Team facts: Ajax

AFC Ajax are looking for their first win in this season's UEFA Champions League as they take on FC Thun, after a draw at AC Sparta Praha and a home defeat by Arsenal FC. Newcomers Thun have been considerably boosted by a first victory in their maiden campaign - the 1-0 success against Sparta on Matchday 2.

Thun in front • The game has added incentive with Ajax trailing the Swiss team by two points, with Thun in second place after the first two matches.

Past meetings with Swiss sides • Ajax are playing host to their fifth different Swiss club in UEFA competition, and this will be their seventh home game against Swiss opposition. Ajax began with a series of four victories and no goals conceded, but have not won either of the last two meetings.

• The initial four-match winning run at home, with eight goals scored and none conceded, was ended in the group stage of the 1996/97 UEFA Champions League when Grasshopper-Club triumphed 1-0 in Amsterdam.

• The last encounter between Ajax and a Swiss team was in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup second round when Lausanne-Sports eliminated the Dutch side after a 1-0 home success and a 2-2 draw at the Amsterdam ArenA.

First Dutch duel • Thun, who have never faced a Dutch club in Europe, play their second away game in the UEFA Champions League after their last-minute defeat at Highbury on Matchday 1, when the winner came from Arsenal's former Ajax star Dennis Bergkamp.

Away success in qualifying • To reach the group stage the Swiss outfit were impressive on their travels. In the second qualifying round, Thun drew 2-2 at FC Dynamo Kyiv and went on to win the tie 3-2 on aggregate. In the third qualifying round, they strengthened their bid to reach the UEFA Champions League proper with a 1-0 first-leg victory at Malmö FF, which was turned into a 4-0 aggregate triumph.

• Previous winners and losing finalists in the competition, Ajax are making their third appearance in the UEFA Champions League in the past four seasons. The Dutch side could have had a sequence of five straight qualifications had they negotiated the third qualifying round in both the 2001/02 and 2004/05 campaigns.

• Ajax won the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League against AC Milan (1-0) and came

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within a penalty shootout of becoming the first and only team to retain the trophy to date against Juventus (1-1 after extra time, losing 4-2 on penalties).

• Ajax, together with FC Bayern München, enjoyed much of their success in terms of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup during the 1970s as they won the competition three times in a row against Panathinaikos FC (1970/71), FC Internazionale Milano (1971/72) and Juventus (1972/73).

• Prior to that, the Dutch side were on the receiving end of a 4-1 defeat away to AC Milan in the 1968/69 European Champion Clubs’ Cup final. In six appearances in the final, Ajax have won four and lost two.

• Last season, Ajax finished second, ten points adrift of champions PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie, a performance that resulted in their qualification to the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

• Having struggled to overcome the final hurdle to the group stage in the past, Ajax negotiated the third qualifying round this season when they defeated Danish side Brøndby IF 5-3 on aggregate. Despite falling a goal behind in the home leg at the Amsterdam ArenA, the Dutch side responded with three second-half goals without reply thanks to Ryan Babel (50) and Wesley Sneijder (80, 89). Ajax maintained their advantage in Denmark and actually opened the scoring through Markus Rosenberg (31). Although Brøndby equalised shortly afterwards, Ajax were ahead again through Babel (73) before Julien Escudé scored an own goal three minutes into added time by which point the tie had been won.

• Ajax left it late to equalise in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage match away against Czech champions AC Sparta Praha. Substitute Miroslav Matušovič had given Sparta the lead after 66 minutes only for Sneijder to level in added time. 

• But Ajax were not able to build on that result on Matchday 2, losing 2­1 at home to Arsenal FC. The English side took a two­goal lead through Fredrik Ljungberg (2) and Robert Pirès (69pen) and though Rosenberg (71) managed to reduce the deficit there was no last­gasp escape for the Dutch outfit. 

• Greek striker Yannis Anastasiou was on target twice as Ajax kick­started their faltering UEFA Champions League campaign with a 2­0 victory against FC Thun at the Amsterdam ArenA on Matchday 3. Anastasiou was told he was to be released in March, but newly­arrived coach Danny Blind intervened because of his positive influence on younger players. That decision was vindicated in style. After an Ajax­dominated first half, the 32­year­old broke the deadlock nine minutes before the interval, clinically slotting in from eight metres. Mauro Lustrinelli worked opportunities for the visitors before and after, but Anastasiou doubled the lead ten minutes after the restart as Ajax sidled into second place in the section. 

• On Matchday 5, Ajax will complete 150 matches played in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup. To date, they have played on 148 occasions with 74 wins, 35 draws and 39 defeats with 239 goals scored and 141 conceded. 

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Team facts: Thun

• Despite appearing in two finals, Ajax have had limited recent success in the competition as their overall record shows. Having played 67 matches, the Dutch side have won 29, drawn 18 and lost 20 matches with 88 goals scored and 59 conceded. 

• Prior to this season, Thun’s longest foray into UEFA club competition came in the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup when they advanced from the first round to the third round before exiting 5­3 on aggregate to Hamburger SV. 

• Thun finished ten points behind Swiss Super League champions FC Basel 1893, a performance which yielded a spot in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. Thun overcame experienced UEFA Champions League veterans FC Dynamo Kyiv 3­2 on aggregate by firstly drawing in Ukraine before finishing the task in Berne. Oleh Gusev (20) and Maksim Shatskikh (40) twice gave Dynamo the lead at home but Thun responded through Mauro Lustrinelli (38) and Silvan Aegerter (66). Thun left it late to confirm their participation in the group stage, but Tiago Bernardini (90) made sure by scoring the only goal of the game at the Wankdorf stadium. 

• Thun subsequently defeated 1979 European Champion Clubs' Cup winners Malmö FF in the third qualifying round. Trailing 1­0 from the first leg in Sweden, Thun triumphed 3­0 in the return at the Stade de Suisse in Berne with goals from Bernardini (25) and Lustrinelli (40, 65). 

• The Thun dream, therefore, continued into Europe’s premier club competition, and they almost got their campaign off to a positive start against Arsenal FC at Highbury. But Dennis Bergkamp had not read the script, scoring three minutes into added time to give the Gunners a 2­1 win after Gilberto’s opening goal after 51 minutes was cancelled out by Nelson Ferreira’s lob. 

• Incidentally, Thun’s Swiss rivals, Basel, exited the competition in the third qualifying round to Werder Bremen as they lost 4­2 on aggregate. 

• Selver Hodzic secured Thun's first victory in the UEFA Champions League group stage with a last­minute goal that ended spirited AC Sparta Praha's hopes of taking a point from their trip to Berne on Matchday 2. Just as the Czech champions looked to have earned a draw with a disciplined display, the Thun defender crept in at the far post to turn José Gonçalves's low left­wing cross into the bottom corner of the net. 

• But Thun were not so fortunate on Matchday 3 as Greek striker Yannis Anastasiou was on target twice as AFC Ajax kick­started their faltering UEFA Champions League campaign with a 2­0 victory at the Amsterdam ArenA. After an Ajax­dominated first half, the 32­year­old broke the deadlock nine minutes before the interval, clinically slotting in from eight metres. Mauro Lustrinelli worked opportunities for Thun before and after, but Anastasiou doubled the lead ten minutes after the restart. 

• To date, Thun have played 15 matches in UEFA club competitions with seven wins, four defeats and four losses. The Swiss side have scored 24 times, conceding 18 goals 

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Match facts: Ajax v Thun

in the process. 

• The Swiss side have featured in two UEFA club competitions – the UEFA Intertoto Cup and the UEFA Champions League/European Champion Clubs’ Cup. In the former competition, their record reads: played eight, won three, drawn three, lost two with 15 goals scored against 12 conceded. In the UEFA Champions League/ European Champion Clubs’ Cup, they have played seven times with four wins, one draw, two losses, nine goals for and six against. 

Ajax facts • Previous winners and losing finalists in the competition, Ajax are making their third appearance in the UEFA Champions League in the past four seasons. The Dutch side could have had a sequence of five straight qualifications had they negotiated the third qualifying round in both the 2001/02 and 2004/05 campaigns. 

• Despite winning the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League against AC Milan (1­0) and coming within a penalty shoot­out of becoming the first and only team to retain the trophy to date against Juventus (1­1 after extra time, losing 4­2 on penalties), Ajax have had limited recent success in the competition as their overall record shows. Having played 66 matches, the Dutch side have won 28, drawn 18 and lost 20 matches with 86 goals scored and 59 conceded. 

• On Matchday 5, Ajax will complete 150 matches played in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup. To date, they have played on 147 occasions with 73 wins, 35 draws and 39 defeats with 237 goals scored and 141 conceded. 

• Last season, Ajax finished second, ten points adrift of champions PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie, a performance that resulted in their qualification to the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. 

• Having struggled to overcome the final hurdle to the group stage in the past, Ajax negotiated the third qualifying round this season when they defeated Danish side Brøndby IF 5­3 on aggregate. Despite falling a goal behind in the home leg at the Amsterdam ArenA, the Dutch side responded with three second­half goals without reply thanks to Ryan Babel (50) and Wesley Sneijder (80, 89). Ajax maintained their advantage in Denmark and actually opened the scoring through Markus Rosenberg (31). Although Brøndby equalised shortly afterwards, Ajax were ahead again through Babel (73) before Julien Escudé scored an own goal three minutes into added time by which point the tie had been won.

• Ajax left it late to equalise in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage match away against Czech champions AC Sparta Praha. Substitute Miroslav Matušovič had given Sparta the lead after 66 minutes only for Sneijder to level in added time. 

• But Ajax were not able to build on that result on Matchday 2, losing 2­1 at home to Arsenal FC. The English side took a two­goal lead through Fredrik Ljungberg (2) and 

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Robert Pirès (69pen) and though Rosenberg (71) managed to reduce the deficit there was no last­gasp escape for the Dutch outfit. 

• Ajax, together with FC Bayern München, enjoyed much of their success in terms of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup during the 1970s as they won the competition three times in a row against Panathinaikos FC (1970/71), FC Internazionale Milano (1971/72) and Juventus (1972/73). 

• Prior to that, the Dutch side were on the receiving end of a 4­1 defeat away against AC Milan in the 1968/69 European Cup final. In six appearances in the final of the competition, Ajax have won four and lost two. 

• The 0­0 stalemate on Saturday was the first­ever home draw for Ajax against Heracles Almelo. 

• Ajax have been struggling at home in Eredivisie matches so far this season with a defeat by Feyenoord (2­1) and two draws against ADO Den Haag (2­2) and Heracles (0­0). Their only win to date has come at the expense of Roda JC (4­1). 

• There were only five previous Dutch league meetings between Ajax and Heracles with Ajax winning on four occasions. Their only defeat (4­1) came on 11 October 1964 one month before Johan Cruyff would make his debut. 

• The Dutch club have already suffered three red cards in eight Eredivisie matches this season, only two short of an Ajax record for one season. 

• Goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg returned to the starting lineup after being out with a shoulder injury he sustained in the pre­season Amsterdam Tournament. 

Thun facts • To date, Thun have played 14 matches in UEFA club competitions with seven wins, four defeats and three losses. The Swiss side have scored 24 times, conceding 16 goals in the process.

• Thun finished ten points behind Swiss Super League champions FC Basel 1893, a performance which yielded a spot in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. Thun overcame experienced UEFA Champions League veterans FC Dynamo Kyiv 3­2 on aggregate by firstly drawing in Ukraine before finishing the task in Berne. Oleh Gusev (20) and Maksim Shatskikh (40) twice gave Dynamo the lead at home but Thun responded through Mauro Lustrinelli (38) and Silvan Aegerter (66). Thun left it late to confirm their participation in the group stage, but Tiago Bernardini (90) made sure by scoring the only goal of the game at the Wankdorf stadium.  

• Thun subsequently defeated 1979 European Champion Clubs' Cup winners Malmö FF in the third qualifying round. Trailing 1­0 from the first leg in Sweden, Thun triumphed 3­0 in the return at the Stade de Suisse in Berne with goals from Bernardini (25) and Lustrinelli (40, 65). 

• The Thun dream, therefore, continued into Europe’s premier club competition, and 

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they almost got their campaign off to a positive start against Arsenal FC at Highbury. But Dennis Bergkamp had not read the script, scoring three minutes into added time to give the Gunners a 2­1 win after Gilberto’s opening goal after 51 minutes was cancelled out by Nelson Ferreira’s lob. 

• On Matchday 2, Thun recorded a 1­0 win against AC Sparta Praha in Berne thanks to a last­minute winner from Selver Hodzic.

• Incidentally, Thun’s Swiss rivals, Basel, exited the competition in the third qualifying round to Werder Bremen as they lost 4­2 on aggregate. 

• Prior to this season, Thun’s longest foray into UEFA club competition came in the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup when they advanced from the first round to the third round before exiting 5­3 on aggregate to Hamburger SV.

• The 5­1 win against FC St. Gallen on Friday marked a successful return to the Lachen stadium after 61 days for Thun. The stadium had been out of action since August as a result of the severe flooding that affected wide parts of Switzerland and was particularly rough on the Bernese Oberland region. 

• Thun kept their perfect record at the Lachen stadium with the victory. They have won four times in four outings there this season with 12 goals scored and two conceded. 

• Before Friday's match, Thun had to play six away games in a row and it seemed to affect their form as they only managed more than one goal on one occasion. 

• Defender Armand Deumi came back in low morale as he was in the Cameroon squad that narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup by drawing 1­1 with Egypt. 

• Striker Mauro Lustrinelli, who scored his seventh goal of the season against St. Gallen and who remains top scorer, was the only player to have been called up for Switzerland in their final matches of the World Cup qualifying round. He played seven minutes of the 1­1 draw against France but was not named among the substitutes for the goalless decider in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland. Switzerland will now play Turkey in a play­off to decide which team will advance to next year’s finals in Germany. 

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AFC Ajax

All-time statistics

Head-to-head record

Date Comp. Stage Match Res Venue

18.10.2005 UCL GS AFC Ajax - FC Thun 2-0 Amsterdam

Overall record

Pld W D L GF GA

AFC Ajax 1 1 0 0 2 0

FC Thun 1 0 0 1 0 2

Home team's record versus clubs from the away team's country

Date Comp. Stage Match Res Venue

21.10.1970 UCL R2 AFC Ajax - FC Basel 1893 3-0 Amsterdam

05.11.1970 UCL R2 FC Basel 1893 - AFC Ajax 1-2 Basle

18.10.1978 UCUP R2 AFC Ajax - FC Lausanne-Sport 1-0 Amsterdam

01.11.1978 UCUP R2 FC Lausanne-Sport - AFC Ajax 0-4 Lausanne

09.03.1988 UCWC QF BSC Young Boys - AFC Ajax 0-1 Berne

16.03.1988 UCWC QF AFC Ajax - BSC Young Boys 1-0

18.10.1995 UCL GS AFC Ajax - Grasshopper-Club 3-0 Amsterdam

01.11.1995 UCL GS Grasshopper-Club - AFC Ajax 0-0 Zurich

25.09.1996 UCL GS AFC Ajax - Grasshopper-Club 0-1 Amsterdam

04.12.1996 UCL GS Grasshopper-Club - AFC Ajax 0-1 Zurich

26.10.2000 UCUP R2 FC Lausanne-Sport - AFC Ajax 1-0 Lausanne

09.11.2000 UCUP R2 AFC Ajax - FC Lausanne-Sport 2-2 Amsterdam

18.10.2005 UCL GS AFC Ajax - FC Thun 2-0 Amsterdam

Overall record

Pld W D L GF GA

AFC Ajax 13 9 2 2 20 5

Away team's record versus clubs from the home team's country

Date Comp. Stage Match Res Venue

18.10.2005 UCL GS AFC Ajax - FC Thun 2-0 Amsterdam

Overall record

Pld W D L GF GA

FC Thun 1 0 0 1 0 2

UEFA club competition record

Pld W D L GF GA

European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA Champions League 148 74 35 39 239 141

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 28 18 2 8 53 22

UEFA Cup 72 39 13 20 142 67

UEFA Super Cup 6 2 1 3 11 4

UEFA Intertoto Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0

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FC Thun

AFC Ajax

FC Thun

Total 254 133 51 70 445 234

Pld W D L GF GA

European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA Champions League 7 4 1 2 9 6

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0

UEFA Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0

UEFA Super Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0

UEFA Intertoto Cup 8 3 3 2 15 12

Total 15 7 4 4 24 18

UEFA Champions League (group stage to final only) club record

Pld W D L GF GA

UEFA Champions League 67 29 18 20 88 59

Pld W D L GF GA

UEFA Champions League 3 1 0 2 2 4

KEY: All-time statistics Comp. - Competition, Res - Result Pld - Matches played, W - Won, D - Drawn, L - Lost, GF - Goals for, GA - Goals against (NOTE: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in UEFA club competitions defined as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup)(NOTE: For matches in the UEFA Champions League (group stage to final only) club record, the fixtures played in the 1992/93 and 1993/94 first and second rounds are included in the statistics calculation)Current club names used for all clubs listed in these tablesGoals totals include the outcome of disciplinary decisions (eg. match forfeits when a 3-0 result is determined. Goals totals do not include goals scored from the penalty mark during a penalty shoot-out..

European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupUEFA Super CupUEFA Intertoto CupUEFA European Football ChampionshipFIFA World Cup

ECCC:

UCUP:UCWC:SCUP:UIC:EURO:WC:

AppearancesFinalGroup stageFirst group stageSecond group stagePreliminary roundQuarter-finals Qualifying roundFirst qualifying round

AP::GS:GS1:GS2:PR:QF:QR:QR1:

Second qualifying roundThird qualifying roundFirst roundSecond roundThird roundFourth roundSemi-finals Eighth-finals Sixteenth-finals

QR2:QR3:R1:R2:R3:R4:SF:1/8:1/16:

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AFC AjaxSquad list

Current Season All-time

UCLQ1 UCL2 League UCL3 UEFA4

No. Player Nat. DoB Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls

Goalkeepers1 Maarten Stekelenburg NED 22.09.82 - - 1 - 1 - 6 - 9 -12 Hans Vonk RSA 30.01.70 2 - 2 - 7 - 10 - 39 -26 Bogdan Lobont ROM 18.01.78 - - - - - - 14 - 24 -30 Kenneth Vermeer NED 10.01.86 - - - - - - - - - -35 Henrik Moisander FIN 29.09.85 - - - - - - - - - -Defenders2 Hatem Trabelsi TUN 25.01.77 2 - 2 - 6 - 23 - 33 -3 Zdenek Grygera CZE 14.05.80 2 - 3 - 7 - 22 - 35 -4 Johnny Heitinga NED 15.11.83 1 - 2 - 4 - 9 - 15 -5 Julien Escudé FRA 17.08.79 2 - - - 2 - 9 - 19 -15 Thomas Vermaelen BEL 14.11.85 - - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 -19 Urby Emanuelson NED 16.06.86 2 - 3 - 8 - 3 - 6 -31 Emanuel Boakye GHA 25.03.85 - - - - 1 - - - - -33 Robbert Schilder NED 18.04.86 - - - - - - - - - -Midfielders6 Tomáš Galásek CZE 15.01.73 1 - 3 - 6 2 28 1 40 28 Hedwiges Maduro NED 13.02.85 2 - 2 - 7 1 2 - 5 -10 Steven Pienaar RSA 17.03.82 2 - 3 - 7 2 21 2 26 216 Nigel De Jong NED 30.11.84 2 - 2 - 5 2 23 2 27 218 Wesley Sneijder NED 09.06.84 2 2 2 1 7 3 16 1 21 421 Olaf Lindenbergh NED 06.02.74 - - 2 - 3 - 2 - 12 -22 Juanfran ESP 15.07.76 - - 1 - 2 - 7 1 47 334 Stanley Aborah BEL 23.06.87 - - - - - - 1 - 1 -37 Per Weihrauch DEN 03.07.88 - - - - - - - - - -Forwards7 Mauro Rosales ARG 24.02.81 - - 2 - 6 - 6 - 8 -9 Angelos Charisteas GRE 09.02.80 1 - 2 - 5 4 7 1 16 411 Ryan Babel NED 19.12.86 2 2 3 - 8 - 5 - 9 317 Yannis Anastasiou GRE 05.03.73 - - 1 2 2 - 3 2 18 824 Markus Rosenberg SWE 27.09.82 2 1 2 1 6 1 2 1 6 227 Edgar Manucharyan ARM 19.01.87 - - 1 - 2 - 1 - 9 228 Nourdin Boukhari NED 30.06.80 2 - 2 - 6 - 10 - 14 -32 Vurnon Anita NED 04.04.89 - - - - - - - - - -36 Javier Martina NED 01.02.87 - - - - - - - - - -Coach

Danny Blind NED 01.08.61 2 - 3 - - - 3 - 5 -

KEY: Squad listSquad list is ordered by position and then numericallyNo - Number, Nat. - Nationality DoB - Date of birth, Pld - Matches played, Gls - Goals

Total UEFA Champions League appearances in the qualifying rounds onlyTotal UEFA Champions League appearances from the group stage onwards prior to the current matchdayTotal appearances in the UEFA Champions League from 1992/93 season, group stage to final only

(NOTE: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in the competition) Total appearances in UEFA club competitions including all qualifying round matches

1 - UCLQ:2 - UCL:3 - UCL:

4 - UEFA:

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(NOTE: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in UEFA club competitions defined as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup)

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FC ThunSquad list

Current Season All-time

UCLQ1 UCL2 League UCL3 UEFA4

No. Player Nat. DoB Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls Pld Gls

Goalkeepers1 Eldin Jakupovic SUI 02.10.84 4 - 3 - 12 - 3 - 7 -18 Alain Portmann SUI 14.02.81 - - - - - - - - - -Defenders2 Leandro Vieira BRA 02.04.79 4 - 3 - 1 - 3 - 7 -3 José Gonçalves SUI 17.09.85 4 - 3 - 11 - 3 - 7 -4 Sehid Sinani SUI 23.10.82 - - - - - - - - - -5 Ljubo Milicevic AUS 13.02.81 4 - 3 - 12 - 3 - 9 -7 Grégory Duruz SUI 20.04.77 - - 1 - 4 - 8 - 14 -10 Adriano Luis Spadato BRA 19.02.77 - - - - 9 2 - - - -12 Armand Deumi CMR 12.03.79 3 - 2 - 7 1 2 - 12 -17 Alen Orman AUT 31.05.78 - - 3 - 2 - 3 - 7 -26 Selver Hodzic SUI 12.10.78 4 - 2 1 10 - 2 1 12 1Midfielders6 Tiago Bernardini BRA 02.12.79 4 2 1 - 9 2 1 - 5 29 Adriano BRA 14.11.82 4 1 3 - 3 - 3 - 7 111 Andres Gerber SUI 26.04.73 4 - 2 - 6 1 2 - 30 -14 Nenad Savic SUI 28.01.81 - - - - - - 1 - 8 119 Silvan Aegerter SUI 05.05.80 3 1 3 - 12 - 3 - 14 221 Nelson Ferreira SUI 26.05.82 4 - 3 1 12 5 3 1 15 1Forwards8 Gelson Rodrigues LUX 03.01.82 4 - 3 - 10 3 3 - 7 -13 Pape Omar SEN 01.01.87 - - 2 - 5 - 2 - 2 -15 Eren Sen GER 28.09.84 2 - 2 - 8 2 2 - 4 -20 Mauro Lustrinelli SUI 26.02.76 4 3 3 - 12 6 3 - 19 8Coach

Urs Schönenberger SUI 21.02.59 4 - 3 - - - 3 - 7 -

KEY: Squad listSquad list is ordered by position and then numericallyNo - Number, Nat. - Nationality DoB - Date of birth, Pld - Matches played, Gls - Goals

Total UEFA Champions League appearances in the qualifying rounds onlyTotal UEFA Champions League appearances from the group stage onwards prior to the current matchdayTotal appearances in the UEFA Champions League from 1992/93 season, group stage to final only

(NOTE: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in the competition) Total appearances in UEFA club competitions including all qualifying round matches

(NOTE: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in UEFA club competitions defined as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup)

1 - UCLQ:2 - UCL:3 - UCL:

4 - UEFA:

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Match-by-match lineups - Group B

Clubs Pld W D L GF GA PtsArsenal FC 3 3 0 0 6 2 9AFC Ajax 3 1 1 1 4 3 4FC Thun 3 1 0 2 2 4 3AC Sparta Praha 3 0 1 2 1 4 1

Date Match Res Lineups14/09/2005 AC Sparta Praha v AFC Ajax 1-1 Sparta: Blažek, Sivok, Zelenka, Poborský,

SlepiÄ• ka (MatuÅ¡oviÄ• 49), Lukáš, Kisel, Petráš, PospÄ ›ch, Poláĕ ek (DoÅ¡ek 79), Kadlec Ajax: Vonk, Trabelsi, Grygera, Galásek (Heitinga 93), Maduro, Pienaar (Rosales 80), Babel, Sneijder, Emanuelson, Lindenbergh, Rosenberg (Charisteas 76)

14/09/2005 Arsenal FC v FC Thun 2-1 Arsenal: Almunia, Ashley Cole, Pirès, Ljungberg (Hleb 81), Reyes (Owusu-Abeyie 81), Van Persie, Lauren, Fabregas (Bergkamp 73), Gilberto, Campbell, TouréThun: Jakupovic, Gonçalves, Milicevic, Bernardini, Adriano (Gelson 57), Gerber (Leandro 73), Orman, Aegerter, Lustrinelli (Omar 87), Ferreira, Hodzic

27/09/2005 FC Thun v AC Sparta Praha 1-0 Thun: Jakupovic, Leandro, Gonçalves, Milicevic, Adriano (Gelson 83), Deumi, Orman (Gerber 46), Aegerter, Lustrinelli (Sen 79), Ferreira, HodzicSparta: Blažek, HaÅ¡ek, Sivok, Zelenka (DoÅ¡ek 84), SlepiÄ• ka (Herzán 60), PetrouÅ¡, Kisel, Petráš, PospÄ ›ch, Poláĕ ek, Kadlec

27/09/2005 AFC Ajax v Arsenal FC 1-2 Ajax: Vonk, Grygera, Galásek, Charisteas (Rosenberg 57), Pienaar, Babel, Vermaelen, De Jong, Emanuelson (Juanfran 85), Lindenbergh, Boukhari (Manucharyan 69)Arsenal: Almunia, Ashley Cole, Pirès (Clichy 88), Ljungberg, Reyes (Owusu-Abeyie 81), Lauren, Hleb (Cygan 94), Fabregas, Flamini, Campbell, Touré

18/10/2005 AFC Ajax v FC Thun 2-0 Ajax: Stekelenburg, Trabelsi, Grygera, Galásek, Rosales (Heitinga 90), Maduro, Pienaar (Boukhari 84), De Jong, Anastasiou (Babel 82), Sneijder, EmanuelsonThun: Jakupovic, Leandro, Gonçalves, Milicevic, Gelson (Duruz 84), Adriano (Sen 74), Deumi, Orman, Aegerter, Lustrinelli (Omar 84), Ferreira

18/10/2005 AC Sparta Praha v Arsenal FC 0-2 Sparta: Blažek, Pergl (MatuÅ¡oviÄ• 70), Zelenka, SlepiÄ• ka (DoÅ¡ek 77), PetrouÅ¡, Lukáš, Kisel, Petráš, PospÄ ›ch, Poláĕ ek, Kadlec Arsenal: Lehmann, Pirès, Reyes (Henry 15), Van Persie (Eboué 73), Lauren, Fabregas (Owusu-Abeyie 89), Flamini, Cygan, Gilberto, Clichy, Touré

02/11/2005 FC Thun v AFC Ajax02/11/2005 Arsenal FC v AC Sparta Praha22/11/2005 AFC Ajax v AC Sparta Praha22/11/2005 FC Thun v Arsenal FC07/12/2005 AC Sparta Praha v FC Thun07/12/2005 Arsenal FC v AFC Ajax

KEY: Match-by-match lineupsPld - Matches played, W - Won, D - Drawn, L - Lost, GF - Goals for, GA - Goals against, Pts - Points (NOTE: In the group stage, the group winners and runners-up advance to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage, the

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eight third-placed teams move into the UEFA Cup third round, and the eight fourth-placed teams are eliminated.)

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AC Sparta Praha

AFC Ajax

Arsenal FC

FC Thun

Booking list - Group B

04/05 QF1 QF2 QF3 Group PhaseNo. Player 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD611 Adam Petrouš Y15 Petr Lukáš Y23 Michal Kadlec Y

04/05 QF1 QF2 QF3 Group PhaseNo. Player 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD63 ZdenÄ ›k Grygera Y6 Tomáš Galásek Y Y *10 Steven Pienaar Y12 Hans Vonk Y

04/05 QF1 QF2 QF3 Group PhaseNo. Player 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD61 Jens Lehmann 211 Robin van Persie R Y22 Gaël Clichy Y24 Manuel Almunia Y28 Kolo Abib Touré Y Y *

04/05 QF1 QF2 QF3 Group PhaseNo. Player 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD63 José Gonçalves Y12 Armand Deumi Y21 Nelson Ferreira Y26 Selver Hodzic Y Y *

KEY: Booking listY - Booked, R - Sent off, Y/R - Yellow + Direct Red

- Suspension, ### - Suspension for at least 1 match, * - Misses next match if booked NOTE: this list is destined for the press. It is given to the competing clubs for information purposes only and therefore has no legal value. In the event of any discrepancy, only the correspondence addressed directly to the clubs will be considered as the authoritative version.

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AFC AjaxPlayer statistics

QF1 QF2 QF3 Group PhaseNo. Player 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6

Goalkeepers1 Maarten Stekelenburg - - - - - - - - 90 - - -12 Hans Vonk - - - - 90 90 90 90 - - - -26 Bogdan Lobont - - - - - - - - - - - -30 Kenneth Vermeer - - - - - - - - - - - -35 Henrik Moisander - - - - - - - - - - - -Defenders2 Hatem Trabelsi - - - - 90 90 90 - 90 - - -3 Zdenek Grygera - - - - 90 90 90 90 90 - - -4 Johnny Heitinga - - - - - -(+) 1(+) - -(+) - - -5 Julien Escudé - - - - 90 90 - - - - - -15 Thomas Vermaelen - - - - - - - 90 - - - -19 Urby Emanuelson - - - - 90 90 90 85(-) 90 - - -31 Emanuel Boakye - - - - - - - - - - - -33 Robbert Schilder - - - - - - - - - - - -Midfielders6 Tomáš Galásek - - - - - 8(+) 89(-) 90 90 - - -8 Hedwiges Maduro - - - - 90 90 90 - 90 - - -10 Steven Pienaar - - - - 90 82(-) 80(-) 90 84(-) - - -16 Nigel De Jong - - - - 90 90 - 90 90 - - -18 Wesley Sneijder - - - - 14(+) 28(+) 90 - 90 - - -21 Olaf Lindenbergh - - - - - - 90 90 - - - -22 Juanfran - - - - - - - 5(+) - - - -34 Stanley Aborah - - - - - - - - - - - -37 Per Weihrauch - - - - - - - - - - - -Forwards7 Mauro Rosales - - - - - - 10(+) - 90 - - -9 Angelos Charisteas - - - - 14(+) - 14(+) 57(-) - - - -11 Ryan Babel - - - - 76(-) 90 90 90 8(+) - - -17 Yannis Anastasiou - - - - - - - - 82(-) - - -24 Markus Rosenberg - - - - 88(-) 90 76(-) 33(+) - - - -27 Edgar Manucharyan - - - - - - - 21(+) - - - -28 Nourdin Boukhari - - - - 90 62(-) - 69(-) 6(+) - - -32 Vurnon Anita - - - - - - - - - - - -36 Javier Martina - - - - - - - - - - - -

KEY: LineupsLineups are ordered by position and then numericallyNo - Jersey number (-) - Denotes player substituted (+) - Denotes player introduced (*) - Denotes player dismissed (+/-) - Denotes player introduced and substituted

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FC ThunPlayer statistics

QF1 QF2 QF3 Group PhaseNo. Player 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd MD1 MD2 MD3 MD4 MD5 MD6

Goalkeepers1 Eldin Jakupovic - - 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 - - -18 Alain Portmann - - - - - - - - - - - -Defenders2 Leandro Vieira - - 29(-) 15(+) 75(+) 21(+) 17(+) 90 90 - - -3 José Gonçalves - - 50(+) 90 90 79(-) 90 90 90 - - -4 Sehid Sinani - - - - - - - - - - - -5 Ljubo Milicevic - - 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 - - -7 Grégory Duruz - - - - - - - - 6(+) - - -10 Adriano Luis Spadato - - - - - - - - - - - -12 Armand Deumi - - 90 90 15(-) - - 90 90 - - -17 Alen Orman - - - - - - 90 46(-) 90 - - -26 Selver Hodzic - - 90 90 90 90 90 90 - - - -Midfielders6 Tiago Bernardini - - 61(+) 4(+) 90 90 90 - - - - -9 Adriano - - 90 86(-) 90 90 57(-) 83(-) 74(-) - - -11 Andres Gerber - - 40(-) 90 85(-) 69(-) 73(-) 44(+) - - - -14 Nenad Savic - - - - - - - - - - - -19 Silvan Aegerter - - 90 90 - 84(-) 90 90 90 - - -21 Nelson Ferreira - - 90 75(-) 78(-) 90 90 90 90 - - -Forwards8 Gelson Rodrigues - - -(+) -(+) 5(+) 6(+) 33(+) 7(+) 84(-) - - -13 Pape Omar - - - - - - 3(+) - 6(+) - - -15 Eren Sen - - - - 12(+) 6(+) - 11(+) 16(+) - - -20 Mauro Lustrinelli - - 90 90 90 90 87(-) 79(-) 84(-) - - -

KEY: LineupsLineups are ordered by position and then numericallyNo - Jersey number (-) - Denotes player substituted (+) - Denotes player introduced (*) - Denotes player dismissed (+/-) - Denotes player introduced and substituted

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Danny Blind

Urs Schönenberger

Head coach profiles

Danny Blind is in his first full season as coach of AFC Ajax, the club with whom he performed with such style and distinction over 13 years. Blind was handed the reins at the ArenA with two months of last season remaining and could do little to close the gap to runaway champions PSV Eindhoven, although Ajax did fend off AZ Alkmaar to seal a return to the UEFA Champions League.

Blind retired from playing in 1999 after appearing in 537 Dutch top- flight matches for Ajax. He joined the club's technical staff and in February 2003 was appointed head of the highly successful youth department, impressing enough to land the top job when it was vacated by Ronald Koeman in March 2005. Like Koeman, Blind is an esteemed former Dutch international, winning many of his 41 caps as right-back in a defence marshalled by Koeman in the centre.

Born in August 1961, Blind matured into Ajax's defensive cornerstone after joining from Sparta Rotterdam. With Ajax, he won 16 trophies, including five Dutch championships and three Dutch Cups. The club also excelled in Europe, winning the UEFA Cup in 1992 and 1996, a season after Blind's crowning glory when he captained Ajax to a European Champion Clubs' Cup final defeat of AC Milan. Only an injury in 1987, when the club won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, denied him a clean sweep of continental titles.

Urs Schönenberger has had to win respect since taking over at Swiss outfit FC Thun during last winter's break. To many, he faced a difficult task in stepping out of the shadow of his predecessor Hanspeter Latour, who had performed wonders with an unheralded team. Schönenberger had yet to taste major success as a coach, and many people were expecting Thun's rise to prominence to fade away.

Yet Schönenberger, nicknamed 'Longo', has fulfilled "mission impossible" with aplomb. His side finished in second place in the Swiss Super League, the departure of several key players in the summer has been offset by promising newcomers, and an excellent UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign brought victories over FC Dynamo Kyiv and Malmö FF. The key to success, according to Schönenberger, is "suffering". The former defender, who spent much of his career with FC Zürich, has the reputation of being the Swiss answer to FC Bayern München's diligent coach Felix Magath. "We have achieved a lot thanks to hard work," he said.

Thun's success gives a new angle to a coaching career that seemed destined to end prematurely in disappointment. Schönenberger, who previously stood at the helm of FC Winterthur, SC Kriens, FC Luzern and SC YF Juventus Zürich, has proved his critics wrong by taking a small club into the UEFA Champions League for an improbable tilt at Europe's big guns.

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UEFA Champions League matches involving teams from the two countries involved in this match

UEFA Champions League Other matches

Other matches

Match officials

Referee Roberto Rosetti (ITA)

Assistant referees Cristiano Copelli (ITA), Alessandro Stagnoli (ITA)

Fourth official Antonio Dattilo (ITA)

UEFA Delegate Robert Sterckx (BEL)

RefereeName Nat. DoB UCL1 UEFA2

Roberto Rosetti ITA 18.09.1967 2 11

Roberto Rosetti has enjoyed a significant number of international assignments in recent years as one of the leading referees in his native Italy and Europe.

Rosetti, born on 18 September 1967, has been a highly-regarded match official in Italy for some years, and earned his FIFA international badge in 2002. He took charge of the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup final between FC Schalke 04 and FC Slovan Liberec.

His assignments during the 2004/05 season included three UEFA Cup matches - including the second leg of the quarter-final between AZ Alkmaar and Villarreal CF - and two FIFA World Cup qualifiers, in addition to a packed Serie A programme at home. He began the following campaign by taking charge of the UEFA Champions League match between RSC Anderlecht and Real Betis Balompié and the crucial World Cup qualifying game between Israel and Switzerland, before officiating at the decisive fixture between Slovakia and Russia as the European groups concluded.

Date Comp. Stage Match Res Venue18.10.2005 UCL GS AFC Ajax - FC Thun 2-0 Amsterdam

Date Comp. Stage Match Res Venue28.09.2005 UCL GS RSC Anderlecht - Real Betis Balompié 0-1 Brussels

Date Comp. Stage Match Res Venue28.04.2002 U17 GS - FT Hungary - Poland 1-3 Roskilde01.05.2002 U17 GS - FT England - Denmark 0-0 Hvidovre10.05.2002 U17 F France - Switzerland 0-0*(2-4) Farum27.07.2002 UIC R3 Aston Villa FC - FC Zürich 3-0 Birmingham15.08.2002 UCUP QR Leixões SC - FK Belasica GC 2-2 Matosinhos19.09.2002 UCUP R1 MKE Ankaragücü - Deportivo Alavés 1-2 Ankara15.10.2002 U21 QR Turkey - Portugal 4-2 Istanbul11.06.2003 EURO QR Turkey - FYR Macedonia 3-2 Istanbul24.09.2003 UCUP R1 Sporting Clube de Portugal - Malmö FF 2-0 Lisbon

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06.11.2003 UCUP R2 FC København - RCD Mallorca 1-2 Copenhagen15.11.2003 U21 P-O Sweden - Spain 2-0 Halmstad10.08.2004 UIC F FC Schalke 04 - FC Slovan Liberec 2-1 Gelsenkirchen30.09.2004 UCUP R1 Gençlerbirligi SK - Egaleo FC 1-1 Ankara09.10.2004 WC QR Czech Republic - Romania 1-0 Prague21.10.2004 UCUP GS Panionios NFC - Newcastle United FC 0-1 Athens26.03.2005 WC QR Georgia - Greece 1-3 Tbilisi14.04.2005 UCUP QF AZ Alkmaar - Villarreal CF 1-1 Alkmaar15.06.2005 CONFCUP QR1 Argentina - Tunisia 2-119.06.2005 CONFCUP QR1 Mexico - Brazil 1-026.06.2005 CONFCUP SF Mexico - Argentina 1-1*(5-6)03.09.2005 WC QR Switzerland - Israel 1-1 Basle12.10.2005 WC QR Slovakia - Russia 0-0 Bratislava

KEY: Match officialsNat. - Nationality, DoB - Date of birth Comp. - Competition, Res - Result 1 - UCL: Total matches officiated in the UEFA Champions League from 1992/93 season, group stage to final only. (NOTE: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in the competition. Matches where the match official has acted as a fourth official are not included in this statistic.)2 - UEFA: Total matches officiated in UEFA club competitions including all qualifying round matches (NOTE: These are the official statistics considered valid for communicating official records in UEFA club competitions defined as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the UEFA Intertoto Cup. International matches or matches where the match official has acted as a fourth official are not included in this statistic.)

European Champions Clubs' Cup / UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA CupUEFA Cup Winners' CupUEFA Super CupUEFA Intertoto CupUEFA European Football ChampionshipFIFA World Cup

Confederation CupFriendly matches

ECCC:

UCUP:UCWC:SCUP:UIC:EURO:WC:CONFCUP:FRIE.:

AppearancesFinalGroup stageFirst group stageSecond group stagePreliminary roundQuarter-finals Qualifying roundFirst qualifying round

AP::GS:GS1:GS2:PR:QF:QR:QR1:

Second qualifying roundThird qualifying roundFirst roundSecond roundThird roundFourth roundSemi-finals Eighth-finals Sixteenth-finals

QR2:QR3:R1:R2:R3:R4:SF:1/8:1/16:

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Arsenal and Ajax suffer upsets(Saturday, 15 October 2005)

Domestic news

If there were red faces at Arsenal FC and AFC Ajax following unexpected results on Saturday, the weekend took on a different complexion for FC Thun and AC Sparta Praha who scored ten goals between them.

West Bromwich Albion FC 2-1 Arsenal FC

Arsenal's dismal Premiership away form continued with a dispiriting defeat by West Brom. Arsène Wenger's team have taken just one point from four matches on their travels, and now trail leaders Chelsea by 14 points.

Defender Philippe Senderos volleyed the opener in the 17th minute after an assist from José Antonio Reyes. They were pegged back by Highbury old boy Nwankwo Kanu, whose goal was the first conceded by Arsenal in 336 minutes of top-flight action. West Brom goalkeeper Chris Kirkland made several high-class saves, before Darren Carter struck a 76th-minute winner.

"We don't speak about the title at the moment, we've got other worries," said Wenger. "It was a strange game. We had plenty of chances and the goals we gave away were without any real danger. We played with a good spirit and showed great potential, but we lacked maturity and with a bit more experience would have won this game easily."

Injuries to Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell meant there were no British players in Arsenal's 16-man squad, while Dennis Bergkamp captained the club on his 400th appearance. Gaël Clichy deputised for Ashley Cole (broken foot), while Aleksandr Hleb (knee) is out for six weeks. Robin van Persie (thigh) missed the game but could face Sparta, when Gilberto also returns.

FC Thun 5-1 FC St. Gallen

Thun got a welcome boost ahead of their trip to Ajax. They ended a two-game losing streak in the Swiss Football League by thrashing St. Gallen to avenge their defeat by the same scoreline at their opponents' ground earlier in the season.

After a 61-day exile caused by flooding at their Lachen stadium, Thun returned home to be greeted by a 5,000-strong crowd. The supporters were rewarded by goals from Nelson Ferreira and Gelson Rodrigues inside the opening 15 minutes. Swiss international Mauro Lustrinelli - not even a substitute in Switzerland's midweek stalemate in the Republic of Ireland – and Gelson again struck before half-time, while Ferreira added a fifth on 62 minutes. Eldin Jakupovic was denied a clean sheet by a last-minute consolation for the visitors, who had had two efforts disallowed for offside.

Thun appeared to have used the fortnight break to replenish their energy levels, although coach Urs Schönenberger has injury doubts over Selver Hodzic (knee), Tiago Bernardi (concussion) and Andres Gerber (achilles) who all sat out the game. "The two weeks were good for us to recover mentally too," he said. "Now we feel ready and want

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to promote Swiss football against Ajax."

AFC Ajax 0-0 Heracles Almelo

Fifth-placed Ajax dropped further off the pace in the Dutch Eredivisie with a home stalemate against Heracles. It was the first time the teams had drawn in Amsterdam, Ajax having won four of their five previous meetings.

Markus Rosenberg, Nigel de Jong and Nourdin Boukhari missed good chances as Ajax dominated but could not find the breakthrough. Substitute Yannis Anastasiou had possibly the best opportunity of all five minutes from time, but sent a free header wide after being set up by Sneijder. The result means Ajax have won just once in four home league games this term.

"It is a real setback to drop four points against ADO Den Haag and Heracles. It makes it tough to challenge for the title," said coach Danny Blind. "We had four or five real chances, and six half-chances, so we should have scored. Failing to score is always frustrating for players and for the team. This is an unbelievable disappointment, but now we have to focus on Thun."

Blind had made a raft of changes to the side that defeated Sparta Rotterdam 2-1 on 2 October, bringing Maarten Stekelenburg, Mauro Rosales, Wesley Sneijder, Hatem Trabelsi and Olaf Lindenbergh back into the starting lineup. There was no place, however, for Ryan Babel or Steven Pienaar. Hedwiges Maduro was rested ahead of the Thun match, while Angelos Charisteas (concussion), Maxwell, Nicolae Mitea, Kenneth Vermeer (all knee) and Edgar Manucharyan (thigh) were also absent.

AC Sparta Praha 5-2 FK Chmel Blšany

Sparta's new coach Stanislav Griga began his reign with a comfortable victory over Blšany. The Czech champions ended a run of four defeats - including at Thun - and scored more than two goals in a match for the first time this season.

The hosts started brightly, and Tomá š Poláček met Zdeněk Pospěch's cross to volley an unstoppable opener on 18 minutes. Libor Došek headed the second five minutes later – his first goal since signing from FC Slovan Liberec – but he was stretchered off before half­time, with his participation against Arsenal in doubt. 

The visitors pulled one back in the 37th minute, but the two­goal cushion was restored soon after the break by Jan Vorel's own goal. Miroslav Matušovič and Martin Petráš embellished the win before a late consolation for Blšany. Griga said: "I am pleased with the result, but not with our defence. We have to do many things differently against Arsenal." 

Sparta missed the long­term injured Tomáš Sivok (knee), suspended Miroslav Slepička, and Karel Poborský, who is still on loan at SK Dynamo České Budějovice. Goalkeeper Jaromír Blažek and playmaker Lukáš Zelenka returned to the team after being omitted by Griga's predecessor Jaroslav Hřebík in the previous round. 

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AFC Ajax (Holland Casino Eredivisie)Domestic league details

Date Opponent Res Lineups24.09.2005 v Roda JC (H) 4-1 Vonk, Vermaelen, Galásek, Maduro, De Jong (Boakye 80),

Sneijder (Juanfran 74), Emanuelson, Rosales (Babel 46), Charisteas, Pienaar, Boukhari

02.10.2005 v Sparta Rotterdam (A) 2-1 Vonk, Grygera, Heitinga, Vermaelen, Maduro, De Jong, Emanuelson (Juanfran 78), Pienaar, Babel (Boukhari 60), Rosenberg (Anastasiou 60), Manucharyan

15.10.2005 v Heracles Almelo (H) 0-0 Stekelenburg, Trabelsi, Grygera, Lindenbergh, Galásek, De Jong, Sneijder, Emanuelson, Rosales, Rosenberg (Anastasiou 59), Boukhari (Babel 59)

Date Opponent Res Goalscorers20.08.2005 v RBC Roosendaal (A) 2-0 Rosenberg, Pienaar28.08.2005 v Feyenoord (H) 1-2 Charisteas10.09.2005 v Willem II (A) 2-0 Galásek, Charisteas18.09.2005 v AZ Alkmaar (A) 2-4 Sneijder (2)21.09.2005 v ADO Den Haag (H) 2-2 Sneijder, Maduro24.09.2005 v Roda JC (H) 4-1 Pienaar, Charisteas (2), Galásek (pen)02.10.2005 v Sparta Rotterdam (A) 2-1 De Jong (2)15.10.2005 v Heracles Almelo (H) 0-006.11.2005 v NEC Nijmegen (A)19.11.2005 v FC Twente (H)

Rank Clubs Pld W D L GF GA Pts1 PSV Eindhoven 10 8 1 1 17 5 252 AZ Alkmaar 10 8 0 2 32 11 243 Feyenoord 10 8 0 2 27 11 244 RKC Waalwijk 10 7 0 3 20 12 215 B.V. Vitesse 10 5 1 4 19 15 166 AFC Ajax 10 4 3 3 15 11 157 FC Groningen 10 5 0 5 11 12 158 FC Utrecht 10 4 2 4 15 13 149 NAC Breda 10 4 2 4 12 15 1410 SC Heerenveen 10 3 3 4 17 19 1211 NEC Nijmegen 10 3 3 4 11 13 1212 Sparta Rotterdam 10 3 3 4 9 12 1213 Roda JC 10 4 0 6 15 22 1214 FC Twente 10 3 2 5 11 10 1115 Heracles Almelo 10 3 2 5 8 19 1116 ADO Den Haag 10 2 2 6 9 18 817 Willem II 10 2 2 6 7 16 818 RBC Roosendaal 10 0 2 8 5 26 2KEY: Domestic league details- , Pld - Matches played, W - Won, D - Drawn, L - Lost, GF - Goals for, GA - Goals against, Pts - Points

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FC Thun (Axpo Super League)Domestic league details

Date Opponent Res Lineups24.09.2005 v FC Aarau (A) 1-2 Jakupovic, Leandro, Gonçalves (Duruz 64), Milicevic,

Aegerter, Deumi, Sen, Ferreira, Hodzic, Lustrinelli (Gelson 77), Adriano

02.10.2005 v FC Basel 1893 (A) 1-5 Jakupovic, Deumi, Milicevic, Hodzic (Duruz 33), Gonçalves, Gerber (Sen 46), Aegerter, Lustrinelli (Omar 72), Ferreira, Spadoto, Leandro

14.10.2005 v FC St. Gallen (H) 5-1 Jakupovic, Gonçalves, Milicevic, Deumi, Orman, Leandro, Aegerter, Spadoto (Duruz 51), Ferreira (Sen 69), Lustrinelli (Omar 78), Gelson

Date Opponent Res Goalscorers16.07.2005 v FC Aarau (H) 2-0 Deumi (pen), Gerber22.07.2005 v FC Basel 1893 (H) 3-0 Lustrinelli (2), Leandro30.07.2005 v FC St. Gallen (A) 1-5 Spadoto06.08.2005 v FC Zürich (A) 2-2 Ferreira, Spadoto14.08.2005 v Grasshopper-Club (H) 2-1 Bernardini, Lustrinelli19.08.2005 v Neuchâtel Xamax FC (A) 2-0 Gelson, Lustrinelli28.08.2005 v FC Yverdon-Sports (A) 0-210.09.2005 v BSC Young Boys (A) 0-021.09.2005 v FC Schaffhausen (A) 4-0 Sen, Bernardini, Ferreira (2)24.09.2005 v FC Aarau (A) 1-2 Lustrinelli02.10.2005 v FC Basel 1893 (A) 1-5 Sen14.10.2005 v FC St. Gallen (H) 5-1 Ferreira (2), Gelson (2), Lustrinelli05.11.2005 v Grasshopper-Club (A)19.11.2005 v Neuchâtel Xamax FC (H)26.11.2005 v FC Yverdon-Sports (H)03.12.2005 v BSC Young Boys (H)

Rank Clubs Pld W D L GF GA Pts1 FC Basel 1893 13 9 3 1 35 18 302 Grasshopper-Club 13 7 3 3 23 15 243 FC Zürich 13 7 2 4 33 19 234 BSC Young Boys 13 5 5 3 19 15 205 FC Thun 13 6 2 5 24 24 206 FC St. Gallen 13 5 3 5 21 23 187 FC Aarau 13 4 3 6 12 21 158 FC Yverdon-Sports 13 3 2 8 16 24 119 Neuchâtel Xamax FC 13 3 1 9 14 25 1010 FC Schaffhausen 13 2 4 7 8 21 10KEY: Domestic league details- , Pld - Matches played, W - Won, D - Drawn, L - Lost, GF - Goals for, GA - Goals against, Pts - Points

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The week in UEFAUEFA information

• UEFA supports FARE Action Week As part of UEFA's concerted anti-racism campaign, European football's governing body is using this week's UEFA Champions League games to make a stand against racism. The campaign, which is part of the Action Week organised by the Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, will take place at all 16 Matchday 3 games played on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Europe's biggest stars are supporting the message against racism.

Each team will be accompanied on to the pitch by children wearing 'Unite Against Racism' T-shirts, and tannoy announcements will be made before each match. For its Action Week, the FARE network is co-ordinating activities that will involve supporters groups, football clubs from 35 countries, national associations, community and migrant organisations, anti-discrimination initiatives and schools.

• Out-of-competition doping controls UEFA is undertaking out-of-competition doping controls for the first time in this season's UEFA Champions League. The move - whereby any player can be tested outside of the regular random post-match testing - is part of UEFA's reinforcement of its anti-doping activities.

These campaigns have seen an increase in the number of drug tests in its competitions, greater financial outlay in the sector, the creation of an anti-doping unit within the UEFA administration, as well as an expert anti-doping panel and an education programme aimed at the broad spectrum of the European football community.

• Opening action draws big crowds The UEFA Champions League remains a top-draw attraction, with some excellent attendances recorded on the opening two Matchdays. A total of 513,066 fans watched the action on Matchday 1, with many stadiums packed either to full, or almost full capacity. A sell-out at the Stade Gerland (40,309) watched Olympique Lyonnais defeat Real Madrid CF, while Werder Bremen's Weserstadion was 99 per cent full (37,001) for the visit of FC Barcelona.

Two capacity crowds were registered in Germany on Matchday 2 - at the Fussball Arena München (66,000) for the FC Bayern München-Club Brugge KV encounter, and at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen (53,993) for the match between FC Schalke 04 and AC Milan. Old Trafford was 99 per cent full (66,112) for Manchester United FC's match with SL Benfica. Swiss side FC Thun's first home game at the nearby Stade de Suisse in Berne brought a 30,783 crowd (98 per cent of capacity) for the visit of AC Sparta Praha. A total of 634,335 fans attended games on Matchday 2.

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Competition summaryGeneral competition information

UEFA's most prestigious club competition was originally created as the European Champion Clubs' Cup for the 1955/56 season, before its revamping as the UEFA Champions League in 1992.

• Competition format: The UEFA Champions League is open to each national association's domestic champions, as well as clubs who finish just behind them in their respective domestic championship. The number of clubs that can be entered by an association and their entry point in the competition depends on the association’s position in UEFA's coefficient ranking list. The current format was introduced in 2003/04. After three qualifying rounds, 32 teams contest the group stage, divided into eight groups of four. The group winners and runners-up advance to the knockout stage, the eight third-placed teams move into the UEFA Cup third round, and the eight fourth-placed teams are eliminated.

A draw determines who each of the 16 clubs will play in the first knockout stage, with ties decided over two matches on a home and away basis. The club that scores the greater aggregate of goals advances, or in the event of both teams scoring the same number of goals, the team which scores more away goals. If the away-goals rule proves inconclusive, extra time of two periods of 15 minutes is played after the second match. Away goals count double in that period, with penalty kicks coming into play if needed. The same rules apply to subsequent rounds with a one-off final match deciding the winners.

• Key dates: The draw for the first knockout round will take place in Nyon on 16 December with matches being played on 21/22 February and 7/8 March. The draws for the quarter-finals (to be played on 28/29 March and 4/5 April), semi-finals (18/19 & 25/26 April) and final are scheduled for 17 March 2006. This season’s showpiece will be played at the Stade de France, Paris on Wednesday 17 May 2006.

• Financial information: UEFA has estimated that the gross budgeted income for the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League will be €598m - higher than the revenue obtained last season. Based on those amounts, €453m would go to the 32 clubs, including €22.5m for the professional leagues of the participating associations, and €145m to UEFA for European football. Clubs in the group stage will receive a starting fee of €1.6m and a bonus of €321,000 per match.

Performance bonuses will involve €321,000 for a win and €161,000 for a draw in the group stage. The 16 teams playing in the first knockout round will receive €1.6m each, the eight quarter-finalists €1.9m each and the four semi-finalists €2.6m. The Champions League winners will receive €6.4m, and the runners-up €3.9m. This means that a total minimum amount of €3.5m per club is guaranteed for the group stage. A club could receive, at best, up to €18m, not counting the TV market pool share and gate receipts.

• Record holders/new faces: Real Madrid CF are the most successful side in the history of the competition with nine triumphs (three coming in the new era) followed by

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six for AC Milan and five for current champions Liverpool FC. FC Bayern München and AFC Ajax have each lifted the famous trophy on four occasions, while, in contrast, FC Artmedia, FC Thun, Real Betis Balompié, Udinese Calcio and Villarreal CF are all competing in the group stage for the first time this season.

• Deadlines: UEFA Champions League press kits are provided to media by uefa.com. For every UEFA Champions League match, two press kits are issued: Sunday at 22:00CET with a match preview update on Monday at 22:00CET for Tuesday's matches. For Wednesday's matches, the press kit is issued on Monday at 22:00CET with the match preview update version published on Tuesday at 22:00CET.

• Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this press kit is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein.

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