May 18On Wednesday, Shakhtar Donetsk will become the first Ukrainian side since the break-up of the USSR to compete in a European final.
Whoever triumphs between Shakhtar and Werder Bremen in Istanbul will also become the last winner of the UEFA Cup. Next season will bring the prospect of the new Europa League.
The Ukrainian club will be looking for a first European trophy and Werder Bremen their second following their triumph in the 1991/92 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
Should Bremen triumph, it would be a seventh success for German clubs, which would make the Bundesliga the second most successful league in UEFA Cup terms behind Serie A, which has provided nine winning teams.
Prior to this season, Shakhtar’s most substantial UEFA Cup achievements were in reaching the last 16 on three occasions, most recently losing out to eventual winners Sevilla FC in 2005/06.
Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf was a member of the team which beat AS Monaco FC 2-0 to lift the 1991/92 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the club's only final in one of the three major European competitions. They have reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals on three previous occasions (1987/88, 1989/90 and 2006/07), although this is the first time they have managed to get to the final.
Shakhtar's Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu was a UEFA Super Cup winner in 2000 while in charge of Galatasaray AŞ and knows all about Fenerbahçe SK's Şükrü Saraçoglu Stadium from his time as coach of Istanbul rivals Galatasaray and Beşiktaş JK.
DStv football fanatics are invited to tune into SuperSport 3 from 20:15 CAT for all the live action. Audiences can also go to http://www.supersport.co.za/ for additional information or press the OK button on the DStv remote controll for other highlights.
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