We look at Genk's trip to the BayArena in Germany as Chelsea prepare to take on Mario Been's side next in the UCL.
European minnows Genk travelled to Germany in hope as they faced Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen at the intimidating BayArena but they were on the end of a 2-0 humbling.
The club are in the Champions League for the first time in nine years, although they have already made a mark by earning a shock goalless draw in their opening group game against La Liga giants Valencia, and they could have proved tricky opponents for Leverkusen.
The Belgians, who won their domestic title for only the third time in their short history last season by half a point, booked their ticket for the group stage by defeating Partizan Belgrade and Maccabi Haifa.
The omens were not good going into the game as Genk had failed to win in their only previous appearances nine seasons ago and only managed one home goal - albeit in a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid - finishing bottom of their group.
And the trip to the North Rhine-Westphalia proved to be a tough test for Mario Been's high-fliers as goals from Lars Bender and veteran Michael Ballack secured the points for the hosts.
Genk travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on October 19th before the return trip in Belgium two weeks later on November 1st.
Qualifiers excluded, Genk have won none of their last 12 games in European competition (six defeats, six draws).
Tactics
The Belgians lined-up in the traditional 4-4-2 formation for the game in Germany, although with a heavy defensive feel to the side with David Hubert sitting just in front of the back four. A system which has been very effective and has worked well as Been's side were currently unbeaten in all competitions going into this game. The 20-year-old Belgian international Kevin De Bruyne started a game for the first time this season after a long injury lay-off due to a calf injury and striker Marvin Ogunjimi also returned to the side after his protracted move to Real Mallorca failed to materialise. The Islanders had agreed a deal with Genk and Ogunjimi on deadline day, but it emerged that the transfer documents were sent too late, so here he was playing in the Champions League. Genk relied heavily on stalwart defensive midfield partnership of Daniel Tozser and David Hubert while they hoped the goal threat of Ogunjimi and their talismen, Thomas Buffel and Kevin De Bruyne could pay dividends.
Head coach
Genk are showing some fine form under new coach Been. A 1-1 draw at Leuven on Saturday in the Belgian league followed a 6-2 win at third division MSK Deinze in the cup and Been's team enjoyed a 3-0 league win at home to Standard Liege after their draw with Valencia. The Dutchman, who is nicknamed 'Mariodona', after Diego Maradona, had previously played for the likes of Feyenoord and Italian outfit Pisa. His greatest success as a player came back in 1984 when he helped Feyenoord, whose side included Johan Cruyff and Ruud Gullit, to the Dutch double, also winning the country's Talent of the Year prize and making his only appearance for Holland in a friendly against Austria. He made his first foray into managment at Excelsior back in 2005 before moving to N.E.C. and then taking over at De Kuip. In July 2011, Been left his post as head coach of the Dutch giants, citing lack of trust and confidence from his players as the main reason for his surprise choice and took over at the Belgian champions a month later. No less than three coaches have tried their hand at the helm at Genk in two months. Frank Vercauteren resigned after the 2-1 loss to Maccabi Haifa, he was succeeded by caretaker coach Pierre Denier, who in turn handed the reigns to Been. Ahead of the game against Robin Dutt's side, he said: "I believe in our qualities. We have several difficult matches coming up and have to give 100 per cent in all of them. We know Leverkusen are quick at switching from defence to attack. They have an impressive stadium and it's a very special feeling to be here."
Strengths
The die hard suppporters at the Tribune Zuid (South Stand) are a huge benefactor in Genk's recent success and the club gave the squad number '12' to the fans because of their vociferous following. And they turned up at the BayArena in force, selling out their allocation of 3,000 and came all dressed in the tradional colours of blue and white for the game. As for the team, well, the defence has to be the club's strength with the likes of South African Anele Ngcongca, Jeroen Simaeys, Brazilian Nadson and Daniel Pudil making up a solid and formidable unit, which is probably the main reason why they remained unbeaten under Been since his arrival, that is, until this evening.
Weaknesses
An obvious weakness for the Belgians will be the lack of goals in the Champions League group stage. Against stronger sides such as Bayern Leverkusen, Valencia and Chelsea, they are likely to struggle to create too many chances. The club, which is currently in fifth spot in their domestic league have shared the goals throughout the team so far this season, having bagged 15 in the league in the first eight games. However, there seems to be little imagination from the bench if needed, with the likes of Anthony Limbombe, Elyaniv Barda and Kennedy Nwanganga not really known as impact players.
Key men
Kevin De Bruyne returned to action at the weekend having been out since tearing a calf against Lierse on August 6th. The highly rated player is a reported target for Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas. As one of his country's hottest prospects, de Bruyne, who can play as an attacking midfielder or left-winger, had been understood to try to force through a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer, but his club dug their heels in and rejected an offer, reportedly in the region of £6million. Another key man is 22-year-old striker Jelle Vossen, who is the club's top scorer with nine goals this season. He signed a new five-year contract with Genk last summer although he has been linked with Aston Villa and Everton in recent seasons. He was at his most prolific last season, scoring an impressive 20 goals in 37 games.
Overall assessment
The recent goalless home draw against a very talented side like Valencia shows that they will not be a pushover in the group but the defeat against Leverkusen will surely diminish their confidence ahead of the double-header against Chelsea. The Belgian connection between the clubs is noticable with some high-profile transfers such as Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois on the books at Stamford Bridge. The Blues will be strong favourites to pick up six points out of six in the head-to-head battle.
