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.”