NEC aim to give Jol an uncomfortable return

NEC Nijmegen will to hoping to give Hamburger SV coach Martin Jol an unhappy homecoming when the Netherlands-born coach brings his charges to the De Goffert Stadium for the sides' UEFA Cup Round of 32 first-leg fixture.

• Hamburg have already met Dutch opposition once this season, when they lost 1-0 at home to Group F rivals AFC Ajax. That was Jol's first European game against a team from his native country.

• The match against NEC will be Jol's first involvement in a competitive European game in the Netherlands since July 2001, when his RKC Waalwijk outfit lost 2-1 at home to TSV 1860 München in a UEFA Intertoto Cup tie.

• Jol left the Netherlands in June 2004 to become assistant coach at Tottenham Hotspur FC under Jacques Santini. However, he was promoted to the top job four months later and remained at the helm until October 2007. He was hired by Hamburg in May 2008.

• This will be the two teams' first meeting in European club competition.

• NEC have played a total of 14 matches in UEFA club competitions and have never previously encountered German opposition.

• This will be Hamburg's tenth game against Dutch opponents. Their record from nine previous matches with Eredivisie outfits reads W3 D1 L5.

• Hamburg's last victory against a team from the Netherlands came in a UEFA Cup tie against Sparta Rotterdam on 2 October 1985. They have lost all three meetings against Dutch clubs since.

• Hamburg's four competitive games on Dutch soil have yielded W1 D1 L2. Their two most recent visits have both ended in defeat.

• NEC coach Mario Been has mixed memories of facing Bundesliga opposition. He was in midfield for Feyenoord when they lost 7-1 on aggregate to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the second round of the 1986/87 UEFA Cup, but scored for the Rotterdam side in a 2-2 draw against eventual winners Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the following season's competition.

• Been has fonder memories of meetings with Jol during their playing days. He scored a hat-trick in Feyenoord's 4-0 win against Jol's ADO Den Haag in March 1987 and found the net again when his side beat the same opponents – with Jol once more in defence – in April 1988.

• Been has agreed to become the new coach of Feyenoord in the summer, but will remain at NEC for the remainder of this season.

• Hamburg currently boast Dutch talent in the form of Joris Mathijsen and Romeo Castelen.

• Mathijsen played for Willem II and AZ Alkmaar before joining Hamburg in August 2006.

• Castelen played alongside NEC defender Youssef El-Akchaoui at Den Haag in 2003/04 prior to his switch to Feyenoord. During his time at De Kuip, the winger shared a dressing room with NEC's Hungarian goalkeeper Gábor Babos (2004 to 2006) as well as defenders Mark Otten (2004/05) and Lorenzo Davids (2006/07). He joined Hamburg in July 2007.

• Dutch defender El-Akchaoui is the only current NEC player with German experience, having represented 1. FC Union Berlin in the 2. Bundesliga in the 2002/03 season.

• The second leg of this tie will be Hamburg's 100th UEFA Cup fixture.

• Having failed to win any of their first four European games at home, NEC have now won two of their last three UEFA Cup ties at the De Goffert Stadium. Their overall record in seven European home games reads W2 D2 L3.

• The Ajax reverse was Hamburg's only defeat in the seven European games since their 1-0 loss at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup Round of 16. They won five and drew one of the remaining six matches.

• That defeat in Leverkusen was their only loss in ten European away trips since a 3-1 reverse at Arsenal FC in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League group stage. Their record from those ten away games reads W7 D2 L1.

• NEC finished eighth in the Dutch Eredivisie last season. They won a UEFA Cup place via the domestic end-of-season play-offs and progressed to the Round of 32 thanks to a third-place finish in Group D. Hamburg, fourth in the Bundesliga in 2007/08, topped Group F.

• NEC's Lorenzo Davids and Bas Sibum are within a booking of one-match suspensions. Hamburg have no such problems.

• January squad changes:-
NEC
Players added to squad list: Dennis Rommedahl, Milano Koenders.
Players removed from squad list: Pieter Wisgerhof.
Hamburg
Players added to squad list: Marcel Ndjeng, Tomás Rincón, Michael Gravgaard.Players removed from squad list: Nigel de Jong, Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Thiago Neves.

• The victors will face the winners of the FC Girondins de Bordeaux v Galatasaray AŞ tie in the Round of 16 on 12 and 18/19 March, and will play the first leg at home.