Vaslui look to retain unbeaten home record
Friday, September 16, 2011
Article summary
FC Vaslui will hope to build on their impressive performance in Rome on matchday one as they take on take on FC Zürich in UEFA Europa League Group D.
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FC Vaslui will look to maintain their unbeaten record in UEFA club competition home games as they take on FC Zürich in UEFA Europa League Group D.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition, and neither club have played teams from their opponents' home nations in competitive games before.
• In 18 UEFA matches between Romanian and Swiss clubs the Romanian sides' record is W4 D5 L9 (W4 D3 L2 at home).
Match background
• Vaslui have yet to lose a European home game, with their eight efforts to date producing five wins and three draws. Their previous two home ties at the Stadionul Ceahlăul ended in a 2-0 win, and a goalless draw. Both took place this season.
• Vaslui's European home base in Piatra Neamt is a little over 100km from their home town.
• Zürich have not won in their last nine UEFA Europa League and UEFA Cup games (three draws and six defeats) since a 2-0 win against Toulouse FC in the 2007/08 group stage.
Team facts
• Vaslui's Wesley was one of three players to score twice on matchday one along with SC Braga's Hélder Barbosa and Beşiktaş JK's Hugo Almeida. RSC Anderlecht's Matías Suárez was the only player to outscore them, hitting a hat-trick.
• Wesley played in Switzerland with Zürich's local rivals Grasshopper-Club in the spring of 2007 while on loan from Deportivo Alavés. He played in two Zurich derbies – a 0-0 draw at home and a 2-0 loss away.
• Zürich were penalised for 24 fouls on matchday one; more than any other side in the group stage.
• Vaslui coach Viorel Hizo twice took both FC Rapid Bucureşti and FC Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ into Europe. Now 64, he has coached Vaslui and Ceahlăul three times, and has been Rapid coach in five separate spells.
• Thus, while their European home at the Stadionul Ceahlăul may be unfamiliar to the Vaslui players, Hizo knows it well, and has yet to lose there as a UEFA coach, his record reading W5 D2 L0.
• Zürich boss Urs Fischer joined the club in their youth team in the early 1970s, played for them as a defender in two spells (1984-87 and 1996-2003) and took charge as coach in 2010, following a spell as assistant to Bernard Challandes in 2007/08.
