Liverpool FC must end a Hungarian jinx in Champions League

28 August 2009 03:00
DEBRECEN VSC being drawn out of the final pot to complete Group E of this season's Champions League will hardly have sent shivers down the spine of Liverpool fans the world over. Yet Hungary is traditionally one of Liverpool's unhappiest hunting grounds. The Reds have never won there in four attempts. Emlyn Hughes is the only man in a Liverpool shirt to score in Hungary, although his strike against Ferencvaros in the Fairs Cup in September 1970 levelled the match at 1-1. Between 1967 and '74 the Reds played Ferencvaros three times in Europe, losing the first 1-0 and drawing the last 0-0. And prior to that hat-trick to forget Bill Shankly's all conquering Reds side famously played out a 0-0 stalemate against Honved at Nep Stadium in March 1964, before winning the return leg 2-0. But Rafa Benitez's Reds won't have to venture as deeply into the Hungarian wilderness as first thought. Debrecen VSC's current stadium - Stadion Olah Gabor Ut - boasts a capacity of just 10,200 which means that they will be forced to play their Champions League games in Budapest, almost 150 miles away. That away tie on November 24 will be the Reds last away fixture of this year's group stages after first visiting Fiorentina (September 29) and Lyon (November 4). Most importantly all three away fixtures are followed by comfortable breaks before Premier League duties resume, a problem which has worried Benitez in the past. Avoiding tiring trips was top of the Liverpool bosses Benitez's wish list before the draw in Monaco yesterday. He said: 'The important thing as always is that the travelling isn't too bad, we don't have too far to go for any of the games.'

Source: Liverpool_Echo