Rosenborg on mettle to match Metalist
Monday, October 15, 2012
Article summary
Rosenborg BK have avoided defeat by Ukrainian opposition just once in six attempts, a record they will hope to improve upon with FC Metalist Kharkiv in Trondheim for their Group K meeting.
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Rosenborg BK will look to improve their statistics against Ukrainian sides when FC Metalist Kharkiv visit Trondheim in UEFA Europa League Group K.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time and this is also Metalist's maiden encounter with a Norwegian side.
• Rosenborg's six previous games against Ukrainian clubs ended W1 D0 L5 (W1 D0 L2 in Trondheim – W0 D0 L3 in Ukraine).
• Rosenborg have yet to keep a clean sheet against a Ukrainian side – the only time they conceded fewer than two against Premier League opposition was in the 1990/91 UEFA Cup first round, when they beat FC Chornomorets Odesa 2-1 in Trondheim.
Match background
• Rosenborg and FC Twente are the only sides to have made it all the way from the first qualifying round to the group stage. A 1-0 loss at Bayer 04 Leverkusen on matchday two ended the Trondheim club's nine-game unbeaten run in Europe this season (W5 D4)
• Metalist are unbeaten in four European games this season (W3 D1) and have conceded just once in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League. They have won six of their last nine European away games, losing just one – 2-1 at Sporting Clube de Portugal in last season's quarter-finals.
Team facts
• Rosenborg defender Cristian Gamboa celebrates his 23rd birthday on the eve of the game.
• Rosenborg coach Jan Jönsson was a midfielder at Halmstads BK in his native Sweden from 1978–92, before moving to Japan, where he served as a player and assistant coach under Stuart Baxter at Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Vissel Kobe. He took command at Rosenborg in 2011 following fruitful spells with Landskrona BoIS (2001–04) and Stabæk Fotball (2005–10).
• Metalist coach Myron Markevich is a keen student of the game – he has made trips to study Fabio Capello, Christoph Daum and Carlo Ancelotti – and is also an able pianist. Having been in charge of Metalist since 2005, he was named Ukraine coach on his 59th birthday in February 2010 but stepped down that August to focus solely on his club duties.
• This is FARE Action Week, with UEFA giving its support to Europe's biggest anti-discrimination campaign. There are activities before each UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League game which will be witnessed by thousands of fans in the stadiums and millions on television. A 30-second RESPECT TV spot and announcements over stadium loudspeakers will encourage fans to join the UEFA family in its call to unite against racism in football. Every team will be accompanied on to the pitch by children wearing Unite Against Racism T-shirts and captains will be asked to wear a Unite Against Racism armband.
