Interesting points from Vidi and AEK games in the past

Journey in the Champions League
MOL Vidi FC have done really well until now in European competition. The six Champions League games have seen two won and the remaining four drawn. That has resulted in a certain place in one of the group stage competitions over the autumn. The last time a Hungarian side achieved this was in 2012 when Vidi represented the country in the Europa League group stage. If Vidi can overcome the final hurdle against AEK Athens in the Champions League play off, then it would mean a Hungarian side in the group stage in the top competition. This has not happened since 2009. 

It was Debrecen that last managed this when they entered the competition at the Q2 stage. They had to face three opponents on the way to the group stage. Swedish side Kalmar FF were beaten 3-3 on aggregate and they went through on away goals. Estonian side Levadia Tallinn and Bulgarian Levski Sofia were both beaten in later rounds. Vidi will have to defeat one more opponent compared to Debrecen 9 years ago. 

Only Arsenal and Galatasaray have done better in qualification games. 
It is almost unbelievable that we are among those teams that have played at least 12 Champions League qualifiers. Arsenal and Galatasaray have lost fewer games out of all clubs that Vidi. The English side have played 14 games in the CL qualifiers and have won 13. The other game ended up in a draw. The Turkish team have played 18 games and just like Arsenal have won 13 matches. The others were 4 draws and a single defeat. Vidi's 12 CL qualifiers have produced 4 wins, 6 draws and 2 defeats. Both of those defeats came in 2011 against Sturm Graz and 2015 at BATE Borisov. Vidi have yet to lose a qualifier as the home team. Both Ferencvaros and MTK have played 12 CL games with the green and whites winning 3, drawing 6 and losing 3. MTK have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 8 times.

AEK Athens against Hungarian sides
AEK Athens supporters had to wait 24 years to win the domestic league title. They last achieved that in 1994, which was repeated at the end of last season. However, the last two and a half decades have seen little success when it comes to winning the domestic league. They have played in European competition during that time. Their participation in the Champions League was thanks to Greek sides that finished in second place earning a place in the competition. 

AEK last played Hungarian opponents 18 years ago in 2000. That was back in the UEFA Cup against Vasas in the first round. The first game was played at the Nepstadium in front of 3000. Gyorgy Mezey's Vasas side were already 2-0 down after 50 minutes of the game. However, Tamas Peto scored a goal after 89 minutes and Laszlo Komodi levelled a minute later in the 90th.

AEK won the second leg 2-0 in Athens in front of 12,000. 

Roland Juhász against AEK Athens
A Hungarian side has not played Greek opponents since 2000. However, there have been players with Vidi connections that have played against teams from Greece. Roland Juhasz did just that in season 2006/2007 for Anderlecht when they played AEK. The Belgium side were not the only one to have a Hungarian with the Greeks including Daniel Tozser, who is currently playing for DVSC. The sides shared a 1-1 draw in Athens, with the return leg finishing 2-2 in Brussels. Both Hungarian players played the entire 90 minutes of both games.

Four years later in 2010/2011, Roland Juhasz' side again came up against AEK Athens in the Europa League group stage. The match in Belgium ended with a 3-0 home win, with the last goal coming from Juhasz. It was a lovely goal that is worth watching.

The return leg in Athens saw Roland Juhasz play the full game and it ended in a 1-1 draw. Russian side Zenith included Danko Lazovic and Szabolc Huszti in their side in European competition. The first game ended in a 4-2 zenit win, which saw Lazovic score twice. His second goal was stunning. The Russian side completed the job with a 3-0 second leg win. Lazovic played 74 minutes of that game with Huszti coming on towards the end.

(Lazovic goal against AEK can be seen at  6:40)

The 100th Vidi goal could be scored on Wednesday 
Vidi have scored 99 goals in home European games since 1973. The first goal came from Janos Nagy on the 24th October 1973. That came in the Cup winners cup against ZVL Zilina, which was won 3-0. The 60 games since then have been played. The 38 matches on the home pitch have been won with 12 drawn and 11 lost. The goal count stands at 99-41.