Steaua v Osmanlıspor background
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Article summary
Steaua need a win to resurrect their UEFA Europa League Group L campaign as Osmanlıspor come to Romania, with Raul Rusescu and Łukasz Szukuła both well known in Bucharest.
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Article body
Steaua Bucureşti could be out of contention for the UEFA Europa League round of 32 if they fail to get the better of Osmanlıspor in their final Group L home game.
• Steaua must hope the other game, between Zürich and Villarreal, is drawn if they draw or lose; Osmanlıspor are through with a victory.
Previous meetings
• Osmanlıspor beat Steaua 2-0 in Ankara when the sides met for the first time on matchday one; it was the Turkish club's first encounter with Romanian opponents.
• Steaua's record in ten meetings with Turkish teams is W4 D3 L3 (W3 D1 L1 at home).
Form guide
• Steaua have drawn 1-1 in both of their Group L home fixtures to date.
• Osmanlıspor's record in five European away matches this season is W3 D1 L1, that sole defeat coming at Zürich on matchday two.
• Steaua have qualified for the round of 32 in four of their seven previous UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns; they missed out in the most recent of these, 2014/15.
• This is Osmanlıspor's first UEFA group stage venture; they previously competed in Europe under the name Ankaraspor.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Ankara to Bucharest is around 750km.
• Osmanlıspor's Raul Rusescu is well known to Steaua fans, having scored 34 goals in 65 league games for the club from 2011–13, and returned on loan from Sevilla in 2014/15.
• Osmanlıspor's Polish defender Łukasz Szukuła also played for Steaua from 2012–15, as well as representig Gloria Bistriţa (2010–11), Universitatea Cluj (2011–12), Petrolul Ploieşti (2012) in Romania.
• Steaua defender Gabriel Tamaş plied his trade in Turkey with Galatasaray (2003–04), while team-mate Alexandru Bourceanu is back in Romania after two years at Trabzonspor (2014–16).
• Osmanlıspor's Avdija Vršajević and Steaua's Antonio Jakoliš were team-mates at Hajduk Split in 2012.
The coaches
• Laurenţiu Reghecampf won two titles as a midfielder with Steaua and two more in his first stint as coach, from 2012 to 2014. He returned to Bucharest in December 2015 after a spell in Bulgaria with Litex Lovech, with whom he had claimed a championship as a player in 1998/99.
• Hired in July 2015, Mustafa Reşit Akçay earned Osmanlıspor a European place with a fifth-placed finish last season. He had been in charge of a number of lower-profile sides in Turkey before leading Trabzonspor through the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League group stage.