UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE SEASON 2009/10 MATCH PRESS KIT FK Ventspils Hertha BSC Berlin Skonto, Riga Thursday 3 December 2009 - 21.05CET (22.05 local time) Group D - Matchday 5 Contents Match background.........................................................................................2 Team facts.....................................................................................................4 Squad list.......................................................................................................6 Fixtures and results.......................................................................................8 Match-by-match lineups...............................................................................11 Match officials...............................................................................................13 Competition information...............................................................................14 Legend.........................................................................................................15 This press kit includes information relating to this UEFA Europa League match. For more detailed factual information, and in-depth competition statistics, please refer to the matchweek press kit, which can be downloaded at: http://www.uefa.com/uefa/mediaservices/presskits/index.html FK Ventspils - Hertha BSC Berlin Thursday 3 December 2009 - 21.05CET (22.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Skonto, Riga Match background Previous meetings Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 17/09/09 GS Hertha BSC Berlin - FK Ventspils 1-1 Berlin Piszczek 34; Gauračs 48 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA FK Ventspils 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 Hertha BSC Berlin 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 FK Ventspils - record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 03/10/02 R1 FK Ventspils - VfB Stuttgart 1-4 Riga Landyrev 16; Tiffert 22, 90, Ganea 53, agg: 2-8 Amanatidis 87 19/09/02 R1 VfB Stuttgart - FK Ventspils 4-1 Stuttgart Amanatidis 22, Kuranyi 33, 40, Hleb 58; Rimkus 65 Hertha BSC Berlin - record versus clubs from opponents' country None Record versus clubs from opponents' country Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA FK Ventspils 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 3 9 Hertha BSC Berlin 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 FK Ventspils need to break their duck in European games in the Latvian capital, Riga, as they look to force their way back into UEFA Europa League round of 32 reckoning against Hertha BSC Berlin. • Defeat would put an end to Ventspils' hopes of a place in the knockout phase, while Hertha would advance through to the next round if a win coincides with defeat for SC Heerenveen in the night's other Group D game at Sporting Clube de Portugal. Previous meetings • Ventspils held Hertha to a surprise 1-1 draw in Berlin in their first meeting on Matchday 1. That was Hertha's first game against Latvian opposition. Group-stage debutants Ventspils have hosted German opposition before, losing 4-1 to VfB Stuttgart in a 2002/03 UEFA Cup first-round tie. Match background • With their usual home ground too small to host UEFA Europa League group-stage games, Ventspils are playing at the Skonto Stadium in Riga, where they have yet to win in six attempts. Their previous results at the stadium comprise five defeats and Matchday 2's 0-0 draw against Heerenveen. • Playing home games in the capital has never suited Ventspils. They have lost only one of their 14 UEFA club competition matches in Ventspils, but have not won in seven ties in Riga – six at the Skonto Stadium and one at the Daugava Stadium. • Matchday 4's 3-2 triumph at Heerenveen gave Hertha a crucial head-to-head advantage over the Dutch side and ended a five-match wait for a European away success, during which they scored just once and conceded seven times. Team facts • Founded with the merger of FK Venta and FK Nafta in 1997, Ventspils made a surprise change of coach after they reached the UEFA Champions League play-offs. Italian Nunzio Zavettieri – a former AC Milan and FC Internazionale Milano youth coach and one-time assistant at Udinese Calcio – took over from Ukrainian Roman Grygorchuk, who had led them to three consecutive Virsliga titles. Last updated 01/12/09 15:02:57CET Match background 2 FK Ventspils - Hertha BSC Berlin Thursday 3 December 2009 - 21.05CET (22.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Skonto, Riga • Ventspils lost the Latvian crown on 1 November, with a 1-1 stalemate against SK Liepājas Metalurgs handing the 2009 title to their opponents, who are coached by former West Germany striker Rüdiger Abramczik. • Friedhelm Funkel is taking charge of his third UEFA Europa League game with Hertha since being named as the club's new coach. A striker at FC Bayer 05 Uerdingen and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, he has coached Uerdingen, MSV Duisburg, FC Hansa Rostock, 1. FC Köln and – from 2004 until earlier this year – Eintracht Frankfurt. • Hertha had a different coach for their first two Group D games. Lucien Favre was in charge for the 1-1 draw against Ventspils, while his stand-in replacement Karsten Heine was on the bench for the 1-0 loss at Sporting. • Ventspils' towering Cameroonian defender Jean-Paul Ndeki started his career as a youth player at Eintracht Frankfurt. He played for lower league side Borussia Fulda before leaving for Latvia in 2004. • Ventspils' Azamat Baimatov turns 20 on the day of the match. • Ventspils and FC Shakhtar Donetsk boast the best disciplinary records in the competition ahead of Matchday 5, with just two yellow cards each. • Hertha host Sporting on Matchday 6, with Ventspils visiting Heerenveen on the same night, 16 December. Last updated 01/12/09 15:02:57CET Match background 3 FK Ventspils - Hertha BSC Berlin Thursday 3 December 2009 - 21.05CET (22.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Skonto, Riga Team facts FK Ventspils Formed: 1997 Nickname: Zhelto-Sinie (Yellow and Blues) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • None Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 3 (2008) Latvian Cup: 4 (2007) Ten-year European record (UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise) 2008/09: UEFA Champions League second qualifying round 2007/08: UEFA Champions League second qualifying round 2006/07: second qualifying round 2005/06: first qualifying round 2004/05: first round 2003/04: first round 2002/03: first round 2001/02: qualifying round 2000/01: qualifying round 1999/00: UEFA Intertoto Cup second round Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 8-0: Ventspils v B68 Toftir 29/07/04, UEFA Cup first qualifying round second leg • Biggest away win 0-3: B68 Toftir v Ventspils 15/07/04, UEFA Cup first qualifying round first leg • Heaviest home defeat 1-4: Ventspils v Rosenborg BK 24/09/03, UEFA Cup first round first leg 1-4: Ventspils v VfB Stuttgart 03/10/02, UEFA Cup first round second leg 0-3 on two occasions, most recently v FC Zürich (19/08/09 UEFA Champions League play-off first leg) • Heaviest away defeat 6-0: Rosenborg BK v Ventspils 15/10/03, UEFA Cup first round second leg UEFA Cup/Europa League • Biggest home win 8-0: Ventspils v B68 Toftir (see above) • Biggest away win 0-3: B68 Toftir v Ventspils (see above) • Heaviest home defeat 1-4 on two occasions, most recently v Rosenborg BK (see above) • Heaviest away defeat 6-0: Rosenborg BK v Ventspils (see above) Last updated 01/12/09 15:02:57CET Team facts 4 FK Ventspils - Hertha BSC Berlin Thursday 3 December 2009 - 21.05CET (22.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Skonto, Riga Hertha BSC Berlin Formed: 1892 Nickname: Die Alte Dame (The Old Lady) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • None Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 2 (1931) Ten-year European record (UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise) 2008/09: group stage 2007/08: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2006/07: first round (transferred from UEFA Intertoto Cup) 2005/06: round of 32 2004/05: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2003/04: first round 2002/03: fourth round 2001/02: third round 2000/01: third round 1999/00: UEFA Champions League second group stage Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 8-1: Hertha v FC Nistru Otaci 17/07/08, UEFA Cup first qualifying round first leg • Biggest away win 1-4: IF Elfsborg v Hertha 29/09/71, UEFA Cup first round second leg • Heaviest home defeat 1-4: Hertha v Galatasaray SK 26/10/99, UEFA Champions League first group stage 0-3: Hertha v Servette FC 06/12/01, UEFA Cup third round second leg • Heaviest away defeat 4-0: Olympiacos CFP v Hertha 18/12/08, UEFA Cup group stage UEFA Cup/Europa League • Biggest home win 8-1: Hertha v FC Nistru Otaci (see above) • Biggest away win 1-4: IF Elfsborg v Hertha (see above • Heaviest home defeat 0-3: Hertha v Servette FC (see above) • Heaviest away defeat 4-0: Olympiacos CFP v Hertha (see above) Last updated 01/12/09 15:02:57CET Team facts 5 FK Ventspils - Hertha BSC Berlin Thursday 3 December 2009 - 21.05CET (22.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Skonto, Riga Squad list FK Ventspils Current season All-time UELQ UEL League UEL UEFA No. Player Nat. DoB Age D Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers 1 Pavel Chesnovski BLR 04/03/86 23 - - - 1 - 4 - 1 - 3 - 16 Aleksandrs Kolinko LVA 18/06/75 34 - - - 3 - 5 - 9 - 26 - 30 Andrejs Pavlovs LVA 22/02/79 30 - - - - - 4 - - - 10 - Defenders 2 Aleksejs Soleičuks LVA 12/08/80 29 - - - - - 10 - 2 - 8 - 8 Deniss Kačanovs LVA 27/11/79 30 - - - - - 20 1 2 - 21 2 17 Jean-Paul Ndeki CMR 27/10/82