 Mathieu Delpierre FRA 26.04.1981 21 Philipp Lahm GER 11.11.1983 Has made the German national team after being at VfB Stuttgart on loan from FC Bayern München, where he returns in summer 2005...one of the German hopes for the future, he has 12 caps. 25 Heiko Butscher GER 28.07.1980 29 Steffen Dangelmayr GER 09.09.1978 35 Steffen Kocholl GER 10.05.1983 Midfielders No Name Nat. DoB 7 Silvio Meissner GER 19.01.1973 Consistent midfielder who is close to 200 Bundesliga games...fifth season at club, signed from DSC Arminia Bielefeld...key midfielder due to his experience...former B international. 8 Jurica Vranješ CRO 31.01.1980 In the UEFA Champions League final squad with Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2002...second season with VfB Stuttgart...has enjoyed a successful 2004/05 campaign to date after seasons of injuries and loss of form...15 caps. 10 Aliaksandr Hleb BLS 01.05.1981 Replaced Bulgarian Krassimir Balakov in the VfB Stuttgart line-up...12 caps and from the club’s youth academy after signing from FC Dinamo Minsk...one of best creative players already in the Bundesliga. 11 SUI 22.02.1977 13 GER 18.02.1982 Another of the young German prospects at the club...U21 international...has played more than 80 Bundesliga

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games, and is standby for Silvio Meissner in the starting eleven. 14 Emanuel Centurión ARG 25.08.1982 16 Horst Heldt GER 09.12.1969 Around 350 Bundesliga games, and capped twice by Germany...joined the club in January 2003 after spells with TSV 1860 München, Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FC Köln and a loan spell with SK Sturm Graz...left-footed midfielder. 20 Zvonimir Soldo CRO 02.11.1967 Club captain and former international (61 caps), played over 250 Bundesliga games...ninth season since signing from NK Dinamo Zagreb...has signed in 2004 for another season...very influential at the club. 26 Marco Caligiuri GER 14.04.1984 30 Denis Berger AUT 14.04.1983 37 Ivan Stoianov BUL 24.07.1983 Forwards No Name Nat. DoB 9 Marco Streller SUI 18.06.1981 Swiss international, who joined from FC Basel 1893 in January 2004 but injured soon after his arrival...1.95 tall, and has three caps...recovering full fitness. 18 Cacau BRA 27.03.1981 Top scorer for club in Bundesliga so far this season (six goals) and scored two goals in 5-1 win at KSK Beveren in first group game...joined from 1. FC Nürnberg who spotted him in a swimming-bath kick around in Munich. 19 Imre Szabics HUN 22.03.1981 2003 signing from Austrian club SK Sturm Graz...2003 Hungarian Footballer of the Year...one of four players challenging as Kevin Kuranyi’s strike partner...home club was Ferencvárosi TE. 22 Kevin Kuranyi GER 02.03.1982 German international, born at Rio de Janeiro, who could have also played for Brazil and Panama...came to Germany from Rio aged 15 in order to join the club’s youth team...18 caps. 33 Mario Gómez GER 10.07.1985 Latest of VfB Stuttgart's young talents, recently made Bundesliga debut...is from the youth academy and is of Spanish origin...played 50 times for Germany at various age-group levels. Coach No Name Nat. DoB Matthias Sammer GER 05.09.1967

NK Dinamo Zagreb Goalkeepers No Name Nat. DoB 1 Ivan Turina CRO 03.10.1980 20 CRO 06.07.1975 28 Marko Šarlija CRO 31.01.1982 30 Mario Jozic CRO 21.06.1972 Defenders No Name Nat. DoB 2 Marijan Buljat CRO 12.09.1981 4 Damir Milinovic CRO 15.10.1972 5 Andre Mijatovic CRO 03.12.1979 6 Vedran Ješe CRO 03.02.1981 14 Mario Lucic CRO 29.04.1981 18 Danijel Hrman CRO 07.08.1975 26 Dino Drpic CRO 26.05.1981

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Midfielders No Name Nat. DoB 7 Hrvoje Štrok CRO 14.07.1980 8 Jasmin Agic CRO 26.12.1974 10 Edin Mujcin BHZ 14.01.1970 12 Ivan Bošnjak CRO 06.02.1979 16 Dalibor Poldrugac CRO 23.04.1975 19 Niko Kranjcar CRO 13.08.1984 22 Ante Tomic CRO 23.05.1983 23 Danijel Pranjic CRO 02.12.1981 25 Miroslav Šaric CRO 07.02.1986 Forwards No Name Nat. DoB 9 Goran Ljubojevic CRO 04.05.1983 11 Dario Zahora CRO 21.03.1982 15 Veldin Karic CRO 16.11.1973 17 Albin Pelak BHZ 09.04.1981 21 Zoran Zekic CRO 29.04.1974 24 Eduardo Da Silva CRO 25.02.1983

Coach No Name Nat. DoB Ilija Loncarevic CRO 08.10.1944

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DOMESTIC FORMGUIDE

Hope undiminished for Heerenveen (Monday, 13 December 2004) While SL Benfica are taking a week off, already certain of their place in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup after completing their Group G fixtures, VfB Stuttgart, NK Dinamo Zagreb and SC Heerenveen will do battle for the two remaining spots in the knockout stages.

Benfica The Lisbon club missed the chance to go top of the Portuguese SuperLiga with a surprise 4-1 defeat at CF Os Belenenses. They were 3-0 down by half-time, and went further behind before Tomo Šokota scored a consolation goal on 74 minutes. Giovanni Trapattoni was without the injured Luisão, Ricardo Rocha, Nuno Gomes and Miguel, but Petit and Carlitos returned to action after spells in the treatment room.

Stuttgart Saturday's 2-2 draw at FC Bayern München left Stuttgart third in the Bundesliga. Coach Matthias Sammer replaced the injured Zvonimir Soldo and Fernando Meira with Mathieu Delpierre and Christian Tiffert, with Delpierre playing as part of a back three with Markus Babbel and Martin Stranzl. Silvio Meissner and Kevin Kuranyi gave Stuttgart a 2-0 lead with 25 minutes remaining but Bayern fought back for a draw. Soldo will miss Thursday's home match against Dinamo Zagreb with a thigh problem; goalkeeper Dirk Heinen is still out with a torn muscle, joining Marco Streller and Hakan Yakin on the sidelines; and defender Steffen Dangelmayr has sustained a knee ligament injury in training.

Dinamo Zagreb Needing a win in Stuttgart to be sure of a place in the UEFA Cup last 32, Dinamo's confidence took a blow at the weekend with a 1-0 defeat at HNK Hajduk Split in their final game of 's autumn campaign. Seventh in the table, the club remain in crisis at home, with chairman Mirko Barisic promising wholesale changes in the winter break. The first will see coach Ilija Loncarevic take up a dual role as director of sport, replacing Otto Baric who resigned last month. Having drawn 2-2 at home to Heerenveen on Matchday 4, Dinamo know they missed a great chance to qualify and morale will need a lift if they are to prevail in Germany.

Heerenveen The Dutch team warmed up for their all-important game against KSK Beveren with a 1-0 home success in the north derby against FC Groningen. Finnish defender Mika Väyrynen scored the second- half winner. Väyrynen's countryman Hannu Haarala was suspended while midfielder Arek Radomski and top scorer Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who have minor hamstring and groin injuries, were rested. Both, however, should be fit for Beveren's visit. Goalkeeper Boy Waterman is out until the new year with knee trouble.

Beveren Still pointless in Group G and with no chance of progress, Beveren nonetheless enjoyed a fine weekend with Moussa Sanogo's hat-trick helping them to a 4-1 home win against Belgian First Division opponents KVC Westerlo. Second-choice goalkeeper Marc Volders is unavailable for this week's game against Heerenveen with a calf injury, while defender Abdoulaye Diawara is not expected to recover from breaking his ankle and tearing ligaments for another three months.

Kuranyi strikes boost Stuttgart (Monday, 6 December 2004) SL Benfica go into Matchday 5 as the only team sure of qualifying from UEFA Cup Group G. The Portuguese side, who have completed their pool fixtures, will be joined by two from VfB Stuttgart, NK Dinamo Zagreb and SC Heerenveen. Heerenveen will be sure of a place in the last 32 with victory over KSK Beveren, the only team which cannot advance from the section.

Stuttgart Stuttgart need only draw at home to Dinamo to advance and they approach that match with confidence

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after beating VfL Bochum 1848 5-2 on Saturday. A Raymond Kalla own goal and a Kevin Kuranyi strike put Stuttgart 2-0 ahead, and though Bochum hit back to draw level, further goals from Aliaksandr Hleb, Silvio Meissner and Kuranyi made sure of victory. Both Fernando Meira and Dirk Heinen missed the match through injury.

Dinamo Dinamo slipped further off the pace in the Croatian First League on Sunday when they lost 1-0 at home to rivals and leaders HNK Hajduk Split. Coach Ilija Loncarevic opted for the same XI that drew 2-2 with Heerenveen on Matchday 4, with Jasmin Agic taking the captain's armband from Niko Kranjcar, who again started on the substitutes' bench. Kranjcar came on for forward Veldin Karic in the 70th minute and Dario Zahora replaced Ivan Bošnjak in the 89th. Agic will miss the Stuttgart match through suspension.

Heerenveen Heerenveen are through if they beat Beveren, and they will be looking to make up for a frustrating 2-2 draw away to Willem II. Twice Heerenveen led, thanks to headed goals from Victor Sikora and Klaas Jan Huntelaar off free-kicks from Ugur Yildirim, and twice Willem hit back, their second equaliser coming in the final minute. To compound matters for Heerenveen, Hannu Haarala was sent off for two bookable offences. Sikora and Finnish midfield player Mika Väyrynen returned to the starting lineup, but Stefan Selakovic was rested and started on the bench. Attacking midfield player Arnold Bruggink was missing because of a thigh muscle injury and goalkeeper Boy Waterman has still not recovered from the knee injury that will keep him out until the winter break.

Beveren Beveren slipped to 15th in the Belgian First Division after losing 3-0 away to fellow UEFA Cup hopefuls R. Standard de Liège on Saturday. Abdoulaye Djiré served the first game of his two-match suspension, second-choice goalkeeper Mark Volders missed out with a calf injury and Constant Kipre is still not match fit as he recovers from a torn calf muscle. Abdoulaye Diawara is out for three months with a broken ankle and torn ligaments. Emmanuel Eboué misses the match with Heerenveen through suspension.

Benfica Sure of qualifying, Benfica could turn their full attention to Monday's SuperLiga tie at home to Estoril GD Estoril-Praia. Coach Giovanni Trapattoni went into the match with only with 17 available players. Goalkeeper Yannick Quesnel replaced Quim, Ricardo Rocha was suspended and Paulo Almeida joined injury victims Miguel, Petit, Carlitos, Nuno Gomes and Mantorras on the sidelines.

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DOMESTIC LEAGUE DETAILS VfB Stuttgart (Bundesliga) Results Standings Date Match Res R Clubs Pld W D L GF GA Pts 13.11.2004 Wolfsburg - Stuttgart 3 - 0 1 Bayern 17 10 4 3 33 20 34 20.11.2004 Stuttgart - Mönchengladbach 1 - 0 2 Schalke 17 11 1 5 26 21 34 28.11.2004 Hannover - Stuttgart 0 - 0 3 Stuttgart 17 9 4 4 32 19 31 04.12.2004 Stuttgart - Bochum 5 - 2 4 Wolfsburg 17 10 0 7 32 26 30 11.12.2004 Bayern - Stuttgart 2 - 2 5 Bremen 17 8 4 5 36 19 28 6 Hertha 17 7 7 3 28 15 28 7 Hannover 17 8 4 5 24 16 28 8 Leverkusen 17 7 5 5 28 25 26 Fixtures 9 Hamburg 17 8 1 8 30 25 25 Date Match 10 Arminia 17 7 3 7 19 23 24 22.01.2005 Mainz - Stuttgart 11 Mainz 17 6 4 7 24 27 22 29.01.2005 Stuttgart - Nürnberg 12 Nürnberg 17 5 6 6 28 26 21 05.02.2005 Stuttgart - Kaiserslautern 13 Kaiserslautern 17 6 3 8 22 26 21 12.02.2005 Hamburg - Stuttgart 14 Dortmund 17 4 6 7 17 22 18 19.02.2005 Stuttgart - Hertha 15 Mönchengladbach 17 4 5 8 20 30 17 16 Bochum 17 3 5 9 23 35 14 17 Hansa 17 2 5 10 13 36 11 18 Freiburg 17 2 5 10 14 38 11

NK Dinamo Zagreb (1.NHL) Results Standings Date Match Res R Clubs Pld W D L GF GA Pts 07.11.2004 Osijek - Dinamo Zagreb 1 - 1 1 Hajduk 18 11 2 5 32 18 35 13.11.2004 Dinamo Zagreb - Varteks 2 - 1 2 Rijeka 18 9 6 3 31 18 33 20.11.2004 Rijeka - Dinamo Zagreb 4 - 2 3 Varteks 18 10 1 7 37 24 31 28.11.2004 Dinamo Zagreb - Inter 2 - 0 4 Inter 18 9 3 6 22 18 30 05.12.2004 Hajduk - Dinamo Zagreb 1 - 0 5 Osijek 18 7 7 4 26 26 28 6 Slaven 18 8 4 6 17 20 28 Fixtures 7 Dinamo Zagreb 18 7 6 5 31 23 27 Date Match 8 Kamen Ingrad 18 8 2 8 23 21 26 26.02.2005 Dinamo Zagreb - Zagreb 9 Zagreb 18 7 3 8 22 21 24 05.03.2005 Medimurje - Dinamo Zagreb 10 Pula 18 4 6 8 16 22 18 12.03.2005 Dinamo Zagreb - Kamen Ingrad 11 Zadar 18 4 1 13 22 45 13 19.03.2005 Slaven - Dinamo Zagreb 12 Medimurje 18 2 3 13 14 37 9

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REFEREE Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez (ESP) Date of birth: 20.02.1967

Matches involving teams from the two countries involved in this match Date Competition Stage Match Res Venue 28.09.2000 UCUP R1 Dinamo Zagreb - Slovan 1-1 Zagreb 31.10.2002 UCUP R2 Dinamo Zagreb - Fulham 0-3 Zagreb

ALL-TIME STATISTICS Head-to-head record Date Competition Stage Match Res Venue 26.10.1988 UCUP R2 Dinamo Zagreb - Stuttgart 1-3 Zagreb 09.11.1988 UCUP R2 Stuttgart - Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Stuttgart Overall record VfB Stuttgart Pld: 2, W: 1, D: 1, L: 0, GS: 4, GA: 2 NK Dinamo Zagreb Pld: 2, W: 0, D: 1, L: 1, GS: 2, GA: 4

Home teams record versus clubs from the away teams country Date Competition Stage Match Res Venue 16.09.1981 UCUP R1 Hajduk - Stuttgart 3-1 Split 30.09.1981 UCUP R1 Stuttgart - Hajduk 2-2 Stuttgart 26.10.1988 UCUP R2 Dinamo Zagreb - Stuttgart 1-3 Zagreb 09.11.1988 UCUP R2 Stuttgart - Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Stuttgart 31.07.2002 UIC SF Stuttgart - Slaven 2-1 Stuttgart 07.08.2002 UIC SF Slaven - Stuttgart 0-1 Koprivnica Overall record VfB Stuttgart Pld: 6, W: 3, D: 2, L: 1, GS: 10, GA: 8

Away teams record versus clubs from the home teams country Date Competition Stage Match Res Venue 04.03.1970 UCWC QF Dinamo Zagreb - Schalke 1-3 Zagreb 18.03.1970 UCWC QF Schalke - Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Gelsenkirchen 20.10.1976 UCUP R2 Magdeburg - Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 Magdeburg 03.11.1976 UCUP R2 Dinamo Zagreb - Magdeburg 2-2 Zagreb 26.10.1988 UCUP R2 Dinamo Zagreb - Stuttgart 1-3 Zagreb 09.11.1988 UCUP R2 Stuttgart - Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 Stuttgart Overall record NK Dinamo Zagreb Pld: 6, W: 0, D: 2, L: 4, GS: 5, GA: 12

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RECORD IN VfB Stuttgart AP Pld W D L GF GA European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA Champions 3 13 5 3 5 16 15 League UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 2 13 7 2 4 21 16 UEFA Cup 13 83 45 17 21 170 94 UEFA Super Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 UEFA Intertoto Cup 3 20 13 2 5 37 15 Total 21 129 70 24 35 244 140 NK Dinamo Zagreb AP Pld W D L GF GA European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA Champions 8 34 11 8 15 49 44 League UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 9 31 11 6 14 31 38 UEFA Cup 15 57 23 17 17 97 64 UEFA Super Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 UEFA Intertoto Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 32 122 45 31 46 177 146

LEGEND European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA F: Final(s) ECCC: Champions League GS: Group stage UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup GS1: First group stage UCUP: UEFA Cup GS2: Second group stage UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup PR: Preliminary round SCUP: UEFA Super Cup QF: Quarter-finals AP: Appearances QR: Qualifying round DoB: Date of birth QR1: First qualifying round D: Drawn QR2: Second qualifying round GA: Goals against QR3: Third qualifying round GF: Goals for R1: First round L: Lost R2: Second round Pld: Matches played R3: Third round Nat.: Nationality R4: Fourth round No: Number SF: Semi-finals W: Won

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