Bergodi: No walkover

Posted Thursday, September 17, 2009 by PA

Steaua Bucharest coach Cristiano Bergodi is refusing to buy into the notion that Thursday's meeting with Molodovan champions FC Sheriff Tiraspol will be a walkover.

Sheriff will become the first Moldovan club ever to play in the group stages of a European competition, and their lack of experience at this level has led the Romanian media to demand a comfortable victory from Bergodi's men.

But the Italian coach, who will send his side out to play their second and final game behind closed doors due to a stadium ban, knows it will not be that easy.

"This first match will be very difficult for two reasons," he said. "First, we are playing again without spectators, and secondly Sheriff are not a weak team has has been written.

"Our players are mentally prepared for a tough match. We hope to be victorious in the end, but Sheriff are not the weakest team in this group," he added, although with FC Twente and Fenerbahce the other two teams in Group H, it is not clear who he is nominating instead.

Bergodi has highlighted Sheriff's physical advantage as they boast a number of tall players in their squad, and that is leading the Steaua coach to question his own selection.

"I have some questions over the first 11," he said. "Usually, I know my first 11 the day before the match, but I'm still thinking about it. There are two or three positions I've not decided on."

The confidence of the local press in Romania can in part be put down to Steaua's outstanding form in the qualifying rounds for this competition, where they won all six games.

But they are up against a Sheriff team that has won nine straight Moldovan titles and, more recently, only conceded more than a single goal once in their last 11 games away from home.

Their Belarusian coach Leonid Kuchuk has revealed the philosophy behind their success, saying: "It is simple. Every draw for us is like a defeat and every defeat is like a natural disaster."