OB and Villarreal set for rematch
Monday, August 8, 2011
Article summary
Villarreal CF stand between Odense BK and a maiden appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage, with the former having happy memories of the last time they met the Danish club.
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![OB's Chris Sørensen (left) in action against Panathinaikos OB's Chris Sørensen (left) in action against Panathinaikos](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/025a-0ea66d76d203-6686e81b2d31-1000/format/wide1/stergos_marinos_in_green_helped_panathinaikos_earn_an_away_goal_against_ob.jpeg?imwidth=158)
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Odense BK were thoroughly beaten last time they met Villarreal CF in Europe, but Henrik Clausen's side will look to make amends in the UEFA Champions League play-offs.
Previous meetings
• The teams met in the second round of the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Manuel Pellegrini's Villarreal winning 3-0 in the first leg in Aarhus and then 2-0 at home. Current OB left-back Chris Sørensen was an unused substitute in the first leg but featured in the second fixture, along with Villarreal's Argentinian defender Gonzalo Rodríguez.
• In addition to two defeats by FC Barcelona in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970, OB have met Spanish sides in 11 UEFA games with the record W2 D1 L8 (W1D1 L3 at home).
• Their crowning achievement in those fixtures was a famous defeat of Real Madrid CF in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup third round, when they overturned a 3-2 home reverse with a 2-0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu on 6 December 1994 − a feat still known in Denmark as 'The Miracle in Madrid'.
• Villarreal played an Aalborg BK side featuring OB's Andreas Johansson in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League, winning 6-3 at home and drawing 2-2 in Denmark. Diego López, Gonzalo Rodríguez, Ángel López, Bruno Soriano, Rubén Cani, Marcos Senna and Giuseppe Rossi all played in those fixtures, with Rossi on target in both games.
Match background
• OB have lost just once in their last 14 European home fixtures, going down 2-1 against VfB Stuttgart in last season's UEFA Europa League group stage.
• Villarreal had gone four games without a defeat on the road in Europe, winning three of them, before going down 5-1 at FC Porto in last season's UEFA Europa League semi-finals.
• Villarreal are unbeaten in nine home games at El Madrigal − the last eight of them wins − dating back to December 2009 and FC Salzburg's 1-0 victory in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage.
• OB's 4-3 third qualifying round win at Panathinaikos FC ended a three-game run of away defeats in UEFA competition.
• Villarreal have featured in the UEFA Champions League group stage twice, reaching the semi-finals in 2005/06 and the quarter-finals in 2007/08. Arsenal FC knocked them out on both occasions.
• Villarreal's only previous tilt at UEFA Champions League qualifying ended successfully as they beat Everton FC 2-1 away and at home to reach the group stage in 2005/06.
• Odense are the only side in the League route never to have featured in the group stage. Last season's Danish runners-up appeared in the group stages of the UEFA Cup in 2006/07 and the UEFA Europa League in 2010/11.
• This is the fourth time that OB have played in Europe's top club competition. They were eliminated in the first round by PFC Lokomotiv Sofia in 1978/79 (agg: 2-3), Liverpool FC in 1983/84 (agg: 0-6) and Real Madrid CF in 1990/91 (agg: 1-10).
• Their third qualifying round victory against Panathinaikos FC was their first over two legs in Europe's premier club competition − indeed OB's 4-3 second-leg win was their first victory in eight European Cup outings.
Team ties
• During their time together at Manchester United FC, OB's Eric Djemba-Djemba and Villarreal's Giuseppe Rossi featured together in League Cup victories against Crystal Palace FC and Arsenal FC at the end of 2004.
• Villarreal's Copenhagen-born forward Nicki Bille Nielsen scored ten goals in 47 Danish Super League appearances for FC Nordsjælland before moving to Spain.
• The 23-year-old also scored past goalkeeping club-mate Diego Mariño in Denmark's 2-1 Under-21 friendly defeat by Spain in Guadalajara on 8 February. Villarreal's Mario Gaspar was a substitute for Spain.
• On 22 April 2006, OB forward Morten Skoubo featured in the Real Sociedad de Fútbol side that enjoyed a 2-0 Liga win at Villarreal.