Feyenoord v Rijeka background
Friday, October 24, 2014
Article summary
Feyenoord will look to rise from the foot of UEFA Europa League Group G as they take on an HNK Rijeka side yet to score in a group stage away game.
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Feyenoord were put to the sword by HNK Rijeka's Andrej Kramarić in the sides' first UEFA Europa League Group G meeting but will take confidence from their guests' away form as they reconvene.
Form guide
• Andrej Kramarić’s 14-minute hat-trick on matchday three earned Rijeka a 3-1 win against Feyenoord – their first UEFA Europa League group stage victory, at the ninth attempt. It extended their unbeaten home run in Europe to 11 games (W7 D4), and made it ten games without a UEFA away success for Feyenoord (D1 L9).
• The result also ended a run of six games without a win (D1 L5) for Croatian clubs in games against Dutch sides. The Croatian side had failed to score in the five most recent encounters.
• Feyenoord have won both of their European home games this season by one-goal margins.
• Rijeka have yet to win – or indeed score – in four UEFA Europa League group stage away contests (D1 L3).
Trivia and links
• Rijeka are one of only four teams left in the competition who entered this season's UEFA Europa League in the second qualifying round, along with FC Krasnodar, FC Dinamo Minsk and Asteras Tripolis FC.
• Colin Kazım Richards and defender Joris Mathijsen are the top UEFA club competition scorers in the Feyenoord squad with four goals each. Kramarić is Rijeka's top marksman with eight.
The coaches
• Feyenoord coach Fred Rutten was a defender for FC Twente, and coached the club in two spells before heading abroad to join FC Schalke 04 in 2008. He returned to the Netherlands the following year and spent nearly three years in charge at PSV Eindhoven and then a season with Vitesse, taking up his current post in March 2014.
• Hired in February 2013, Rijeka coach Matjaž Kek led his native Slovenia to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals. Kek started and ended his playing career as a defender at NK Maribor – where his father and son also played – either side of a long spell in Austria, and returned there to begin his coaching career.