Tottenham Hotspur FC v FC Twente Press Kit

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

2010/11 SEASON

MATCH PRESS KIT

FC Twente Tottenham Hotspur FC

Group A - Matchday 6

FC Twente Stadion, Enschede

Tuesday 7 December 2010

20.45CET (20.45 local time)

Match background

Tottenham Hotspur FC visit FC Twente seeking the victory that would guarantee them first place in Group A.

• The London club have performed impressively on their debut in the UEFA Champions League group stage and secured qualification with a Matchday 5 home win against SV Werder Bremen. Level on ten points with Inter, they lead the section thanks to their superior head-to-head record and need only match Inter's result at Bremen to secure first place.

• Twente's defeat at San Siro last time out ended their hopes of progress but they are assured third place and a UEFA Europa League berth. They will look to go out on a high with a first UEFA Champions League home win, following two draws at the FC Twente Stadion.

Match background

• Tottenham could do worse than follow the lead of their predecessors in the 1961/62 European Champion Clubs' Cup, who won 3-1 at first-round opponents Feyenoord on what was the club's first trip to the Netherlands. It remains Spurs' only away victory in Europe's elite competition; of their seven European Cup matches abroad, including three this season, five ended in defeat.

• Twente have a poor record against clubs from England with three draws and seven defeats – including their 4-1 reverse at White Hart Lane on Matchday 2.

• Tottenham's neighbours, Arsenal FC, were the last English side to visit Enschede and inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Twente in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Sander Boschker, Theo Janssen and Wout Brama were in that Twente team while William Gallas, now a Tottenham player, scored one of Arsenal's goals and found the net again in their 4-0 second-leg success.

• Tottenham have an excellent record in the Netherlands, which reads W5 D1 L2.

• The Premier League club prevailed 1-0 in their last two matches in the Netherlands. They beat NEC Nijmegen through a Jamie O'Hara goal in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage and, prior to that, won at PSV Eindhoven with a Dimitar Berbatov effort in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup round of 16 – although they ended the evening eliminated on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

• Spurs contested the 1973/74 UEFA Cup final against Feyenoord when a 2-2 home draw was followed by a 2-0 defeat in Rotterdam.

Team ties

• In his goalkeeping days, Twente coach Michel Preud'homme was in the R. Standard de Liège team that suffered a 4-0 UEFA Cup first round defeat at Manchester City FC in 1978/79. He was in the Belgium team beaten 1-0 by England in the last 16 of the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

• As manager of West Ham United FC, Harry Redknapp oversaw 1-0 home and away wins against SC Heerenveen in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

• Rafael van der Vaart played for AFC Ajax from 1999 to 2005, winning two Eredivisie titles. He was a team-mate of Boschker during the Twente goalkeeper's one season at Ajax in 2003/04 and later in the Netherlands' 2010 World Cup squad.

• Van der Vaart played alongside Janssen and Denny Landzaat for the Netherlands in a 2006 friendly against the Republic of Ireland.

• Landzaat was at Wigan Athletic FC from 2006 to 2008, appearing in a 3-3 home draw with Spurs in April 2007 and a 4-0 away defeat in November that year.

• Heurelho Gomes won four straight Eredivisie titles at PSV from 2004 to 2008.

• Jermain Defoe put a hat-trick past Bulgaria's Nikolay Mihaylov in England's 4-0 UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying win at Wembley on 3 September. Mihaylov became a Liverpool FC player in 2007 but joined Twente on loan without making a first-team appearance at Anfield and made the move permanent this year.

• Giovani Dos Santos scored for Mexico in a 3-0 World Cup qualifying win away to Bryan Ruiz's Costa Rica in September 2009.

Twente

UEFA milestones

• Matchday 6 marks Twente's 100th game in UEFA competition.

UEFA Champions League statistics

• Twente have committed more fouls (96) than any other side with Marc Janko responsible for 22, the highest individual total.

• Douglas and Thilo Leugers will incur suspensions with their next bookings.

Latest domestic information.

•

 

Injury news

• Mihaylov missed the NEC game because of a knee problem but was fit to face De Graafschap. Dwight Tiendalli also made his comeback as a late substitute after a bruised knee that had kept him out since 27 October.

• Rasmus Bengtsson started in Nijmegen on his return from a groin injury.

• Nicky Kuiper tore knee ligaments against ADO Den Haag on 24 October. The 21-year-old had only been back for a month after shaking off another knee injury that had sidelined him since March.

• Ruiz could be out until mid-January after tearing knee meniscus against NEC.

• Emir Bajrami underwent surgery on 11 October on an ankle injury suffered on Matchday 2.

Miscellaneous

• On 17 November Luuk de Jong signed a two-year contract extension with the option of a further 12 months, tying him to the club until 2014.

Tottenham

UEFA milestones

• None

UEFA Champions League statistics

• Tottenham have scored 15 goals in the group stage, the joint highest total along with Arsenal FC. Manchester United FC hold the record for a UEFA Champions League group stage: 20 in 1998/99.

• Jermaine Jenas is within a booking of suspension.

Latest domestic information

•

Saturday 4 December: Birmingham City FC 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur FC (Gardner 81; Bassong 19)

Gomes; Hutton, Gallas, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Palacios, Modrić, Bale; Crouch, Defoe (Pavlyuchenko 79)

• Tottenham's four-match winning run in all competitions was ended by Craig Gardner's late equaliser.

• Harry Redknapp's side have scored only once in the first 15 minutes of either half in the league this season.

• Tottenham have kept one clean sheet in their last 20 matches – against Bremen on Matchday 5.

• Tottenham will play Charlton Athletic FC or Luton Town FC in the FA Cup third round on 8 January.

Injury news

• Younes Kaboul (thigh) and Rafael van der Vaart (hamstring) both went off before half-time in the 2-1

win against Liverpool FC on 28 November and missed the Birmingham game.

• Robbie Keane has not played since 30 October having initially been sidelined by an ankle problem while a calf complaint has kept Jenas out since 24 November.

• A recurrent groin strain has restricted Ledley King to one appearance since 29 September.

• Michael Dawson (sprained left knee ligaments) and Jermain Defoe (ankle) sustained injuries on duty with England at the start of September. Defoe returned as a half-time substitute at Arsenal FC on 20 November; Dawson resumed full training six days later and was on the bench at Birmingham.

• On 15 November Tom Huddlestone was ruled out for three months after it was revealed he requires surgery on his right ankle. Giovani Dos Santos has a hip injury.

• Jamie O'Hara underwent surgery on a stress fracture to his back on 26 August.

• Jonathan Woodgate has not been included in Tottenham's UEFA Champions League squad having not played since November 2009 due to a groin injury.

Miscellaneous

• Tottenham have announced they will sign South Africa centre-back Bongani Khumalo in January.

• Niko Kranjčar has scored five goals in his last three games for Croatia.

• On 25 November mayor of London Boris Johnson approved Tottenham's proposal to redevelop White Hart Lane.

FC Twente

Formed:

1965

Nickname:

Tukkers (slang for people from the Enschede region)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)

• UEFA Cup: (1975)

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)

League title: 1 (2010)

Dutch Cup: 2 (2001)

Ten-year European record (UEFA Champions League unless indicated otherwise)

2009/10:

round)

2008/09:

UEFA Cup round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round)

2007/08:

UEFA Cup first round

2006/07:

UEFA Cup second qualifying round (having transferred from UEFA Intertoto Cup)

2005/06:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2004/05:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2003/04:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2002/03:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2001/02:

UEFA Cup second round
2000/01:

Tottenham Hotspur FC

Formed:

1882

Nickname:

Spurs

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1963

• UEFA Cup: 1972, (1974), 1984

Domestic honours

League title: 2 (1961)

FA Cup: 8 (1991)

League Cup: 4 (2008)

Ten-year record (UEFA Champions League unless indicated otherwise)

2009/10:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2008/09:

UEFA Cup round of 32

2007/08:

UEFA Cup round of 16

2006/07:

UEFA Cup quarter-finals

2005/06:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2004/05:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2003/04:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2002/03:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition

2001/02:

Did not take part in UEFA club competition
2000/01: Did not take part in UEFA club competitionDid not take part in UEFA club competition

UEFA Europa League round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying

• Theo Janssen, back from suspension, scored both of his goals direct from free-kicks.

• At the halfway point of the Eredivisie season, Twente are level on 37 points with leaders PSV Eindhoven.

• Twente have won eight of their last ten league matches.

• Bryan Ruiz and Janko scored two apiece as Twente beat NEC Nijmegen 4-2 on 27 November to end a run of four games without a win in all competitions.

• Ever-present last season, Sander Boschker made his first league start of the campaign in Nijmegen in place of the injured Nikolay Mihaylov.

• Twente lost 2-1 to AZ Alkmaar on 20 November, ending a club record run of 36 home league games without defeat.

 Saturday 4 December: FC Twente 2-0 De Graafschap (Janssen 8 69) Mihaylov; Rosales, Douglas, Wisgerhof, Bengtsson; Brama, Landzaat (Tiendalli 80), Janssen (Leugers 90+2); De Jong (Bruggink 88), Janko, Chadli