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Controversial Farewell to the UEFA Cup

By Zain Alvi | 21st May 2009
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Controversial Farewell to the UEFA Cup  | read this item

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uefa-cup-finalOn yet another pulsating night in European football, Shakhtar Donetsk became the first ever Ukrainian side to lift the UEFA Cup following a 2-1 win over the German Bundesliga’s Werder Bremen. In the process, they also became the last team to ever win the competition as it will be reprised as the Europa League next season.

While the game itself was almost just as thrilling as its aforementioned significance, Shakhtar’s unprecedented achievement arrived at the expense of a Werder Bremen side that certainly deserved better. The Germans had to start without their suspended talismanic playmaker and future Juventus player, Diego. To make matters worse, most of their starting line-up had succumbed to untimely injuries just before the kick-off.

As a result, the Ukrainian side started as the bookies’ favorite to extend the Eastern European dominance of the competition following Zenit St. Petersburg’s success last season. With Shakhtar’s Croatian skipper Darijo Srna leading by example, the men from Donetsk started with aplomb as they took the lead with Luiz Adriano’s brilliantly chipped goal in the 25th minute.

Liverpool target Srna continued to be influential in several great plays but Werder keeper Tim Weise was brilliant to deny Shakhtar a two goal lead. The same cannot be said for his opposite number, Andrei Pyatov, who fumbled the ball into his own net following a powerful free-kick from Naldo in the 35th minute. Werder then created several of its own chances but the Germans were guilty of poor finishing. On the other end, Shakhtar also no longer looked like clear favorites as wasteful finishing on both ends forced extra time.

While the atmosphere was not remotely similar to the historic Liverpool – AC Milan clash a few years ago, Istanbul lived upto its vibrant reputation as the game came alive in the extra time. What had been a tale of wasteful finishing and some goalkeeping heroics became a battle for supremacy in the attack.

Shakhtar fans did not need to wait too long into extra time to take the lead again as Jadson brilliantly pounced on a one-touch opportunity past Wiese. That ended Wiese’s dominance in the Werder goal and the Germans had to rely on more than the defensive skills of Clemens Fritz. Without Diego, most of their offense was centered around former Chelsea striker Claudio Pizarro. And as far as I am concerned, the Peruvian did deliver under pressure. But this is also where the controversy began.

As the Peruvian forward sent a brilliant through-ball to Ozil, the Turk was clearly fouled inside the area. However, thanks to the reputation effect, the referee contested that Darijo Srna had fairly won the ball. Replays suggested otherwise as there was a clear nudge from Srna. Despite all their frustrations, Werder still had no option but to continue, and their resilience almost paid off as Pizarro followed up with an impressive looking finish into the bottom left of the goal. This time, the referee accused the Peruvian of obstruction on his marker. With just a few seconds of play left at this point, Werder coach Thomas Schaaf’s expression said everything.

The white towel was almost thrown in by the Germans, and moments later Shakhtar were controversially crowned as the UEFA Cup Champions. Werder players were forced to turn their attentions to the German Cup Final, which now presents them with the only opportunity to compensate for a disappointing 10th place finish in the Bundesliga. The mood in the opposing camp couldn’t be more different, however, as Shakhtar struggled to control their emotions on a night that will certainly go on for an extremely long celebration.





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