Ajax v København background
Friday, March 10, 2017
Article summary
Ajax left Denmark with a 2-1 defeat in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie, but that will not seem like an insurmountable obstacle as København come south.
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København's home form held as they beat Ajax 2-1 in their round of 16 opener, but the Dutch side may feel they have cause for confidence as they play host for the return fixture – despite FCK's flawless record in Amsterdam.
• Suspended:
Mathias Jørgensen (København)
Davy Klaassen (Ajax)
• Misses next match if booked:
Ajax: Lasse Schöne, Kenny Tete, Nick Viergever
København: none
Previous meetings
• The clubs are meeting for a sixth time in UEFA competition. FCK's record against Ajax is W3 D1 L1 (W2 D0 L0 in Amsterdam).
• Hans Backe's FCK beat Co Adriaanse's Ajax 1-0 away in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup second round following a 0-0 draw in the home leg. Then, in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, Ståle Solbakken's FCK won 2-0 at the Amsterdam ArenA after losing 2-1 at home to Henk ten Cate's side.
• Ajax's seven games against Danish teams have ended W2 D2 L3 (W1 D0 L2 at home).
• FCK's record in seven meetings with Dutch sides is W3 D2 L2 (W2 D0 L1 in the Netherlands).
Form guide
• Ajax are unbeaten in ten European home games (W5 D5), but only one of those victories came by a margin of more than one goal.
• FCK have lost only once in seven European away games this season (W3 D3 L1).
• Ajax last made it to the round of 16 in 2014/15, when they lost to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. They lifted the UEFA Cup in 1992 to complete a full set of major UEFA trophies; they were European champions in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1995 and claimed the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1987.
• København have not featured in the spring phase of a European competition since losing to Chelsea in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League round of 16.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Copenhagen to Amsterdam is around 620km.
• København forward Andreas Cornelius turns 24 on the day of the match.
• København defender Nicolai Boilesen played for Ajax from April 2011 to August 2016.
• Ajax boast Danish talent in the form of Lasse Schöne and first-leg scorer Kasper Dolberg.
• FCK's Kasper Kusk and Ajax's Hakim Ziyech were team-mates at Twente (2014/15).
• FCK's Ludwig Augustinsson was born in Stockholm, the host city of this season's UEFA Europa League final. Along with team-mates Robin Olsen, Erik Johansson and Mikael Antonsson, he is one of 12 Swedish players in the round of 16.
• Ajax (1992) are one of four former UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League winners in the round of 16 along with Borussia Mönchengladbach (1975 & 1979), Anderlecht (1983) and Schalke (1997).
• Ajax need two more goals to reach 600 in UEFA competition. With 598 in 367 games, they have averaged around 1.63 goals per game so far.
• København are among four domestic champions in the round of 16 along with APOEL, Beşiktaş and Olympiacos.
The coaches
• A Dutch title winner as a midfielder with Feyenoord, Peter Bosz returned from Israel to take charge of Ajax in May 2016. Bosz has managed Heracles and Vitesse in the Netherlands, also briefly coaching Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
• Now in his second spell as København coach, Ståle Solbakken has led the club to six Danish titles. A midfielder, he was capped 58 times by Norway and ended his career at FCK after being diagnosed with a heart problem. He has coached in Norway, Germany and England, as well as in Denmark.
Penalty shoot-outs
• Ajax's record in five UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L4:
L 4-2 A v Steaua (2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32)
L 4-2 N v Juventus (1995/96 UEFA Champions League final)
W 4-3 N v Grêmio (1995 European/South American Cup)
L 4-2 A v Bohemians Praha (1984/85 UEFA Cup second round)
L 5-3 A v Levski (1975/76 UEFA Cup third round)
• København won their only previous UEFA penalty shoot-out:
W 3-2 H v Ferencváros (2003/04 UEFA Cup first round)