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UEFA Cup Final - Shakhtar Donetsk v Werder Bremen
Wednesday 20th May 2009

Shakhtar take Europe by storm

Ozren Podnar

The first team from the independent Ukraine, Shakhtar of Donetsk, stunned Europe by becoming the second consecutive ex-Soviet club to win the trophy after Zenit of St. Petersburg in 2008.

That was the outcome of the first season in 22 years without a single representative of Spain, England or Italy in the semifinals. The last such case occurred in 1987 when IFK Göteborg overcame Scotland's Dundee United.

Instead of the usual suspects, the stage was taken by the Ukrainians and Germans, who held two fratricidal semifinal ties in which Shakhtar defeated Dinamo Kiev and Werder their north German rivals Hamburger SV.

Then Shakhtar ("Miner" in Ukrainian) went on to fulfill the dream of their super wealthy owner Rinat Akhmetov by defeating a weakened Werder side by 2-1 in the final. Without their suspended, inspirational Brazilian playmaker Diego, the German side were not capable of restraining Shakhtar's Brazilian legion of six, which included Luis Adriano and Jadson, the scorers of both goals for the winners.

People of the Donetsk area, famous for coalmines and heavy industry, celebrated for days clad in the orange colour of their beloved team.

In the Istanbul final held at the Fenerbahce Stadium, Croatia's Darijo Srna turned out to be the last captain to lift the prized UEFA Cup at the end of the 38th edition of this competition before it is replaced by a new soccer adventure called the Europa League.

This will be next stage in the competition started in 1955 as the Intercity Fairs' Cup (under FIFA's supervision) and revamped in 1971 as UEFA took over the organization.

After the preliminary rounds, 48 teams divided into 12 groups will play a mini-league consisting of six rounds, with the two best teams progressing to the knockout competitions.

Before the round of 32 to be held in February, the 24 qualifiers from the group stage of the European League will be joined by eight third-placed teams from the Champions League in order to complete the 32 participants.

Another novelty will concern refereeing. For the first time three referees will be on the pitch, one near each penalty area specifically to check for infractions and goals.

UEFA believes that the new format will give more chances to nations whose representatives usually say goodbye to Europe before winter sets in.

Quarterfinals 1st 2nd

Shakhtar - Marseille 2-0 2-1
Paris SG - Dinamo Kiev 0-0 0-3
HSV - Manchester City 3-1 1-2
Werder - Udinese 3-1 3-3

Semifinals 1st 2nd

Dinamo Kiev - Shakhtar 1-1 1-2
Werder Bremen - HSV 0-1 3-2

Final

Shakhtar - Werder Bremen 2-1*
*After extra time

Hotels in Istanbul

Ozren Podnar

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