UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2016/17 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS (First leg: 2-3) GSP - Nicosia Thursday 23 February 2017 APOEL FC 19.00CET (20.00 local time) Athletic Club Round of 32, Second leg Last updated 22/02/2017 03:12CET

Match background 2 Legend 3

1 APOEL FC - Athletic Club Thursday 23 February 2017 - 19.00CET (20.00 local time) Match press kit GSP, Nicosia

Match background

Given hope by Yannis Gianniotas's late goal in Bilbao, APOEL will fancy their chances of recording their first victory against a Spanish team when Athletic Club travel to in the UEFA Europa League round of 32. • Gianniotas's 89th-minute strike at the Estadio de San Mamés left APOEL, who took the lead through George Efrem, needing to overturn a 3-2 deficit in the second leg. Previous meetings • The clubs met for the first time in the first leg. • APOEL are yet to win in 15 encounters with Spanish opposition (W0 D5 L10 – D4 L3 at home). • In their only previous tie against a Cypriot side, Athletic (featuring current coach Ernesto Valverde as a player) lost 2- 0 away to Anorthosis Famagusta in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup first round but rallied to win the return leg 3-0 as their visitors ended the game with nine men. Form guide • APOEL are unbeaten in six European home games this season (W5 D1). They set a new club (and national) record by accruing 12 points in this season's group stage; their previous best was nine, collected in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League. • Athletic are without a win in three European away games (D1 L2). • UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists in 2011/12, APOEL have made it to the spring phase of the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League for the first time. • Losing finalists in this competition in 1977 and 2012, Athletic defeated Marseille in last season's round of 32, eventually succumbing to eventual winners Sevilla on penalties in the quarter-finals. Links and trivia • The journey from Bilbao to Nicosia is around 3,200km. • Athletic's Aritz Aduriz is second, one behind eight-goal Edin Džeko, in the 2016/17 scorers' chart. Aduriz became the UEFA Europa League's third top marksman, behind Radamel Falcao and Óscar Cardozo, when he struck his 18th competition goal in the first leg against APOEL. • Aduriz was also the leading scorer in last season's edition with ten, breaking Alan Shearer's record to become the oldest top marksman in any edition of the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League – he was aged 35 years and 97 days on the day of the final. • Aduriz is now seven clear of Fernando Llorente as Athletic's all-time European top scorer, with 23 goals. • APOEL boast Spanish talent in the form of goalkeeper Urko Pardo, defenders Roberto Lago and Iñaki Astiz and midfielder Andrea Orlandi. • Pardo played under Athletic boss Ernesto Valverde at Olympiacos (2010–11). The coaches • APOEL's Danish-born coach Thomas Christiansen was once a trainee at , playing in their 1992 UEFA Super Cup success, and also scored once in two appearances for Spain. He joined APOEL this summer after two promising seasons as AEK Larnaca boss. • Valverde took charge of Athletic for a second time in June 2013, having led his old club from 2003 to 2005. The former forward later steered Espanyol to the 2007 UEFA Cup final, landed three Greek titles with Olympiacos and coached Villarreal and Valencia. Penalty shoot-outs • APOEL won their only previous UEFA penalty shoot-out: W 4-3 H v Lyon (2011/12 UEFA Champions League round of 16) • Athletic have lost both of their two previous UEFA competition penalty shoot-outs: L 5-3 H CFR Cluj (2005 Intertoto Cup second round) L 5-4 A Sevilla (2015/16 UEFA Europa League quarter-final) L 5-3 H v CFR Cluj (2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup second round)

2 APOEL FC - Athletic Club Thursday 23 February 2017 - 19.00CET (20.00 local time) Match press kit GSP, Nicosia 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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