Steaua v Manchester City background
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Article summary
Steaua Bucureşti are the opponents for two-time winning coach Josep Guardiola in his first UEFA Champions League tie as Manchester City manager.
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Article body
Steaua Bucureşti will look to ensure Josep Guardiola has a tough start in his new job as Manchester City manager when the teams go head-to-head in Romania in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off tie.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.
• Steaua's 18 games against English clubs have ended W5 D4 L9 (W5 D2 L2 at home – W0 D2 L7 in England). The second leg will be their first competitive game in Manchester.
• City's only previous encounters with Romanian opponents came during the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League play-offs, when they beat Timişoara 3-0 on aggregate.
• Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, David Silva and Yaya Touré featured in the tie. Steaua's Alexandru Bourceanu started both legs for Timişoara.
Match background
• Steaua defeated Sparta Praha 3-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round.
• Both of Steaua's UEFA Champions League play-offs to date have ended level on aggregate; they overcame Legia Warszawa on away goals in 2013/14 but lost to Ludogorets Razgrad on penalties in 2014/15.
• This is City's first UEFA Champions League play-off.
Team and coach links
• City defender Bacary Sagna and Steaua's Mihai Pintilii, Adrian Popa and Nicolae Stanciu met in the opening match of UEFA EURO 2016, as hosts France overcame Romania 2-1.
• Guardiola's Barcelona team-mates as a player included two Romanian greats, Gheorghe Hagi and Gheorghe Popescu.
• Steaua defender Gabriel Tamaș played in England for West Bromwich Albion (2010–2013), Watford (2014–2015) and Cardiff City (2015).
• City's Kevin De Bruyne came on for the final ten minutes of Chelsea's 1-0 UEFA Champions League group stage win against Laurențiu Reghecampf's Steaua in December 2013. Pintilii and Stanciu were among his opponents.
• City full-backs Gaël Clichy and Sagna took on Steaua with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2007/08; the Gunners won both matches, 1-0 and 2-1.
• City winger Jesús Navas helped Sevilla defeat Steaua 2-1 and 2-0 in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage.
Coach profiles
• Reghecampf won two titles as a midfielder with Steaua and two more in his first stint as coach, from 2012 to 2014. He returned to Bucharest in December 2015 after a spell at the helm of Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal and in Bulgaria with Litex Lovech, with whom he won a championship as a player in 1998/99.
• This is Guardiola's first UEFA tie since taking over as Manchester City coach in the summer. The former Barcelona midfielder coached his old club to three Liga titles and two UEFA Champions League successes before winning three consecutive Bundesliga crowns at Bayern München.