Carew's happy homecoming

After making a bright start at his new club Olympique Lyonnais, John Carew will be going back to his roots in the UEFA Champions League tonight.

Happy days
The 25-year-old striker, who has already scored five goals in his first nine games for Lyon, spent a season with Norwegian side Rosenborg BK before heading for fame and fortune with Valencia CF. After joining from Vålerenga IF, he won a league title with Rosenborg in 1999, and scored 18 goals in 18 league games for the Tondheim side before heading for Spain in the summer of 2000.

Trondheim calling
The 1.90m-tall striker will be back at the Lerkendal stadium tonight as Lyon face Rosenborg and he cannot wait. "I am really looking forward to this game because it's the first time I'll be back there playing," he told uefa.com. "It will be strange to be up against players I know so well but I'll have to get over that."

Constant contact
While subsequent moves took Carew to AS Roma in Italy and Besiktas JK in Turkey, Carew never lost contact with his friends up in Trondheim. "I know most of the players even if there were changes in the last five years," he said. "I did not lose touch with the technical staff either."

Norwegian welcome
And while the big striker might expect a tough reception if he returned to some of his other clubs, he expects no such problems from the crowd in Trondheim. "Norwegians are peaceful people - not aggressive at all," he said. "They never turn nasty but I think they expect a tough game against Lyon."

European success
Winning the Norwegian title with Rosenborg is a fond memory for Carew, but an even fonder one is that of playing in the Champions League with the club in 1999/00. "We progressed to the second group stage," he remembered. "We finished top of our group ahead of sides like Feyenoord and [BV] Borussia Dormund."

Difficult season
Rosenborg have had a difficult season in domestic football, with their run of 13 successive Norwegian titles sure to end in 2005, but they showed they still have hunger when they won 3-1 at Olympiacos CFP in their opening Champions League game this season.

Footballing tradition
And while Lyon are flying with Carew in top form, he warned that Rosenborg would be no pushover. "Trondheim is a quiet city of 200,000 people but it has a big footballing tradition and plenty of European experience," said Carew. "We must not underestimate that.

Olympiacos success
"They have been playing regularly in Europe for over a decade now. Most of their players have taken part in the Champions League several times and have earned wins against big teams. I know what they can do - you only have to look at their last game at Olympiacos."

Away success
Carew warned: "Striker Thorstein Helstad is great - Lyon must watch him carefully." None the less, when asked who would win on Wednesday, Carew had no doubt. "Lyon of course," he said. "We will win if we play to our potential. But Rosenborg never give up. It won't be a piece of cake."

Winter break
Carew noted that the fixture programme may have dealt Lyon a lucky break in travelling to the north of Norway in early autumn. "When Real Madrid [CF] and Olympiacos go up there, it will be -5C," he smiled. "Rosenborg players are used to this but not other teams."