Club Brugge hope to avoid more Spanish sighs
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Article summary
Club Brugge KV have never won on Spanish soil and Villarreal CF will aim to ensure that remains the case after the Group D rivals have met at El Madrigal on Matchday 2.
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Club Brugge KV's long quest for a first victory on Spanish soil continues when they visit Villarreal CF for their second outing in UEFA Europa League Group D. The Liga side will be looking to extend their visitors' barren run in Spain to 34 years.
Previous meetings
• The teams are meeting for the first time in UEFA club competition and this is also Villarreal's first meeting with a club from Belgium.
• Club Brugge's record from 20 games against Spanish opposition reads W5 D6 L9 (W0 D4 L6 in Spain). Thus, they are still on the look-out for a first victory in Spain.
• Their first game in Spain brought a 0-0 draw at Real Madrid CF in the European Champion Clubs' Cup second round on 20 October 1976. They won 2-0 back in Bruges to win that tie.
• It was not far from Villarreal, at nearby Valencia CF, that Club Brugge's UEFA Europa League hopes died last season. Although they won the first leg of the round of 32 tie 1-0 in Belgium – Dorge Kouemaha scoring – they went down 3-0 after extra time in the return.
Match background
• Villarreal have lost just once in their last 15 European home games, going down 1-0 against FC Salzburg in their final outing of the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage.
• Club Brugge are unbeaten in their last five UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage away games, recording four draws and a victory since losing 2-1 at Beşiktaş JK in the 2006/07 competition. In this season's play-off round they were 3-2 winners at FC Dinamo Minsk.
Team facts
• Up until February 2010, Juan Carlos Garrido was the long-serving coach of Villarreal's reserve side. He replaced Ernesto Valverde at the helm of the first team and duly secured qualification for Europe, earning himself a contract that runs until the end of this season.
• As a winger for Roda JC and PSV Eindhoven, Club Brugge coach Adrie Koster was capped three times by the Netherlands. He made his debut in UEFA competition as a substitute for PSV in a goalless draw at Spain's Real Sporting de Gijón in the 1979/80 UEFA Cup first round and played all 90 minutes of his team's 1-0 second-leg victory.
• Koster started his coaching career in the lower leagues in his home country, before taking charge of AFC Ajax's reserve team. The Amsterdam side's caretaker coach in the 2007/08 season, he moved to Bruges in the summer of 2009.
