Astra v Salzburg background
Monday, September 22, 2014
Article summary
FC Astra Giurgiu aim to make up for a disappointing start in UEFA Europa League Group D as they face an FC Salzburg side without a win in three European away games.
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FC Astra Giurgiu's UEFA Europa League group stage debut proved to be a bruising encounter, and they will hope for better against FC Salzburg on matchday two.
Form guide
• Astra's 1-0 play-off loss to Olympique Lyonnais was their first European home defeat in six outings (though that run also included three draws).
• Salzburg are without a win in their last three European away trips (D1 L2).
• Astra's 5-1 loss at GNK Dinamo Zagreb on matchday one was their heaviest European reverse to date.
Trivia and links
• Last season's top scorer with eight goals, Salzburg's Jonatan Soriano registered against Celtic FC on matchday one to start his tally for the new campaign; his strike was also the 2,700th in the history of the UEFA Europa League.
• Romanian teams have had the better of their 31 UEFA club competition meetings with Austrian counterparts, with their record reading W14 D10 L7 (W10 D3 L2 at home).
The coaches
• Astra coach Daniel Isăilă has been in charge of the club since 2013, though he stepped down for two months in 2014. A central defender in his playing days, he spent the bulk of his career with hometown outfit FC Braşov, whom he subsequently coached twice. He led Astra to the Romanian Cup – their first major trophy – last season.
• Adi Hütter took charge of Salzburg following Roger Schmidt's departure for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in summer 2014. A former midfielder with the club, he coached Salzburg's youth teams before moving into senior football with SCR Altach and SV Grödig, whom he led to promotion and then a third-place finish in Austria last season.
