Asteras v Beşiktaş background
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Article summary
Asteras Tripolis FC lost their unbeaten European home record on matchday five but need to get back to winning ways against Beşiktaş JK if they are to qualify from Group C.
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Asteras Tripolis FC must win if they are to be sure of having something to play for on matchday six as Beşiktaş JK come to Greece in UEFA Europa League Group C.
Form guide
• The sides drew 1-1 in Turkey on matchday one in the first meeting for both with teams from their opponents' nations; Beşiktaş were drawn to face Olympiacos FC in the 1958/59 European Champion Clubs' Cup preliminary round, but the Greek outfit withdrew for political reasons.
• Turkish teams have had the better of the 16 UEFA competition meetings between clubs from these countries, recording seven wins to the Greek sides' four.
• Asteras's 2-1 loss to Tottenham on matchday four was their first UEFA club competition home defeat, bringing to an end a run of four straight European home wins this season. They have yet to win a UEFA game away from home.
Trivia and links
• Beşiktaş's Demba Ba has scored in all three of his group stage games this seasons – four goals in total.
• Asteras forward Ziguy Badibanga turns 23 on the eve of matchday five.
• The most experienced European campaigner in the Asteras squad by some distance, Romanian defender Dorin Goian has played against Turkey with his national team, including a 1-0 FIFA World Cup qualifying win in 2012 and 2-0 reverse in the return game last year.
• This is Beşiktaş's sixth group stage campaign in this competition; they failed to make it through three UEFA Cup group stages but have progressed on both attempts since the advent of the UEFA Europa League.
The coaches
• Asteras put their faith in coach Staikos Vergetis in 2013, with the 38-year-old renowned as a communicator – not least since he is fluent in several languages and has worked for the club as an interpreter, as well as a youth coach, match analyst and assistant coach. Born in Tripoli, he was denied his dream of a playing career by a serious knee injury.
• Beşiktaş coach since June 2013, Slaven Bilić earned a bronze medal as a defender with Croatia at the 1998 World Cup finals, and went on to lead his team to UEFA EURO 2008 and UEFA EURO 2012 as a coach. A rock music fan with a law degree, he was in charge at FC Lokomotiv Moskva before moving to Turkey.
