Athletic eyeing a dish served cold

Athletic Club Bilbao players will be looking for revenge when FK Austria Wien return to San Mamés in UEFA Europa League Group L, having earned a 2-1 win there in 2005.

Previous meetings

• Lars Sondergaard's Austria Wien won the day on their only previous visit to Bilbao with Libor Sionko (now of FC København) striking twice to cancel out an early penalty from Francisco Yeste for Ernesto Valverde's Athletic.

• At the time, it was only Athletic's second home defeat in UEFA club competition since their continental debut in 1956.

• The teams for that UEFA Cup round of 32 game on 27 February 2005 were:
Athletic: Lafuente, Del Horno, Ezquerro (Martínez 72), Yeste*, Prieto (Lacruz 46), Iraola*, Orbaiz*, Etxeberria*, Gurpegi* (Llorente* 72), Murillo, Urzaiz.
Austria: Didulica, Afolabi, Antonsson, Papac, Dospel, Sionko, Vastic (Gilewicz 72), Vachousek (Metz 88), Blanchard, Kiesenebner, Dosunmu (Rushfeldt 85).

*still with the club

Match background

• Athletic breezed through their only UEFA Cup group stage campaign in 2004/05 before coming unstuck against Austria in the round of 32.

• Austria reached the quarter-finals following a successful first appearance in the UEFA Cup group stage in 2004/05 but they missed the cut in subsequent campaigns in 2006/07 and 2007/08. They have not won – or scored a goal – in their last four group stage away games.

Team facts

• A coach since his mid-20s, Athletic boss Joaquín Caparrós has been in charge at San Mamés since 2007, having worked his way up through the lower leagues to take charge of the likes of Villarreal CF, Sevilla FC – whom he led in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup group stage – and RC Deportivo La Coruña.

• Austria Wien boss Karl Daxbacher won six caps as a midfielder for his country in a playing career which saw him spend 14 years at the club he now serves as a coach. He returned to the club to take the reins in 2008, following a spell in charge at LASK Linz.

• Austria Wien playmaker Milenko Ačimovič twice came on as a substitute against Spain with his national team Slovenia – in a 2-1 defeat at UEFA EURO 2000™ (in which Athletic's Joseba Etxeberria scored the winner) and a 3-1 loss at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

• Athletic are famous for their policy of only signing players from their native Basque country, though talent from neighbouring counties has been incorporated in more recent years.

• The San Mamés stadium takes its name from a nearby church dedicated to Mammes, an early Christian thrown to the lions. The lions refused to eat him, inadvertently handing Athletic their nickname, Los Leones.

• Athletic visit Werder Bremen on Matchday 2, while Austria Wien are at home against CD Nacional on the same night, 1 October.