Wisła clinging on to Twente hope
Friday, December 2, 2011
Article summary
Wisła Kraków need eliminated Odense BK to do them a favour if they are to have a chance of finishing second in Group K, with section winners FC Twente their guests on matchday six.
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All is not lost for Wisła Kraków as Group K winners FC Twente come to Poland, though the home side need favours on UEFA Europa League matchday six.
• Fulham FC will secure second place if they are victorious at home against eliminated Odense BK, but failure to collect three points would open the door for Wisła, who are only a point behind the English club but need to win as they trail on head-to-head record.
Previous meetings
• David Biton shot Wisła into a ninth-minute lead when the sides met for the first time on matchday two but Twente responded with goals from Luuk de Jong (32), Marc Janko (45+1 & 57) and substitute Willem Janssen (80) to win 4-1. It matched Wisła's worst ever away defeat in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League.
• Wisła's six games against Dutch sides have ended W3 D0 L3 (W2 D0 L0 in Krakow). They have scored at least once in their last five meetings with Eredivisie opposition.
• In Twente's only meeting with Polish opponents before this season, they won 2-1 away and 2-0 at home against KSP Polonia Warszawa in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup first round. They have thus won all three of their previous games against Polish sides.
Match background
• A 3-1 loss to OB on matchday one ended a run of three straight victories at home in Europe for Wisła; all those wins had come in this season's UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds.
• Twente are yet to lose in the group stage. Their 4-1 win at OB on matchday three ended a run of five games without a win on the road in Europe (two draws and three defeats).
Team facts
• Wisła midfielder Radosław Sobolewski turns 35 on 13 December.
• The Polish champions are yet to announce a permanent replacement for 42-year-old Dutch coach Robert Maaskant, who left the club in the wake of a 1-0 derby defeat against MKS Cracovia Kraków on 6 November. He was appointed in August 2010 and led Wisła to the Ekstraklasa title last season. His assistant Kazimierz Moskal, a former defender capped six times by Poland, is in temporary charge until the winter break.
• Now 64, Twente coach Co Adriaanse spent the bulk of his playing career as a defender for FC Utrecht. Notable coaching achievements include taking Willem II into the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League, winning a Portuguese double with FC Porto in 2005/06 and leading FC Salzburg to the 2008/09 Austrian crown.
• Adriaanse's AZ Alkmaar, featuring Denny Landzaat, met KS Amica Wronki in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup group stage, winning 3-1 in Poland.
• Wisła defender Michael Lamey played under Adriaanse at AZ in 2003 while on loan from PSV Eindhoven.
• Wisła defender Kew Jaliens played for Adriaanse at both Willem II (1999/2000) and AZ (2004/05).