Galatasaray looking to repay Sturm debt

Galatasaray AŞ host SK Sturm Graz in UEFA Europa League Group F looking to build on their opening victory at Panathinaikos FC.

Previous meetings
• The clubs met in the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League group stage, with Sturm winning 3-0 at home and drawing 2-2 in Istanbul.

• The squads for the latter game (07/11/00) at the Ali Sami Yen were:
Galatasaray: Kerem İnan, Bülent Korkmaz, Popescu, Emre Belözoğlu, Okan Buruk, Járdel (Marco Mixirica, 90), Hagi (Serkan Aykut, 67), Hasan Şaş (Faruk Atalay, 86), Fatih Akyel, Hakan Ünsal, Ergün Penbe.
Sturm: Sidorczuk, Neukirchner, Schupp (Korsos, 61), Reinmayr (Yuran, 46), Vastic, Prilasnig, Mamedov, Schopp, Minavandchal (Strafner, 87), Kocijan, Fleurquin.

• Current Sturm coach Franco Foda was an unused substitute in both legs.

Match background
• Galatasaray competed in the final two UEFA Cup group stage campaigns, progressing from their section on both occasions. Sturm never competed in the UEFA Cup group stage.

Team facts
• Galatasaray coach Frank Rijkaard's only experience of Austrian opposition came in three international games for the Netherlands. His side drew 1-1 at home against Austria in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in 1985. He played later in two friendlies against them, losing 3-2 in 1990 before finding the net in a win by the same scoreline two years later.

• German coach Foda has been with Sturm for over a decade, having joined the club as a defender in 1997. The former 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart player counts his son Sandro Foda – a midfielder – among his players at Sturm.

• Sturm's Bosnian midfielder Samir Muratović played in Turkey with Kocaelispor in the 1998/99 season.

• Sturm defender Gordon Schildenfeld played in Turkey with Beşiktaş JK during the latter part of the 2007/08 season, during which time he was a team-mate of Galatasaray counterpart Gökhan Zan.

• Galatasaray's Milan Baroš and Harry Kewell took on Sturm's neighbours Grazer AK as Liverpool FC players, with their side winning 2-0 in Graz before losing 1-0 at home in a 2004/05 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie.

• Galatasaray host FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti on Matchday 3, while Sturm visit Panathinaikos on the same night, 22 October.