Rosenborg91

Aug 29 2009, 12:00 PM

It's nice to see United- and Chelsea-fans going wild when they see an Arsenal player diving for a change. It's like we're as bad as them now so they're trying to bake us as much as possible

Wake up guys. Drogba dived three times more only in the Chelsea-Barcelona match.

Rosenborg91

Aug 29 2009, 12:00 PM

It's nice to see United- and Chelsea-fans going wild when they see an Arsenal player diving for a change. It's like we're as bad as them now so they're trying to bake us as much as possible

Wake up guys. Drogba dived three times more only in the Chelsea-Barcelona match.

TC Admin

Sep 1 2009, 06:30 PM

Great to see. I'm sure UEFA will ban Drogba or Ronaldo if they dived as bad as Eduardo did.

uefa.com

 

APOEL FC are one of eight clubs making debuts in the UEFA Champions League group stage this season and, as part of a series of features on the competition's new boys, uefa.com runs the rule over Ivan Jovanović's Cypriot champions.

Who are they?
Formed: 1926
Nickname: Thrylos (The Legend)
League titles: 20
Cypriot Cups: 19

Founded in 1926, APOEL are one of Cyprus's most historic sports clubs with origins in the early days of British colonial rule on the island. Named Athlitikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias (Athletic Football Club Greeks Nicosia) or APOEL for short, the club grew out of a desire to represent all Greeks in Nicosia. APOEL have been on an upward trajectory ever since, claiming 20 league titles, 19 cups and eleven Super Cups to surpass cross-town rivals AC Omonia as the country's most decorated side. For a short period in the early 1970s, the Cypriot champions played in the Greek top flight and, in 1973/74, APOEL became the only such team to avoid relegation, finishing the campaign in a creditable 13th place. They are also just the second Cypriot club to qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, following the example set by Anorthosis Famagusta FC last season.

One to watch
Konstantinos Charalambides, 28, midfielder
A cultured product of the club's academy, Charalambides is APOEL's creative midfield hub. The Cypriot international first burst on to the scene as a teenager in 1998 and had short spells with Panathinaikos FC and PAOK FC in Greece, as well as with FC Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany, before returning to his homeland to rejoin APOEL in 2008.

Memorable match
APOEL FC 3-1 FC København
UEFA Champions League play-off second leg, 26 August 2009
APOEL were up against it after losing the first leg of their play-off 1-0 in Copenhagen, but two goals from Chrysostomos Michail and one from Kamil Kosowski ensured an occasion that will take some beating for those crammed into Nicosia's GSP Stadium. The club had finally realised their long-standing ambition to mix it with Europe's élite.

Greatest player
Andreas Stylianou
A towering striker widely regarded as Cyprus's best ever footballer alongside Omonia's Sotiris Kaiafas. Stylianou earned iconic status among APOEL supporters in more than 300 games for the club between 1963 and 1977, while his electric pace and prolific scoring gained him many admirers across Cyprus and Greece. Such was his speed and fitness, Stylianou also enjoyed a successful career in athletics.

Did you know?
APOEL hold the record for the worst defeat in European club competition. That dubious honour was collected in 1963 when they were on the receiving end of a 16-1 drubbing by Sporting Clube de Portugal in the second round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. APOEL's Portuguese opponents later spared their blushes somewhat, only winning 2-0 in the second leg to secure an 18-1 aggregate victory.

uefa.com

 

FC Zürich are one of eight clubs making debuts in the UEFA Champions League group stage this season and, as part of a series of features on the competition's new boys, uefa.com runs the rule over Bernard Challandes' Swiss titleholders.

Who are they?
Formed: 1896
Nickname: Der Stadtclub (The City Club)
League titles: 12
Swiss Cups: 7

Zürich are one of the oldest clubs in Switzerland and their European pedigree extends beyond that of most UEFA Champions League debutants. The club have twice reached the semi-finals of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, losing to Real Madrid CF in 1964 and to Liverpool FC in 1977. During their golden era from 1963 to 1981, Zürich won seven titles and five Swiss Cups, but there were fallow times to come, most notably in 1988 when they were relegated to the second tier for two seasons. Zürich's renaissance has been in motion since they recaptured the Swiss crown for the first time in 25 years, in 2006. They have since been champions in two of the last three seasons, rubber-stamping their status as the country's dominant side by securing UEFA Champions League football.

One to watch
Almen Abdi, 22, attacking midfielder
Abdi, who also holds Serbian citizenship, rose through Zürich's youth ranks and broke into the first team in 2006/07. Known primarily for his ability to tee up team-mates, Abdi also built a reputation in front of goal last term, finishing as the second-highest scorer in the league with 19 strikes. He added another in stoppage time of Zürich's play-off second-leg victory over FK Ventspils to put the gloss on his side's passage to the group stage.

Memorable match
FC Basel 1893 1-2 FC Zürich, Swiss Super League, 13 May 2006
Zürich have a litany of past successes behind them, but none so sweet as their title triumph of 2006 when, after a 25-year wait, the club wrapped up the league on the final day of the season with a late, late goal away to their arch-rivals. Iulian Filipescu got the winner in the third minute of added time at Basel's St. Jakob-Park to give Zürich a 2-1 victory and a tenth national championship.

Greatest player
Köbi Kuhn
Jakob 'Köbi' Kuhn, now 65, spent his entire career – barring a short stint with city rivals Grasshopper-Club – at Zürich, helping them land six titles and five cups between 1961 and 1977. The skilful midfielder turned down numerous offers to move abroad, thus becoming a club legend. He subsequently made a name for himself as a coach, taking Switzerland's national team to three successive major tournaments between 2004 and 2008 before being succeeded by Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Did you know?
Zürich's Letzigrund Stadium, rebuilt for UEFA EURO 2008™, is also the venue for the Weltklasse Zürich annual athletics meeting, which is part of the IAAF's famous Golden League. The event is sometimes referred to as the 'one-day Olympics'.

Why does that look familiar?

uefa.com

 

FC Unirea Urziceni are one of eight clubs making debuts in the UEFA Champions League group stage this season and, as part of a series of features on the competition's new boys, uefa.com runs the rule over Dan Petrescu's Romanian champions.

Who are they?
Formed: 1954
Nickname: Lupii din Baragan (The Wolves of Baragan)
League title: 1

Three years ago Unirea had yet to play in the Romanian top flight. Under the ownership of Dumitru Bucşaru and the steely leadership of coach Dan Petrescu, they will now complete a meteoric rise to the top table of European football. Although they were founded in 1954, it was not until 2003 that the club were promoted to Romania's second division – the first step in Bucşaru's ambitious development plan. Former Chelsea FC defender Petrescu arrived four months after promotion to Liga 1 in 2006 and Unirea's upward trajectory has continued ever since. Unirea reached their first Romanian Cup final in 2008, finishing fifth that year to gain a first European qualification, before last season's maiden league title earned entry to Europe's premier competition.

One to watch
Giedrius Arlauskis, 21, goalkeeper
In a team brimming with Romanian top-flight experience, it is the young and unheralded Arlauskis who has provided the foundation for Unirea's recent success. The Lithuanian international joined in 2008 from KFK Šiauliai in his homeland for less than €100,000 and quickly established himself as a key part of the side. Seldom prone to errors and with excellent reflexes, Arlauskis can always be relied upon.

Memorable match
Hamburger SV 0-0 FC Unirea Urziceni, UEFA Cup first round, 18 September 2008
Unirea's first foray into European football may have ended abruptly but their UEFA Cup bow proved they were far from out of their depth. Expected to be brushed aside by one-time European champions Hamburg, they held their own in Germany to post a creditable goalless draw and a chance to progress. While a 2-0 home defeat followed for the upstarts, Petrescu's men had caught the eye against the eventual semi-finalists.

Greatest player
Iulian Apostol
Much like the club for which he plies his trade, Apostol spent the early stages of his career in Romania's lower leagues. The 28-year-old midfielder went unnoticed by most but has shot to prominence with his box-to-box displays for Unirea. Such has been his progress, Apostol was handed a debut by new Romania coach Razvan Lucescu in June 2009 and is now a mainstay of the international setup.

Did you know?
The magnitude of Unirea's achievement is best put into context by considering the city from which the club hail. Located 55km east of Bucharest and home to just 17,000 inhabitants, Urziceni is both the smallest city to see its side crowned Romanian champions and the smallest to participate in this term's UEFA Champions League. The fact their ground holds only 8,000 seats will force them to play home games at FC Steaua Bucureşti's stadium in the capital.