Udinese Calcio v Panathinaikos FC Friuli - Udine Wednesday, 14 September 2005 - 20:45 (CET) Group stage - Group C - Matchday 1 Match officials Referee Olegário Benquerença (POR) Assistant referees Bertino Miranda (POR), Serafim Nogueira (POR) Fourth official Paulo Batista (POR) UEFA delegate Kazimierz Oleszek (POL) Match preview Cosmi calm ahead of competition bow Udinese Calcio coach Serse Cosmi could barely contain his excitement ahead of his side's first-ever UEFA Champions League match at home to Panathinaikos FC on Wednesday evening. Emotional time "It's a very emotional time," he said. "I feel very proud. Just coming to the stadium and watching everything being set up, you get the feeling we are experiencing something extraordinary. We feel we've come very far and now we want to do well for everyone associated with the club." Cosmi's enthusiasm is understandable. Three months ago, the amiable Italian was coaching Genoa 1893 in Serie B and now he is preparing to test himself against the leading lights of European football. Boyhood dreams "I remember when I was a boy watching [FC] Internazionale [Milano] and AC Milan and the contribution they made - a winning contribution – and I dreamt of being a player. Then, as time goes by, you moderate your expectations and hope to make it as a manager. I've worked my way up from the bottom and I hope other lower- league managers will see that we can make it to the highest level." But if Cosmi appears happy with his lot, he also pointed out that his players are not just there to make up the numbers. Mature approach Udinese may not be Italy's most fashionable team, but they currently top Serie A following 1-0 wins against Empoli FC and AS Roma. "I have faith in my players and despite the occasion they are still very calm," Cosmi continued. "After Sunday's victory at Roma they were happy with the result but they weren't jumping around going mad. They took it all in their stride and that's a sign of growing maturity in this side." Iaquinta ambition One of the players with his feet firmly on the ground is Vincenzo Iaquinta, the striker who has managed to force his way into the Italy team and is now looking to make his mark in Europe. "I know I haven't scored in Serie A yet but I'm sure the goals will come," he said. "I've always been a slow starter but I'm happy with my game. I scored a penalty in the qualifying round [against Sporting Clube de Portugal] and I'll settle for that tomorrow if we win." Selection dilemma Cosmi remains guarded about his formation to face the Greeks after utilising three forwards at the weekend with Antonio Di Natale and Davide Di Michele supporting a more central Iaquinta. Di Michele could make way for the more defence-minded Vidigal or Stefano Mauri, although midfielder Giampiero Pinzi and defender Valerio Bertotto are both likely to miss out through injury and illness respectively. Panathinaikos problems Udinese's problems pale into insignificance compared with those of Panathinaikos, however. Emmanuel Olisadebe and Flavio Conceição are suspended, while Dimitrios Papoudopoulos and Srdjan Adrić are sidelined. The absentees are a further blow to coach Alberto Malesani, whose side are languishing near the bottom of the Alpha Ethniki following a home defeat by title­holders Olympiacos CFP and a draw at Ionikos FC on Saturday. The Italian may now field a defensive­looking lineup at the Friuli stadium with Sándor Torghelle operating as a lone striker. Malesani makes his point Indeed, Malesani hinted that a draw would be far from disastrous. "We must be very calm. The group stage is 23:33:48 CET 13/9/2005 uefa.com 1/16 Matchday 1 - Group C - Wednesday, 14 September 2005 - PRESS KITS UDINESE-PANATHINAIKOS like a mini championship so if things don't go to plan in the first match there is still time to put them right. A point means you still have a very good chance of qualifying." Match background Greek grit gets Udinese under way Such is the dominance of the bigger clubs in Italian football, that Udinese Calcio are only the eighth Italian club to take part in the UEFA Champions League, despite the country currently having a annual quota of four clubs. Udinese finished fourth in Serie A last season, a point ahead of UC Sampdoria, and have qualified for their first group stage with a 4­2 aggregate win against Sporting Clube de Portugal in the third qualifying round. The Champions League newcomers begin with a home game against Panathinaikos FC, who now appear in the group stages for the seventh time. The Greek team reached the semi­finals ten seasons ago, but have found qualification for the knockout stages more elusive since then. Last season, Panathinaikos finished just a point behind Arsenal FC and PSV Eindhoven in their group, and might have progressed if they had not conceded a late equaliser at Rosenborg BK. With their entry into the UEFA Cup in recent seasons, Udinese have previously played two ties against Greek clubs in that competition. In 2000/01, the Italians met FC PAOK in the second round, and won the home leg 1­0 with a goal from substitute Massimo Margiotta. The return leg saw PAOK equalise after 73 minutes to take the tie to extra time, with the Greek team adding two more goals to win a lively match of ten yellow cards 3 ­0 and 3­ 1 on aggregate. Last season, Udinese met Panionios NFC in the first round of the UEFA Cup for the right to join the group stage. Panionios won the first game in Greece 3­1, and held out to concede just one goal in the return leg. Udinese now meet Panathinaikos hoping for a change of fortune against Greek clubs. Panathinaikos will meet an Italian club for the second time in the Champions League, and have also met Italian clubs in six previous ties in UEFA competitions. The Greek side will doubtless be pleased not to be drawn against Juventus FC, who have been their opponents in the Champions League and in four of the other six ties. The two other Italian opponents were Torino Calcio and Sampdoria. The matches between Panathinaikos and Juventus in this competition took place in Group E of the 2000/01 first group stage, and were Panthinaikos’s last fixtures with Italian clubs before this match with Udinese. Juventus won at the Stadio Communale 2­1 with goals from Alessio Tacchinardi and David Trezeguet to a reply from Ioannis Goumas. But, in the return leg, Panathiniakos, boosted by an Angelos Basinas penalty, won 3­1, to qualify for the next stage, leave Juventus at the foot of the table, and doubtless leave Panathinaikos in good stead for their next meeting with an Italian club. 23:33:48 CET 13/9/2005 uefa.com 2/16 Matchday 1 - Group C - Wednesday, 14 September 2005 - PRESS KITS UDINESE-PANATHINAIKOS All-time statistics Head-to-head record No matches have been played between the two clubs Home teams record versus clubs from the away teams country Date Competition Stage Match Res Venue 24.10.2000 UCUP R2 Udinese - PAOK 1-0 Udine 09.11.2000 UCUP R2 PAOK - Udinese 3-0 Thessalonika 16.09.2004 UCUP R1 Panionios - Udinese 3-1 Athens 30.09.2004 UCUP R1 Udinese - Panionios 1-0 Udine Overall record Udinese Calcio Pld: 4, W: 2, D: 0, L: 2, GS: 3, GA: 6 Away teams record versus clubs from the home teams country Date Competition Stage Match Res Venue 20.09.1961 UCL PR Panathinaikos - Juventus 1-1 Athens 27.09.1961 UCL PR Juventus - Panathinaikos 2-1 Turin 17.09.1980 UCUP R1 Juventus - Panathinaikos 4-0 Turin 01.10.1980 UCUP R1 Panathinaikos - Juventus 4-2 Athens 18.09.1985 UCUP R1 Torino - Panathinaikos 2-1 Turin 02.10.1985 UCUP R1 Panathinaikos - Torino 1-1 Athens 11.12.1991 UCL R3 Panathinaikos - Sampdoria 0-0 Athens 15.04.1992 UCL R3 Sampdoria - Panathinaikos 1-1 Genoa 20.10.1992 UCUP R2 Panathinaikos - Juventus 0-1 Athens 04.11.1992 UCUP R2 Juventus - Panathinaikos 0-0 Turin 19.09.2000 UCL GS1 Juventus - Panathinaikos 2-1 Turin 08.11.2000 UCL GS1 Panathinaikos - Juventus 3-1 Athens Overall record Panathinaikos FC Pld: 14, W: 3, D: 5, L: 6, GS: 16, GA: 20 Record in Europe Udinese Calcio Pld W D L GF GA European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA Champions League 2 2 0 0 4 2 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 UEFA Cup 22 12 2 8 23 19 UEFA Super Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 UEFA Intertoto Cup 6 4 1 1 12 6 Total 30 18 3 9 39 27 Panathinaikos FC Pld W D L GF GA European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA Champions League 119 38 36 45 142 153 23:33:48 CET 13/9/2005 uefa.com 3/16 Matchday 1 - Group C - Wednesday, 14 September 2005 - PRESS KITS UDINESE-PANATHINAIKOS UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 22 9 3 10 29 36 UEFA Cup 46 19 7 20 65 61 UEFA Super Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 UEFA Intertoto Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 187 66 46 75 236 250 23:33:48 CET 13/9/2005 uefa.com 4/16 Matchday 1 - Group C - Wednesday, 14 September 2005 - PRESS KITS UDINESE-PANATHINAIKOS Players List Udinese Calcio Current Season All-time UCL League UCL UEFA Num Player DoB Pos Nat Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers 1 Morgan De Sanctis 26.03.77 GK ITA 2 0 2 0 2 0 8 0 12 Gabriele Paoletti 11.04.78 GK ITA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 58 Carlo Sciarrone 17.11.83 GK ITA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Defenders 2 Cristian Zapata Valencia 30.09.86 DF COL 0 0 n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 4 Valerio Bertotto 15.01.73 DF ITA 2 0 1 0 2 0 25 1 6 Roberto Sensini 12.10.66 DF ARG 0 0 0 0 18 4 57 7 14 Cesare Natali 05.04.79 DF ITA 2 1 2 0 2 1 2 1 19 Felipe 31.07.84 DF BRA 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 39 Juarez 25.09.73 DF BRA 0 0 1 0 2 1 6 1 41 Emanuele Politti 21.07.87 DF ITA 0 0 n/a n/a 0 0 0 0 Midfielders 5 Christian Obodo 11.05.84 MD NGA 2 0 2 0 2 0 12 0 7 Damiano Zenoni 23.04.77 MD ITA 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 8 Vidigal 15.03.73 MD POR 2 0 2 0 6 0 9 0 13 Giampiero Pinzi 11.03.81