Real Madrid CF v Arsenal FC MATCH PRESS KIT Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid Tuesday, 21 February 2006 - 20:45 CET First knockout round - Matchday 7 Both Real Madrid CF and Arsenal FC have a history rich in European tradition and their trophy cabinets pay testament to their success on foreign fields.Yet they have never before crossed swords in UEFA club competition, a factor adding more intrigue to this mouth-watering first knockout round tie. · As comfortable winners of Group B with a record that suffered only one blemish, a 0-0 home draw with AFC Ajax on Matchday 6, the London side have earned the right to stage the second leg on 8 March with the first encounter taking place at the Santiago Bernabéu. Arsenal have never progressed further than the quarter-final stage of Europe©s most prestigious club competition while Madrid are hoping to put a tenth European Champion Clubs© Cup triumph on their honours board. History of success · Although their results so far would suggest that Arsenal approach the fixture as favourites ± their opponents lost twice in finishing second in Group F ± Madrid©s confidence lies in their traditional superiority over English sides in the home-and-away format. Strangely, they have fared less well in one-off games, going down to Liverpool FC in the 1980/81 European Champion Clubs© Cup final and to Chelsea FC both in the 1970/71 UEFA Cup Winners© Cup final, though that game went to a replay, and the 1998 UEFA Super Cup. Strong away · Of their last five two-legged encounters against English sides, Madrid©s record over the two games has always taken them through. Most often their best work has been done on opposition territory, the exception being their most recent encounter. In the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League quarter-final a 3-1 home win against Manchester United FC was sufficient insurance when the away leg ended 4-3 to Sir Alex Ferguson©s team, Ronaldo firing a glorious hat-trick for Madrid. First of five ·Their first-ever confrontation with the Manchester men, the 1956/57 European Cup semi-final, was equally memorable as it provided a 5-3 aggregate victory en route to a bigger celebration as Madrid retained the new trophy, their second success in a run of five straight triumphs. Little reward in Spain · Arsenal, competing in their eighth UEFA Champions League campaign, have good memories of their last tussle with Spanish opponents, defeating RC Celta de Vigo home and away in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League first knockout round with Thierry Henry scoring both goals in a 2-0 home win that followed a 3-2 victory in Spain. Previously they had travelled less effectively, losing five successive games. · Arsenal twice lost in the UEFA Cup Winners© Cup final to Spanish sides.Valencia CF were victors in the 1979/80 edition and Real Zaragoza triumphed in the 1994/95 showpiece. Last Updated 22.2.2006 20:26:29CET uefa.com 1 Real Madrid CF v Arsenal FC MATCH PRESS KIT Mixed group form · Madrid, competing for the tenth time in a competition they have won on three occasions, were humbled in their opening game as Olympique Lyonnais inflicted a 3-0 defeat but recovered to take the runners-up place in Group F with wins in their next three outings. · They finished the section with a home draw with Lyon and defeat in Greece against Olympiacos CFP and the fact that they conceded eight goals in six games will be of concern to coach Juan Ramón López Caro as he plots a way past the English side. Comfortable progress · In their final season at the Highbury stadium that has been home for 93 years, Arsenal are desperate for success in Europe. Their UEFA Champions League form has provided a positive contrast to an inconsistent Premiership campaign and they came close to achieving what only four clubs had managed before: a clean sweep of their group games. · Ajax©s youngsters thwarted them in that quest and Thierry Henry©s missed penalty added to Arsenal©s disappointment but with just two goals conceded in six games there was much for coach Arsène Wenger to savour. Henry©s consolation was to finish as their top scorer with three goals. No joy last season · Both teams will be eager to erase the memory of defeat at this stage in last season©s competition. A 3-1 defeat in Germany left Arsenal with too much to do at home to FC Bayern München and they needed more than Henry©s lone strike. Madrid, pursuing a ninth successive quarter-final berth, won their home leg against Juventus through Iván Helguera©s header but succumbed 2-0 away after extra time. Match facts · No Madrid player played every minute of their six UEFA Champions League group-stage games this season. · Robinho is the only Madrid player to have featured in all six fixtures, missing only the last ten minutes of the 2-1 defeat by Olympiacos CFP on Matchday 6. He has yet to score his first goal in European club competition. · Raúl González is one match away from his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League proper, having scored 51 goals in Europe©s premier club competition. · Roberto Carlos is three matches away from his own century in the UEFA Champions League, while David Beckham is five games away. · Guti is three matches away from his 75th game in the UEFA Champions League. · Madrid are the only European club to have qualified from every group stage in the UEFA Champions League, having successfully passed 14 group phases in their time in the competition. Last Updated 22.2.2006 20:26:29CET uefa.com 2 Real Madrid CF v Arsenal FC MATCH PRESS KIT · Captain Raúl has returned to fitness following three months out with a serious knee injury. The talismanic captain made his comeback as a 66th-minute substitute for Julio Baptista in Saturday©s 3-0 victory against Deportivo Alavés. · Míchel Salgado celebrated his 300th Primera División appearance against Alavés. · Madrid finally successfully concluded their long pursuit of Brazilian defender Cicinho, who was unveiled at the Santiago Bernabéu on 29 December after agreeing a four-and-a-half year contract. His debut was postponed due to a delay in his transfer documents arriving in Spain so the right-back played his first match for his new club against Villarreal CF on 8 January. · Juan Ramón Lopez Caro, who took over in December from Vanderlei Luxemburgo, is Madrid©s 41st coach and the fourth to be promoted from the reserve teams after Amancio Amaro, Vicente Del Bosque and Mariano García Remón. · Italian international striker Antonio Cassano signed a five-year contract with Madrid on 4 January but did not make his debut for a fortnight due to a lack of match fitness. He quickly announced himself at his new club, however, scoring the winner against Real Betis Balompié on his debut. · Iván Helguera played his 200th Primera División match for Madrid against Málaga CF on 11 December. · Oscar Miñambres damaged ligaments in his left knee in a training session on 15 December and is still recovering from the subsequent operation. · Roberto Carlos needs just one more match to set a new league appearance record for foreign players at Madrid. He is currently on 336, the same as Luís Figo, having passed Alfredo Di Stéfano©s 329-mark on 8 January. · Roberto Carlos© absence against Alavés meant that his run of 37 successive league matches came to an end. Prior to Saturday©s game the last time he missed a match came on 19 February 2005, when he sat out the game against Athletic Club Bilbao through suspension. · Zinédine Zidane scored his first hat-trick of his career in the 4-2 home victory against Sevilla FC on 15 January and dedicated his goals to a sick youngster he had met in a Madrid hospital over Christmas. · David Cobeño has taken Diego Lopez©s place as Madrid©s reserve goalkeeper as the latter is recovering from a thigh injury. · Pablo García injured ligaments in his left knee on 13 February and is expected to be out of action for six weeks. · Ronaldo played his 150th Primera División match against Alavés, 37 of which were with FC Barcelona. Last Updated 22.2.2006 20:26:29CET uefa.com 3 Real Madrid CF v Arsenal FC MATCH PRESS KIT · Madrid were bidding to reach the final of the Copa del Rey for the 37th time - a competition which they have won on 17 occasions - but bowed out in the last four after losing to Real Zaragoza. A 6-1 reverse in the first leg did the damage, and a 4-0 win for Madrid in the reverse fixture last Tuesday was not enough to keep Madrid in the competition. · Zaragoza have now ended Madrid©s cup aspirations on four occasions, winning over two legs in 1962/63 and 1985/86 before a 3-2 victory in the 2004 final. · According to the 2006 Deloitte Football Money League, Madrid are now the richest club in the world with revenue of €276m in 2004/05, overtaking Manchester United FC who had finished top of the list for the past eight seasons. · No Arsenal player played every minute of their six UEFA Champions League group-stage games this season. · Lauren, Cesc Fabregas and José Antonio Reyes are the only Arsenal players to have played some part in each of the six matches. · Kolo Touré and Mathieu Flamini each played the full 90 minutes in five of the six group-stage games, with Flamini sitting out Matchday 1 and Touré missing Matchday 5.