Football Media

Petrovsky, St Petersburg
Tuesday 30 September 2008 – 18.30CET
Group H – Matchday 2

Real Madrid CF coach Bernd Schuster is backing his side to win away in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in eight attempts when they take on FC Zenit St. Petersburg at the Petrovsky Stadium on Tuesday.

‘Tough game’
It is nearly two years since Madrid last won on their travels in the competition, a 4-1 success at FC Steaua Bucuresti in October 2006, but buoyed by a 2-1 victory at Real Betis Balompié on Saturday, Schuster arrived in Russia full of confidence. “Our last two away wins in the Liga showed our power and high fitness levels, but of course I’m expecting a tough game,” said Schuster, whose team are just one point off top spot in Spain. “Zenit lost their first game and with the support of their fans they will be desperate to win.”

‘Quick and clever’
Zenit went down 1-0 at Juventus on opening night, when Madrid saw off debutants FC BATE Borisov 2-0. Zenit are also taking part in the competition for the first time, but with the Russian champions having lifted the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in the last four months, Schuster considers them a totally different proposition. “Zenit are a very quick and tactically clever team,” said the German, who is without the injured Guti, Fernando Gago and Wesley Sneijder and has left Christoph Metzelder and Míchel Salgado in Madrid.

‘Surprise’
Zenit could hardly have had a more daunting start to their first UEFA Champions League campaign. Having kicked off against Juventus, they now aim to collect their first points in Group H at the expense of the nine-times European champions. Coach Dick Advocaat is predicting a tight contest and warns his side they cannot afford to waste the few chances that may come their way. “We have to play our football and try to surprise them,” he said.

Positives
Nonetheless, the Dutchman has had plenty of positives to draw from in recent days. Advocaat celebrated his 61st birthday on Saturday by watching Zenit win 3-0 at FC Lokomotiv Moskva to go sixth in the Premier-Liga, also meeting Vladimir Putin before the match. “Putin likes football but he cannot attend [many] games,” Advocaat replied when asked to draw comparisons between the Russian prime minister and Silvio Berlusconi, the former AC Milan president and current Italian prime minister. Advocaat added that Putin has no affiliation to any particular club, but will surely be siding with Zenit when Madrid come calling.

Križanac omission
The Zenit trainer is also boosted by the news defender Roman Shirokov has returned to training and could feature, while striker Fatih Tekke is available after a thigh complaint. Both are likely substitutes. However, defender Ivica Križanac is surprisingly omitted for the second successive match. “It is my decision,” was all Advocaat would say on the matter. He was more expansive about the opposition, expecting Schuster to make changes from the side that beat Betis. “He uses a rotation system and I think he will make two changes, but it doesn’t bother us who starts as they have lots of great players. Real are the favourites in our group. The other teams are battling for the remaining places.

Malafeev makes plans to upset Madrid
Zenit lost 1-0 at Juventus on their competition debut a fortnight ago, and four days later succumbed 3-1 at home to PFC CSKA Moskva to leave the UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup winners further adrift in the race for European qualification in Russia. However, they recovered to prevail by 3-0 at FC Lokomotiv Moskva on Saturday, keeping Malafeev in good spirits. “We were not inferior to Juventus in my opinion and we were certainly better then CSKA, but in both games our opponents took their chances while we wasted ours,” the 29-year-old told uefa.com. “The weekend showed that we are in good shape and we look forward to getting our first points on Tuesday.”

‘Quality football’
While Dick Advocaat’s side lie sixth in Russia’s Premier-Liga, Madrid are in ominous form, having won their last four league matches and beaten FC BATE Borisov 2-0 on Matchday 1. “Of course Real are the favourites,” Malafeev said. “But we are at home and, like I said, we are in good shape.” As for whether both teams will use their usual attacking strategies, the Russian international mused: “It depends on the tactics Advocaat chooses. The only thing I know is that the teams will play quality football.”

Danny quality
Up front there is a huge boost for Zenit with the return of Andrei Arshavin, suspended on Matchday 1, to form a formidable three-man attack with Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny, signed for a Russian record €30m from FC Dinamo Moskva in late August. “Danny has been in the team for just a month and I am surprised how quickly he has adapted to a new city and a new team,” Malafeev said. “He is displaying a high-quality game and scoring goals.”

Dinamo, Minsk
Tuesday 30 September 2008 – 20.45CET
Group H – Matchday 2

Having lost to nine-time European champions Real Madrid CF a fortnight ago, minnows FC BATE Borisov face another continental powerhouse on Matchday 2 in the shape of Juventus. However, with their forward line back and an expectant Belarussian crowd awaiting a first glimpse of UEFA Champions League football, Viktor Goncharenko insists his side can only “play for a win”.

Madrid lessons
BATE’s 2-0 defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu was no embarrassment for a team making their bow in European football’s élite competition, especially one missing their first-choice attack of Gennadi Bliznyuk and Vitali Rodionov through suspension. “The Madrid match taught us a lot and I hope we can play with more confidence against Juventus,” said coach Goncharenko, who is deprived of the services of the suspended Anri Khagush following the full-back’s Matchday 1 dismissal. “The players felt the atmosphere of the big game and now understand the targets they have been set. It is easier to explain the demands of top-level football now.”

Blunt attack
Much of Juventus’s stellar squad needs little introduction to the highest echelons of the game, with coach Claudio Ranieri underlining that the club are “woven into the history of European football”. They have had their problems on the domestic front, however, with Saturday’s goalless draw at UC Sampdoria meaning they have scored just four goals in five Serie A outings this term. It also took a late free-kick from Alessandro Del Piero to edge out FC Zenit St. Petersburg in the Bianconeri’s Group H opener, and hopes of finding some rhythm in attack were not helped by the loss of David Trezeguet for up to four months after surgery on both knees. Ranieri is considering a three-man forward line but admits the “final decision is not yet made”; Amauri will certainly feature having scored four goals in Juve’s last seven fixtures.

Forward threat
“Results show that our form isn’t the best, but I am not really concerned about the goals as they will come,” continued Ranieri, who is also without injured trio Jonathan Zebina, Cristiano Zanetti and Gianluigi Buffon while Nicola Legrottaglie is doubtful. “We respect BATE as they have a very dangerous trio up front with [Sergei] Kryvets, Bliznyuk and Rodionov – and two fine central defenders.” Bliznyuk and Rodionov in particular could pose a threat. They may have missed the trip to Madrid, but they have since made up for lost time: contributing six of the Vysshaya Liga leaders’ seven unanswered goals in the victories against FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk and FC Gomel.

Giant strides
Now there is history to write as Belarus’s first ever UEFA Champions League match takes place in the capital Minsk, home to rivals FC Dinamo Minsk, and where Goncharenko hopes that domestic rivalries can be put to one side, for the moment at least. “Hopefully our presence in the group stage will prove to be a huge step forward for Belarussian football as a whole, not just for BATE,” said the 31-year-old, whose most experienced player, midfielder Aleksandr Ermakovich, is expected to be out for the season after a knee operation. “Taking into account the quality of our opponents, a draw would be a decent result, though we will still play to win.”

Likhtarovich’s promise to BATE faithful
FC BATE Borisov captain Dmitri Likhtarovich’s biggest hope ahead of their first-ever UEFA Champions League home game against Juventus is “not to disappoint the supporters” in a 40,000 sell-out crowd at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk.

Realistic
BATE usually play at their Gradski Stadium in Borisov but, having come through three qualifying rounds, they will bring UEFA Champions League football to Belarus for the first time at the capital’s main venue – while much of the country’s population watch at home. Likhtarovich may be playing in his 42nd UEFA competition match, following his group-stage debut in the 2-0 defeat at Real Madrid CF a fortnight ago, yet he is realistic about BATE’s chances against the two-time European champions. “Whatever happens, we hope not to disappoint our supporters,” Likhtarovich told uefa.com. “Every team plans to get points, but some gain them while others do not.”

Juve strength
Juventus are missing David Trezeguet and Gianluigi Buffon, and have Nicola Legrottaglie doubtful with a thigh problem, but they beat FC Zenit St. Petersburg 1-0 in their Group H opener and Likhtarovich recognises their strength in depth. “Juve are a club with no irreplaceable players,” the 30-year-old midfielder said. “So our task will not be any easier. Juventus still have [Alessandro] Del Piero, the true leader of the team. He may not be the same Del Piero we knew seven or eight years ago, but he still scores regularly and makes assists. Then they have [Mauro] Camoranesi, [Pavel] Nedv?d, and their attack is strong enough even without Trezeguet.”

Star status
Mixing it with the likes of Juventus, Madrid and Zenit is a major step up for BATE, who in their modern incarnation since 1996 have collected four Belarussian league titles. Likhtarovich is not feeling superstar status quite yet, however. “I don’t notice any special attention,” he said. “I can feel the interest, but we are not really recognised in the streets much – certainly not the way it is at leading European clubs.”

Respect
Del Piero, who should be partnered up front by Amauri on Tuesday, is another for whom this BATE side remain an unknown quantity. “Sorry, but I don’t know the BATE players by name,” admitted the 33-year-old Bianconeri captain. “However, we have watched videos of them and we know something about them. They are a very young team who have achieved a lot, so I respect them very much. I think it will be a good game.”

Sükrü Saraçoglu, Istanbul
Tuesday 30 September 2008 – 20.45CET
Group G – Matchday 2

Fenerbahçe SK coach Luis Aragonés is banking on home comforts as his side attempt to preserve an imposing record at the Sükrü Saraçoglu Stadium against Group G rivals FC Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday.

Enthusiastic support
The Istanbul giants have won their last eight UEFA Champions League games on home turf, staying unbeaten since visitors AC Milan claimed a 4-0 victory in November 2005. Aragonés credits the “massive support” from Fenerbahçe’s fervent fans for creating what has been billed as ‘Fortress Sükrü Saraçoglu’ – yet given his team have limped through the opening two months of their campaign they may need all the help they can get. Dynamo coach Yuri Semin was in attendance on Friday night when Fenerbahçe lost 2-1 at Sivasspor, their third defeat in three away matches in the Süper Lig. Add to that the 3-1 reverse at FC Porto on Matchday 1 and the outlook appears gloomy, but Fenerbahçe continue to be a different proposition in the Turkish capital – conceding just once in four wins from as many games in all competitions.

Elusive win
“I watched Fenerbahçe’s last match and have seen previous ones on tape. We have also been speaking with our former player Serhiy Rebrov who had a spell with Fenerbahçe, but it will be hard to surprise an experienced coach like Aragonés,” said Semin, who knows only too well the pitfalls of disappointing runs since his side have not triumphed in 14 UEFA Champions League outings. They came within two minutes of ending the sequence against Arsenal FC a fortnight ago, however, and Semin believes the time is ripe for a change. “I can’t speak about the past but my players are fully focused on this match,” continued the former Russia coach. “The players are aware of their quality and are desperate to end this bad run.”

Injury list
To that end the Sükrü Saraçoglu Stadium may not be the ideal hunting ground, although Dynamo approach the game on the back of a 3-0 triumph at FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih on Friday, achieved despite the absences of Artem Milevskiy (ankle) and Ayila Yussuf (calf). The pair are still sidelined, along with Oleh Gusev (knee) and Carlos Corrêa (broken leg), yet Aragonés has injury problems of his own with Semih ?entürk ruled out with the recurrence of an ankle complaint. Deivid has returned to full training but Spain striker Daniel Güiza is likely to carry much of the hosts’ attacking burden.

Strength and weaknesses
With Josico also missing training on Friday because of thigh trouble, Aragonés concedes that injuries are taking their toll – one of two major Fenerbahçe weaknesses he has identified together with the defence’s inability to cope with the long ball. That is not a tactic typically associated with their Matchday 2 opponents, however. “Dynamo are very good on the counterattack,” said the man who guided Spain to UEFA EURO 2008™ glory. “We need to adjust our tactics so we know where and when to do the pressing. I prefer not to focus on other teams though – it’s more important what your own side do.”

Alex calls for Fenerbahçe caution
When a side unbeaten in 14 home matches in UEFA club competition welcome a team seeking to end a run of 14 winless games in the UEFA Champions League, an obvious favourite emerges – not that captain Alex is taking anything for granted before Fenerbahçe SK’s Group G meeting with FC Dynamo Kyiv in Istanbul.

Impressive record
Luis Aragonés’s team made a disappointing start to their campaign at FC Porto a fortnight ago, quickly finding themselves two goals down and eventually losing 3-1. Yet at ‘Fortress Sükrü Saraçoglu’ they are a different proposition. Not since November 2005 have a side come away with anything more than a draw and in their last eight home games among Europe’s élite, Fenerbahçe’s visitors have taken home nothing. That record contrasts markedly with Dynamo Kyiv’s, although Alex is wary of complacency. “It will be a very challenging match,” warned the 31-year-old Brazilian international. “We started our Champions League campaign with a defeat so the importance of this fixture has increased. We want to make up for our loss to Porto.”

‘Difficult times’
Alex’s reservations are in part explained by Fenerbahçe’s poor start to the Süper Lig season, their 2-1 loss at Sivasspor on Friday night making it three defeats in three away games and leaving them languishing tenth in the table. “We have all been playing football for a long time so there is no negativity in our camp,” said Alex, who played all 90 minutes at the weekend after “totally recovering” from a calf strain. “I am sure we can get through these difficult times pretty quickly and though we lost the first match [against Porto] there are five more games to play and 15 points to be won. However, at this stage, we just want to take one game at a time.”

Volkan Babacan ready
Alex has added motivation as he is just two away from a century of goals for the club, while at the other end of his career at Fenerbahçe, keeper Volkan Babacan is poised to make his UEFA Champions League debut. The 20-year-old has shone in place of the suspended Volkan Demirel and could be retained against Dynamo. “It is up to the coach whether I play or not,” said Volkan Babacan. “I regard myself as experienced enough and know that every game in this competition is difficult. If we had won the first match against Porto it would be a lot easier though.” Not, perhaps, for the visitors.

Arsenal Stadium, London
Tuesday 30 September 2008 – 20.45CET
Group G – Matchday 2

Arsène Wenger may have felt “physically sick” after Arsenal FC’s surprise defeat by Hull City AFC but the Frenchman was back in defiant mood 48 hours later as he looked forward to Tuesday’s Group G visit of FC Porto, insisting his team had the quality to go all the way in the UEFA Champions League this season.

‘We have the quality’
Citing his players’ quality, desire and ambition, Wenger said: “We had a very disappointing result against Hull but I’ve been sitting on the bench long enough to know if you play this game 100 times you lose it one time. I believe we will win [on Tuesday]. We want to make sure we win, we want to get the right belief into our game. Everybody thinks we should not have any chance to win the Champions League – I believe we have enough quality to do it and that is what we want to show.”

No complacency
Saturday’s 2-1 loss was Arsenal’s first reverse on home soil in 36 matches and Wenger admitted his players did not have the “right focus levels”, explaining: “Maybe we were guilty in that at 1-0 we thought we’d done the difficult part.” Yet he underlined there would be no danger of complacency against the Portuguese champions as Arsenal look to build on their 1-1 draw at FC Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday 1, when Porto beat Fenerbahçe SK 3-1. “We have had a draw at Kiev and we know the home games will be decisive in our qualification,” said Wenger, whose side have not lost a European home tie since spring 2004. “Porto had a convincing victory against Fenerbahçe and knowing Fenerbahçe’s team, with its basis of Brazilians and Spanish, that tells me a lot about their quality so we’ll take them very seriously.”

Playing to win
Porto may have opened with a win but history suggests they will find the going tougher on English soil. They have lost on nine of ten previous visits, including a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal in September 2006. Yet coach Jesualdo Ferreira stressed that they would play to win. “Porto don’t have a good record in England – we have never won a game here which says it all. It is a challenge for us and it will be difficult, but Porto are a club that want to win every game and that will be our aim,” he said.

Lucho hope
Comparing the changes in the respective sides since that 2006 meeting – decided by goals from the departed Thierry Henry and Aleksandr Hleb – Ferreira added: “Most of the Arsenal players are even better than then – bigger, older and with more experience. Now we have different players and the only thing we can say is there are more Arsenal players with experience and fewer experienced players in our team, and that might be the determining factor.” Porto have not won any of their three domestic away matches this term but they recorded a morale-boosting 2-0 league success at home to FC Paços de Ferreira, and Ferreira will hope to welcome back key Argentinian midfielder Lucho González, rested on Friday because of an adductor problem. Wenger, for his part, said Samir Nasri was available after a knee injury but that fellow midfielder Alexandre Song would remain sidelined with a hip problem Touré wants prizes, not plaudits Kolo Touré believes it is high time Arsenal FC delivered on their undoubted promise and picked up a trophy, rather than mere plaudits for the beauty of their football.

‘Want a trophy’
Looking ahead to FC Porto’s visit to north London on Tuesday, defender Touré reaffirmed the team’s determination to collect some silverware in the wake of the surprise weekend defeat by Hull City AFC. “We really want to do something this season because for four seasons we have not won anything,” said the Ivorian defender. “We are playing good football and everyone is talking about Arsenal. We want to win a trophy to show the good football we play can bring us some silverware.” Arsenal came close last season, reaching the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and finishing four points off the Premier League summit. “Of course we know we have the quality and we have the spirit as well. Last season we learned from a lot of mistakes and that will help us,” added the 27-year-old Touré, one of three survivors of the Arsenal side that won the FA Cup in 2005.

Tall order
Reflecting on the 2-1 loss to top-flight newcomers Hull that ended Arsenal’s 17-month unbeaten home run, Touré’s manager, Arsène Wenger, had lamented that “our centre-backs are not very tall”, mindful of Daniel Cousin’s headed winner. Yet Touré, who measures 1.80m, said a players’ stature was less a concern than their strength and alertness. “You know that [Roberto] Ayala is not the tallest and he is a top defender. [Fabio] Cannavaro is not the tallest. Cannavaro was the best player in the world two years ago and I think I am taller than him. It is not about that, the player who attacks the ball will score.

‘Still a good side’
“We were winning 1-0 and then maybe in our minds we thought the game was over,” he added. “In the dressing room just after the game you saw every player was really sad and disappointed but we will try to show another face tomorrow. We are lucky we can put Saturday’s game behind us immediately and we have a chance to show everyone we are still a good side. We saw a tape of Porto playing Benfica and they are a good team. They have always been in the Champions League and have experience of the competition. It is going to be a tight game and exciting for us as well to show we have the character to win against a big team.”