2009 UEFA Cup Final
Encyclopedia
The 2009 UEFA Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, the 38th season of the UEFA Cup, UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

's second-tier club football tournament. It was also the last final to be held under the UEFA Cup name, as the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League from the 2009–10 season. The match was contested by Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year...

 and Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...

; Shakhtar won the match 2–1 after extra time. Lone striker Luiz Adriano
Luiz Adriano
Luiz Adriano de Souza da Silva or simply Luiz Adriano , is a Brazilian striker who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk.-Internacional:...

 opened the scoring for Shakhtar mid-way through the first half, before Naldo
Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues
Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues , commonly known as Naldo, is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Brazilian national team.- Career :...

 equalised from a free kick ten minutes later. The second half was goalless and the match went to extra time; after only seven minutes, Jádson
Jádson
Jádson Rodrigues da Silva , commonly known as Jádson, is an footballer who plays for Shaktar Donetsk and the Brazilian national football team.-Shakhtar Donetsk:...

 scored for Shakhtar to secure the club's first major European trophy.

The match was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium
Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium
Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is a football stadium in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey, and is the home venue of Fenerbahçe S.K.. It was inaugurated in 1908 and renovated between 1999 and 2006...

 – home ground of Fenerbahçe – in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, on 20 May 2009. It was the second European football final to be held in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, after the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final
2005 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005...

, which was held in another Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 venue, the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. It was also the first European football final to be held outside the geographical Europe, as Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium
Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium
Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is a football stadium in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey, and is the home venue of Fenerbahçe S.K.. It was inaugurated in 1908 and renovated between 1999 and 2006...

 lies across the Bosphorus from the city center, and hence, in geographical Asia.

Background

The 2009 UEFA Cup final marked the first meeting between Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year...

 and Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...

, although Shakhtar had previously played nine matches against German sides (won 4, lost 3), while Werder had played just four matches against Ukrainian teams (won 2, lost 1). Both teams were playing in their first UEFA Cup final, and Shakhtar were playing in their first final in any of the three major UEFA competitions; Werder Bremen beat AS Monaco
AS Monaco FC
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club are a French football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. The club was founded in 1924 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. The team plays its home matches at the Stade Louis II located within Fontvieille...

 2–0 in the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup Final.

In another first, the 2009 UEFA Cup final also marked the first time that the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium
Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium
Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium is a football stadium in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey, and is the home venue of Fenerbahçe S.K.. It was inaugurated in 1908 and renovated between 1999 and 2006...

 had hosted a major European final, as well as being the first time that the UEFA Cup final had been held in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

; the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final
2005 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005...

 was held at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium across the Bosporus
Bosporus
The Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles...

 from the Şükrü Saracoğlu.

Shakhtar Donetsk

As champions of the 2007–08 Ukrainian Premier League, Shakhtar were awarded a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League. Here they were drawn against Croatian league winners Dinamo Zagreb. Shakhtar easily progressed over the two-legged tie with two victories and an aggregrate score of 5–1. Shakhtar thus qualified for the Champions League group stage for the third season in a row.

Shakhtar were drawn in Group C with Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

, Sporting CP, and Basel
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...

. The group stage campaign started brightly for the Ukrainians, with a 2–1 over Basel in the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 city. In the second game, Shakhtar hosted Barcelona and the two sides were set to share the points at 1–1 until Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...

 scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half and the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

 giants won 2–1. Two successive 1–0 defeats to Sporting CP, home and away, saw Shakhtar's hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds of the Champions League dashed. However, Shakhtar were well positioned to claim third place, above Basel, and secure passage to the UEFA Cup knockout rounds if they took points from their last two games in the group stage. Shakhtar dismantled Basel 5–0 in Donetsk
Donetsk
Donetsk , is a large city in eastern Ukraine on the Kalmius river. Administratively, it is a center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the economic and cultural Donets Basin region...

 and famously defeated a youthful Barcelona side 3–2 at the Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....

, (Barcelona had already secured first place in the group before the final match was played), thus Shakhtar finished the group stage with nine points in 3rd place, eight points clear of Basel and just three points behind second placed Sporting CP.

In the Round of 32 in the UEFA Cup, Shakhtar were paired with English side Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

. With the first leg at the RSK Olimpiyskyi Stadium
Lokomotiv Stadium (Donetsk)
RSK Olimpiyskyi is a multi-purpose stadium in Donetsk, Ukraine, owned by Shakhtar Donetsk. The stadium's maximum capacity is 25,678, and it is used exclusively for football matches. After its reconstruction in 2003, the stadium was also host to Shakhtar's city-rivals, FC Metalurh Donetsk...

, Shakhtar were frustrated by their inability to turn their dominance over Tottenham into goals, until substitute Yevhen Seleznyov scored on his first touch, with a header in the 79th minute. Jádson
Jádson
Jádson Rodrigues da Silva , commonly known as Jádson, is an footballer who plays for Shaktar Donetsk and the Brazilian national football team.-Shakhtar Donetsk:...

 doubled Shakhtar's lead just two minutes later, after playing a one-two with Willian
Willian Borges da Silva
Willian Borges da Silva, , commonly known as Willian, is a Brazilian footballer, currently playing as an attacking midfielder or winger for Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. Willian has also represented Brazil....

. Taking with them a 2–0 aggregate lead to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Shakhtar were favoured to progress to the Round of 16, but a goal from Tottenham's Giovani Dos Santos
Giovani Dos Santos
Giovani dos Santos Ramírez is a Mexican footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. He can also play as a winger or second striker. Since joining Tottenham, he has had loan spells at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Racing de Santander...

 in the 55th minute gave the English side a glimmer of hope. Fernandinho
Fernandinho
Fernando Luiz Rosa or simply Fernandinho was born May 4, 1985 in Londrina, Brazil and is a footballer who currently plays for FC Shakhtar Donetsk...

 answered with a goal, however, in the 86th minute for Shakhtar, which put Shakhtar into the next round with a 3–1 aggregate victory.

The Round of 16 saw old Soviet League
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League since 1970 was officially known as the Supreme League serving as the top division of Soviet Union football since 1936.It was one of the best football leagues in Europe ranking second among the UEFA members in 1988-1989 seasons...

 rivals CSKA Moscow and Shakhtar matched against each other, with the first leg in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

. Vágner Love
Vagner Love
Vágner Silva de Souza , commonly known as Vágner Love, is a Brazilian football striker who plays for CSKA Moscow.-Palmeiras:...

 scored a penalty
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...

 and CSKA won the first leg 1–0. In the return leg in Donetsk, Fernandinho converted a penalty in the 54th minute and evened the aggregate scoreline to 1–1. In the 70th minute, 2004–05 UEFA Cup winners CSKA were left stunned when goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev
Igor Akinfeev
Igor Vladimirovich Akinfeev is a Russian international football goalkeeper playing in the Russian championship for CSKA Moscow.-CSKA:Akinfeev broke into the CSKA starting lineup at the age of 17, and has been the first-choice goalkeeper at the club ever since, gathering various honors including a...

, under pressure from Oleksandr Kucher
Oleksandr Kucher
Oleksandr Mykolayovych Kucher is a Ukrainian footballer who currently plays for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. In the 2007–2008 season Kucher won the Ukrainian Premier League with Shakhtar.-Club statistics:-External links:* National football teams...

, could only clear a looping cross from Fernandinho just a few meters ahead of him, where Luiz Adriano
Luiz Adriano
Luiz Adriano de Souza da Silva or simply Luiz Adriano , is a Brazilian striker who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk.-Internacional:...

 was perfectly positioned to hit it first time and score. Shakhtar won the match 2–0, and on aggregate 2–1, progressing to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history.

Shakhtar were drawn against French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 club Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...

 in the quarter-finals. Goals from Tomáš Hübschman
Tomáš Hübschman
Tomáš Hübschman is a Czech football player who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk.-Sparta Prague:Before joining Shakhtar in the summer of 2004, Hübschman played for AC Sparta Prague having started playing for the club's youth at the age of 5 and signing his first professional contract in 1998...

 and Jadson gave Shakhtar a 2–0 win in the RSK Olimpiyskyi Stadium. In the return leg in Marseille, Shakhtar got an important away goal in the 30th minute through a close-range Fernandinho strike, where he blasted it past the Marseille goalkeeper from a very tight angle, after Ilsinho
Ilsinho
Ilson Pereira Dias Júnior , commonly known as Ilsinho, is a Brazilian right midfielder who currently plays for Sport Club Internacional...

 had played him through. Although Hatem Ben Arfa
Hatem Ben Arfa
Hatem Ben Arfa is a French association football player who plays for English club Newcastle United in the Premier League. He plays as a winger, preferably on the left side, and an attacking midfielder...

 levelled the score at 1–1 in the 43rd minute, Marseille never looked liked getting the three goals that was required of them in order to progress, and in the 90th minute, adding to Marseille's wounds, Luiz Adriano scored to make it 2–1 and thus 4–1 on aggregate. Shakhtar had progressed to a European cup competition semi-final for the first time in their history with this victory.

In the semi-finals, Shakhtar could've been drawn against German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 clubs Hamburg
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...

 or Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...

, but instead a German-Ukrainian final was guaranteed when Hamburg and Werder Bremen were paired with each other, while Shakhtar were drawn with the other semi-finalist, fellow Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...

. Dynamo and Shakhtar have been fierce rivals since the Ukrainian Premier League's formation in 1991 as they've often battled each other for 1st place in the league. The draw of Dynamo-Shakhtar was met with great excitement by the Ukrainian public, who eagerly anticipated the showdown. Both stadiums were easily sold out for this fixture. Dynamo hosted the first leg in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

, and it got off to a bad start for Shakhtar when Dmytro Chyhrynskiy scored an own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....

 to give Dynamo the lead 1–0. The match was tense and thus not many clear cut chances to score were made, but Dynamo were clearly on top and a Shakhtar equaliser was looking unlikely until the 68th minute when substitute Willian crossed and Fernandinho bundled it into the goal to level the score at 1–1. Dynamo's Olexandr Aliyev
Olexandr Aliyev
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Aliyev , born 3 February 1985 in Khabarovsk, Soviet Union) is a Ukrainian football midfielder, who plays for FC Dynamo Kyiv. Known for his spectacular free-kick goals...

 had a chance to give the Kiev side the lead again in the 78th minute, but Shakhtar goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov
Andriy Pyatov
Andriy Valeriyovych Pyatov is a Ukrainian football goalkeeper who plays for FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Premier League.- Club :Pyatov started his career in Vorskla Poltava in 2002. He was bought by Shakhtar from Vorskla for approximately £640,000 on 13 December 2006. He spent the rest of...

 saved well and the game ended 1–1. Shakhtar took their crucial away goal to Donetsk and things were looking very rosy when Jadson scored in the 17th minute in the return leg to put the aggregate scoreline at 2–1. In the 37th minute, Dynamo correctly had a goal ruled offsides. Shortly after the start of the second half, Ismaël Bangoura
Ismaël Bangoura
Ismaël Bangoura is a Guinean football striker who currently plays for Al Nasr SC and the Guinea national team. His favourite position is striker. Also, Bangoura has played as a winger and attacking midfielder.-Early career:...

 equalised after a defensive mix-up allowed for Bangoura to have a clear shot on goal, which he finished well. With the aggregate at 2–2 and heading for extra time and potentially a penalty shootout, a moment of brilliance in the 89th minute from Ilsinho sent Shakhtar to Istanbul. After collecting a long pass on the right-wing, Ilsinho cut in towards goal, shifted his way past three Dynamo defenders and cooly placed the ball where the Dynamo keeper had no chance. The match finished 2–1 and Shakhtar won 3–2 on aggregate and thus became the first ever Ukrainian side to reach an UEFA Cup Final.

Werder Bremen

Werder finished the 2007–08 Bundesliga in 2nd place and received a spot in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage as a result. They were matched up against Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...

, Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos FC
Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most...

, and Anorthosis
Anorthosis Famagusta FC
Αnorthosis Famagusta FC is a Cypriot football and volleyball club which is originally based in Famagusta, but is now temporarily based in Larnaca, due to the Turkish invasion. Anorthosis is one of the most successful clubs in Cypriot football, having won 13 league titles, 10 Cypriot Cups and 6...

 in Group B. The Champions League campaign got off to a poor start for Werder when the first tie of the round against heavy underdog Cypriot
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 side Anorthosis ended in a 0–0 draw in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

. Werder rebounded in the second match with an 1–1 draw in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 against Internazionale, thanks to a Claudio Pizarro
Claudio Pizarro
Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio is a Peruvian football forward. Pizarro plays for Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga...

 equaliser in the 62nd minute. An entertaining 2–2 draw in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 against Panathinaikos followed, before disaster struck in the return leg in Bremen, where Panathinaikos defeated their German hosts by a score of 3–0. Werder looked as though they were heading for a 4th place finish in the group when in the next game in Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...

, Anorthosis were leading 2–0 after 72 minutes, but a trip on Aaron Hunt
Aaron Hunt
Aaron Hunt is a German footballer who plays for Werder Bremen.-Club career:After spending his first season at Werder Bremen in the reserves, in the year the side achieved the double, Hunt made his first division debut on 18 September 2004, as a substitute against Hannover 96...

 in the penalty area allowed for Diego
Diego Ribas da Cunha
Diego Ribas da Cunha , commonly known as just Diego, is an international Brazilian footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid on loan from VfL Wolfsburg, as an attacking midfielder.-Santos:...

 to score a penalty kick to make the score 2–1. Hugo Almeida
Hugo Almeida
Hugo Miguel Pereira de Almeida is a Portuguese footballer who plays for Beşiktaş J.K. in Turkey, as a centre forward.After failing to establish himself at F.C...

 rescued a point for Werder in the 87th minute, when he scored after a cross from Mesut Özil
Mesut Özil
Mesut Özil is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated...

 was helped on by Duško Tošić
Duško Tošic
Duško Tošić is a Serbian footballer who plays as a defender for Real Betis, on loan from Red Star Belgrade.-Early career:...

. Needing a win at home against the group favourites Internazionale and an Anorthosis loss to Panathinaikos in order to secure 3rd place and thus progression to the UEFA Cup knockout rounds, Werder were staring elimination from European cup competition in the face. Werder dominated the match against the Italians
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and were rewarded for their determination to score in the 63rd minute when Pizarro scored on the rebound from a spilled shot by Özil. After Werder established their lead, further good news made its way to the Weserstadion
Weserstadion
The Weserstadion is a multi-purpose stadium in Bremen, Germany. The stadium is scenically situated on the north bank of the Weser River and is surrounded by lush green parks . The city center is only about a kilometer away...

, where news of a Panathinaikos goal against Anorthosis lifted spirits. Markus Rosenberg
Markus Rosenberg
Nils Markus Rosenberg , born 27 September 1982 in Malmö) is a Swedish footballer currently playing for German side Werder Bremen. As of 11 February 2009, Rosenberg, who is nicknamed "Sillen" , has played 30 games and scored six times for the Swedish national team.-Early career:Rosenberg started his...

 extended Werder's lead in the 81st minute, and although Internazionale pulled a goal back through a 88th minute Zlatan Ibrahimović
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Milan and the Swedish national team for which he is captain....

 strike, Werder came out deserved winners 2–1. Panathinaikos held on to their 1–0 lead against Anorthosis and after both games had finished, Werder secured a 3rd place and a spot in the UEFA Cup knockout rounds.

Just when Werder thought things would ease for them once they parachuted into the UEFA Cup, Werder were told that they faced another trip to the San Siro, except this time it would be against Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

, the favourites to win the UEFA Cup. In the home leg in Bremen, Milan went ahead in the 36th minute thanks to a Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi
Filippo Inzaghi, Ufficiale OMRI commonly known as Pippo, is a World Cup and UEFA Champions League-winning Italian footballer who plays for Serie A club Milan....

 goal. The Germans did not give up however, and after creating a host of chances, Diego finally finished one off in the 84th minute to level the score at 1–1. Heading to the San Siro with the aggregate scoreline all even, Milan jumped ahead in the first half with two goals from Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus, and for the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for both Juventus and Italy and is regarded as one of best players in this position...

 and Alexandre Pato
Alexandre Pato
Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva , commonly known as Alexandre Pato or simply Pato, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Italian Serie A club Milan and the Brazilian national team. His nickname, Pato, refers to his place of birth, Pato Branco...

 respectively. The task was daunting, but Werder were up to it, and in the 68th minute Pizarro scored a header from a Diego free-kick
Direct free kick
A direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football following a foul. Unlike an indirect free kick, a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.-Award:...

. Werder got the decisive goal ten minutes later after yet another Pizarro headed goal, this time from a cross from Sebastian Boenisch
Sebastian Boenisch
Sebastian Boenisch is a Polish-German football player who plays for the Polish National Team and for Werder Bremen at club level, mainly as a left back.-Career:...

. The match finished 2–2 and Werder won the round with an aggregate score of 3–3, through the away goals rule
Away goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...

.

In the Round of 16, Werder were paired with French side Saint-Étienne
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...

. Naldo
Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues
Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues , commonly known as Naldo, is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Brazilian national team.- Career :...

 put Werder ahead in the 20th minute, but Werder were left frustrated in the Weserstadion as they could not convert their dominance into more goals. In the return leg at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is a multi-purpose stadium in Saint-Étienne, France. It is used primarily for football matches, and tournaments such as the 1984 European Football Championship, the Football World Cup 1998 and the Confederations Cup 2003. It is also used for rugby union, and was a venue at...

, Werder got off to the best of starts, with Sebastian Prödl
Sebastian Prödl
Sebastian Prödl is an Austrian footballer who plays for Werder Bremen and the Austrian national team.-Club career:Aged 19, he began his professional career playing for Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2006. In July 2008 he moved to Germany to play for Werder Bremen.-International career:In...

 scoring in the 4th minute and Pizarro adding a second goal in the 27th minute. Saint-Étienne then needed three goals to win the tie. A goal in the 64th minute by Yohan Benalouane
Yohan Benalouane
Yohan Benalouane is a Tunisian–French football defender. He currently plays in Italy for A.C. Cesena....

 rejuvenated the match, but by the time the French got their second goal in the 90th minute, the fixture was all but over.

Werder were once again facing an Italian side; this time in the quarter-finals, and with their new Italian opponents being Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....

. It looked as though the job was done for the Bremen club when they had a 3–0 lead over Udinese after just 69 minutes at the Weserstadion, through two goals from Diego and a solitary strike from Almeida. But in the 87th minute, Fabio Quagliarella
Fabio Quagliarella
Fabio Quagliarella is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Juventus and internationally for the Italian national team. He is known for scoring incredible goals from unconventional angles that often catch the goalkeeper by surprise.-Early career:Quagliarella began his...

 breathed new life into Udinese's hopes, when he got a goal back from close range. One of the most entertaining matches of the entire tournament followed in the he return leg at the Stadio Friuli
Stadio Friuli
Stadio Friuli is a multi-purpose stadium in Udine, Italy. The stadium was built in 1976 and holds 41,652 people. It is currently used mostly for football matches and the home of Udinese Calcio.-Structure:...

. Gökhan Inler
Gökhan Inler
Gökhan İnler is a Turkish-Swiss football player who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A side Napoli.-Early career:İnler started his career at FC Basel, but was later loaned out to FC Schaffhausen...

 opened the scoring for the hosts with a fantastic 30-metre goal that left Werder keeper Tim Wiese
Tim Wiese
Tim Wiese is a German goalkeeper who currently plays for Werder Bremen and the German national team. He joined Werder Bremen in 2005 from Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga.-Fortuna Köln:...

 with no chance of saving. Diego equalised in the 28th minute, before Quagliarella restored the Udinese lead just two minutes later by lobbing the ball over Wiese. Quagliarella scored his second and Udinese's third only eight minutes later and the aggregate was even at 4–4 and the match heading to extra time if the score stayed at 3–1. The match re-started in the second half with the same frantic pace it had in the first half, and after Quagliarella barely missed an opportunity to score a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

, Diego headed in from a Almeida shot which bounced off the bar to bring the score to 3–2. Udinese now needed two more goals to go through. Felipe
Felipe Dias da Silva dal Belo
Felipe Dias da Silva dal Belo commonly known as just Felipe is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Fiorentina. He has spent his whole professional career at Italian Serie A.-Udinese:...

 and Kwadwo Asamoah
Kwadwo Asamoah
Kojo "Kwadwo" Asamoah is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Udinese in Italy and the Ghana national team.- Early career:...

 had the best scoring opportunities for Udinese, but it wasn't meant to be, and after Udinese keeper Samir Handanovič
Samir Handanovic
Samir Handanovič, is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Italian club Udinese and the Slovenian national team. He is well known for his ability to save pentalies...

 saved a Diego penalty kick, on the resulting corner, Pizarro turned in Per Mertesacker's
Per Mertesacker
Per Mertesacker is a German footballer who plays as a defender for Arsenal and Germany. Mertesacker is a youth product of Hannover 96 and he made his senior league debut in November 2003. Mertesacker was soon dubbed "the Defence Pole" by German tabloids and gained a reputation for his good...

 header in the 73rd minute to wrap up the tie at 3–3 and 6–4 on aggregate.

In the semi-finals, Werder were drawn against their local rivals Hamburg
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...

. Werder defeated Hamburg in a penalty shootout in a German Cup semi-final just a week before the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final. With animosity running high between the two clubs and their respective supporters, this promised to be an fascinating clash for German football fans. The first leg was once again hosted by Werder, but this time Werder got off to a poor start, with Hamburg having the better chances to score in the opening, before they finally converted one of their chances in the 28th minute with Piotr Trochowski
Piotr Trochowski
Piotr Artur Trochowski is a Polish-born German footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for La Liga side Sevilla FC and the German national team.-Early life:Trochowski was born in Tczew in Poland...

 heading in. The Hamburg goal woke up Werder, but Pizarro, Almeida, and substitute Rosenborg all squandered their chances to equalise. Taking a 1–0 lead with them to the HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg were confident of progressing to the Istanbul final, while it looked as though Werder would fail in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup for the fourth time. It looked all over in the second leg when Ivica Olić
Ivica Olic
Ivica Olić is a Croatian professional footballer who plays for Bayern Munich in Germany and internationally for the Croatian national team.- Early career :Olić was born and raised in the village of Davor near Nova Gradiška, Croatia, Yugoslavia...

 finished well in the 13th minute. But sixteen minutes later Diego and Pizarro played a one-two, and Diego put it past Hamburg keeper Frank Rost
Frank Rost
Frank Rost is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer....

 to level the score at 1–1 and pull the aggregate to 1–2. Shortly afterwards, Diego's shot from 25 metres rattled the crossbar. In the 41st minute, Diego received a yellow card for shoving fellow Brazilian Alex Silva
Alex Sandro da Silva
Alex Sandro da Silva or simply Alex Silva , is a Brazilian central defender. He currently plays for Flamengo.-Career:He is the younger brother of S.L...

, which did not rule him out of the final. After a host of chances for both sides, in the 66th minute, Pizarro got the ball in the middle of the pitch, made a short run, and his curling shot from about 30 metres made its way past Rost to give Werder the lead 2–1. Things got even better for Werder in the 83rd minute when Frank Baumann headed in to make it 3–1 and 3–2 on aggregate; Hamburg then needed two goals in the last seven minutes plus stoppage time to progress. Olić responded in the 87th minute with another goal to even the aggregate score at 3–3, however Werder would still go through on the away goals rule. As Hamburg searched for that last goal, the game fizzled out and Werder had punched their ticket to Istanbul.
Shakhtar Donetsk Round Werder Bremen
Champions League
Opponent Result Legs Qualifying phase Opponent Result Legs
  Dinamo Zagreb 5–1 2–0 home; 3–1 away Third qualifying round
Team
  Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

6 4 1 1 18 8
10
13
  Sporting CP 6 4 0 2 8 8 0 12
  Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
FC Shakhtar Donetsk is a Ukrainian professional football club from the city of Donetsk. Shakhtar has appeared in several European competitions and currently is often a participant of the UEFA Champions League. The club became the first Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup in 2009, the last year...

6 3 0 3 11 7
4
9
  Basel
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. They are one of the most successful clubs in Swiss football, having won the Swiss Super League 14 times, the third most for any Swiss club. They were most successful in the late 1960s and 1970s, winning the...

6 0 1 5 2 16 −14 1
Group stage
Team
  Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos FC
Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most...

6 3 1 2 8 7
1
10
  Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...

6 2 2 2 8 7
1
8
  Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...

6 1 4 1 7 9 −2 7
  Anorthosis
Anorthosis Famagusta FC
Αnorthosis Famagusta FC is a Cypriot football and volleyball club which is originally based in Famagusta, but is now temporarily based in Larnaca, due to the Turkish invasion. Anorthosis is one of the most successful clubs in Cypriot football, having won 13 league titles, 10 Cypriot Cups and 6...

6 1 3 2 8 8 0 6
UEFA Cup
Opponent Result Legs Final phase Opponent Result Legs
  Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

3–1 2–0 home; 1–1 away Round of 32   Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...

3–3 (a
Away goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...

)
1–1 home; 2–2 away
  CSKA Moscow 2–1 2–0 home; 0–1 away Round of 16   Saint-Étienne
AS Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city...

3–2 1–0 home; 2–2 away
  Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...

4–1 2–0 home; 2–1 away Quarter-finals   Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....

6–4 3–1 home; 3–3 away
  Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...

3–2 2–1 home; 1–1 away Semi-finals   Hamburg
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...

3–3 (a
Away goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...

)
0–1 home; 3–2 away

Match details


|
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> SHAKHTAR DONETSK:
GK 30   Andriy Pyatov
Andriy Pyatov
Andriy Valeriyovych Pyatov is a Ukrainian football goalkeeper who plays for FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Premier League.- Club :Pyatov started his career in Vorskla Poltava in 2002. He was bought by Shakhtar from Vorskla for approximately £640,000 on 13 December 2006. He spent the rest of...

RB 33   Darijo Srna
Darijo Srna
Darijo Srna is a Croatian footballer who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk as a captain and is also the captain of the Croatian national team.-Club career:Srna's talent was seen by many scouts in Croatia while he was young...

 (c)
CB 5   Oleksandr Kucher
Oleksandr Kucher
Oleksandr Mykolayovych Kucher is a Ukrainian footballer who currently plays for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. In the 2007–2008 season Kucher won the Ukrainian Premier League with Shakhtar.-Club statistics:-External links:* National football teams...

CB 27   Dmytro Chygrynskiy
LB 26   Răzvan Raţ
Razvan Rat
Răzvan Dincă Raț is a Romanian footballer who currently plays as a left back for Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk and the Romanian national team.- Club:...

DM 18   Mariusz Lewandowski
Mariusz Lewandowski
Mariusz Lewandowski is a Polish footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for PFC Sevastopol and the Polish national football team. He also plays in defensive midfield where his stamina, strength and aerial ability come to good use.- Career :...

 
DM 7   Fernandinho
Fernandinho
Fernando Luiz Rosa or simply Fernandinho was born May 4, 1985 in Londrina, Brazil and is a footballer who currently plays for FC Shakhtar Donetsk...

RW 11   Ilsinho
Ilsinho
Ilson Pereira Dias Júnior , commonly known as Ilsinho, is a Brazilian right midfielder who currently plays for Sport Club Internacional...

 
LW 22   Willian
Willian Borges da Silva
Willian Borges da Silva, , commonly known as Willian, is a Brazilian footballer, currently playing as an attacking midfielder or winger for Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk. Willian has also represented Brazil....

AM 8   Jádson
Jádson
Jádson Rodrigues da Silva , commonly known as Jádson, is an footballer who plays for Shaktar Donetsk and the Brazilian national football team.-Shakhtar Donetsk:...

 
CF 17   Luiz Adriano
Luiz Adriano
Luiz Adriano de Souza da Silva or simply Luiz Adriano , is a Brazilian striker who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk.-Internacional:...

 
Substitutes:
GK 12   Rustam Khudzhamov
Rustam Khudzhamov
Rustam Makhmudkulovych Khudzhamov is a Ukrainian football goalkeeper who plays for FC Metalurh Donetsk on loan from FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Premier League.In Crimean Tatar, his name is Rüstam Mahmüdkuli Hucamov.- Club career :...

DF 4   Igor Duljaj
Igor Duljaj
Igor Duljaj is a Serbian professional footballer. He currently plays as a defensive midfielder for PFC Sevastopol in the Ukrainian Premier League.-Club career:...

 
DF 32   Mykola Ischenko
Mykola Ischenko
Mykola Anatoliyovych Ishchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who currently is on loan to FC Illichivets Mariupol in the Ukrainian Premier League....

DF 36   Oleksandr Chyzhov
Oleksandr Chyzhov
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Chyzhov is a Ukrainian football defender for FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Premier League.-External links:* *...

MF 19   Oleksiy Gai 
FW 21   Oleksandr Gladkiy 
FW 99   Marcelo Moreno
Marcelo Moreno Martins
Marcelo Moreno Martins , is a Bolivian footballer. He currently plays for the Ukrainian Premier League side Shakhtar Donetsk, as well as the Bolivian national team....

Manager:
  Mircea Lucescu
Mircea Lucescu
Mircea Lucescu is a Romanian former football player and current coach, and one of the most successful Romanian football managers. He is also the father of Rapid Bucharest coach, Răzvan Lucescu...

style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center> WERDER BREMEN: | GK 1   Tim Wiese
Tim Wiese
Tim Wiese is a German goalkeeper who currently plays for Werder Bremen and the German national team. He joined Werder Bremen in 2005 from Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga.-Fortuna Köln:...

RB 8   Clemens Fritz
Clemens Fritz
Clemens Fritz is a German footballer who plays as a right back for Werder Bremen. He is well known for his pace, passing and team effort.-Club career:...

  CB 15   Sebastian Prödl
Sebastian Prödl
Sebastian Prödl is an Austrian footballer who plays for Werder Bremen and the Austrian national team.-Club career:Aged 19, he began his professional career playing for Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga in 2006. In July 2008 he moved to Germany to play for Werder Bremen.-International career:In...

CB 4   Naldo
Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues
Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues , commonly known as Naldo, is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Brazilian national team.- Career :...

LB 2   Sebastian Boenisch
Sebastian Boenisch
Sebastian Boenisch is a Polish-German football player who plays for the Polish National Team and for Werder Bremen at club level, mainly as a left back.-Career:...

  CM 22   Torsten Frings
Torsten Frings
Torsten Frings is a German football midfielder who plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and is known for his vision and an explosive, powerful shot.-Early career:...

  CM 6   Frank Baumann (c) RM 25   Peter Niemeyer
Peter Niemeyer
Peter Niemeyer is a German professional footballer who plays for Hertha BSC on loan from SV Werder Bremen.Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also operate as a central defender.-Club career:...

  LM 11   Mesut Özil
Mesut Özil
Mesut Özil is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated...

CF 24   Claudio Pizarro
Claudio Pizarro
Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio is a Peruvian football forward. Pizarro plays for Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga...

CF 9   Markus Rosenberg
Markus Rosenberg
Nils Markus Rosenberg , born 27 September 1982 in Malmö) is a Swedish footballer currently playing for German side Werder Bremen. As of 11 February 2009, Rosenberg, who is nicknamed "Sillen" , has played 30 games and scored six times for the Swedish national team.-Early career:Rosenberg started his...

  Substitutes: GK 33   Christian Vander
Christian Vander (footballer)
Christian Vander is a German football goalkeeper currently playing for SV Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. He is the second-choice goalkeeper at the club behind Tim Wiese after the departure of veteran Andreas Reinke. Before joining Bremen in August 2005, he played for VfL Bochum and KFC Uerdingen...

DF 3   Petri Pasanen  DF 5   Duško Tošić
Duško Tošic
Duško Tošić is a Serbian footballer who plays as a defender for Real Betis, on loan from Red Star Belgrade.-Early career:...

MF 7   Jurica Vranješ MF 16   Alexandros Tziolis
Alexandros Tziolis
Alexandros Tziolis is a Greek international footballer who plays for Racing de Santander.-Early club career:...

  FW 14   Aaron Hunt
Aaron Hunt
Aaron Hunt is a German footballer who plays for Werder Bremen.-Club career:After spending his first season at Werder Bremen in the reserves, in the year the side achieved the double, Hunt made his first division debut on 18 September 2004, as a substitute against Hannover 96...

  FW 34   Martin Harnik
Martin Harnik
Martin Harnik is a German-born Austrian footballer. He currently plays for VfB Stuttgart.-Club career:Born in Hamburg to a German mother and an Austrian father , he started playing football in 1992 at SC Vier- und Marschlande...

Manager:   Thomas Schaaf
Thomas Schaaf
Thomas Schaaf is a former German football defender and current manager of Werder Bremen. A true one-club man, he spent his entire playing career, and so far coaching career, with Werder Bremen...


Man of the Match:

  Darijo Srna
Darijo Srna
Darijo Srna is a Croatian footballer who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk as a captain and is also the captain of the Croatian national team.-Club career:Srna's talent was seen by many scouts in Croatia while he was young...

 (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Assistant referees:

  Jesús Calvo Guadamuro

  Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar

Fourth official:

  Alfonso Pérez Burrull
Alfonso Pérez Burrull
Alfonso Pérez Burrull is a Spanish association football Referee who currently officiates in the La Liga. He has been officiating since 1997, and made his international debut in 2009.-History:...


Statistics

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