Maccabi Tel-Aviv aim to bounce back against Dynamo
Friday, September 16, 2011
Article summary
Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC face FC Dynamo Kyiv in UEFA Europa League Group E knowing a much improved performance is needed following a 5-1 defeat in Turkey on matchday one.
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Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC will look to recover from a heavy opening defeat as they take on FC Dynamo Kyiv in UEFA Europa League Group E on Andriy Shevchenko's 35th birthday.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition, and neither club have met teams from their opponents' home nations in competitive games before.
• Only four UEFA club games have been played between Israeli and Ukrainian sides, with the Israeli sides up 3-1 in terms of wins. Both the previous Ukrainian clubs who played UEFA games in Israel lost their games.
Match background
• Maccabi are unbeaten in 11 UEFA home games (eight wins and three draws) since a 1-0 defeat by FC Bayern München in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage. They have won their last six UEFA games at Bloomfield.
• They have not lost in 17 UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League home games, winning 12 and drawing five.
• Dynamo are unbeaten in five UEFA Europa League games.
• A 5-1 loss at Beşiktaş JK on matchday one matched Maccabi's previous worst result on their travels in Europe, a loss by the same scoreline at Bayern in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2004.
Team facts
• Dynamo's Andriy Shevchenko celebrates his 35th birthday on the day of the match. He has played on his birthday in Europe twice before; his Dynamo side marked his 33rd birthday with a 2-0 UEFA Champions League loss at FC Barcelona in 2009, but he will have fonder memories of turning 28, when he scored as AC Milan beat Celtic FC 3-1 in the same competition in 2004.
• Shevchenko has not played a competitive game in Israel since making his UEFA competition debut in a 1994 UEFA European Under-18 Championship preliminary mini-tournament. His side lost 2-0 to Israel on 14 November 1993.
• Maccabi's Rafi Dahan celebrates his 22nd birthday on the eve of the match.
• Maccabi boss Motti Iwanir spent much of his playing career at the club, leaving Israel only once for a spell with Dutch side Roda JC. He was coach of Israel's Under-17 and then U21 teams before taking charge of his old club this year.
• Once a midfielder and forward, the vastly experienced Yuri Semin is in his second spell as Dynamo coach, having won the 2008/09 Ukrainian title in his first stint, leading the club to the UEFA Cup semi-finals that year. He made his name in his native Russia with FC Lokomotiv Moskva, winning titles in 2002 and 2004.
