NAME: Fotbal Club Unirea Voluntari Urziceni.
NICKNAME: Chelsea of Ialomita.
FOUNDED: 1954.
HOME GROUND: Stadionul Tineretului (7,000)* Does not meet UEFA criteria, European home games played at Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest (27,557).
HONOURS: Romanian League (1) 2009.
COACH: Ronny Levy (age 43).
Former Israeli international holding midfielder, he spent the bulk of his playing career with Maccabi Haifa before also coaching the club.
Will make his European debut as Unirea coach against Liverpool having been appointed on New Year’s Eve.
Replaced Dan Petrescu who had steered the club to Champions League victories over Sevilla and Rangers – 4-1 at Ibrox – with the former Chelsea right-back having expressed an interest in the Scotland vacancy before Craig Levein was hired. Subsequently joined Russian side Kuban Krasnodar.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Pablo Brandán.
Lung-busting Argentinian left wing-back, 26, whose goal completed the rout against Walter Smith’s Rangers earlier this season.
Born in the Buenos Aires suburb of Merlo, he represented Argentina’s under-20s side on eight occasions but has yet to win a full cap.
FACT: Unirea only advanced to the Romanian Second Division for the first time in 2003, making their top flight debut in 2006.
Read the article on Liverpool Daily Post
Unirea – the lowdown on Liverpool FC’s Europa League opponents
NAME: Fotbal Club Unirea Voluntari Urziceni.
NICKNAME: Chelsea of Ialomita.
FOUNDED: 1954.
HOME GROUND: Stadionul Tineretului (7,000)* Does not meet UEFA criteria, European home games played at Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest (27,557).
HONOURS: Romanian League (1) 2009.
COACH: Ronny Levy (age 43).
Former Israeli international holding midfielder, he spent the bulk of his playing career with Maccabi Haifa before also coaching the club.
Will make his European debut as Unirea coach against Liverpool having been appointed on New Year’s Eve.
Replaced Dan Petrescu who had steered the club to Champions League victories over Sevilla and Rangers – 4-1 at Ibrox – with the former Chelsea right-back having expressed an interest in the Scotland vacancy before Craig Levein was hired. Subsequently joined Russian side Kuban Krasnodar.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Pablo Brandán.
Lung-busting Argentinian left wing-back, 26, whose goal completed the rout against Walter Smith’s Rangers earlier this season.
Born in the Buenos Aires suburb of Merlo, he represented Argentina’s under-20s side on eight occasions but has yet to win a full cap.
FACT: Unirea only advanced to the Romanian Second Division for the first time in 2003, making their top flight debut in 2006.
