Haas gunning for Panathinaikos again

SK Sturm Graz's upcoming Group F fixtures against Panathinaikos FC will bring back happy memories for striker Mario Haas, who has enjoyed considerable success against the Athens club in the past.

Scoring feat
The 35-year-old scored in both Sturm's victories against Panathinaikos in the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League second group stage and will be looking to repeat the feat when the teams meet again at the OACA Spiros Louis Stadium in the first of back-to-back games. Haas also scored for Austria in a friendly against Greece in March 2003; no wonder he concedes, tongue only partly in cheek, that "I just like playing the Greeks".

Impact
Haas broke into the Sturm side during the 1993/94 season and apart from stints at RC Strasbourg from July 1999 to February 2001 and with Japanese side JEF United in 2005 and 2006, has spent his entire career at the club. The previous two games against Panathinaikos were his first following his return from Strasbourg, and he will be looking to make a similar impact on a return from injury this time round.

'Great times'
"My first touch was a goal and my third was the assist for our second," Haas said, recalling how he scored within four minutes of coming on as a substitute in the first match on 14 February 2001. That performance earned Haas a starting role in the return in Athens a week later and he scored the second in a 2-1 win. "It was a counterattack and I fooled the goalkeeper and brushed past him. Those were great times."

Confidence
Haas has not played since injuring his calf in August and as he looks forward to a return to action is confident that, after losing to FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti and drawing with Galatasaray AŞ, Sturm can pick up their first win in the section. "We can match them," said Haas, who has scored 12 times in 35 European appearances. "We respect them, but we're not afraid. If we focus and dare to attack, anything is possible. If we want to go through to the next round we have to get at least a point."

New deal
Haas is the sixth-highest scorer in the history of the Austrian Bundesliga and, after hitting 14 and 15 goals in each of the past two seasons, is determined to add to the 137 he has amassed so far. Haas may be 35, but with Panathinaikos in Sturm's sights once again he is ready to turn back the clock. "Age means nothing," he said.