SK Slavia Praha - FC Steaua Bucureşti MATCH PRESS KIT Evzena Rošického, Prague Wednesday 19 September 2007 - 20.45CET Group H - Matchday 1
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SK Slavia Praha - FC Steaua Bucureşti MATCH PRESS KIT Evzena Rošického, Prague Wednesday 19 September 2007 - 20.45CET Group H - Matchday 1 Contents 1 - Match background 7 - UEFA information 2 - Match facts 8 - Match-by-match lineups 3 - Squad list 9 - Competition facts 4 - Head coach 10 - Team facts 5 - Match officials 11 - Competition information 6 - Domestic information 12 - Legend Match background On their debut appearance in the UEFA Champions League after five failed attempts to qualify, SK Slavia Praha will hark back to an earlier UEFA Cup campaign for inspiration. In the 1999/00 third round they handed out a heavy defeat to visitors FC Steaua Bucureşti, the Romanian club with whom they renew acquaintance at the start of Group H. • Eight years ago Slavia won the home leg 4-1, scoring all their goals before the hour mark and it proved ample insurance for the return game which ended 1-1 thanks to Richard Dostálek's equaliser. It was the same player who had opened the scoring in the first game. • That season the Prague club reached the quarter-finals where they came unstuck against Leeds United AFC, thus failing to match their best performance in Europe which came during the 1995/96 UEFA Cup when they advanced to the semi-finals only to lose 2-0 on aggregate to FC Girondins de Bordeaux. • Three weeks ago there were celebratory scenes in the Evzena Rošického Stadium as Slavia at last banished the memories of those UEFA Champions League defeats to overcome four-time European champions AFC Ajax 3-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round. In the home leg Stanislav Vlček scored twice to build on David Kalivoda's 74th-minute penalty winner in Amsterdam. • Karel Jarolím's team will be looking to do better than their city rivals AC Sparta Praha who finished fourth in both the 2004/05 and 2005/06 campaigns. This time Sparta were denied a group-stage berth by Arsenal FC who won 2-0 away and 3-0 at home in the third qualifying round. The draw gives Slavia the chance to regain Czech Republic pride with the Londoners, who are also in Group H. • Steaua are the only Romanian club to have triumphed in Europe, winning the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1985/86 by defeating FC Barcelona in a penalty shoot-out and they are the only team from that country who Slavia have faced in European competition. Their opponents also have a two-legged tie with Sparta in their history books, a 1988/89 first-round meeting in the European Cup which brought Steaua a 5-1 away win in Prague, their biggest away win in European club competition. They completed their smooth passage with a 2-2 home draw. Last updated 17.09.2007 23:58:09CET Match background 1 SK Slavia Praha - FC Steaua Wednesday 19 September 2007 - 20.45CET Bucureşti MATCH PRESS KIT Evzena Rošického, Prague • It is Steaua's second successive participation in the group stage and their fifth in all – they are the only Romanian club to have qualified for the group stage in three successive seasons. However, each time (1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97 and 2006/07) they failed to qualify for the next round and it was the same last season when they finished third in the group and went into the UEFA Cup where they lost 3-0 on aggregate in the Round of 32 to eventual winners Sevilla FC – the fourth team in Group H. • In 24 group matches over four campaigns the Bucharest club have only amassed four wins. They gave themselves a real boost 12 months ago with a 4-1 away win over FC Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 1 but it was to prove their only victory with three-goal defeats at home by Real Madrid CF and Olympique Lyonnais damaging any hopes they had of advancing to the next stage. Match facts Slavia • Vladimír Šmicer's next appearance in UEFA club competition will be his 65th, making him the most experienced player in the SK Slavia Praha squad. With 25 UEFA Champions League matches to his name he is also the only player in the Prague club's squad to have appeared in the competition prior to Matchday 1. • Daniel Pudil celebrates his 22nd birthday on 27 September, one day before Martin Latka is 23 and Rogério Botelho turns 28. • Slavia dropped their first points in the league this season on Saturday when they played out a goalless draw with FC Baník Ostrava. The league leaders had several chances, the best of which fell to Stanislav Vlček, but the draw keeps them two points clear of their opponents. • Martin Vaniak kept a clean sheet for the fourth time in six league games, while Vlček is still Slavia's top goalscorer with four goals. • Slavia were lacking injured players Michal Švec (broken toe), Matej Krajčík (flu), Šmicer (thigh), Petr Janda (knee), Mickaël Tavares and long-term absentee Dušan Švento, who will undergo knee surgery next week. • Pudil, who is on loan from FC Slovan Liberec, played his first game for Slavia. "I hope he will play better games here," said the coach Karel Jarolím. Latka appeared on the bench for the first time after a long-term thigh injury. • "Our midfield played in a new way and it was the reason why we had many loose passes in the first half," said Jarolím. "We improved after the restart and created several chances but we were unable to profit from them." • Slavia changed their squad markedly during the summer as they signed up no fewer than nine new players. Šmicer is the most familiar new face. The playmaker, who won both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup in a successful six-year spell at Liverpool FC, is back at his former club after eleven seasons abroad, the last two at FC Girondins de Bordeaux. • Vaniak has proved a fine signing from FK Siad Most. He kept clean sheets in four of the first six league games but truly became a local hero with his penalty shoot-out heroics against MŠK Žilina in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round and again versus AFC Ajax in the next stage when he was on top form, blocking a Klaas Jan Huntelaar spot-kick. • František Dřížďal, signed from second division FC Baník Sokolov, has proved to be one of the relevations of the season. One year ago he was working as a school cook. • Erich Brabec returned home after six years abroad having played in Russia, Turkey and Austria before a spell with FC Aarau in Switzerland. Last updated 17.09.2007 23:58:09CET Match facts 2 SK Slavia Praha - FC Steaua Wednesday 19 September 2007 - 20.45CET Bucureşti MATCH PRESS KIT Evzena Rošického, Prague • Zdeněk Šenkeřík signed from Turkish team Malatyaspor after one year away from the Czech Republic, where he has played for a number of clubs. • Milan Ivana, who was the Czech league's top scorer in 2005/06 with 1.FC Slovácko, has also signed. • Tijani Belaid arrived from PSV Eindhoven having previously played in Serie A for FC Internazionale Milano as a teenager. • Tavares signed from French second division side Tours FC. • Slavia acquired Pudil just before the group stage deadline. The midfielder, who won his first senior Czech Republic cap in a friendly against Belgium in February, was loaned from Slovan until the end of season. • Lukáš Jarolím, the son of the coach, left for AC Siena, while Švento and Latka are on the long-term injury list with knee and thigh injuries respectively. • Slavia's eight-year stay at the Evzena Rošického Stadium will end in March when they move into their new Eden Stadium, opening with a derby against AC Sparta Praha. • Slavia have made a superb start to the Czech season, winning 1-0 at FK Jablonec 97, 2-0 at home to SK Kladno, 2-1 at SK Dynamo Ceské Budéjovice, 1-0 against 1. FC Brno and 3-2 at FK SIAD Most prior to the international break. • Captain Vlček has enjoyed a fine scoring start to the season with four goals to date. He also struck twice against Ajax and was recalled to the Czech Republic squad along with Vaniak. • Vlček was a substitute against both San Marino and the Republic of Ireland, two wins that took the Czech Republic to within sight of the UEFA EURO 2008™ finals from qualifying Group D. Vlček hit the post in the crucial 1-0 defeat of Ireland on 12 September, though Vaniak was in the stands for that game having remained on the bench against San Marino. • Marek Suchý and Janda helped the Czech Republic reach the FIFA U-20 World Cup final in Canada in July, though they lost out to Argentina 2-1. Steaua • Petre Marin's next appearance in a UEFA club competition will be his 50th. • Marin celebrated his 34th birthday on 8 September. Vasilică Cristocea will be 27 on 27 September and Robinson Zapata turns 29 three days later. • Steaua could only manage a 0-0 draw on Sunday at home against local rivals FC Rapid Bucureşti. Steaua had the best chances in the first half but neither Nicolae Dică or Bănel Nicoliţă could find a way past goalkeeper Danut Coman, while his opposite number Zapata did well to keep out Ionut Mazilu and Cesinha in the second period. • Coach Gheorghe Hagi said: "We hoped to win, but let's not forget that we played against very strong opponents. It was a nice match, especially in the second half, and it's a pity there were no goals.