UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE 2010/11 SEASON MATCH PRESS KIT AFC Ajax FC Spartak Moskva Matchday 9 - Round of 16, Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam Thursday 10 March 2011 21.05CET (21.05 local time) Contents Previous meetings.............................................................................................................2 Match background.............................................................................................................4 Team facts.........................................................................................................................5 Squad list...........................................................................................................................7 Head coach.......................................................................................................................9 Fixtures and results.........................................................................................................10 Match-by-match lineups..................................................................................................13 Match officials..................................................................................................................16 Legend............................................................................................................................17 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 AFC Ajax - FC Spartak Moskva Thursday 10 March 2011 - 21.05CET (21.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam Previous meetings Head to Head UEFA Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 17/03/98 QF FC Spartak Moskva - AFC Ajax 1-0 Moscow Shirko 86 agg: 4-1 03/03/98 QF AFC Ajax - FC Spartak Moskva 1-3 Amsterdam Arveladze 57; Shirko 26, 51, Ketchinov 84 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA AFC Ajax 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 4 FC Spartak Moskva 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 4 1 AFC Ajax - Record versus clubs from opponents' country None FC Spartak Moskva - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 03/12/08 GS FC Spartak Moskva - NEC Nijmegen 1-2 Moscow Covalciuc 2; Van Beukering 84, Schøne 87 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 31/10/01 GS Feyenoord - FC Spartak Moskva 2-1 Rotterdam Tomasson 5, Elmander 18; Beschastnykh 14 18/09/01 GS FC Spartak Moskva - Feyenoord 2-2 Moscow Robson 62, Beschastnykh 69; Bosvelt 12, Tomasson 59 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 26/10/99 GS FC Spartak Moskva - Willem II 1-1 Moscow Bezrodny 25; Sanou 69 15/09/99 GS Willem II - FC Spartak Moskva 1-3 Tilburg Arts 56; Tikhonov 26, 36, 52 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 18/03/93 QF FC Spartak Moskva - Feyenoord 3-1 Moscow Karpin 8, Ledyakhov 81, Radchenko 89; agg: 4-1 Kiprich 14 02/03/93 QF Feyenoord - FC Spartak Moskva 0-1 Rotterdam Piatnitsky 36 UEFA Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 07/12/83 R3 FC Spartak Moskva - Sparta Rotterdam 2-0 Tbilisi Gladilin 41, 79 agg: 3-1 23/11/83 R3 Sparta Rotterdam - FC Spartak Moskva 1-1 Rotterdam De Wolf 80; Rodionov 33 UEFA Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 03/11/82 R2 Haarlem FC - FC Spartak Moskva 1-3 Haarlem Huyg 25; Schvetsov 43, Schalvo 55, agg: 1-5 Gavrilov 85 20/10/82 R2 FC Spartak Moskva - Haarlem FC 2-0 Moscow Gess 16, Schvetsov 89 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 27/09/72 R1 ADO Den Haag - FC Spartak Moskva 0-0 Den Haag agg: 0-1 13/09/72 R1 FC Spartak Moskva - ADO Den Haag 1-0 Moscow Bulgakov 55 Last updated 08/03/11 10:59:54CET 2 Previous meetings AFC Ajax - FC Spartak Moskva Thursday 10 March 2011 - 21.05CET (21.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam 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 AFC Ajax 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 4 FC Spartak Moskva 8 5 2 1 7 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 15 9 4 2 25 12 Last updated 08/03/11 10:59:54CET 3 Previous meetings AFC Ajax - FC Spartak Moskva Thursday 10 March 2011 - 21.05CET (21.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam Match background AFC Ajax will look to secure a first win against FC Spartak Moskva at the third attempt, with the UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie stirring memories for members of both sides' coaching staffs. Previous meetings • Ajax coach Frank de Boer and his assistant Danny Blind were starters in both legs of the clubs' only previous competitive tie as Oleg Romantsev's Spartak beat Morten Olsen's Ajax 3-1 away and 1-0 at home to reach the 1997/98 UEFA Cup semi-finals, where they lost out to FC Internazionale Milano. • The teams for the first leg in Amsterdam on 3 March 1998 were: Ajax: Van der Sar, Rudy, Blind, Oliseh, Frank de Boer, Ronald de Boer, Gorre (Dani 68), Witschge, Babangida (McCarthy 75), Arveladze, Laudrup. Spartak: Filimonov, Gorloukovitch, Ananko, Khlestov, Alenichev, Titov, Kechinov, Tikhonov, Buznikin (Tsymbalar 46), Romaschenko, Shirko (Pisarev 78). • Andrei Tikhonov, who also started both legs, is now one of coach Valeri Karpin's assistants at Spartak. Match background • Spartak are the only Russian side Ajax have ever faced, but the Russian club have played 13 other games against Dutch opponents, with their overall record reading W9 D4 L2 (W4 D2 L1 in the Netherlands). • Spartak have not won in their last four games against Dutch teams, recording two draws and two defeats since beating Willem II 3-1 in Tilburg in a UEFA Champions League group stage game on 26 October 1999. • Ajax have won their last three European games without conceding, while their record at home in UEFA club competition this season reads W3 D2 L1. • Spartak have lost only one of their last seven games on their travels in Europe, winning five and drawing one; a 4-1 defeat at Chelsea FC on UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 this season blotted their copybook. Team facts • This is the only round of 16 tie to involve two sides that competed in the UEFA Champions League group stage in the autumn. • Liverpool FC won the UEFA Cup three times (in 1973, 1976 and 2001) and are thus the most successful side left in this season's competition, though PSV Eindhoven (1978), Bayer 04 Leverkusen (1988), Ajax (1992), FC Porto (2003), PFC CSKA Moskva (2005) and FC Zenit St Petersburg (2008) have also won it. • Spartak's Brazilian striker Ari played in the Netherlands for AZ Alkmaar from 2007 to 2010, and scored in a 2-0 Eredivisie win against Ajax on 23 November 2008. He also put AZ ahead at the Amsterdam ArenA on 13 January 2008, but his side went on to lose that league game 6-1. • Ajax are three goals shy of conceding their 100th in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Cup; this is their 105th game in the competition. They have more UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League experience than any other side in the round of 16. • Spartak's Glasgow-born Republic of Ireland winger Aiden McGeady is one of two Irish players left in the competition along with Manchester City FC's Shay Given, who is currently injured. This season's UEFA Europa League final will be staged in Dublin on 18 May. Last updated 08/03/11 10:59:54CET 4 Match background AFC Ajax - FC Spartak Moskva Thursday 10 March 2011 - 21.05CET (21.05 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam Team facts AFC Ajax Formed: 1900 Nickname: Godenzonen (Sons of the Gods) UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets) • European Champion Clubs Cup (4): (1969), 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995, (1996) • UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1987, (1988) • UEFA Cup: 1992 • UEFA Super Cup: 1973, (1987), 1995 Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets) League title: 29 (2004) Dutch Cup: 18 (2010) Ten-year European record (UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League unless indicated otherwise) 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 2004/05: round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League group stage) 2003/04: UEFA Champions League group stage 2002/03: UEFA Champions League quarter-finals 2001/02: second round (having transferred from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round) 2000/01: second round 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 three occasions, most recently v FC Bayern München 28/09/2004 UEFA Champions League group stage UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League • 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 FK Austria Wien 27/09/89, first round second leg • Heaviest away defeat 4-1: Budapesti Honvéd SE v Ajax 22/11/78, third round first leg 3-0: SV Werder Bremen v Ajax Last updated 08/03/11 10:59:54CET 5 Team facts AFC Ajax