The opportunities will range from the provision of wheelchairs and other aids to the establishment of good revalidation centres where people with a disability can recover and take part in recreational activities and sport on a daily basis, perfectly normal in the Netherlands but not as common in Romania.

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mihai-Nesu-Foundation/168533143253036

The Foundation’s second objective is to encourage young children in Romania and the Netherlands and help them develop their footballing talents by facilitating their education and providing specific, individual training courses and supervision.

A separate part of the Mihai Nesu Foundation is the Balgevoel Football Academy for children. Its qualified trainers will hone the children’s footballing skills by means of dedicated training clinics and supervision in Romania and the Netherlands. The Academy will also organise youth camps in the Netherlands for children from both Romania and the Netherlands. Children with a disability will also be encouraged to take part in sport through the clinics. One of Mihai Nesu’s main goals is to offer such children a safe place with the facilities they need to enjoy sport in both the Netherlands and Romania. The proceeds from the academy will be donated in full to the Mihai Nesu Foundation.

FC Utrecht and ambassadors
The Mihai Nesu Foundation will work in close cooperation with FC Utrecht, the club for which Mihai Nesu played more than 100 matches as left wingback over three seasons. The Foundation bearing his name has three ambassadors: former team mates Dries Mertens and George Ogararu and former trainer Willem van Hanegem. All three hold a special place in Mihai Nesu’s heart. The ambassadors will work for the Mihai Nesu Foundation in various ways.

Activities
A number of activities are planned to raise funds for the Foundation:
• Ambassador Willem van Hanegem will officially open the Balgevoel Football Academy on Sunday 5 February.
• A large-scale collection will be held among the supporters at the game between FC Utrecht and AZ at the Galgenwaard Stadium on Sunday 19 February. Before this Eredivisie match, FC Utrecht D2 will play against the E team of UVV of Utrecht.
• The Mihai Nesu Gala will be held on Monday 20 February.
• FC Utrecht will play a benefit match against Steaua Bucharest, the club Mihai Nesu played for in his fatherland, Romania, for seven seasons, in August 2012.

Udinese lead Celtic by three points but should the Italian outfit lose, the Bhoys would secure second place by virtue of a superior head-to-head record.

It was a tale of two penalties when the teams met on matchday two. Celtic got off to the perfect start as Ki Sung-Yong converted a third-minute spot kick, but Almen Abdi salvaged a draw for the Italian contenders by converting a similar effort on 88 minutes. It was Udinese’s first game against a Scottish club.

Celtic’s 18 games against Italian sides have ended W5 D6 L7 (W0 D2 L6 in Italy).

The Hoops beat FC Internazionale Milano 2-1 in Lisbon in the 1966/67 European Champion Clubs’ Cup final in their first meeting with an Italian club.

Udinese have won all  four of  their UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage home  fixtures, having  triumphed in both of their Stadio Friuli games (against Tottenham Hotspur FC and GNK Dinamo Zagreb) in 2008/09.

Celtic reached the group stage despite a play-off defeat by FC Sion; the Swiss club were excluded from the competition for fielding ineligible players.

They lost 3-1 over 90 minutes at Sion, but were awarded a default 3-0 victory. That is the Hoops’ only win in nine European away games, with three draws and five defeats included in that run. Their last European away victory from open play was a 2-0 at FC Dinamo Moskva in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

With both sides set to lose out in the event of finishing level on points with second-placed Maccabi Haifa FC, only a winner in Bucharest would have a chance of going through and even then they need Haifa to drop points against section winners FC Schalke 04.

Steaua earned a 1-1 draw when the sides met on matchday two. The Cypriot side struck first through Miljan Mrdakovic in the 59th minute before Mihai Costea responded six minutes later for Steaua, who had Pablo Brandán sent off with eight minutes to go. The result prompted the resignation of Steaua’s Israeli coach Roni Levy.

Steaua’s five games against Cypriot sides ended W3 D2 L0 (W1 D1 L0 at home).

One of  the  two sides  that merged  to  form AEK Larnaca  in 1994, EPA Larnaca FC,  took on AS Victoria Bucureşti  in  the 1987/88 UEFA Cup first round, losing 1-0 at home and 3-0 away.

Steaua have the worst disciplinary record in the group stage, having had four players sent off in Group J.

The Romanian club became the first home side to win at the new Stadionul Naţional when they beat Haifa 4-2 on matchday four; Rapid and FC Oţelul Galati had previously lost two games each at the new stadium in Bucharest, while the national team had been held to two draws.

Steaua are unbeaten in eight European home games since a 1-0 loss to Fenerbahce SK in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage. They have alternated draws and defeats in those eight fixtures, and are due another tie against AEK if that pattern is to continue.

Ronaldo, Zinédine Zidane and Drogba, who are Goodwill Ambassadors to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have gathered international stars such as Luís Figo, Pavel Nedvěd, Serginho and Christian Karembeu for a match against an equally star-studded HSV All-Star team including Zé Roberto, Jörg Albertz, Sergej Barbarez, Mehdi Mahdavikia and Anthony Yeboah. The match will kick off at 19.05pm local time in Hamburg’s IMTECH Arena.

“I feel honoured to support people in the Horn of Africa, who are affected by drought and hunger, and I would like to encourage the public to join forces to overcome the crisis,” says Drogba, who will be participating for the first time.

The annual “Match against Poverty”, now for the ninth time, aims at supporting measures within the UN’s Millennium Development Goals: eight internationally acknowledged objectives for defeating extreme poverty by 2015. The match will be aired live by more than 20 national and international television channels. Two thirds of the revenue will go to UN measures to fight the ongoing food crisis; the remaining proceeds will be donated by HSV to local sports, youth and environmental projects.

Joining Ronaldo, Zidane, Drogba & friends are, among others: Dida, Paulo André, Serginho (Brazil) Jens Lehmann (Germany), Fernando Hierro, Michel Salgado (Spain), Gheorghe Popescu and Georghe Hagi (Romania), Luís Figo, Maniche, Fernando Couto (Portugal), Christian Karembeu, Claude Makélélé, Robert Pirès (France), Steve McManaman (England), Pavel Nedvěd (Czech Republic), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) and Dwight Yorke (Trinidad/Tobago).

The referee will be legendary Pierluigi Collina, while Marcelo Lippi, Bora Milutinović and Boris Becker will take on the role of coaches. Tickets are available online at http://www.hsv.de/ticket.

The Serie A side suffered elimination from the UEFA Europa League when losing 2-1 at Villarreal CF in February and will want to avoid a repeat on a night when victory would take them into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

Napoli‘s 2-1 home win against Manchester City FC on 22 November lifted them back into second place in Group A, with a one-point advantage over the English side. So long as they match City’s result against FC Bayern München, they will progress but a win would guarantee Walter Mazzarri’s side qualification whatever the result in Manchester.

Bottom-placed Villarreal are completely out of the equation but have pride to play for – and an unbeaten home record against Italian opposition to defend.

Villarreal came from behind to win the teams’ UEFA Europa League round of 32 encounter in February. After a goalless draw in Naples where the home side lost Salvatore Aronica to a red card, Juan Carlos Garrido’s men fell behind to an 18th-minute Marek Hamsik goal in the return but replied through Nilmar (42) and Giuseppe Rossi (45) to progress.

The lineups for their meeting in Spain on 24 February were:
Villarreal: Diego Lopez, Gaspar, Gonzalo, Musacchio, Capdevila, Cazorla (Catalá 78), Borja Valero, Bruno Soriano, Cani (Marcos Gullon, 81), Rossi (Marco Ruben 89), Nilmar.
Napoli: De Sanctis, Campagnaro, Cribari (Mascara 82), Ruiz, Zúñiga, Gargano, Yebda (Pazienza 64), Dossena, Sosa (Cavani 53), Hamsik, Lavezzi.

Napoli recorded a 2-0 home win against Villarreal in September thanks to goals from Hamsik (15) and Edinson Cavani (17).

Villarreal are still seeking their first points in Group A after five straight defeats but their record against Italian visitors suggests Napoli, without a win in six on their European travels, can take nothing for granted.

The Spanish club have posted five wins and a draw against Serie A opposition at El Madrigal – most recently a 4-1 success against S.S. Lazio in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Napoli have visited Spain only twice before in UEFA club competition and had contrasting fortunes. A 2-0 defeat at Real Madrid CF brought an end to their first European Champion Clubs’ Cup campaign in the first round in September 1987, sealing a 3-1 aggregate loss. In the 1992/93 UEFA Cup first round Daniel Fonseca ensured a happier outcome by hitting all five goals in a 5-1 win at Valencia CF.

Substitute Giannis Fetfatzidis scored the only goal against Olympique de Marseille in the last round of games, turning round the 1-0 home defeat Olympiacos suffered against the French side on matchday one. The Greek champions now have six points, one behind Marseille, and will progress should they win and their rivals drop points at Borussia Dortmund; even a draw could be enough, depending on the result in Germany.

While the Greek club were putting a dent in Marseille’s hopes two weeks ago, the Gunners were recording their third win with a pair of Robin van Persie goals against Dortmund.

When the teams met on 28 September, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain celebrated his UEFA Champions League debut with the opening goal as Arsenal won 2-1. André Santos made it two before David Fuster pulled one back.

After opening with defeats by Marseille and Arsenal, Olympiacos traded wins with Dortmund, winning 3-1 at home before a 1-0 away loss.

Arsenal started with a 1-1 draw in Germany and on matchday three gave their hopes a real boost with a 1-0 win in Marseille. The return fixture in north London finished goalless.

The teams were also paired together in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League group stage when Leonardo’s lone strike early in the second half gave Olympiacos revenge for a 2-0 defeat at the Arsenal Stadium, the damage done by Van Persie and Andrey Arshavin in the final 12 minutes.

The lineups in Piraeus on 9 December 2009 were:
Olympiacos: Nikopolidis, Mellberg, Galitsios, Galletti, Óscar González (Pantos 90+3), Raúl Bravo, Dudu (Domi 86), A Papadopoulos, Mitroglou, Leonardo, Maresca.
Arsenal: Fabiański, Bartley, Cruise, Silvestre, Gilbert, Walcott, Ramsey, Song, Wilshere (Sunu 76), Vela, Mérida.

That win was one of only three victories for Olympiacos in nine home games against English sides, the others coming against Liverpool FC on matchday two of the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League and against Tottenham Hotspur FC in the 1972/73 UEFA Cup second round. Both were won 1-0. The other six games yielded three draws and three defeats.

Arsenal have recorded two wins in Athens, both against Panathinaikos FC. Their other four visits to Greece, including the 2009 reverse, have produced three defeats and a draw.

Should Olympiacos join Arsenal in the last 16 it would be their third qualification in successive participations. They also made it through in 2009/10 and 2007/08 but only once before that – in 1998/99 when they reached the quarter-finals.

This is the 12th season in a row that Arsenal have qualified from the initial group stage and the eighth time in that period that they have finished as group winners.

Sporting won 2-0 when the teams met for the third time in UEFA competition on matchday one. Emiliano Insua headed the visitors into a fourth-minute lead before setting up Ricky van Wolfswinkel for a second (21). Zurich can take some consolation from having hit the woodwork three times.

Mario Lino’s Sporting beat Friedhelm Konietzka’s Zürich 4-1 on aggregate in the 1973/74 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals in the sides’ only previous UEFA club competition meeting.

Their teams for the first leg of that tie – a 3-0 home win for Sporting at the old Estadio Jose Alvalade on 6 March 1974 – were:
Sporting: Damas, Manaca, Carlos Pereira, Vagner, Bastos, Alhinho, Marinho, Nelson, Yazalde, Baltasar, Chico Faria.
Zurich: Grob, Heer, Rutschmann (Marti 74), Zigerlig, Bionda, Kuhn, Martinelli, Katic, Jeandupeux, Stierli, Botteron.

The sides previously met in the third round of the 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the non-UEFA affiliated predecessor of the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League. Zurich prevailed, winning 3-0 at home and losing 1-0 in Lisbon.

Sporting‘s 11 matches against Swiss clubs ended W7 D2 L2 (W2 D1 L1 in Lisbon). They have won their last five games against Swiss opposition without conceding a goal.

Zurich’s record in five UEFA games against Portuguese teams reads W0 D2 L3. They have lost both of their previous games in Lisbon without scoring, conceding seven goals in the process (a 3-0 defeat against Sporting and a 4-0 loss to SL Benfica on 6 March 1974).

A 1-0 defeat at FC Vaslui on matchday four ended Sporting’s seven-game unbeaten run in Europe. However, they remain unbeaten in seven games at home (six wins and a draw) since a 2-0 loss to Brøndby IF in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League play-offs.

Zurich are without a win in their last six European fixtures (two draws and four defeats) since beating R. Standard de Liege 1-0 in this season’s UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. They have also recorded two draws and four defeats on the road since their last away win, 1-0 at AC Milan in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Club Brugge were comfortable 2-0 winners when the sides first met on matchday one. Vadis Odjidja put the hosts ahead on seven minutes with a fine near-post finish after skilfully turning his marker. Nabil Dirar then made it 2-0 on 24 minutes.

Maribor took on Belgian opponents in the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, winning 5-1 against KRC Genk in Slovenia and progressing despite a 3-0 loss in Belgium.

Club Brugge won their only previous games against Slovenian opponents comfortably, beating ND Gorica 5-3 away and 3-0 at home in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup second qualifying round.

Maribor are now without a win in five European games since a 2-1 victory at home against Rangers FC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off. However, they have lost only one of their last eight continental fixtures at Ljudski vrt (2-1 against Birmingham City FC on matchday two), winning five of the other games in that run and drawing two.

Club Brugge have won only one of their last seven European away fixtures (2-1 at SC Braga on matchday two) but four of those games ended in draws. Moreover, they have scored seven times in their last three ties on the road.

The sides cancelled each other out on matchday one, drawing 0-0 despite the best efforts of Hannover playmaker Sergio Pinto and Standard’s own No7 Franck Berrier. It was Hannover’s first game against a Belgian outfit.

Standard have played German sides in 26 previous UEFA competition ties, with the record W6 D7 L13 (W3 D3 L5 at home). They have not won in ten games against German sides (five draws and five defeats) since a 1-0 home win against Karlsruher SC in the first leg of one of the three 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals.

Standard are on a six-game unbeaten run in European competition (four wins and two draws) since a 1-0 defeat against FC Zurich (following a 1-1 first leg draw) saw them move from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round into the UEFA Europa League play-offs.

Standard were the last side in this year’s group stage to concede a goal, going behind early on in their 3-1 matchday four victory at FC Vorskla Poltava – having kept clean sheets in each of their opening three games.

Standard have not conceded in any of their last three continental home games since the aforementioned tie against Zurich.

Hannover are the only side in the competition never to have lost a UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League game. This will be their seventh game.

Hannover are unbeaten in three European away games this season; a 1-1 draw in the play-offs, followed by 2-1 victories in both of their previous Group B games on the road.

The game in Belgium on 13 September – the teams’ first competitive meeting – finished 0-0.

Valencia then drew 1-1 at home to Chelsea FC but a 2-1 matchday three defeat at Leverkusen left their hopes hanging by a thread. Jonas scored the second fastest UEFA Champions League goal to set Valencia on the way to a vital 3-1 win against the Bundesliga club last time out, however, bringing them right back into contention.

On matchday two Genk went down 2-0 at Leverkusen and were then handed a sobering UEFA Champions League lesson as they lost 5-0 at Chelsea. Some pride was restored back in Belgium with a 1-1 draw against the London team, Jelle Vossen wiping out the visitors’ early goal and László Köteles pulling off a superb save from David Luiz’s spot kick.

Valencia lost their first home game against opponents from Belgium in a competitive fixture, going down 2-1 in the 1982/83 UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg against RSC Anderlecht and 5-2 overall. However their other four encounters have resulted in three wins and a draw.

Genk have yet to win in a total of five matches against Spanish opponents but four of those encounters ended all square. The exception was the away game with Real Madrid CF in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League group stage which they lost 6-0.

Genk, who failed to win a game during their only previous UEFA Champions League participation in 2002/03, have this and the home game with Leverkusen on 6 December to try and open their account in the group stage.