| The upcoming UEFA Cup Final will take center | | | | FC Zenit St. Petersburg, which overcame Rangers |
| stage on May 20, 2009 and will be hosted in | | | | FC in Manchester to hoist the most recent UEFA |
| Istanbul's Sukru Saracolou Stadium. FC Zenit St. | | | | Cup trophy, has a chance to equal the |
| Petersburg, the 2008 UEFA Cup champion, will | | | | accomplishment of Sevilla FC by winning |
| defend its title in 2009 after qualifying as one of | | | | back-to-back UEFA Cup championships. Sevilla FC |
| eight teams to emerge from UEFA Cup group | | | | captured repeat titles in 2006 and 2007 and could |
| play. | | | | soon be competing in another knockout stage yet |
| The group stage concluded on Wednesday Dec | | | | again. |
| 10th night. The eight teams who finished in third | | | | With the knockout stage still two months away, it |
| place in their respective groups have advanced to | | | | has already been a long and grueling road to the |
| the knockout stage, which begins in February of | | | | UEFA Cup for the competitors. Prior to the group |
| 2009 with 32 participants. Joining FC Zenit St. | | | | stage, UEFA Cup hopefuls endured two qualifying |
| Petersburg as qualifiers are FC Girondins de | | | | rounds, the first of which took place in July and |
| Bordeaux, Werder Bremen, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, | | | | the second of which was held in August. |
| Olympique de Marseille, Aalborg BK, ACF | | | | Advancing teams progressed to first-round play |
| Fiorentina, and FC Dynamo Kyiv. The top two | | | | held in September and October. The all-important |
| teams in each group are still in contention for | | | | group play, which concludes next week, consists |
| Champions League berths, and therefore not yet | | | | of eight pods, all of which contain five teams. |
| assured of spots in the UEFA Cup. | | | | Next season, however, the format will be |
| The Champions League takes precedence among | | | | changed so that there are 12 groups, each |
| the two events, and therefore clubs that qualify | | | | comprised of four teams. After 16 teams |
| for that more prestigious tournament do not | | | | advance out of February's opening knockout |
| participate in the UEFA Cup. Fiorentina, which | | | | stage, the second round will take place in |
| reached the UEFA Cup semifinals last season, | | | | mid-March. |
| defeated FC Steaua Bucuresti on Wednesday to | | | | The quarterfinals will be held in mid-April, and the |
| book its place in the knockout round. Werder | | | | semifinals will be featured in late April and early |
| Bremen, meanwhile, scored a 2-1 home win over | | | | May. The upcoming UEFA Cup Final will take |
| Inter Milan to secure third place in its group and | | | | center stage on May 20, 2009 and will be hosted |
| qualify for the UEFA Cup. It's a consolation prize | | | | in Istanbul's Sukru Saracolou Stadium. Turkey's |
| for Werder Bremen, which missed out on | | | | largest city also showcased another big European |
| qualifying for Champions League action. We're | | | | soccer event when the 2005 UEFA Champions |
| disappointed in the Champions League this year | | | | League final between Liverpool FC and AC Milan |
| but, with a bit of luck, in the end we made the | | | | was contested in the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. |
| best of a bad situation, said Werder Bremen's | | | | Istanbul will be the 12th city to host the UEFA |
| Torsten Frings in a statement on the club's official | | | | Cup final since the tournament switched to a new |
| website. In spite of everything, I am happy that | | | | format for the 1997-98 season. |
| we will continue to play internationally next year. | | | | |