UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2015/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Johan Cruijff ArenA - Amsterdam Thursday 10 December 2015 19.00CET (19.00 local time) AFC Ajax Group A - Matchday 6 Molde FK Last updated 16/09/2020 22:37CET Previous meetings 2 Match background 4 Team facts 5 Squad list 7 Fixtures and results 9 Match-by-match lineups 10 Match officials 12 Legend 13 1 AFC Ajax - Molde FK Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam Previous meetings Head to Head UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers E. Hestad 8; Fischer 01/10/2015 GS Molde FK - AFC Ajax 1-1 Molde 19 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA AFC Ajax 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 Molde FK 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 AFC Ajax - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 4-0 Rosenberg 6, 26, 28/09/2006 R1 AFC Ajax - IK Start Amsterdam agg: 9-2 Grygera 43, Babel 68 M. Johnson 27, Fevang 55; Huntelaar 14/09/2006 R1 IK Start - AFC Ajax 2-5 Lillestrom 17, 87, Rosenberg 42, Sneijder 63, Roger García 67 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Ibrahimović 41; Enerly 22/10/2002 GS1 AFC Ajax - Rosenborg BK 1-1 Amsterdam 85 (P) 02/10/2002 GS1 Rosenborg BK - AFC Ajax 0-0 Trondheim European Champions Clubs' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Birkelund 10 (og), 4-0 28/09/1977 R1 AFC Ajax - Lillestrøm SK Amsterdam Geels 32, La Ling 51, agg: 4-2 72 Lønstad 2, Johansen 14/09/1977 R1 Lillestrøm SK - AFC Ajax 2-0 Oslo 14 European Champions Clubs' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 0-0 07/09/1960 PR AFC Ajax - Fredrikstad FK Amsterdam agg: 3-4 Olsen 35, Kristoffersen 48, 31/08/1960 PR Fredrikstad FK - AFC Ajax 4-3 Fredrikstad Pedersen 59, Borgen 70; Groot 26, 75, Swart 37 Molde FK - Record versus clubs from opponents' country 2 AFC Ajax - Molde FK Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 1-2 Valpoort 90+2; Berget 30/08/2012 PO sc Heerenveen - Molde FK Heerenveen agg: 1-4 54, Diouf 73 Wolff Eikrem 31, 23/08/2012 PO Molde FK - sc Heerenveen 2-0 Molde Moström 90 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA AFC Ajax 4 2 2 0 5 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 9 3 4 2 18 10 Molde FK 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 5 2 3 AFC Ajax - Molde FK Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam Match background AFC Ajax are clinging on to hope in UEFA Europa League Group A while Molde FK are hoping there is another pleasant surprise to come on matchday six. • Ajax can only progress if they win and Fenerbahçe SK lose to Celtic FC; the Turkish side are two points ahead and have a head-to-head advantage over their Dutch counterparts. • Molde are through, and will be confirmed as Group A winners if they draw or if Fenerbahçe do not win. Previous meetings • Ajax held Molde to a 1-1 draw when the sides met for the first time in UEFA competition on matchday two. It was Ajax's 350th UEFA game. • Ajax's record in nine fixtures against Norwegian teams is W3 D4 L2 (W2 D2 L0 at home). In the most recent of those ties, they beat IK Start 9-2 on aggregate in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup first round. • Molde are unbeaten in three games against Dutch opponents having beaten sc Heerenveen home and away in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League play-offs. Form guide • Ajax are unbeaten in three home games this season (W1 D2) but have drawn both of their home matches in Group A. • Molde have already beaten Fenerbahçe (3-1) and Celtic (2-1) away from home in Group A. • Ajax have made it through to the round of 32 in all three of their previous UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns. They have featured at one stage or another in the last nine editions of the competition, meaning they are the only ever-present club in the seven seasons of the UEFA Europa League. • Molde are making their second appearance in this group stage, having missed out on the knockout phase in their maiden campaign in 2012/13. Trivia and links • The journey from Molde to Amsterdam is just over 1,150km. • Molde's Daniel Hestad became the oldest scorer in UEFA Europa League history at 40 years and 98 days with the winner at Celtic on matchday four. • Hestad has Dutch league experience, having represented Heerenveen from 2003 to 2005. A club legend, he broke his father Stein Olav Hestad's Molde appearance record, while three of his uncles and his brother have played for the team at various times. • Molde defender Joona Toivio (AZ Alkmaar 2007/08, SC Telstar 2008–10) and midfielder Harmeet Singh (Feyenoord 2012–14) have also played in the Netherlands. • Molde are one of ten sides in this season's group stage that qualified for Europe as domestic champions, along with KF Skenderbëu (Albania), Qarabağ FK (Azerbaijan), APOEL FC (Cyprus), FC Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic), FC Midtjylland (Denmark), KKS Lech Poznań (Poland), FK Partizan (Serbia), Celtic (Scotland) and FC Basel 1893 (Switzerland). • Molde lost their Norwegian title to fellow group stage contenders Rosenborg BK, who were confirmed as champions on 25 October. The coaches • Ole Gunnar Solskjær succeeded caretaker boss Erling Moe on the eve of matchday three. The former Manchester United FC forward scored 31 goals in 38 games for Molde before moving to Old Trafford and coached the club from 2011–14, winning two league titles and a national cup. • Frank de Boer has been in charge of Ajax since 2010, and in 2014 became the first coach to lead the club to four successive Eredivisie titles. The defender won the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League as an Ajax player. 4 AFC Ajax - Molde FK Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam Team facts AFC Ajax Formed: 1900 Nickname: Godenzonen (Sons of the Gods) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • European Cup (4): (1969), 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995, (1996) • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1987, (1988) • UEFA Cup (1): 1992 • UEFA Super Cup (2): 1973, (1987), 1995 • European/South American Cup (2): 1972, 1995 Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 33 (2014) Dutch Cup: 18 (2010) Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise) 2014/15: round of 16 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2013/14: round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2012/13: round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2011/12: round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2010/11: round of 16 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2009/10: round of 32 2008/09: round of 16 2007/08: first round (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2006/07: round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2005/06: UEFA Champions League round of 16 Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 14-0: Ajax v FA Red Boys Differdange 03/10/84, UEFA Cup first round second leg • Biggest away win 1-8: HJK Helsinki v Ajax 19/09/79, European Champion Clubs' Cup first round first leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-4: Ajax v Real Madrid CF 23/11/10, UEFA Champions League group stage • Heaviest away defeat 5-1: FC Bayern München v Ajax 22/10/80, European Champion Clubs' Cup second round first leg 4-0 on four occasions, most recently v FC Barcelona 18/09/13, UEFA Champions League group stage UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup • Biggest home win 14-0: Ajax v FA Red Boys Differdange (see above) • Biggest away win 0-6: KAA Gent v Ajax 12/09/00, first round first leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-3: Ajax v FC Salzburg 21/02/14, round of 32 first leg 0-3 (aet): Ajax v FK Austria Wien 27/09/1989, first round second leg • Heaviest away defeat 4-1: Budapest Honvéd FC v Ajax 22/11/78, third round first leg 5 AFC Ajax - Molde FK Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam 3-0 on three occasions, most recently v FC Spartak Moskva 17/03/11, round of 16 second leg Molde FK Formed: 1911 Nickname: MFK UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • none Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) • Domestic title: 3 (2014) • Norwegian Cup: 4 (2014) Ten-year European record (UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup unless indicated otherwise) 2014/15: third qualifying round 2013/14: play-offs (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2012/13: group stage (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2011/12: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2010/11: third qualifying round 2009/10: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2008/09: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2007/08: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2006/07: first round 2005/06: did not take part in UEFA club competition Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 4-1: Molde v ND Gorica 17/07/14, UEFA Europa League second qualifying round first leg 3-0: Molde v FK Ventspils 18/07/12, UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg • Biggest away win 0-4: KÍ Klaksvík v Molde 28/08/03, UEFA Cup qualifying round second leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-2 three times, most recently v Fenerbahçe SK 26/11/15, UEFA Europa League group stage • Heaviest away defeat 6-0: Östers IF v Molde 01/10/75, UEFA Cup first round second leg UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup • Biggest home win 4-1: Molde v ND Gorica (see above) • Biggest away win 0-4: KÍ Klaksvík v Molde (see above) • Heaviest home defeat 0-2 three times, most recently v Fenerbahçe SK (see above) • Heaviest away defeat 6-0: Östers IF v Molde (see above) 6 AFC Ajax - Molde FK Thursday 10 December 2015 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Match press kit Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam Squad list AFC Ajax Current season All-time UCL QUAL UEL League UEL UEFA No.