UEFA Cup draw ignites sibling rivalry

First meeting
RC Deportivo La Coruña midfielder Julian de Guzman had contacted Jonathan to inform him of the UEFA Cup draw, which has pitted the Spanish and Dutch clubs together in Group H. "The text told me we were going to play each other," explained Jonathan de Guzman, who, at 21, is six years Julian's junior. "I'd already spoken to Julian and [Feyenoord's former Deportivo striker] Roy Makaay about how nice it would be to face Deportivo. I just hope Julian and I will both be fit as we've never played each other at the highest level before."

Dutch citizen
The De Guzman brothers were born in Toronto, Canada yet have established themselves in Europe after moving across at young ages. While Julian joined the youth ranks at Olympique de Marseille aged ten before enjoying spells at 1. FC Saarbrücken and Hannover 96 in Germany on his way to La Coruna, Jonathan joined Feyenoord as a 12-year-old and has remained in Rotterdam. He has made nearly 100 Eredivisie appearances already, scoring 20 goals, and having been granted Dutch citizenship, has forced his way into contention for a place in the national team.

Groin injury
Given that Jonathan plays as an attack-minded playmaker and Julian, capped 35 times by Canada, anchors the Deportivo midfield, their paths seem certain to cross when the sides meet in Spain on 27 November. By then the Feyenoord player should have recovered from a groin problem that sidelined him for three weeks.

'It must be possible'
With PFC CSKA Moskva, AS Nancy-Lorraine and KKS Lech Poznań making up the section, the De Guzman brothers will feel their sides have a good chance of reaching the last 32. "It must be possible for us to finish in the top three," said Jonathan de Guzman. "It won't be easy of course, but other groups – like the one FC Twente are in [Group A] – seem much tougher. We'll have to do our homework and prepare ourselves for four difficult games."