Zürich v Steaua Bucureşti background
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Article summary
Moussa Kone's 86th-minute goal earned Zürich a 1-1 draw in Romania and they will hope to keep that momentum going as Steaua Bucureşti come in search of a first win on Swiss soil.
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Article body
Zürich pulled the rug from under Steaua Bucureşti with a late goal on UEFA Europa League matchday three and will look to unsettle the Romanian side again when the teams reconvene in Switzerland.
Previous meetings
• The clubs met for the first time in UEFA competition on 20 October, Moussa Koné's 86th-minute goal earning a 1-1 draw for Zürich.
• Zürich's only previous experience of Romanian opponents came in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage, where they drew 2-2 away to Vaslui and won the home game 2-0.
• Steaua's 11 fixtures against Swiss teams have ended W3 D6 L2; they have yet to win in Switzerland (D3 L2).
Form guide
• Zürich have lost only one of their last six European home games (W3 D2 L1).
• Steaua have not won in three UEFA away matches this season (D1 L2).
• Zürich have failed to get through this group stage in two attempts since making the cut on their first appearance in 2007/08.
• Steaua have qualified for the round of 32 in four of their seven UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Bucharest to Zurich is roughly 1,400km.
• Steaua come into matchday four having played exactly 300 UEFA competition games with the record W111 D84 L105.
• Zürich qualified for the UEFA Europa League as 2015/16 Swiss Cup winners, but were relegated from the Swiss Super League in the same season.
• Zürich defender Kay Voser lined up against Steaua for Basel in a 1-1 draw in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage.
The coaches
• Appointed Zürich coach in May following their demotion from the top flight, Uli Forte was a defender in Switzerland's lower leagues, climbing the managerial ladder with spells in charge of St Gallen, Grasshoppers and Young Boys.
• Laurenţiu Reghecampf collected two titles as a midfielder with Steaua and two more in his first reign as coach, from 2012 to 2014. He returned to Bucharest in December 2015 after a stint in Bulgaria with Litex Lovech, with whom he won the championship as a player in 1998/99.
