FC Barcelona v Panathinaikos FC PRESS KIT Camp Nou, Barcelona Wednesday, 2 November 2005 - 20:45 CET Group C - Matchday 4 The first match between the clubs in Athens on 18 October saw Panathinaikos FC end FC Barcelona's 100 per cent UEFA Champions League record this season with a 0-0 draw, a result that has also left the Greek club in a challenging position in the group table. Both clubs will now be looking for a positive showing to increase their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages. First meeting •The teams have met once previously in UEFA competition, when each won their home game in the quarter-finals of the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League. •In the first leg in Greece, Panathinaikos took a narrow 1-0 lead with a penalty from Angelos Basinas after 79 minutes. And it was the Greek side who immediately added to their advantage at Camp Nou when Michalis Konstantinou scored inside eight minutes of the second leg. •However, Barcelona fought back, Luis Enrique scored either side of half-time and Javier Saviola added the third just after the hour, meaning the Catalan club squeezed through to the semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate margin. Four wins from four •Despite a European pedigree stretching back to December 1955, Barcelona are playing host to a Greek club for only the fifth time. Having been beaten 1-0 at PAOK FC, then PAOK Saloniki, in the first round of the 1975/76 UEFA Cup, Barça turned on the style in the return, running out 6-1 winners. •Carlos Rexach scored a hat-trick and Dutch maestros Johan Neeskens (2) and Johan Cruyff were also on the mark. Rexach and Cruyff went on to coach the club, the latter enjoying a number of successful years at the helm including Barcelona's sole European Champion Clubs' Cup triumph in 1992. •The form guide has continued at Camp Nou with Barcelona having now won all their four home games against Greek clubs, scoring 16 goals and conceding just two. Last Greek visit •The last occasion that Barcelona played host to a Greek club was in the second round of the 2003/04 UEFA Cup when a 2-0 win against Panionios NFC in the return leg set up a 5-0 aggregate win. Seven defeats in Spain •Panthinaikos have lost on each of their seven visits to Spain in UEFA competition, with all having come since 1999. The Greens scored four goals in that period while conceding 16, with all but two of the matches taking place in the UEFA Champions League. uefa.com 1/31 FC Barcelona v Panathinaikos FC PRESS KIT Previous Spanish trip •Their most recent visit came in last season's UEFA Cup Round of 32. Having defeated Sevilla FC 1-0 in Athens, Panathanaikos fell to a 2-0 loss in Andalusia and were eliminated on aggregate. Their first trip to Spain had also come in the UEFA Cup, when Panathinaikos lost 4-2 at RC Deportivo La Coruña in the 1999/00 third round, rendering a 1-1 home draw irrelevant. Team facts: Barcelona •Bar ça are competing in their eighth UEFA Champions League campaign in the past nine seasons. In the 2003/04 season the Catalan club were involved in the UEFA Cup until elimination in the fourth round. •Since their 4-0 defeat by AC Milan in the 1993/94 European Champion Clubs' Cup final, Barça have advanced to the semi-finals of the competition twice, namely during the 1999/00 and 2001/02 seasons, where they lost on both occasions to Spanish opponents. The former came against Valencia CF who defeated Barça 5-3 on aggregate, while the latter was against Madrid who won 2-0 in Barcelona before drawing 1-1 at home to advance to the final. •In total, Barça have appeared in four European Champion Clubs' Cup finals, winning the 1991/92 competition against UC Sampdoria thanks to a 112th-minute Ronald Koeman free-kick. Previously, Barça lost on penalties to CSA Steaua Bucuresti in the 1985/86 season and 3-2 to SL Benfica in the 1960/61 season. •Bar ça won the Spanish Primera División by four points from Real Madrid CF. Villarreal CF and Real Betis Balompié followed in third and fourth place, 19 and 22 points behind the champions respectively. •Entering the competition at the start of the group stage, the Catalan team opened their account with two wins from two outings. Barça tamed Bremen in Germany on the opening matchday with goals from Deco (13) and Ronaldinho (76pen). Then Udinese, fresh from a 3-0 win against Panathinaikos, felt the wrath of Ronaldinho who bagged a hat-trick (13, 32, 90pen) with Deco (41) also on the scoresheet in a sizzling 4-1 victory at the Camp Nou. A fitting outcome to Barça's 150th game in the European Champion Clubs' Cup in which they have won 83, drawn 33 and lost 34 with 288 goals scored and 167 goals conceded. •On Matchday 3, Panathinaikos blunted the three-man attack of Barcelona with, in the end, some comfort to secure a UEFA Champions League draw which will not harm either side's chances of reaching the next stage. Only occasionally were the two goalkeepers called into action, as Ronaldinho in particular had a night of increasing – and rare – frustration. •This will be Barça's 100th match in the UEFA Champions League. So far, they have won 52, drawn 24 and lost 23 with 188 goals scored and 120 conceded. uefa.com 2/31 FC Barcelona v Panathinaikos FC PRESS KIT •Of the 32 teams competing in this season's UEFA Champions League, they are second only to Real Madrid CF in terms of total matches played in UEFA club competition with 323 games in which they have won 173, drawn 75 and lost 75 with 621 goals scored and 339 goals conceded. Team facts: Panathinaikos •Panathinaikos are competing in their fifth UEFA Champions League in the past six seasons having missed out on qualification for the 2002/03 season. Having finished in third place in each of the past two group stage campaigns, which resulted in a switch to the UEFA Cup, the Greek side will be looking to emulate their performance of the 2001/02 season when they reached the quarter-finals before losing 3-2 on aggregate to FC Barcelona. •With Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás at the helm, Panathinaikos enjoyed their most successful UEFA club competition season during their 1970/71 campaign, advancing to the final of the European Champion Clubs' Cup final only to lose 2-0 to AFC Ajax. •Panathinaikos finished one point behind Olympiacos CFP in the Greek Ethniki Kategoria last season which provided them with a third qualifying round tie against Polish champions Wisla Kraków. The prospects of advancing to the group stage proper for the third successive season looked rather grim as Wisla raced to a 3-1 lead following the first leg. Panathinaikos's Polish international Emmanuel Olisadebe actually opened the scoring after four minutes, but Wisla hit back to claim a two-goal advantage. With the return leg scoreless at the interval, it looked good for the Polish side, but Panathinaikos were not finished as Nasief Morris (62), Olisadebe (65) and Dimitrios Papadopoulos (85) forced the match into extra time with Wisla's goal coming from Radoslaw Sobolewski (78). The Greek side then hit the winner five minutes from the end of extra time through Ilias Kotsios to break Polish hearts. •The Greek side failed to capitalise on such an emotional qualification in their opening match in the group stage, slumping to a 3-0 defeat away by debutants, Udinese Calcio. But they bounced back at home at Werder Bremen's expense on Matchday 2, running out 2-1 winners to keep in touch with early pacesetters, Barcelona. The Greek team got off to a fast start against their German opponents with Ezequiel González opening the scoring from the penalty spot after five minutes before Evagelos Mantzios added a second three minutes later. It took Bremen until four minutes before the break to dent Panathinaikos' lead as Miroslav Klose reduced the deficit, but the Greek side held on for the win as the German club were reduced to ten men following the dismissal of Ivan Klasnić. • On Matchday 3, Panathinaikos blunted the three­man attack of Barcelona with, in the end, some comfort to secure a UEFA Champions League draw which will not harm either side's chances of reaching the next stage. Only occasionally were the two goalkeepers called into action, as Ronaldinho in particular had a night of increasing – and rare – frustration. However, when Panathinaikos come to the Camp Nou for Barcelona's 100th UEFA Champions League game on Matchday 4, they will be hard­ uefa.com 3/31 FC Barcelona v Panathinaikos FC PRESS KIT pressed to hold out in this style again. • To date, Panathinaikos have played 57 matches in the UEFA Champions League. They have recorded 20 wins, 14 draws and 23 defeats with 62 goals scored and 69 conceded. • In UEFA club competition, their record reads: played 190, won 67, drawn 47, lost 76 with 238 goals scored and 254 conceded. Match facts: Barcelona v Panathinaikos • Barcelona’s Ronaldinho is the competition’s top scorer after three matchdays with four goals in 270 minutes played. The Brazilian international is closely followed by Fenerbahçe SK’s Alex with three goals from 266 minutes. Also on three goals is Udinese Calcio’s Vincenzo Iaquinta from 180 minutes played.