UEFA Cup – Tottenham carry England's hopes as Sevilla loom

Ozren Podnar

A double win over Sporting Braga has earned Tottenham an emotional clash with holders Sevilla in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. Sevilla have remained in the competition only thanks to their goalkeeper Andrés Palop, who scored the aggregate equalizer against Shakhtar Donetsk with a header in the 4th minute of added time. In the 105th minute the Uruguayan Chevantón scored the crucial third goal for the Spaniards, maintaining them on course for a second successive trophy.

There was a tremendous disappointment for Newcastle, who could not hold on to their two-goal advantage against the Dutch provincials of AZ. The team coached by Louis van Gaal should now fall an easy prey to Werder Bremen, who have already knocked out Ajax, but their success over the Magpies should put the Germans on high alert.

Rangers should feel just as miserable as Newcastle as they went down to the true European minnows of Osasuna, who so rarely appear in Europe and yet hold the distinction of having put out the 'Gers twice! The first time was in 1985/86 in Osasuna's first ever European foray and, curiously, with the identical aggregate score of 2-1. Then, Rangers won 1-0 at home before losing 2-0 in Pamplona, whereas this time around the scoreline read 1-1 at Ibrox and 1-0 for Osasuna at El Sadar.

All-star line-up

In spite of the conspicuous absence of Italian representation, the quarterfinalists include five former European trophy winners, namely Tottenham (two UEFA Cups and one Cup Winners' Cup), Sevilla (one UEFA Cup and one Supercup), Bayer (one UEFA Cup), Benfica (two Champions' Cups) and Werder (one Cup Winners' Cup).

Two other teams have appeared in the finals, AZ Alkmaar in the 1981 UEFA Cup finals against Ipswich Town and Espanyol in the 1988 penalty drama against Bayer.

Since the latter two will not be able to meet in the semifinals, there is a possibility of a repeat of the 1988 finals that saw Bayer overturn a 0-3 deficit from the first leg and a 0-2 deficit in the penalty shootout.

The tie of the round is Tottenham v Sevilla, when Spurs will come up against their ex-striker Fredi Kanouté, who leads the scoring charts in Spanish football this season.

Round of 32 (14th and 22nd February)

Ties 1st Leg 2nd Leg

Bordeaux – Osasuna 0-0, 0-1
Steaua – Sevilla 0-2, 0-1
Spartak Moskva – Celta 1-1, 1-2
CSKA Moskva – Maccabi Haifa 0-0, 0-1
Shakhtar – Nancy 1-1, 1-0
Fenerbahce – AZ Alkmaar 3-3, 2-2
Hapoel Tel Aviv – Rangers 2-1, 0-4
Werder – Ajax 3-0, 1-3
Bayer – Blackburn 3-2, 0-0
Livorno – Espanyol 1-2, 0-2
AEK Atena – Paris SG 0-2, 0-2
Benfica – Dinamo Bukuresít 1-0, 2-1
Sporting Braga – Parma 1-0, 1-0
Lens – Panathinaikos 3-1, 0-0
Zulte Waregem – Newcastle 1-3, 0-1

*Feyenoord – Tottenham: Feyenoord disqualified

Round of 16 (8th and 14th March)

Ties 1st Leg 2nd Leg

Newcastle – AZ Alkmaar 4-2, 0-2
Sporting Braga – Tottenham 2-3, 2-3
Paris SG – Benfica 2-1, 1-3
Maccabi Haifa – Espanyol 0-0, 0-4
Sevilla – Shakhtar 2-2, 3-2
Celta – Werder 0-1, 0-2
Rangers – Osasuna 1-1, 0-1
Lens – Bayer 2-1, 0-3

Quarterfinals (5th and 12th April)

Bayer – Osasuna
Sevilla – Tottenham
Espanyol – Benfica
AZ Alkmaar - Werder

UEFA Cup Final 2007 Preview

Ozren Podnar

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