Friday 16 March 2007

UEFA cup quarter final draw

Tottenham are now the only remaining British side in the UEFA cup after Rangers met their fate in Osasuna and Newcastle were knocked out by AZ Alkmaar on away goals. Going into the final stages of the competition are three Spanish teams, including current holders of the cup Sevilla; two German sides, Dimitar Berbatov's former club Bayer Leverkusen and current Bundesliga second place team Werder Bremen; Portuguese team Benfica, Ricardo Rocha's former club and currently second in the Portuguese league and Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, also currently on second place in their domestic league.

The draw yielded the following result:

Quarter-final draw

AZ Alkmaar v. Werder Bremen
Bayer Leverkusen v. Osasuna
Sevilla v. Tottenham
Espanyol v. Benfica

(Ties to be played on 5 and 12 April)

Semi-final draw

Espanyol or Benfica v. AZ Alkmaar or Werder Bremen
Bayer Leverkusen or Osasuna v. Sevilla or Tottenham

(Ties to be played on 26 April and 3 May)

Sevilla, currently doing very well in La Liga (on level points with Barcelona in the top of the table), are arguably the toughest test out there, despite having lost a few games throughout the competition. The Spanish title contenders finished second in a group which also saw AZ Alkmaar and Braga continue to the last 16. But Tottenham Hotspur, especially on current form, present a challenge for anyone and this draw brings two of the favourites to win the competition together in what will undoubtedly be an exciting game, possibly a battle of skill between former Spurs striker Frédéric Kanouté and new Spurs hero Dimitar Berbatov.

I'd be nervous if I had any nerves left to be nervous with...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bad luck for Spurs, I'm afraid.Seville have been on fire all the season.
(By the way, it's Portuguese, not Portugese, a very common mistake).
COYS!

JL Pagano said...

Well, two things going for us I reckon...Seville arepushing for the title in La Liga and since they already won the UEFA Cup surely they'd prfer the bigger prize...second, we have the return leg at the Lane, which in my view was the biggest thing about the draw.

I would also like to clam first dibs on the headline "Berbatov Seville" (read like Barber Of Seville) before the tabloids nab it.

Anonymous said...

Once we've got a bye against the only dangerous team we faced until now, don't you think it's only fair we face the current holders?

As for Berbatov there's a more appropriate headline for such a playboy: Don Juan, el burlador de Sevilla (Don Juan, the trickster of Seville). Ladies, run for your virtue. Don Berba is coming !

Lisa said...

Thanks for pointing out my errors - proof-reading was apparently beyond me. It has been taken care of.

JL - bit of a long ball, but all yours... ;-)

I think the draw is probably only fair - if there is such a thing - and a sign of our current confidence and form (as well as the UEFA-cup run up til now) that I don't see the game as lost at all. And I would like to flatter the lads a little by assuming that most of the other teams were happy about having to face neither Sevilla nor Spurs...

Don Berba et consortes, bring it on!