UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE 2011/12 SEASON MATCH PRESS KIT Maccabi Haifa FC FC Steaua Bucureşti Group J - Matchday 3 Itztadion Kiryat Eliezer, Haifa Thursday 20 October 2011 19.00CET (19.00 local time) Contents Previous meetings.............................................................................................................2 Match background.............................................................................................................3 Team facts.........................................................................................................................4 Squad list...........................................................................................................................6 Fixtures and results...........................................................................................................8 Match-by-match lineups..................................................................................................11 Match officials..................................................................................................................13 Legend............................................................................................................................14 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 Maccabi Haifa FC - FC Steaua Bucureşti Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Itztadion Kiryat Eliezer, Haifa Previous meetings Head to Head None Maccabi Haifa FC - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Intertoto Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 14/07/07 R2 ACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa - 0-2 Bistrita Maymon 6, Hemed 65 Maccabi Haifa FC agg: 2-2 07/07/07 R2 Maccabi Haifa FC - 0-2 Haifa Tilinca 12, Zaharia 41 ACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa FC Steaua Bucureşti - 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 Maccabi Haifa FC 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 2 FC Steaua Bucureşti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Last updated 18/10/11 12:45:19CET 2 Previous meetings Maccabi Haifa FC - FC Steaua Bucureşti Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Itztadion Kiryat Eliezer, Haifa Match background Israeli and Romanian sides will meet for the second time in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage as Maccabi Haifa FC host FC Steaua Bucureşti in Group J. Previous meetings • The teams are meeting for the first time and this is also Steaua's first tie against an Israeli club. • Maccabi have faced Romanian opposition before. They took on ACF Gloria 1922 Bistriţa in the 2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup; losing the home leg 2-0 and winning away by the same margin, before going on to lose the resulting penalty shoot-out 3-2. • That tainted victory remains the only one an Israeli side have achieved in eight games against Romanian clubs in UEFA competition, with the other seven producing two draws and five defeats. • Israeli and Romanian sides have already met in this season's UEFA Europa League group stage, with FC Rapid Bucureşti triumphing 1-0 at Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC in Group C on matchday one. Match background • Maccabi have won their last five European home games since losing 1-0 to FC Girondins de Bordeaux in their final 2009/10 UEFA Champions League group stage game. • Steaua have not won in nine UEFA away games (five draws and four defeats) since a 2-1 UEFA Europa League play-off win at Saint Patrick's Athletic FC on 27 August 2009. Team facts • Steaua's defender Geraldo Alves and Maccabi's midfielder Seidu Yahaya were on the books at AEK Athens FC together from 2007 to 2010. Alves made 44 appearances and Yahaya just three; with neither player finding the net during their time in Greece. • Steaua's Montenegrin forward Stefan Nikolić and Maccabi's Serbian goalkeeper Bojan Saranov were both registered with OFK Beograd in the 2007/08 season, though the latter was loaned out for much of that campaign and the former never featured for the Serbian side. • Having previously led FC Ashdod in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Elisha Levi won league titles with Maccabi in 2008/09 and 2010/11 and took them through a UEFA Champions League group stage campaign in 2008/09. However his side struggled, finishing bottom of a group they shared with FC Bayern München, Olympique Lyonnais and ACF Fiorentina, picking up just one point along the way. • Levi would have been up against another Israeli coach had Roni Levy not resigned as Steaua boss in the wake of their 1-1 draw at AEK Larnaca FC on matchday two. • The new Steaua boss is Ilie Stan, who spent the bulk of his playing career as a midfielder with the club (1987-95 and 1997), venturing abroad to represent KSV Cercle Brugge, AEL Limassol FC and Israeli sides Hapoel Petach-Tikva FC and Hapoel Tzafririm FC. He was briefly assistant coach of Romania in 2002 and 2004, and led FC Victoria Brăneşti to Romania's top flight with back-to-back promotions before resigning in April 2011. Last updated 18/10/11 12:45:19CET 3 Match background Maccabi Haifa FC - FC Steaua Bucureşti Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Itztadion Kiryat Eliezer, Haifa Team facts Maccabi Haifa FC Formed: 1913 Nickname: Ha-Yerukim (The Greens) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • None Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 12 (2011) State Cup: 5 (1998) Ten-year European record (UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League unless indicated otherwise) 2010/11: third qualifying round 2009/10: UEFA Champions League group stage 2008/09: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2007/08: UEFA Intertoto Cup second round 2006/07: round of 16 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2005/06: UEFA Champions League second qualifying round 2004/05: first round (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2003/04: second round 2002/03: third round (having transferred from UEFA Champions League first group stage) 2001/02: UEFA Champions League second qualifying round Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 6-0: Maccabi Haifa v Glentoran FC 15/07/09, UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg • Biggest away win 0-4: Glentoran FC v Maccabi Haifa 22/07/09, UEFA Champions League second qualifying round second leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-4: Maccabi Haifa v Valencia CF 11/12/03, UEFA Cup second round second leg (match played in Rotterdam) 0-4: Maccabi Haifa v FC Lokomotiv Nizhni Novgorod 19/07/97, UEFA Intertoto Cup group stage • Heaviest away defeat 4-0 on four occasions, most recently v RCD Espanyol (15/03/07 UEFA Cup round of 16 second leg) UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League • Biggest home win 3-0: Maccabi Haifa v Cwmbran Town FC 28/08/03, qualifying round second leg • Biggest away win 3-0: Cwmbran Town FC v Maccabi Haifa 14/08/03, qualifying round first leg • Heaviest home defeat 0-4: Maccabi Haifa v Valencia CF (see above) • Heaviest away defeat 4-0: RCD Espanyol v Maccabi Haifa 15/03/07, round of 16 second leg 4-0: AEK Athens FC v Maccabi Haifa 28/11/02, third round first leg Last updated 18/10/11 12:45:19CET 4 Team facts Maccabi Haifa FC - FC Steaua Bucureşti Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (19.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Itztadion Kiryat Eliezer, Haifa FC Steaua Bucureşti Formed: 1947 Nickname: Militarii (Army Men) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • European Champion Clubs' Cup (1): 1986, (1989) • UEFA Super Cup (1): 1986 Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 23 (2006) Romanian Cup: 21 (2011) Ten-year European record (UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League unless indicated otherwise) 2010/11: group stage 2009/10: group stage 2008/09: UEFA Champions League group stage 2007/08: UEFA Champions League group stage 2006/07: round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2005/06: semi-finals (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2004/05: round of 16 2003/04: second round 2002/03: did not compete in UEFA club competition 2001/02: first round (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 6-0: Steaua v BSC Young Boys 03/10/79, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first round second leg • Biggest away win 1-5: AC Sparta Praha v Steaua 07/09/88, European Champion Clubs' Cup first round first leg • Heaviest home defeat 1-4: FC Steaua Bucureşti v Real Madrid CF 17/10/06, UEFA Champions League group stage 0-3 on four occasions, most recently v Olympique Lyonnais 26/09/06 UEFA Champions League group stage • Heaviest away defeat 5-0 on two occasions, most recently v Paris Saint-Germain FC 27/08/97, UEFA Champions League second qualifying round second leg UEFA Cup/Europa League • Biggest home win 4-0: Steaua v RC Lens 20/10/05, group stage • Biggest away win 1-4: FC Levadia Maardu v Steaua 26/08/99, qualifying round second leg 0-3 on two occasions, most recently v Real Betis Balompié 09/03/06, round of 16 second leg • Heaviest home defeat 1-3: Steaua v FC Barcelona 28/09/77, first round second leg 0-2: Steaua v Sevilla FC 15/02/07, round of 32 first leg • Heaviest away defeat 5-1: FC Barcelona v Steaua 14/09/77, first round first leg Last updated 18/10/11 12:45:19CET 5 Team facts Maccabi Haifa