Unbeaten Anji welcome Young Boys
Monday, September 24, 2012
Article summary
Following their 1-1 draw on matchday one, FC Anji Makhackhala will bid to extend their unbeaten record in Europe this season to eight games when they host BSC Young Boys in Group A.
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FC Anji Makhackhala are unbeaten in seven continental games this season and eager for three Group A points as they play host to BSC Young Boys on UEFA Europa League matchday two.
Previous meetings
• The teams have never previously met in UEFA competition, with Anji facing Swiss opponents for the first time.
• Young Boys were eliminated from the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 32 by FC Zenit St Petersburg in their only previous tie against Russian opponents, winning 2-1 in Berne but going down 3-1 at the Petrovsky Stadium.
Match background
• Anji are making a first appearance in a UEFA group stage in what is only their second season in European competition.
• A 1-1 draw at Udinese Calcio on matchday one ended Anji's six-game winning streak, during which they had not conceded a goal, in this season's tournament.
• Anji have not lost in Europe since their debut, a 1-0 defeat by Rangers FC in a 2001/02 UEFA Cup first round encounter. They were the nominal home team on that occasion, but the tie was played as a one-legged affair on neutral territory in Warsaw due to security concerns in Chechnya, which neighbours Anji's native Dagestan.
• Young Boys reached the round of 32 at the end of their only previous group stage campaign in 2010/11, losing to Zenit.
• YB won 3-0 at FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League play-offs having lost both of their previous away fixtures in qualifying 1-0.
Team facts
• Anji coach Guus Hiddink achieved little of note as a midfielder, but as a coach has racked up six league titles and five domestic cups with his various clubs. The Dutchman has also led the Netherlands, South Korea, Australia, Russia and Turkey at international level and won the 1987/88 European Champion Clubs' Cup with PSV Eindhoven. He took charge of Anzhi in February 2012.
• In Hiddink's only games against Swiss opponents, his PSV Eindhoven side beat FC Luzern 3-0 at home and 2-0 away in a 1989/90 European Champion Clubs' Cup tie. He also led the Netherlands to a 2-0 win against Switzerland at EURO '96.
• Capped five times by Switzerland, Young Boys coach Martin Rueda was a defender for Grasshoppers, FC Wettingen 93, Luzern and Neuchâtel Xamax FC before moving into coaching. He took charge of Young Boys in 2012 following a two-year spell with FC Lausanne-Sport, in which his side reached the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage.
