Beşiktaş bidding to bury German jinx

Beşiktaş JK must reverse a losing habit against German opposition if they are to revive their hopes of Group B progress at VfL Wolfsburg on Matchday 3.

• The Turkish titleholders have lost every previous meeting with teams from the Bundesliga but after defeats by Manchester United FC and PFC CSKA Moskva, they barely afford another setback. Wolfsburg also suffered a reverse on Matchday 2 when they went down 2-1 at United, but they did take maximum points at home against CSKA.

Match background
• Wolfsburg have never faced Turkish opposition, while Beşiktaş have lost all five of their past encounters with Bundesliga sides – three of them in Germany.

• They lost 2-1 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in their most recent visit to Germany in the UEFA Cup group stage in December 2006.

• Their only previous UEFA Champions League matches against a German outfit came in the 1997/98 group stage, when they went down 2-0 home and away to FC Bayern München.

• Beşiktaş have lost their last four UEFA Champions League group-stage away fixtures.

Team ties
• Beşiktaş coach Mustafa Denizli has considerable experience of pitting his wits against German opponents with both club and country.

• During his second spell as Turkey coach, Denizli oversaw a 1-0 home victory over Germany in a UEFA EURO 2000™ qualifier in October 1998. His Turkey side earned a goalless draw in the return fixture in October 1999.

• In his first spell at the Turkey helm he oversaw a 3-1 victory over East Germany in 1987.

• As coach of Fenerbahçe SK, Denizli oversaw 2-1 defeats home and away against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League first group stage.

• His first meeting with German opposition as a coach came on 23 October 1985, when his Galatasaray AŞ side lost 2-0 at KFC Uerdingen 05 en route to a 3-1 aggregate defeat in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round.

• Denizli spent the 1989/90 season coaching TSV Alemannia Aachen.

• As a player with Altay GK, Denizli took on FC Carl Zeiss Jena in the 1977/78 UEFA Cup first round – his team lost 5-1 in East Germany but almost staged an improbable comeback by winning the return 4-1.

• In April 1979 he helped Turkey hold West Germany 0-0 in a home qualifier for the 1980 UEFA European Championship.

• Wolfsburg's Karim Ziani was on the winning side against Beşiktaş with Olympique de Marseille in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage, appearing in a 2-0 victory at the Stade Vélodrome in September 2007. Ziani watched from the bench as OM lost the return fixture 2-1.

• Edin Džeko scored in Bosnia-Herzegovina's 2-1 defeat in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Turkey in Istanbul last October. Wolfsburg team-mate Zvjezdan Misimović was also in the visitors' lineup, while Beşiktaş pair İbrahim Kaş and Yusuf Şimşek featured for Turkey.

• Džeko scored past Beşiktaş goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber in Bosnia-Herzegovina's 3-2 home success against Turkey in a UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier in June 2007. İbrahim Üzülmez was also in the beaten Turkey lineup.

• Rüştü was in the Turkey team subsequently beaten 3-2 by Germany in the UEFA EURO 2008™ semi-finals.

• The Beşiktaş squad includes former Bundesliga players Fabian Ernst and Michael Fink, Ernst having served with Hannover 96, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen and FC Schalke 04, while Fink experienced top-flight action with DSC Arminia Bielefeld and Eintracht Frankfurt.

• Beşiktaş defender Matteo Ferrari was in the FC Internazionale Milano side that beat Hertha BSC Berlin 2-1 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup third round in 2000/01. However, he suffered a 3-1 defeat in Germany with AS Roma in a UEFA Champions League group-stage outing at Leverkusen in 2004/05.