UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE 2011/12 SEASON MATCH PRESS KIT AEK Larnaca FC FC Schalke 04 Group J - Matchday 3 GSP Stadium, Nicosia Thursday 20 October 2011 19.00CET (20.00 local time) Contents Previous meetings.............................................................................................................2 Match background.............................................................................................................3 Team facts.........................................................................................................................4 Squad list...........................................................................................................................6 Fixtures and results...........................................................................................................8 Match-by-match lineups..................................................................................................10 Match officials..................................................................................................................12 Legend............................................................................................................................13 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 AEK Larnaca FC - FC Schalke 04 Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (20.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT GSP Stadium, Nicosia Previous meetings Head to Head None AEK Larnaca FC - Record versus clubs from opponents' country None FC Schalke 04 - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 02/10/08 R1 FC Schalke 04 - APOEL FC 1-1 Gelsenkirchen Pander 58; Hélio Pinto 6 agg: 5-2 16/09/08 R1 APOEL FC - FC Schalke 04 1-4 Nicosia Mirosavljević 72; Westermann 25, Rakitić 36, Vicente Sánchez 41, Halil Altıntop 88 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 AEK Larnaca FC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 FC Schalke 04 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 5 2 Last updated 18/10/11 12:39:48CET 2 Previous meetings AEK Larnaca FC - FC Schalke 04 Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (20.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT GSP Stadium, Nicosia Match background FC Schalke 04 will aim to build on their lead at the top of Group J when they travel to Cyprus take on an AEK Larnaca FC side who have not lost in seven European club competition home games. Previous meetings • The teams are meeting for the first time and this is also AEK's first tie against a German club. • In Schalke's only tie against a Cypriot outfit, they won 4-1 in Nicosia and then drew 1-1 at home against APOEL FC in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup first round. • Pezoporikos FC, who merged with EPA Larnaca FC to form AEK in 1994, took on VfB Stuttgart in the first round of the 1980/81 UEFA Cup. They lost 4-1 in Larnaca and 6-0 back in Germany. Match background • AEK are unbeaten in seven European club competition home games (five wins and two draws, one of which a 0-0 against FC Barcelona on 26 September 1996) since they took on their current guise. • Schalke have not won in four UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League away fixtures (two draws and two defeats) since that 4-1 victory at APOEL in the first round on 16 September 2008. Their first away tie this season ended in a shock 2-0 loss at HJK Helsinki, though they won the return fixture 6-1. Team facts • AEK's Dutch captain Kevin Hofland played in Germany for VfL Wolfsburg from 2004 to 2007. His three games against Schalke in that period ended in a win, a draw and a defeat. • Hofland and Schalke's Ghanaian defender Hans Sarpei were team-mates during that period. • AEK defender Tim de Cler and Schalke forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were both part of the Netherlands' squad that made it to the quarter-finals at UEFA EURO 2008. • AEK are coached by Dutchman Ton Caanen, with help from sporting director Jordi Cruyff – son of the great Johan Cruyff. Following a spell in Ukraine with FC Metalurh Donetsk, Caanen was in charge of Beitar Jerusalem FC and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC in Israel. He later coached FC Stal Alchevsk and Maltese side Valletta FC before coming to ambitious AEK in 2010. • Huub Stevens was named as Schalke's new coach before matchday two, replacing Ralf Rangnick. In his second spell in charge, Rangnick led the Gelsenkirchen club to the semi-finals of last season's UEFA Champions League, but resigned saying he no longer had "the necessary energy to be successful and to develop the team and the club". • Stevens first coached Schalke from 1996 to 2002, winning the 1997 UEFA Cup as well as German Cups in 2001 and 2002. Originally a defender for Fortuna Sittard and PSV Eindhoven, the Dutchman was named by fans as the coach of Schalke's team of the century in 1999. Last updated 18/10/11 12:39:48CET 3 Match background AEK Larnaca FC - FC Schalke 04 Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (20.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT GSP Stadium, Nicosia Team facts AEK Larnaca FC Formed: 1994 Nickname: The Green Yellows, The Guardians UEFA club competition honours • None Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) Cypriot Cup: 1 (2004) Ten-year record (UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League unless indicated otherwise) 2010/11: did not take part in UEFA competition 2009/10: did not take part in UEFA competition 2008/09: did not take part in UEFA competition 2007/08: did not take part in UEFA competition 2006/07: did not take part in UEFA competition 2005/06: did not take part in UEFA competition 2004/05: second qualifying round 2003/04: did not take part in UEFA competition 2002/03: did not take part in UEFA competition 2001/02: did not take part in UEFA competition Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 5-0: Larnaca v FC Kotayk 22/08/96, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round second leg • Biggest away win 0-8: Floriana FC v Larnaca 14/07/11, UEFA Europa League second qualifying round first leg • Heaviest home defeat N/A • Heaviest away defeat 4-0: Maccabi Petach-Tikva FC v Larnaca 26/08/04, UEFA Cup second qualifying round second leg UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League • Biggest home win 3-0 twice, most recently v FK Mladá Boleslav 28/07/11, UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg • Biggest away win 0-8: Floriana FC v Larnaca (see above for details) • Heaviest home defeat N/A • Heaviest away defeat 4-0: Maccabi Petach-Tikva FC v Larnaca (see above for details) Last updated 18/10/11 12:39:48CET 4 Team facts AEK Larnaca FC - FC Schalke 04 Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (20.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT GSP Stadium, Nicosia FC Schalke 04 Formed: 1904 Nickname: S04, Die Königsblauen (The Royal Blues), Die Knappen (The Miners) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • UEFA Cup: 1997 • UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003, 2004 Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 7 (1958) German Cup: 5 (2011) Ten-year European record (UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League unless indicated otherwise) 2000/01: UEFA Champions League semi-finals 2009/10: did not take part in UEFA club competition 2008/09: group stage 2007/08: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals 2006/07: first round 2005/06: semi-finals (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2004/05: round of 32 (having qualified as UEFA Intertoto Cup winners) 2003/04: second round (having qualified as UEFA Intertoto Cup winners) 2002/03: third round 2001/02: UEFA Champions League first group stage Records UEFA club competition • Biggest home win 6-1: Schalke v HJK Helsinki 25/08/11, UEFA Europa League play-off second leg 5-0: Schalke v FK Vardar 17/07/04, UEFA Intertoto Cup third round first leg • Biggest away win 0-4: RCD Mallorca v Schalke 16/10/01, UEFA Champions League first group stage 0-4: SK Liepājas Metalurgs v Schalke 30/09/04, UEFA Cup first round second leg • Heaviest home defeat 1-4: Schalke v Wisla Kraków 10/12/02, UEFA Cup third round second leg • Heaviest away defeat 5-1: Manchester City FC v Schalke 15/04/70, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-final second leg UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League • Biggest home win 6-1: Schalke v HJK Helsinki (see above) • Biggest away win 0-4: SK Liepājas Metalurgs v Schalke (see above) • Heaviest home defeat 1-4: Schalke v Wisła Kraków (see above) • Heaviest away defeat 4-2: 1. FC Magdeburg v Schalke 19/10/77, second round first leg 3-1: AS Nancy-Lorraine v Schalke 28/09/06, first round second leg 2-0: HJK Helsinki v Schalke 18/08/11, play-off first leg Last updated 18/10/11 12:39:48CET 5 Team facts AEK Larnaca FC - FC Schalke 04 Thursday 20 October 2011 - 19.00CET (20.00 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT GSP Stadium, Nicosia Squad list AEK Larnaca FC Current season All-time QUAL Tournament League Tournament UEFA No. Player Nat. DoB Age D Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers 1 Alexandre Negri BRA 27/03/81 30 - 3 - - - 3 - - - 3 - 14 Marco Fortin ITA 08/07/74 37 - 3 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 5 - 30 Andreas Photiou CYP 11/12/88 22 - - - - - - - - - - - Defenders 3 Albert Serrán ESP 17/07/84 27 - 4 - - - - - - - 4 - 4 Kevin Hofland NED 07/06/79 32 - 5 - - - 1 - 16 1 46 2 6 Luke Dimech MLT 11/01/77 34 - 4 - 2 - 5 - 2 - 24 - 13 Andreas Pepetsios CYP 30/09/92 19 - - - - - - - - - - - 15 Kostas Kastanas CYP 06/04/93 18 - 1 - - - - - - - 1 - 18 Ander Murillo ESP 26/07/83 28 - 2 - 1 - 5 - 8 - 10 - 19 Tim de Cler NED 08/11/78 32 - 5 1 2 - 5 - 47 - 54 1 33 Michael Prodromou