Videoton go into Thursday's second leg tie having not conceded in the last four matches
It has been a very good European adventure for Videoton so far this season. Vidi have yet to taste defeat in the five games that they have played so far. The series of matches began in the 2nd qualification round in Bratislava. That match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Oliveira scoring the all important away goal for the Fehervar side. Slovan's Filip Sebo scored for the home side in that game, making it 424 minutes since Bozsovics was last beaten in the Videoton goal. The return leg ended goaless, with the Vidi team not conceding a goal in those 90 minutes, resulting in Paulo Sousa's side going through on the away goal rule. Vidi were paired with Belgium side Gent in the 3rd qualification round. The first leg at the Sostoi saw the reds win by a single goal, taking the run of not conceding a goal to over two matches. A challenging second leg in Gent eventually saw Vidi run out 3-0 winners, making it 4-0 on aggregate, and extending the good defensive work to over three matches.
The impressive statistics further improved in Turkey last Thursday evening. In what was Vidi's biggest test to date, the entire team produced a very solid and good performance to end the game 0-0, thus increasing the great run of not conceding to over 4 matches. Another side to have a similar record are Anzsi Mahacskala. The defence has been the backbone of the Vidi side so far, with Mladen Bozsovics in goal, supported very well by Alvaro Brachi, Marco Caneira, Paulo Vinicius and left back Stopira. Young defender Roland Szolnoki has also played a part, namely in the matches with Slovan, when he deputised for the injured Alvaro Brachi.
The 424 minute run is a new club record in European football. The previous run happened back in the memorable 1984-85 season, when Vidi made it to the UEFA cup final against Real Madrid. They kept two clean sheets against Dukla Prague - 1-0, 0-0, and then beat Paris SG 1-0 in the return leg. They also managed to show their defensive qualities in the 5-0 thrashing of Partizan Belgrade.
Vidi's run of clean sheets in European football this season:
EL Q2, 1st leg: Slovan Bratislava – Videoton FC 1-1, 64 minutes
EL Q2, 2nd leg: Videoton FC – Slovan Bratislava 0-0, 90 minutes
EL Q3 1st leg: Videoton FC – KAA Gent 1-0, 90 minutes
EL Q3 2nd leg: KAA Gent – Videoton FC 0-3, 90 minutes
EL PO 1st leg: Trabzonspor – Videoton FC 0-0, 90 minutes
Author: David Rechnitzer