Aston Villa FC - AFC Ajax MATCH PRESS KIT Villa Park, Birmingham Thursday 23 October 2008 - 21.15CET (20.15 local time) Group F - Matchday 1 Contents 1 - Match background 7 - Match-by-match lineups 3 - Squad list 8 - Competition facts 5 - Match officials 9 - Team facts 6 - Domestic information 10 - Legend This press kit includes information relating to this UEFA Cup 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 Match background Two European Champion Clubs' Cup winners will sit on opposite benches as Aston Villa FC and AFC Ajax meet in the opening night of action in UEFA Cup Group F. • Ajax's Marco van Basten is in his first season as a club coach since ending a four-year spell leading the Netherlands after UEFA EURO 2008™. He won European Cups in successive seasons as a player with Milan in 1989 and 1990 while his Villa counterpart Martin O'Neill was triumphant with Nottingham Forest FC in 1980 after missing out on the club's victory the year before. • This is Villa and Ajax's first meeting in UEFA club competition. • This is also Villa's first meeting with a Dutch side, but the Netherlands has an extremely positive resonance with the Birmingham club, who won the European Cup – their only major continental trophy – in Rotterdam in 1982. • Tony Barton led Villa to a 1-0 win against FC Bayern München at De Kuip Stadium, with Peter Withe scoring the goal that won the European Champion Clubs' Cup for Villa. • Villa manager O'Neill has fond memories of playing and coaching against Ajax. • He played for Nottingham Forest FC in both legs of the 1979/80 European Cup semi-final which his side won 2-1 on aggregate en route to a 1-0 final victory against Hamburger SV. • His Celtic FC side also denied Ajax a UEFA Champions League group stage place in the 2001/02 season, winning 3-1 in Amsterdam and progressing despite a 1-0 defeat at home in the return fixture. • Villa's Bulgarian midfielder Stilian Petrov was an unused substitute for Celtic in the second leg of that game. • Ajax, meanwhile, won their first European Cup in England back in 1971, beating Panathinaikos FC 2-0 at the old Wembley Stadium, with Dirk van Dijk and Arie Haan scoring the goals for Rinus Michels' side. • Ajax have played 16 games against English sides in UEFA club competition in addition to a 3-1 aggregate defeat against Arsenal FC in the non-UEFA affiliated 1969/70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-final. • Their record in eight games in England reads won one, drawn four and lost three, with that sole victory coming against Arsenal at Highbury in the quarter-finals of the 1971/72 European Cup. Thus, they have not won a competitive game on English soil in over 36 years. • In total they have won five, drawn six and lost five of their games against English clubs, but have not beaten an English side in their last six meetings – a run stretching back to 1980. Last updated 22.10.2008 00:34:59CET www.uefa.com Match background 1 Aston Villa FC - AFC Ajax Thursday 23 October 2008 - 21.15 CET (20.15 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Villa Park, Birmingham • Villa finished sixth in the Premier League last season to earn a UEFA Intertoto Cup place. They then beat Denmark's Odense BK to switch from that competition into the UEFA Cup and moved on to the group stage with victories against FH Hafnarfjördur and PFC Litex Lovech. • Ajax came second in the Eredivisie last season but were denied a UEFA Champions League place in the end-of-season play-offs. They moved into the group stage of the UEFA Cup with a comfortable overall win against FK Borac. • MŠK Žilina take on Hamburg in Matchday 1's other Group F game. SK Slavia Praha are the only side in the section not in action on 23 October. Last updated 22.10.2008 00:34:59CET www.uefa.com Match background 2 Aston Villa FC - AFC Ajax Thursday 23 October 2008 - 21.15 CET (20.15 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Villa Park, Birmingham Squad list Aston Villa Current season All-time UIC UCL UCUP UCUP UEFA No. Player Nat. DoB Age BL Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers 1 Brad Friedel USA 18.05.1971 37 - - - - - 2 - 20 - 26 - 13 Stuart Taylor ENG 28.11.1980 27 - 2 - - - - - - - 7 - 22 Bradley Guzan USA 09.09.1984 24 - - - - - - - - - - - Defenders 2 Luke Young ENG 19.07.1979 29 - - - - - 2 - 5 - 5 - 3 Wilfred Bouma NED 15.06.1978 30 - 2 - - - - - 15 - 61 3 5 Martin Laursen DEN 26.07.1977 31 - 2 1 - - 1 - 10 - 27 2 6 Gareth Barry ENG 23.02.1981 27 - 1 - - - 1 1 5 1 22 3 15 Curtis Davies ENG 15.03.1985 23 - - - - - - - - - 2 - 16 Zat Knight ENG 02.05.1980 28 - 2 - - - 1 - 2 - 9 - 21 Nicky Shorey ENG 19.02.1981 27 - - - - - 2 - 2 - 3 - 24 Carlos Cuéllar ESP 23.08.1981 27 - - - - - 2 - 20 1 32 2 29 Stephen O'Halloran IRL 29.11.1987 20 - - - - - - - - - - - Midfielders 4 Steve Sidwell ENG 14.12.1982 25 - 2 - - - - - - - 3 - 8 James Milner ENG 04.01.1986 22 - - - - - 2 - 22 - 30 2 18 Wayne Routledge ENG 07.01.1985 23 - 1 - - - 2 - 2 - 5 - 19 Stilian Petrov BUL 05.07.1979 29 - 2 - - - 2 1 31 3 64 6 20 Nigel Reo-Coker ENG 14.05.1984 24 - 2 - - - 1 1 3 1 7 1 26 Craig Gardner ENG 25.11.1986 21 - 2 - - - 1 - 1 - 5 1 27 Isaiah Osbourne ENG 05.11.1987 20 - - - - - 1 - 1 - 2 - Forwards 7 Ashley Young ENG 09.07.1985 23 - 2 1 - - 1 - 1 - 4 2 9 Marlon Harewood ENG 25.08.1979 29 - - - - - 2 1 4 1 7 1 10 John Carew NOR 05.09.1979 29 - 2 1 - - - - 17 2 82 26 11 Gabriel Agbonlahor ENG 13.10.1986 22 - 2 - - - 1 - 1 - 5 1 17 Moustapha Salifou TGO 01.06.1983 25 - - - - - 2 - 2 - 4 - 41 Harry Forrester ENG 02.01.1991 17 - - - - - - - - - - - Coach - Martin O'neill NIR 01.03.1952 56 - 2 - - - 2 - 13 - 35 - Last updated 22.10.2008 00:35:00CET www.uefa.com Squad list 1 Aston Villa FC - AFC Ajax Thursday 23 October 2008 - 21.15 CET (20.15 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Villa Park, Birmingham Ajax Current season All-time UIC UCL UCUP UCUP UEFA No. Player Nat. DoB Age BL Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Goalkeepers 12 Kenneth Vermeer NED 10.01.1986 22 - - - - - 1 - 2 - 2 - 31 Hans Vonk RSA 30.01.1970 38 - - - - - - - 2 - 39 - Defenders 2 Bruno Silva NED 29.03.1980 28 - - - - - 1 - 5 - 5 - 3 Oleguer ESP 02.02.1980 28 - - - - - 1 - 5 - 32 - 4 Thomas Vermaelen BEL 14.11.1985 22 - - - - - 2 - 8 - 17 - 8 Urby Emanuelson NED 16.06.1986 22 - - - - - 1 - 8 - 20 - 15 Gregory van der Wiel NED 03.08.1988 20 - - - - - 2 - 4 - 4 - Midfielders 5 Jan Vertonghen BEL 24.04.1987 21 - - - - - 2 - 4 - 6 - 6 Rasmus Lindgren SWE 29.11.1984 23 - - - - - 2 - 7 - 7 - 11 Ismaïl Aissati NED 16.08.1988 20 - - - - - - - 1 - 15 - 18 Gabri ESP 10.02.1979 29 - - - - - - - 18 - 58 6 21 Enoh Eyong Takang CMR 23.03.1986 22 - - - - - 1 - 1 - 1 - 25 Evander Sno NED 09.04.1987 21 - - - - - 2 - 2 - 12 - 27 Laurent Delorge BEL 21.07.1979 29 - - - - - - - 1 - 9 - 37 Robbert Schilder NED 18.04.1986 22 - - - - - 1 - 1 - 1 - 45 Darko Bodul CRO 11.01.1989 19 - - - - - - - - - - - Forwards 7 Kennedy Bakircioglü SWE 02.11.1980 27 - - - - - - - - - 11 2 9 Klaas Jan Huntelaar NED 12.08.1983 25 - - - - - 2 2 24 16 30 19 10 Miralem Sulejmani SRB 05.12.1988 19 - - - - - 1 1 3 1 3 1 16 Luis Suárez URU 24.01.1987 21 - - - - - 2 2 6 3 8 4 19 Dennis Rommedahl DEN 22.07.1978 30 - - - - - - - 17 3 54 6 20 Dario Cvitanich CRO 16.05.1984 24 - - - - - 1 - 1 - 1 - 23 Leonardo BRA 09.03.1983 25 - - - - - 1 - 14 3 18 3 33 Javier Martina NED 01.02.1987 21 - - - - - - - - - - - Coach - Marco Van Basten NED 31.10.1964 43 - - - - - 2 - 2 - 2 - Last updated 22.10.2008 00:35:00CET www.uefa.com Squad list 2 Aston Villa FC - AFC Ajax Thursday 23 October 2008 - 21.15 CET (20.15 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Villa Park, Birmingham Match officials Referee Thomas Einwaller (AUT) Assistant referees Armin Eder (AUT), Andreas Heiss (AUT) Fourth official Dietmar Drabek (AUT) UEFA Delegate Danilo Filacchione (ITA) UEFA Referee observer Alan Snoddy (NIR) Referee UEFA Cup matches involving teams from the two countries involved in this match Date Comp. Stage Match Res. Venue 24.08.2006 UCUP QR2 Newcastle United FC - FK Ventspils 0-0 Newcastle 30.08.2007 UCUP QR2 Blackburn Rovers FC - Myllykosken Pallo-47 2-0 Blackburn Other matches - Matches involving teams from either of the two countries involved in this match Date Comp. Stage Match Res. Venue 28.03.2005 England - Northern Ireland 3-0 Wolverhampton 30.03.2005 Republic of Ireland - England 1-3 Walsall Last updated 22.10.2008 00:35:02CET www.uefa.com Match officials 1 Aston Villa FC - AFC Ajax Thursday 23 October 2008 - 21.15 CET (20.15 local time) MATCH PRESS KIT Villa Park, Birmingham Domestic information Aston Villa FC (Premier League) Comp.