• Shakhtar are aiming to become the first Ukrainian side to win the UEFA 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, who have provided nine winning teams.
• Not only are Shakhtar bidding for their first continental title, they are also playing in their first major European final. Prior to this season, their 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 A? and knows all about Fenerbahçe SK’s ?ükrü Saraçoglu Stadium from his time as coach of Istanbul rivals Galatasaray and Be?ikta? JK.
Shakhtar’s record against German clubs: P9 W4 D2 L3 F10 A10
Bremen’s record against Ukrainian clubs: P4 W2 D1 L1 F14 A6
• The two finalists and their two coaches have never met in UEFA club competition.
• Shakhtar first came up against German opponents in the 1976/77 UEFA Cup first round, winning 3-0 at home and drawing 1-1 away against Berliner FC Dynamo from the former East Germany.
• They first faced opposition from the old West Germany in the 1980/81 UEFA Cup first round, winning 1-0 at home against Eintracht Frankfurt but losing 3-0 away.
• In total Shakhtar have played four two-legged ties against German opponents, winning two and losing two.
• In 2005/06, they met VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Cup group stage, earning an impressive 2-0 win in Germany.
• Shakhtar are unbeaten in their last three games against German sides, all under Lucescu’s leadership. The success at Stuttgart followed a meeting with FC Schalke 04 in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup Round of 32 which Shakhtar won 2-1 on aggregate following a 1-1 home draw and 1-0 away success.
• During his time as coach of Romania, Lucescu’s side lost 2-1 against both West Germany and East Germany, the former game at the 1984 UEFA European Championship and the latter in August 1984.
• As a striker for FC Dinamo 1948 Bucure?ti, Lucescu also played in a two-legged 1974/75 UEFA Cup tie against 1. FC Köln, with his side losing 3-2 in Cologne after a 1-1 draw in Romania.
• Bremen first met Ukrainian opponents in the first round of the 1985/86 UEFA Cup, losing 2-1 away against FC Chornomorets Odesa and winning 3-2 at home to bow out on away goals. Schaaf was in the starting lineup in both legs.
• With Schaaf installed as coach, Bremen’s second taste of Ukrainian opposition came against Shakhtar’s city rivals FC Metalurh Donetsk in the first round of the 2002/03 UEFA Cup, drawing 2-2 in Ukraine before an emphatic 8-0 victory in the return fixture.

Disciplinary information
Shakhtar: Olexandr Kucher returns from suspension but Tomáš Hübschmann misses the final following a booking in the semi-final second leg.
Bremen: Diego and Hugo Almeida are serving one-match bans.

Penalty shoot-out record
Shakhtar: Shakhtar were beaten 4-1 on penalties at Club Brugge KV following a 2-2 aggregate draw in the third qualifying round of the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League.
Bremen: Bremen have never been involved in a penalty shoot-out in UEFA club competition.

Istanbul connections
• Both Shakhtar and Bremen are playing at the ?ükrü Saraçoglu Stadium for the first time in competitive fixtures. Shakhtar lost 2-1 in a friendly against Fenerbahçe at the stadium on 23 July 2008, with Brandão scoring their only goal (84) after Semih ?entürk (46) and Daniel Güiza (57) had put the home side ahead.
• Bremen have played in Istanbul once before, with Schaaf in the team as they earned a 0-0 draw at Galatasaray in the quarter-finals of the 1991/92 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup en route to winning the competition. Shakhtar have never played in Istanbul.
• Shakhtar’s Oleksandr Chyzhov has played at the stadium before having appeared in Ukraine’s 2-0 defeat against Turkey on 14 October 2007 in qualifying for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 championship. Goalkeeper Bohdan Shust was an unused substitute.
• Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese has appeared at the ?ükrü Saraçoglu Stadium too, featuring in the Germany side that drew 1-1 with Turkey in a play-off to reach the 2004 U21 finals on 18 November 2003.
• Bremen’s Jurica Vranješ has also played at the arena, coming on in the 90th minute of Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s 2-1 win at Fenerbahçe SK in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League first group stage on 23 October 2001.
• Lucescu famously coached both of Fenerbahçe’s local rivals to title success, winning the 2001/02 Süper Lig with Galatasaray and then guiding Be?ikta? to the championship the following season.
• During his time in Turkey, Lucescu played a total of five games at the ?ükrü Saraçoglu Stadium with his record reading W1 D1 L3. That sole victory was a 1-0 win for Be?ikta? on 2 February 2003.
• Bremen midfielder Mesut Özil was born in Gelsenkirchen to Turkish parents, although he has never before played in Turkey.
• Özil’s father Mustafa and mother Gülizar are both from Zonguldak in Turkey, though Mustafa was just two when he moved to Germany and is now a German citizen, as is his son – who made his senior international debut for Germany 78 minutes into a 1-0 friendly defeat against Norway on 11 February 2009.
• In a recent interview, Özil revealed that Fenerbahçe were his boyhood club, saying: “I am happy to be playing at the stadium of a team I supported as a child. I have lots of friends and family in Turkey who say they are going to be at the final. If I play I will be the only Turkish player on the pitch and I have no doubt that the Turkish fans will get behind me for what should be an entertaining game.”

Final pedigree
• This is the third UEFA Cup final featuring two teams who transferred into the competition through finishing third in their section in the UEFA Champions League, after 1999/00 (Galatasaray v Arsenal FC) and 2001/02 (Feyenoord v BV Borussia Dortmund).
• Bremen have won one major final, beating Monaco 2-0 in the 1991/92 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final in Lisbon. They played FC Barcelona in the 1993 UEFA Super Cup as a result, going down 3-2 on aggregate – losing 2-1 at the Camp Nou and drawing 1-1 at home.
• Coach Lucescu aside, only three members of the Shakhtar squad have experience of a European final. Andriy Pyatov and Dmytro Chygrynskiy were in the starting lineup as Ukraine lost 3-0 to the Netherlands in the 2006 European U21 Championship, while Mykola Ischenko was an unused substitute.
• Bremen’s Vranješ was an unused substitute for Bayer 04 Leverkusen as they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid CF in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League final in Glasgow.
• Bremen’s Duško Toši? was part of the Serbia team who lost 4-1 to the Netherlands in the 2007 U21 final in Groningen.

Team information
• Schaaf is the longest serving coach currently operating in the Bundesliga, having joined Bremen in May 1999. Before that, he spent 17 years as a defender with the club, appearing in 262 Bundesliga games and scoring 13 goals.
• Bremen’s Serbian full-back Toši? came up against Shakhtar’s Pyatov and Chygrynskiy in the semi-finals of the 2006 European U21 Championship in Portugal, with Ukraine beating Serbia and Montenegro 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw. Another Shakhtar player, Ischenko, was an unused substitute.
• Bremen midfielder Vranješ and Shakhtar captain Dario Srna were both members of the Croatia squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although the former has not been capped since October 2007.
• Bremen left-back Toši? and Shakhtar midfielder Igor Duljaj play together in the Serbia national team.

Match facts
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
Honours
• Domestic: 4 Ukrainian titles, 6 Ukrainian Cups, 4 USSR Cups
Trivia
• Founded in 1936 as FC Stakhanovets, the Donbass side took on their current name in 1946. Shakhtar’s name literally means ‘Miner’. Their nicknames, Hirnyky (the Pitmen) and Kroty (the Moles), also refer to their colliery roots.
• Shakhtar won four USSR Cups in the days of the Soviet Union and twice finished second in the league, in 1975 and 1979. In the latter season, Vitaliy Starukhin scored 26 goals and was named the Soviet Union’s Player of the Year.
• Famous Shakhtar youth academy products include former Manchester United FC player Andrei Kanchelskis, one-time Russia captain Viktor Onopko and Serhiy Rebrov, while Shakhtar old boy Anatoliy Konkov was a member of the USSR squad that came second at the 1972 UEFA European Championship.
Route to the final
• Ukrainian champions Shakhtar finished third in UEFA Champions League Group C to reach the UEFA Cup Round of 32, where they beat Tottenham Hotspur FC 2-0 at home before drawing the return 1-1 in London. They lost 1-0 at PFC CSKA Moskva in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie but progressed after a 2-0 home success. The Pitmen faced French opposition in the quarter-finals, beating Olympique de Marseille 2-0 in Donetsk and 2-1 at the Stade Vélodrome. Then they ousted Ukrainian rivals FC Dynamo Kyiv in the semi-finals, drawing 1-1 in Kiev but winning 2-1 at home.
Latest domestic information
• Saturday 16 May: FC Zorya Luhansk 0-3 FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Seleznov 28 74, Willian 80)
Shakhtar guaranteed the runners-up spot in Ukraine with two matches remaining after a comfortable away success at Zorya despite fielding almost an entire second XI. Yevgen Seleznov sent the visitors on their way with a goal in either half, and Brazilian forward Willian sealed the win with a precise effort.
• Coach Lucescu said: “I’m happy with the players who haven’t had that much playing time in the league this season. It was clear the squad have made progress this year. We decided to leave some of our top players at home to give them extra rest and we’ll start to prepare for the final on Sunday.”
• Lucescu utilised his favourite 4-4-2 strategy in Luhansk with just Mykola Ischenko starting from the side that won against Dynamo in their semi-final second leg. Tomáš Hübschman, who is suspended for the UEFA Cup final, came off the bench in the second half.
• After a terrible start and a quiet autumn in the Ukrainian Premier League, Shakhtar finally spluttered into gear after the winter break, but not in time to defend their title, with Dynamo confirmed as champions with three games to go. Lucescu’s side avenged that defeat by beating Dynamo in the Ukrainian Cup semi-finals, as well as in the same stage of the UEFA Cup.
• Shakhtar meet FC Vorskla Poltava in the Ukrainian Cup final on 31 May.
• Having conceded just 15 goals all season, Shakhtar’s defence – marshalled by Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov – is the tightest in the Premier League, and they have conceded just twice in their last ten league games.
• Obdurate in defence, Shakhtar have been a little less effective going forward with just 45 goals in their 28 league games. Yevgen Seleznov is their top league scorer with seven goals.
• Having earlier announced that he would leave the club at the end of the current season, Lucescu has agreed to sign a new two-year contract at Shakhtar, with the club eager to reward his efforts in Europe.
Injury news
• Shakhtar have a fully fit squad to choose from.

Werder Bremen
Honours
• UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1991/92
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998
• Domestic: 4 German titles, 5 German Cups.
Trivia
• Bremen have spent only one season outside the Bundesliga since it began in 1963/64. That solitary second-tier campaign came in 1980/81, with the team winning promotion straight back into the top flight.
• The club was founded in February 1899 as FV Werder, with ‘werder’ being an obscure German word for a river island, like the Peterswerder upon which the Weserstadion stands. They became Werder Bremen in January 1920 and two years later were the first German team to hire a professional coach.
• Bremen are famous for their European miracles on home soil, with at least four games being remembered for a ‘Wunder von der Weser’:-
- in the 1987/88 UEFA Cup they won 6-2 at home against FC Spartak Moskva after extra time, having lost the first leg 4-1.
- in the 1988/89 European Champion Clubs’ Cup they lost 3-0 at BFC Dynamo Berlin but prevailed with a 5-0 home success.
- In the 1993/94 campaign they came from 3-0 down in a UEFA Champions League group match against RSC Anderlecht to win 5-3.
- In the 1999/00 UEFA Cup third round they lost 3-0 at Olympique Lyonnais, but won 4-0 in the home leg.
Route to the final
• Bundesliga runners-up last season, Bremen earned their Round of 16 place by finishing third in UEFA Champions League Group B. They then overcame AC Milan on away goals in the Round of 32, drawing 1-1 at home and 2-2 at San Siro. They won 1-0 at home and drew 2-2 away against AS Saint-Etienne to make it to the quarter-finals, where they met Udinese Calcio. After winning the home leg 3-1, Schaaf’s men drew 3-3 in Italy. Finally, they beat north German rivals Hamburger SV on away goals in the semis, losing 1-0 at home but triumphing 3-2 in Hamburg.
Latest domestic information
• Saturday 16 May: Werder Bremen 1-3 Karslruher SC (Almeida 73; Stindl 28 39, Iashvili 55)
An understrength Bremen went down to a surprise home defeat by bottom side Karlsruhe. The game got off to a turbulent start as Tim Wiese saved a Marco Engelhardt penalty in the third minute. The visitors took the lead just before half-hour mark when Lars Stindl headed in and the same player then volleyed in a second before the break. Slack defending allowed Alexander Iashvili to make it three and although Hugo Almeida – suspended for the final – got one back late on, it was too little, too late for the hosts.
• “Maybe the closer you get to a final, the more careful you become, not wanting to pick up an injury ahead of the big game,” said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf. “But we cannot allow ourselves to play like this. I was not pleased with the performance of my team. You simply cannot be satisfied with such a showing. We do more harm to ourselves like this than good.”
• Clemens Fritz, Mesut Özil, Sebastian Boenisch and Peter Niemeyer were rested ahead of Wednesday’s final, although the latter came on for Torsten Frings at half-time. Schaaf made a double substitution in the 59th minute, Fritz replacing Frank Baumann and Özil taking Jurica Vranješ’s place.
• On Wednesday 13 May, Bremen ended a 12-game wait for a Bundesliga away win, thrashing ten-man Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 (Frings 51pen 56, Tziolis 60, Pizarro 62, Almeida 77). They had not won an away game in the league since beating FC Bayern München 5-2 on 20 September 2008.
• Claudio Pizarro remains Bremen’s top scorer in the league with 17 goals, ahead of eleven-goal Diego, who is suspended for the UEFA Cup final. Mesut Özil has proved their most adept playmaker, with 15 assists to date.
• Saturday’s result aside, the disparity between Bremen’s reasonable home form and their indifferent away form has been their main problem in the league this season. They have picked up 34 points at the Weserstadion, but just eleven on the road.
• Bremen will end the season with one of their worst rankings in recent memory. Champions in 2003/04, they have not finished outside the top three in the last four seasons. With one game to go, they are now certain to finish in tenth place.
• Bremen will play Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the German Cup final on 30 May. They overcame the same opponents in both the UEFA Cup and domestic cup semi-finals, Hamburg going down on penalties in the latter competition. Shakhtar also defeated the same team, Dynamo, in the last four at home and in Europe.
Injury news
Aaron Hunt – out since 20 April (ankle)
Daniel Jensen – out since 1 April (achilles and groin)
Per Mertesacker – out since 7 May (ankle)
Naldo – out since 11 May (groin)
Petri Pasanen – out 20 April to 11 May (toe operation)
Claudio Pizarro – out since 13 May (foot)
Markus Rosenberg – out since 13 May (ankle)
Christian Vander – out 29 April to 11 May (knee)
• Schaaf withdrew both Pizarro and Rosenberg from his squad to play Karlsruhe after both picked up injuries in the win over Eintracht.

Following their 1-0 win at the Weserstadion last Thursday in the opening leg of the 33rd all-German UEFA club competition tie, Hamburger SV have the upper hand as they prepare to welcome Hanseatic rivals Werder Bremen to decide who will represent the Bundesliga in the UEFA Cup final in Istanbul on 20 May.

Previous European meetings
• Hamburg made the better start in the first leg and it was no surprise when Piotr Trochowski gave them a 28th-minute lead, even if the manner of the goal – a powerful header from the diminutive midfielder – was unexpected. Bremen fought back strongly after the break but could not force an equaliser.
Hamburg’s record against German clubs: P7 W4 D2 L1
Hamburg’s record at home against German clubs: P3 W3 D0 L0
Bremen’s record against German clubs: P11 W3 D2 L6
Bremen’s record away against German clubs: P5 W1 D0 L4

• There is a long history of German encounters in the UEFA Cup (27 ties). This is the seventh all-German semi-final, and in 1979/80 all the teams in the last four came from the former West Germany. Eintracht Frankfurt beat FC Bayern München in one semi-final, with VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach beating VfB Stuttgart in the other. Eintracht won the final on away goals, losing 3-2 away but winning 1-0 at home in the second leg.

• The most recent all-German UEFA Cup semi-final came in 1988/89, when Stuttgart eliminated SC Dynamo Dresden after a 1-0 home win and 1-1 away draw, before losing to Diego Maradona’s SSC Napoli in the final.

• A season earlier, Bremen came up against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the last four, losing 1-0 away and drawing 0-0 at home.

• Bremen’s joint-heaviest home defeat in the competition came against German opposition in 1982/83, when they succumbed 2-0 to FC Vörwarts Frankfurt-an-der-Oder in the first round. However, they had already triumphed 3-1 in the first leg and progressed on away goals.

• That was also Bremen’s first continental meeting with another German team. A season later they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the second round by 1. FC Lokomotiv Leipzig (0-1 away, 1-1 home) and kicked off their 1988/89 European Champion Clubs’ Cup campaign against East German side Berliner FC Dynamo, winning 5-0 at home after a 3-0 away reverse.

• Bremen’s most recent European tie with a German side came against Hannover 96 in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup first round in 1992/93, when as defending champions they won 3-1 at home followed by a 2-1 away loss.

• The most recent all-German European encounter took place last year, when Hamburg met Leverkusen in the UEFA Cup Round of 16. Hamburg lost the opening leg 1-0 away and, despite winning the second game 3-2, were eliminated on away goals. Before that, Hamburg had played in two previous all-German ties before, one in the UEFA Cup and one in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup.

• Back in the 1974/75 UEFA Cup, they met Dynamo Dresden in the third round, winning 4-1 at home and drawing 2-2 in Dresden. Hamburg went on to lose to Juventus in the quarter-finals.

• In the 1982/83 European Cup, they met Berliner in the first round, drawing 1-1 away and then winning 2-0 at home. Hamburg went on to win the competition, beating Juventus 1-0 in the final with Felix Magath scoring the only goal in Athens.

Previous domestic meetings

• Bremen and Hamburg have faced each other 89 times in Bundesliga history. The Weserstadion outfit have recorded 29 wins to Hamburg’s 28, the other 32 games ending in draws. Bremen have scored 130 goals in that time to Hamburg’s 135.

• At home, Hamburg have won 19 of their matches against Bremen, losing nine and drawing 17. In those encounters, the hosts have outscored their opponents 79 goals to 52.

• In the all-time Bundesliga points table, Bremen lie second and Hamburg an extremely close third. Despite Bremen having contested one top-flight season less than their rivals, they boast six more points overall – 2380 to HSV’s 2374.

• So far this season, the two teams have met once in the league, Hamburg running out 2-1 winners at home. José Paolo Guerrero and Ivica Oli? scored their goals, with Diego responding for Bremen.

• They will resume their Bundesliga rivalry at the Weserstadion on 10 May, three days after the second leg.

• In domestic knockout competitions, the two clubs have crossed paths eight times, seven of those encounters coming in the German Cup. The other meeting occurred in the 2005/06 German League Cup. Bremen have won six of those ties (1972, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2006 and 2009) to Hamburg’s two (1935 and 1982).

• Hamburg played host to Bremen in a German Cup semi-final on 22 April, the visitors triumphing 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Arena Hamburg. Per Mertesacker had given Bremen an early lead, but Oli? responded and with Hamburg captain David Jarolím sent off and no further goals, the tie was decided in a shoot-out. Goalkeeper Tim Wiese was Bremen’s hero, saving three spot-kicks – from Jerome Boateng, Marcell Jansen and Oli? – to secure a final place for the away side.

• Bremen’s biggest win against their rivals was a 6-0 home victory from the 2003/04 Bundesliga season, while Hamburg managed to put together 5-0 wins in 1979/80 and two seasons later.

Team information

• Thomas Schaaf is the longest serving coach currently operating in the Bundesliga, having joined Bremen in May 1999. Before that, he spent 17 years as a defender with Bremen, appearing in 262 Bundesliga games and scoring 13 goals.

• Hamburg general manager Dietmar Beiersdorfer played for both teams in his own career as a defender, featuring for Hamburg from 1986 to 1992 and then for Bremen between 1992 and 1996. He has been in his current role at Hamburg since 2002.

• Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost played for Bremen between 1993 and 2002, making 147 Bundesliga appearances. He joined his current employers in January 2007.

• Bremen players Mertesacker, Wiese, Clemens Fritz, Torsten Frings and Mesut Özil play with Hamburg’s Trochowski and Jansen for Germany.

• Hamburg striker Oli? and Bremen midfielder Jurica Vranješ were part of Croatia’s 2006 FIFA World Cup squad.

• Hamburg striker Guerrero and Bremen forward Claudio Pizarro are both Peruvian internationals and took part in the 2007 Copa América.

• Bremen’s Özil, Sebastian Boenisch and Aaron Hunt could well feature for Germany at the upcoming 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship alongside Hamburg’s Boateng and Dennis Aogo. All appeared in the qualifiers.

• Frings and Pizarro of Bremen were both team-mates of Hamburg’s Guerrero and Trochowski at Bayern in 2004/05.

• Frings and Hamburg defender Guy Demel were colleagues at BV Borussia Dortmund between 2002 and 2004.

Route to semi-finals
• Hamburg, fourth in the Bundesliga in 2007/08, finished first in UEFA Cup Group F and beat NEC Nijmegen comfortably in the Round of 32, winning 3-0 in the Netherlands and 1-0 at home. They then ousted Galatasaray A? to reach the quarter-finals, drawing 1-1 at home and winning 3-2 in Istanbul. In the last eight, they saw off Manchester City FC thanks to a 3-1 home success and a 2-1 away defeat.

• Bundesliga runners-up last season, Bremen earned their Round of 16 place by finishing third in UEFA Champions League Group B. They then overcame Milan on away goals in the Round of 32, drawing 1-1 at home and 2-2 at San Siro. They won 1-0 at home and drew 2-2 away against AS Saint-Etienne to make it to the quarter-finals, where they met Udinese Calcio. After winning the home leg 3-1, Schaaf’s men drew 3-3 in Italy.

• The winners of this tie will be the nominal away side in the final at the ?ükrü Saraco?lu Stadium in Istanbul on 20 May, where they will face either FC Shakhtar Donetsk or FC Dynamo Kyiv.

Form book
Hamburg: HSV are appearing in the UEFA Cup semi-finals for a third time, their only previous success at this stage coming in 1981/82. They have lost just one of their last 14 European home games.
Last five European games: DWWLW
Last five European home games: LWWDW
Top scorer (Europe): Oli? (7)
Last five league games: WLWLD
Last five home league games: LWWWD
Top scorer (Bundesliga): Mladen Petri? (12)

• Hamburg have never lost a European contest after winning away in the first leg – a total of 13 ties. They won four of those initial matches 1-0.

Bremen: Although this is Bremen’s fourth UEFA Cup semi-final, they are still waiting to reach the final. They have drawn their last six away games in European competition scoring in every one.
Last five European games: WDWDL
Last five European away games: DDDDD
Top scorer (Europe): Pizarro (6, including 2 in the UEFA Champions League group stage) Diego (6, including 1 in the UEFA Champions League group stage)
Last five league games: WDLWL
Last five away league games: DLDLL
Top scorer (Bundesliga): Pizarro (16)

• Bremen have lost an opening home leg of a UEFA club competition tie three times and have been eliminated on each occasion.

Disciplinary information
Hamburg: Guerrero’s booking from the first leg has ruled him out of the decider while Aogo – who also received a yellow card at the Weserstadion – Rost and Jonathan Pitroipa are all within a caution of suspension.
Bremen: Frings, Fritz, Özil, Diego, Hugo Almeida, Daniel Jensen, Alexandros Tziolis and Markus Rosenberg are within a booking of a one-match ban.

Penalty shoot-out record
Hamburg: Hamburg’s only UEFA club competition penalty shoot-out to date ended in defeat by Sparta Rotterdam, the German club losing 4-3 on spot-kicks after a 2-2 aggregate draw in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup first round.
Bremen: Bremen have never been involved in a penalty shoot-out in UEFA club competition.

Hamburg Honours
• European Champion Clubs’ Cup: 1982/83
• UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1976/77
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005, 2007
• Domestic honours: 6 German titles, 3 German Cups

Trivia

• Hamburg have played in the highest tier of German football since their foundation in 1919, the only team to have done so. They are also the only club to have been involved in every Bundesliga season to date.

• Iconic Hamburg striker Uwe Seeler was Germany’s first Player of the Year in 1960. He scored 404 goals in 476 league games for the club between 1953 and 1972.

• From 16 January 1982 to 29 January 1983, Hamburg went unbeaten for 36 league games – a Bundesliga record which has yet to be broken.

Bremen Honours
• UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1991/92
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998
• Domestic honours: 4 German titles, 5 German Cups.

Trivia
• Bremen have spent only one season outside the Bundesliga since it began in 1963/64. That solitary second-tier campaign came in 1980/81, with the team winning promotion straight back into the top flight.

• The club was founded in February 1899 as FV Werder, with ‘werder’ being an obscure German word for a river island, like the Peterswerder upon which the Weserstadion stands. They became Werder Bremen in January 1920
and two years later were the first German team to hire a professional coach.

• Bremen are famous for their European miracles on home soil, with at least four games being remembered for a ‘Wunder von der Weser’:

- in the 1987/88 UEFA Cup they won 6-2 at home against FC Spartak Moskva after extra time, having lost the first leg 4-1.

- in the 1988/89 European Champion Clubs’ Cup they lost 3-0 at BFC Dynamo Berlin but prevailed with a 5-0 home success.

- In the 1993/94 campaign they came from 3-0 down in a UEFA Champions League group match against RSC Anderlecht to win 5-3.

- In the 1999/00 UEFA Cup third round they lost 3-0 at Olympique Lyonnais, but won 4-0 in the home leg.

FC Shakhtar Donetsk will be hoping to press home their slender away-goal advantage over domestic rivals FC Dynamo Kyiv and become the first Ukrainian club to reach the UEFA Cup final when the two sides meet at RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium on Thursday.

Previous European meetings
• The opening leg was the first meeting between Shakhtar and Dynamo in continental competition and only the second all-Ukrainian tie in Europe. The hosts took the lead when, under pressure from Artem Milevskiy, Dmytro Chygrynskiy put through his own net (22). Shakhtar responded when Fernandinho struck (68) after good work by substitute Willian.

• Dynamo had previously faced compatriots FC Metalist Kharkiv in the Round of 16, progressing on away goals after a 1-0 home win was followed up by a 3-2 away loss.

• Before this season, no Ukrainian team had ventured as far as the UEFA Cup quarter-finals. This is also the first time a club from the country has reached the semi-finals of a UEFA club competition since Dynamo fell just short of the UEFA Champions League final in 1998/99.

Previous domestic meetings
• Dynamo have enjoyed the upper hand in league encounters with Shakhtar, having won 15 and lost eight of their 34 meetings since the inaugural Ukrainian Premier League season in 1992.

• Shakhtar won the so-called ‘Golden Match’ between the two teams at the end of the 2005/06 campaign. With both sides level on points at the top of the table, a play-off game was held in Krivoy Rog to decide the destination of the title and Nigerian striker Julius Aghahowa’s extra-time goal sealed a 2-1 victory for the Pitmen.

• The two clubs also crossed paths 82 times in the old Soviet league, with Dynamo prevailing in exactly half of those games, Shakhtar winning 15 times and the other 26 matches ending with the scores level.

• In cup encounters, the two rivals have faced each other ten times since independence. Five of those meetings have come in the Ukrainian Cup – on each occasion in the final – with Dynamo triumphant three times to Shakhtar’s two.

• The other five games have come in the Ukrainian Super Cup, which, since its inauguration in 2004, has been contested by Dynamo and Shakhtar every year. Four of those matches have ended in penalties – with either side claiming two wins – while the only game to end after 90 minutes resulted in a 2-0 success for Dynamo in 2006.

• During the Soviet era, the two clubs locked horns nine times in cup fixtures. Dynamo won their only Soviet Super Cup encounter and prevailed in two of their three Soviet Cup contests, with Shakhtar edging the other. In the USSR Federation Cup, meanwhile, Shakhtar triumphed in three of five games, Dynamo winning one and the other ending in a draw.

• The domestic rivals will face each other at least a further three times between now and the end of the season. Aside from their UEFA Cup decider, they will also come together on 13 May in a postponed Ukrainian Cup semi-final originally due to be held on 22 April. They will also meet in Kiev on 26 May in the last game of the Premier League season.

• Shakhtar won the previous league match between the two clubs this season 1-0 in Donetsk on 16 November 2008, Willian firing the winner after 35 minutes.

Team information
• Dynamo coach Yuri Semin had prior experience of facing Ukrainian opposition in European club competition before last week’s first leg, his FC Lokomotiv Moskva side coming up against both Shakhtar and Dynamo in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League.

• Semin’s then team beat Shakhtar 3-1 at home after a 1-0 away reverse to reach the group stage, where they lost 2-0 at Dynamo before prevailing 3-2 in the return fixture.

• Lewandowski, Olexiy Gai and R?zvan Ra? started for Shakhtar in both legs of that first tie, with Darijo Srna introduced from the bench in each game and Lewandowski scoring in the second match.

• Maksim Shatskikh, Tiberiu Ghioane, Andriy Nesmachniy, Olexandr Shovkovskiy and Oleh Gusev all started for Dynamo in their first meeting with Lokomotiv in 2003/04, while Florin Cernat was brought on as a substitute and Milevskiy remained an unused replacement. When the teams came together in Russia, Shovkovskiy was again in goal, starting with goalscorer Shatskikh, Ghioane, Nesmachniy, Gusev and Goran Sablji?, while Badr El Kaddouri and Ayila Yussuf stayed on the bench.

• Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu came up against Dynamo during his time in charge of Be?ikta? JK in the third round of the UEFA Cup in 2002/03, winning the home leg 3-1 and drawing 0-0 away before exiting to S.S. Lazio at the quarter-final stage.

• Shatskikh, Ghioane, Nesmachniy all started the first leg of that tie, with Cernat coming on as a replacement and both Shovkovskiy and El Kaddouri unused substitutes. Shovkovskiy and El Kaddouri then started the return game, along with Shatskikh, Ghioane and Sablji?, Nesmachniy this time sitting out the contest on the bench.

• Dynamo midfielder Serhiy Kravchenko began his career with the Shakhtar youth and reserve teams, leaving the club in 2005. Similarly, Shakhtar stand-in goalkeeper Rustam Khudzhamov learnt the ropes at Dynamo without ever playing a league game for the first team. Shakhtar defender Volodymyr Yezerskiy made five Premier League appearances apiece in the 1998/99 and 1999/00 campaigns for Dynamo, both of which ended with the capital side winning the title.

• Legendary Soviet striker and Dynamo coach Valeriy Lobanovskiy ended his playing days at Shakhtar, where he stayed between 1967 and 1968. Another famous Dynamo name, Oleg Bazilevich, who worked as Lobanovskiy’s assistant during their triumphant UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup campaign in 1974/75, coached Shakhtar on two occasions, in 1972/73 and 1986. Former Dynamo forward Anatoliy Byshovets coached the Pitmen in 1998/99.

• Players often transferred between the two clubs in Soviet times – not least former Shakhtar players Anatoliy Konkov, who went on to win the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup with Dynamo in 1974/75, and Viktor Chanov, who lifted the same trophy with the Bilo-Syni in 1985/86. More recently, Shakhtar old boy Serhiy Rebrov turned out for Dynamo from 1992 to 2000 and then again from 2005 to 2008.

• Four current Dynamo players reached the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals with Ukraine: Shovkovskiy, Nesmachniy, Gusev and Milevskiy. Shakhtar also had four players in that squad: Yezerskiy, Bohdan Shust, Andriy Pyatov and Chygrynskiy.

• Dynamo players Taras Mikhalik, Milevskiy and Olexandr Aliyev were runners-up with Ukraine at the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Portugal alongside Shakhtar’s Pyatov, Mykola Ischenko and Chygrynskiy.

• Dynamo’s Ognjen Vukojevi? played for Croatia at UEFA EURO 2008™ with Shakhtar captain Srna. Dynamo defender Sablji? was not selected for the squad but made five appearances for Croatia between 2002 and 2006 and was Srna’s team-mate at HNK Hajduk Split from 1999 to 2003.

• Cernat of Dynamo and Shakhtar’s Ra? are Romanian internationals, having both made their debuts in 2002.

• Dynamo’s Carlos Corrêa was briefly a colleague of Shakhtar’s Ilsinho at Brazilian side SE Palmeiras in the first half of 2006. Likewise, Dynamo defender Betão was a team-mate of Shakhtar midfielder Willian at SC Corinthians Paulista between 2005 and 2007.

• Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko expressed her gratitude to Dynamo, Shakhtar and eliminated Metalist for their achievements after the three Premier League teams competed in the Round of 16, saying their success augured well for Ukraine’s co-hosting of UEFA EURO 2012™.

Route to semi-finals

• Ukrainian champions Shakhtar finished third in UEFA Champions League Group C to reach the UEFA Cup Round of 32, where they beat Tottenham Hotspur FC 2-0 at home before drawing the return leg 1-1 in London. They lost 1-0 at PFC CSKA Moskva in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie but progressed after a 2-0 home success. Like Dynamo, the Pitmen then faced French opposition in the quarter-finals, beating Olympique de Marseille 2-0 in Donetsk and 2-1 at the Stade Vélodrome.

• Shakhtar are the only team left in the UEFA Cup who qualified for Europe this season as domestic champions.

• Runners-up in the Ukrainian Premier League last season, Dynamo finished third in UEFA Champions League Group G to reach the UEFA Cup Round of 32. Having overcome Valencia CF on away goals to reach the Round of 16, drawing 1-1 in Ukraine and 2-2 in Spain, they then got the better of Metalist via the same method. That set up a last-eight tie with Paris Saint-Germain FC and, after drawing 0-0 in France, Semin’s men triumphed 3-0 at home.

• The winners of this tie will be the nominal home side in the final at the ?ükrü Saraco?lu Stadium in Istanbul on 20 May, where they will face either Werder Bremen or Hamburger SV.

Form book
Shakhtar: Making their first appearance in a UEFA Cup semi-final, the Pitmen have won their last four European home games with an aggregate score of 11-0.
Last five European games: LWWWD
Last five European home games: LWWWW
Top scorer (Europe): Jadson (6, including 4 in the UEFA Champions League group stage)
Last five league games: WLWWW
Last five home league games: WWWWW
Top scorer (Premier League): Fernandinho, Olexandr Gladkiy (5)
• Shakhtar have come away with a first-leg away draw on three occasions and gone on to win the tie on twice.

• That sole defeat was by Sevilla FC in a UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie when they could not defend a 2-2 away result going down 5-4 on aggregate.

• The only time they achieved a 1-1 result in an away opener was against FC Zimbru Chi?in?u in the preliminary round of the 1997/98 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, a tie they ran out 4-1 overall winners in after a 3-0 home victory.

Dynamo: In the last four of the UEFA Cup for the first time, Dynamo have won three out of their eight away games in Europe this season and scored in five.
Last five European games: WLDWD
Last five European away games: WLDLD
Top scorer (Europe): Artem Kravets (2), Milevskiy (2, including 1 in the UEFA Champions League group stage), Vukojevi? (2) & Ismaël Bangoura (2, including 1 in the UEFA Champions League group stage)
Last five league games: WWLWW
Last five away league games: WWWWW
Top scorer (Premier League): Bangoura and Aliyev (12)

• In all, Dynamo have drawn the opening home leg on 13 occasions in UEFA club competition and progressed further on just three occasions. However, the four times they drew 1-1 at home, they have gone on to win the tie twice.

• In the UEFA Cup Round of 32 earlier this season they went through on away goals after following a 1-1 draw against Valencia CF in Kiev with a 2-2 result in Spain. They also overcame Brøndby IF in the 1991/92 European Champion Clubs’ Cup with a 1-0 away win sealing a 2-1 aggregate success. Their losses came to PFC Levski Sofia in the 1980/81 UEFA Cup first round and against TSV Eintracht Braunschweig in the same stage of the 1977/78 edition of the competition.

Disciplinary information
Shakhtar: A booking for Olexandr Kucher in the first leg means he sits out the decider while Tomáš Hübschman, Fernandinho, Luiz Adriano and Srna are all within a booking of suspension.
Dynamo: Aliyev and Mikhalik are within a caution of one-match bans.

Penalty shoot-out record
Shakhtar: Shakhtar were beaten 4-1 on penalties away to Club Brugge KV following a 2-2 aggregate result in the third qualifying round of the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League. It is their only UEFA competition spot-kick decider thus far.

Dynamo: Dynamo won their only UEFA club competition shoot-out to date, beating AC Sparta Praha 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate result in the second qualifying round of the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League.

Shakhtar Donetsk Honours
• Domestic honours: 4 Ukrainian titles, 6 Ukrainian Cups, 4 USSR Cups Trivia

• Founded in 1936 as FC Stakhanovets, the Donbass side took on their current name in 1946. Shakhtar’s name literally means ‘Miner’. Their nicknames, Hirnyky (the Pitmen) and Kroty (the Moles), also refer to their colliery roots.

• Shakhtar won four USSR Cups in the days of the Soviet Union and twice finished second in the league, in 1975 and 1979. In the latter season, Vitaliy Starukhin scored 26 goals and was named the Soviet Union’s Player of the Year.

• Famous Shakhtar youth academy products include former Manchester United FC player Andrei Kanchelskis, one-time Russia captain Viktor Onopko and Rebrov, while Shakhtar old boy Konkov was a member of the USSR squad that came second at the 1972 UEFA European Championship.

Dynamo Kyiv Honours
• UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: 1974/75, 1985/86
• UEFA Super Cup: 1975
• Domestic honours: 12 Ukrainian titles, 9 Ukrainian Cups, 13 Soviet titles, 9 USSR Cups Trivia

• Founded in 1927, the club were a thorn in the side of the big Moscow teams during the Soviet era, winning a record 13 titles. Since independence they have dominated Ukrainian football, winning 12 titles and nine Ukrainian Cups.

• Two Dynamo players won the Ballon d’Or while at the club – Oleh Blokhin in 1975 and Igor Belanov in 1986. A third, Andriy Shevchenko, took the title in 2004, having left for AC Milan in 1999.

• A winger for Dynamo in the 1950s and 1960s, coach Lobanovskiy led Dynamo to their landmark European successes and guided the Soviet Union to a runners-up finish at the 1988 UEFA European Championship. Following his death in 2002, Dynamo renamed their home stadium in his honour and erected a statue to his memory outside.

With Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf’s 48th birthday falling on the day his side take on rivals Hamburger SV in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semi-final at the Weserstadion, there are no prizes for guessing how he would like to celebrate.

‘Big emotions’
Having already won their German Cup semi-final against HSV last week, the first of four meetings between the two teams in the space of 19 days, the intention is to carry that momentum on to the European stage. “My wish is that we play well, control the match and that the supporters get behind us,” Schaaf said ahead of the seventh all-German semi-final in the competition. “I hope we can keep up the good run we’ve had in the UEFA Cup. It’s an all-German semi-final which means big emotions for the supporters. Both teams know how important this derby match is.”

Tenth anniversary
Though the skies over Bremen are grey, the mood in both camps was bright as the northern cities count down the minutes to the second instalment of this four-part drama which concludes three days after the second leg in the Bundesliga. For Schaaf the significant dates are coming thick and fast. He celebrates his tenth anniversary as Bremen coach on 9 May and what better way to mark the occasion than by taking Bremen to the final in Istanbul against either FC Dynamo Kyiv or FC Shakhtar Donetsk. “That would be great, but being here ten years doesn’t matter, what’s important is to get this team to the final,” he said. “To do that we have to work very hard and play well in both games.”

Morale high
Bremen have lost at this stage three times before and the tie represents the chance to salvage a disappointing season. Mid-table in the Bundesliga, their German Cup win on penalties over Hamburg raised morale which was further boosted by a 3-2 victory over VfL Bochum 1848 on Saturday. Hamburg have been enjoying a terrific season in the league and are only three points off the summit. Their cup exit, however, was followed by defeat at BV Borussia Dortmund and coach Martin Jol knows his side must quickly regain momentum.

Good teams
“We’re happy to be in the semi-final,” he said. “It’s very good for the club and the players want to get to the final, but we haven’t won anything yet. It’s normally an advantage if you play your first game away, but we have to see if it turns out to be better for us. I think the chances are 50-50. They are both good teams and both have a good chance to advance.”

Barren run
Jol will be without injured striker Mladen Petri? and defender Marcell Jansen, but welcomes back Alex Silva. Bremen are missing defender Petri Pasanen though midfielder Frank Baumann is expected to be fit. Hamburg, beaten finalists in 1982, have not got this far in European competition since winning the European Champion Clubs’ Cup in 1983, a barren run Jol is determined to end. As for Schaaf’s birthday, the Dutchman insisted his generosity would not be stretched too far. “What do you want to hear, that I’m going to give him a trip Istanbul?” The joking ends on Thursday.

Mathijsen calls on Hamburg to bounce back
Defender Joris Mathijsen believes Hamburger SV’s German Cup defeat at the hands of local rivals Werder Bremen will serve as added motivation ahead of their UEFA Cup semi-final first leg at the Weserstadion on Thursday.

Motivation
Hamburg were knocked out on penalties in the semi-finals of the German Cup, the first match in a sequence of four meetings between the Hanseatic rivals in 19 days. Mathijsen, though, is expecting a positive reaction from his side in round two. “We lost the cup game last week and now we are extra motivated for the match tomorrow,” said the 29-year-old.

‘Good chance’
The UEFA Cup ties come in the thick of the Bundesliga race as Hamburg, three points off the top, chase their first title since 1983 and Mathijsen called on his side to ensure an excellent season ends on a high. “A lot of the younger players think these kind of chances come often, but when you are older you realise that it might only come once and I try to explain this to them. The fact is we want this title. A chance like this might not come again.”

Mertesacker confident
It is the 27th all-German UEFA Cup tie and both sides have met domestic opposition in this competition before. Bremen indeed have lost at this stage to German rivals, falling in the last four in 1987/88 to Bayer 04 Leverkusen who also knocked out Hamburg, finalists in 1982, in the last 16 last season. Bremen have reached the UEFA Cup semi-final on three previous occasions without reaching a final, but defender Per Mertesacker is confident this time they are ready to go one step further.

Second step
“It has not been a great season for us and it is not enough to be in tenth place, but I hope we can take motivation from the German Cup and maybe win the UEFA Cup,” he said. Bremen seem to have the momentum in their favour having followed up that victory in Hamburg last Wednesday with a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory over VfL Bochum 1848 on Saturday. “It was important for us to take the first step in the German Cup, but it is up to us now to take the second step in the UEFA Cup,” Mertesacker added. “This second match will be important for us but we have to take it game by game and then we will see. The players on each team know each other and it will be very interesting.”

Focus
Seven Bremen players are within one booking of a one-match and three from Hamburg, but Mertesacker does not believe it will affect the way they approach Thursday’s game. “I don’t think about that and the other players won’t either because we have to play with focus,” he said.

Yuri Semin was quietly confident as he looked ahead to FC Dynamo Kyiv’s UEFA Cup semi-final meeting with domestic rivals FC Shakhtar Donetsk as expectations mount in Ukraine – but it will not stop him making his usual pre-match pilgrimage to request a little extra help.

National importance
Such is the heightened interest in this match that thousands turned up when tickets were made available a fortnight ago, the game selling out within two hours. There is a buzz about Ukrainian football not witnessed, according to local commentators, since Valeriy Lobanovskiy guided a Dynamo team spearheaded by Andriy Shevchenko to the 1999 UEFA Champions League semi-finals. “There is huge expectation around the country,” said Semin ahead of what will be the Bilo-Syni’s sixth last-four tie in European competition, Shakhtar’s first. “It’s creating a big clamour. We’re at a serious level now.”

Dynamo advantage
The smart money is on Dynamo. Sunday’s 1-0 victory against FC Kharkiv extended their winning run at home in domestic competition to 12 games, and left them 12 points clear of second-placed Shakhtar at the Premier League summit with just five fixtures to go. Roman Eremenko missed the Kharkiv match, and while Semin said he will be available to face Shakhtar, Guilherme’s hopes of a timely UEFA Cup debut have been ruined by a thigh injury. The tactician was less eager to discuss what he does have to hand, however. “I’m not going to talk about our strong points; I want them to be a surprise. That said, both teams know each other so well,” said the 61-year-old Russian. “I expect a tough, proper game and we must remain cool, clear our heads.”

Solace
To gain lucidity himself, Semin will make his usual trip to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery to pray, even if history suggests his side will not need too much outside assistance. They have traditionally enjoyed the upper hand against Shakhtar, especially at home, though they do not need reminding that one of their three league defeats this season came away to the Pitmen in November. Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu believes that meeting, not the sizeable gulf in points accrued, paints a more accurate picture of the levels the teams are at. “Dynamo’s advantage is misleading,” he said. “This tie will show the real difference.

Lucescu lift
“The match will be extraordinary for Ukraine and the whole of Europe will be watching so it’s vital for both clubs. We will try to demonstrate the kind of football the UEFA Cup semi-finals deserve,” continued the Romanian who, while free of injury concerns, admits he will have to “bear in mind” the five players a yellow card away from a ban. The Ukrainian titleholders claimed a fifth successive victory in all competitions against FC Chornomorets Odesa at the weekend, and with his son, R?zvan, appointed Romania coach on Wednesday, Lucescu has much to celebrate. He hopes for more after next week’s second leg, the second of four meetings with Dynamo inside a month, but also has nobler ambitions: “I hope we produce a tie that would befit the Champions League. By the end of it I’d like to see both sets of players shake hands and be happy for each other.”

Srna sets Shakhtar’s defensive foundations
With “a new chapter in the history of Ukrainian football being written before our eyes”, FC Shakhtar Donetsk’s ever-dependable captain Darijo Srna has warned his team-mates that now is not the time to lose their footing.

Tension and commitment
Before this season no Ukrainian team had ventured as far as the UEFA Cup quarter-finals but, in its final edition before making way for the UEFA Europe League, they seem intent on making up for lost time. While FC Dynamo Kyiv saw to FC Metalist Kharkiv in the last 16, the Bilo-Syni and Shakhtar have marched on, and as they prepare to meet in the semi-finals, the former Soviet state is guaranteed representation at May’s Istanbul showpiece. “These Ukrainian derbies are always special but this time it’s even more so as it’s the UEFA Cup semi-finals,” said Srna. “The tension and commitment will be even bigger than the national championship.”

Defensive aim
Only last summer, with reported interest from Liverpool FC, Srna underlined his own commitment to the cause in Ukraine, adding that he wanted “to win something great with Shakhtar”. He may not have to wait long, though Dynamo provide formidable opposition. Almost home and dry in their attempt to regain a Premier League trophy which has resided in Donetsk for three of the past four years, the Kiev team have been irresistible at times this term, with an obvious strength: they have scored 61 league goals; Shakhtar are joint-second with 38. “My main wish for the game [in Kiev] is for Shakhtar to score and not concede. We must not concede,” Srna stressed. “We really like attacking but we’re also strong at the back, and don’t concede much – we must ensure Dynamo’s strikers don’t get a sniff.”

Lucescu praise
Even by the high standards Srna has set since arriving in Ukraine from HNK Hajduk Split as a marauding wing-back in 2003, this season has been one to remember. The 26-year-old, whose surname means ‘deer’ in his native Croatia, has been one of the main beneficiaries of coach Mircea Lucescu’s decision to reduce squad rotation, finding a level of consistency that makes any retraction of the ploy almost impossible. “Once I was deliberating whether to include him and Srna told me, in no uncertain terms, he wanted to play,” admitted Lucescu. “His presence on the pitch unites the team. He’s a real captain.” Indeed, like a real captain he did not abandon his ship last summer; he may soon have his reward.

Sabli? focused on task at hand
While a place in the UEFA Cup final means the stakes are high in his side’s last-four tie with FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Goran Sabli? insisted FC Dynamo Kyiv need to approach it as they will the league and Ukrainian Cup games that swiftly follow.

Dual dominance
Dynamo and Shakhtar hold something of a duopoly in Ukraine. Although SC Tavriya Simferopol claimed the inaugural league title in 1992, the trophy has been under lock and key in either Kiev or Donetsk ever since. The pair have formed the top two – as they do with five games remaining this term – for the last 12 years yet Sabli? dismissed the notion that a European meeting with provide a different proposition. “Shakhtar are still Shakhtar, regardless of where we play them,” said the central defender. “It does not matter if it is the league, the [Ukrainian] Cup or UEFA Cup they are the same team.”

‘Golden Match’
Not that the two sides’ familiarity detracts from the European tie, with little to split the teams, and while the capital club have the edge in terms of head-to-head encounters and silverware, the Pitmen have held sway over the past few seasons. Indeed, the arguments among fans flow one way and then the other. Dynamo are 12 points clear in the league this term but they lost away to Shakhtar in November and they will want no reminding of the so-called ‘Golden Match’ between the pair at the end of the 2005/06 campaign after the sides finished level at the summit, an extra-time Julius Aghahowa goal sealing a 2-1 victory – and the title – for Shakhtar.

Rewards
“We are determined to play at our best, to prove our worth,” said the 29-year-old Sabli?, who is making up for lost time at Dynamo having spent last term on loan at HNK Hajduk Split, his side still in the running for three trophies. Dynamo need four points from the last five league games to secure the championship, with their last match against Shakhtar, their Ukrainian Cup semi-final opponents. “This is the UEFA Cup semi-finals; it’s very important and the rewards are high. Crucially, we are playing at home first up and it will be important that we win on the night, but if not, we must not concede.

Despite their 3-1 first-leg defeat, Pasquale Marino is confident “the rage still burning within” his players will help Udinese Calcio claw back the deficit and steer them into a first ever major European semi-final at the expense of Werder Bremen.

German setback
The Serie A side, and Fabio Quagliarella in particular, were punished for their profligacy at the Weserstadion last week and a goal in each half from Diego plus Hugo Almeida’s effort seemed to have left them dead and buried. Quagliarella made some amends when he hit back three minutes from time to offer his side a lifeline which they hope to grasp at the Stadio Friuli. “We must have the same approach as the first leg,” said Marino. “To create as many chances as we did isn’t easy in Europe, but we managed it. The speed of our players caused [Bremen] untold problems and we must do that again; we must keep forcing their defence out of shape but be careful not to leave ourselves exposed at the back.”

Good habit
Udinese have made their own ground a fortress in the UEFA Cup this season, winning their last four home games including the 2-0 victory against FC Zenit St. Petersburg in the last 16 that ultimately eliminated the holders. A repeat of that scoreline would be enough to take the Zebrette through to the semi-finals and they returned to winning ways at the weekend, even if they did need two late Antonio Floro Flores strikes before earning the points at nine-man Reggina Calcio, the side bottom of the domestic standings.

‘Inner rage’
“When they came off the pitch last week their reaction pleased me,” said Marino. “They were still burning with rage at the injustice of the result and with the desire to put it right. This desire to make amends and to achieve the result their performance deserved is still burning within and if they use that in the right way we will get the right result.”

‘Quagliarella quality’
That outcome will have to be accomplished without Italian international striker Antonio Di Natale (knee), defenders Andrea Coda (groin) and Damiano Ferronetti (knee) and midfielder Fernando Tissone (thigh). Yet Marino is confident Quagliarella, who already boasts six UEFA Cup goals this term, can add to his tally on home soil. “Quagliarella gave us hope with his late goal. He always comes up trumps when the going gets tough. He missed chances but to get in those scoring positions at this level is testament to his quality.”

Diego concern
Bremen, meanwhile, owe much of their European progress, including defeat of AC Milan in the Round of 32, to influential playmaker Diego. However, the Brazilian (thigh), like Daniel Jensen (achilles), is a major doubt for the second leg, the pair having sat out Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Bayer 04 Leverkusen as Claudio Pizarro’s 16th Bundesliga goal of the season earned the visitors a point. “With or without [Diego] we can’t afford to gift as many chances as we did last week,” said coach Thomas Schaaf. “Udinese have fast, technically good and very brave players that can cause problems we will have to stop at source.”

Felipe stresses the need for Udinese restraint
Udinese Calcio captain Felipe has urged his side against throwing caution to the wind as they look to reel in Werder Bremen’s two-goal lead in the UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg. “If we stay calm the goals will come naturally,” he said.

Frustration
Like his team-mates, Felipe was frustrated by the number of chances Udinese squandered in the 3-1 defeat in Germany last week, but, with his side having won their last four home UEFA Cup matches, the central defender is confident of staging a comeback. “It was a relief that we scored our goal at the end of the match,” he said. “We knew that coming back from 3-0 down would have been almost mission impossible. It’s a shame we missed so many chances but we got one which was crucial and now we have something to build on.”

Measured approach
At 24, Felipe is a young skipper but his composed style, speed of movement and ability to read the game make him mature beyond his years. The Brazilian’s advice is to not panic and attempt to ease back into the tie slowly but surely. “We need to be careful not to throw too many players forward,” he said. “We must attack but we have to do it in an organised way. If we’re 1-0 up with only minutes left that’s fine because the second goal can come right at the end if necessary. If we play the way we know then the goals will come naturally. We need to stay calm and play our way and then we’ll be fine.”

Survivor
Along with Christian Obodo, Felipe is the sole survivor of the Udinese XI that faced Bremen here in the UEFA
Champions League three seasons ago. The Brazilian defender was unfortunate to score an own goal in the group game, which resulted in a 1-1 draw, and he believes that this Bremen side is stronger than the 2005/06 vintage. “This Werder team is stronger than the one we faced three years ago. The other one certainly wasn’t too bad. They had Miroslav Klose at the time and he is a class act. But this side has more quality in depth. Their midfield is very good indeed.”

Diego threat
And so is their playmaker Diego, who is the subject of considerable transfer speculation in Italy, but who is struggling to recover from a thigh strain. “I know Diego well because I played alongside him for the Brazil Under-17 side. I think he’s definitely good enough to play in the Selecão and he would fit in well in Italian football too. He is strong, has great technique, two good feet and an incredible shot. He’s got everything really. He’s the complete player, so obviously I hope he doesn’t play tomorrow. If he does we’ll just have to make sure [Gaetano] D’Agostino keeps an eye on him.”

Erik Gerets is expecting “the most complicated game of the season” when his Olympique de Marseille side welcome FC Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday, the French club hoping to steer a course to the UEFA Cup semi-finals despite having their vessel seriously holed in Ukraine last week.

First-leg deficit
Shakhtar arrive in the Mediterranean port city boasting a 2-0 lead from the first leg and threatening to jettison their opponents from the UEFA Cup last eight for the first time in their history. That may strike some as the kind of nail-biting situation usually tailor-made for OM, who reached this far courtesy of a penalty shoot-out triumph and an extra-time winner in their previous two rounds, but Gerets is extremely wary of the task ahead. “This risks being the most complicated game of the season,” he said. “Everyone will have to transcend their usual level by ten or 15 per cent to have any chance of going through.”

Fitness doubts
The home side’s prospects could well depend on the fitness of Benoît Cheyrou and Boudewijn Zenden, who are suffering from ankle and thigh complaints respectively. Midfielder Karim Ziani (thigh) and centre-back Julien Rodriguez (ankle) are definitely sidelined, however. “To some extent, I’ll have to grant more freedom to the forwards than usual,” added Gerets. “We mustn’t forget that Shakhtar are a dangerous side with players capable of making the difference on the counter, but the issue will be finding the right balance.”

Fan contribution
At least confidence ought to be soaring, after the Stade Vélodrome side rose to the Ligue 1 summit on Sunday courtesy of a 4-1 home win over Grenoble Foot 38, their seventh domestic success in nine outings. Les Minots are chasing their first league crown since 1991/92, but Gerets urged supporters to momentarily put the French title race to one side. “As always, we’re lucky enough we have such great fans,” he explained. “We have to try to take advantage of that. We hope to thrill the crowd, so I hope they come to encourage us.”

Last-four opponents
The supporters may also be secretly praying eternal rivals Paris Saint-Germain FC prevail at FC Dynamo Kyiv to open the door to a mouthwatering last-four showdown, but Shakhtar have just as much invested in reaching their first European semi-final and a potential all-Ukrainian affair. A daunting 15 points behind Premier League leaders Dynamo despite Sunday’s 3-0 victory over FC Arsenal Kyiv, Mircea Lucescu’s men know the UEFA Cup offers a magnificent chance to restore pride – not that their Romanian trainer is looking further forward than the second leg.

‘Difficult game’
“I know we’re 2-0 up but it’s going to be a difficult game, like all European games are,” said the 63-year-old, who looks set to replace suspended centre-back Mykola Ischenko with Olexandr Kucher, while Igor Duljaj has recovered from a hamstring injury. “We need to start well and stay concentrated because we’re up against a good team, the French league leaders, and there’ll be pride at stake. That’s why I wish we’d scored more goals at home. We’ll try to play how we did there and hopefully get the same outcome.”

Niang demands final push from upbeat OM
As one of the few survivors from Olympique de Marseille’s only successful comeback from a two-goal first-leg deficit in Europe, Mamadou Niang has urged his colleagues to “let themselves go” when they attempt to reach the UEFA Cup semi-finals at FC Shakhtar Donetsk’s expense on Thursday.

Deportivo memories
Marseille suffered a 2-0 loss at the RSC Olympiyskiy Stadium last week that put a major dent in their chances of lifting this year’s trophy but their Senegalese striker remembers suffering a similar setback at RC Deportivo La Coruña in the opening instalment of the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup final. Instead of bowing out meekly, the Mediterranean outfit responded with a stunning 5-1 victory at the Stade Vélodrome, Niang adding one of the goals on a memorable night.

Shock possible
“This game will be totally different because it’s a UEFA Cup quarter-final but if I had any advice it would be to go into it without overanalysing,” he said. “The players need to let themselves go and not worry about what might happen. We can’t afford to concede, but we need to give everything. A shock is possible as long as we have a perfect attitude and really commit ourselves physically.”

Marseille motivation
No player in Marseille’s history has contested more matches in Europe for the club than Niang, who shares that distinction with current left-back Taye Taiwo, and he warned Shakhtar that OM have made it their mission to progress further in the competition. “We’re super-motivated,” he explained. “We know it won’t be easy because Shakhtar are a very good team, as we saw in the first leg, but we have confidence in ourselves and our chances. We’ll give everything in this match.”

First-leg lessons
Despite the scoreline, they gave a fairly decent account of themselves in the Ukraine too, Niang driving a shot against the post when the scores were still level and the team creating a number of other chances. Because of that, Erik Gerets’s men believe they have yet to have their final say in this tie. “We could have done better considering the level of our performance,” said Niang. “When we really started going at them, we were able to cause them a lot of trouble. It’s just a shame we weren’t able to get at least one goal and we want to make up for that.”

League demands
The new Ligue 1 leaders are unlikely to be distracted by their exalted domestic status either. OM leapt ahead of Olympique Lyonnais with a 4-1 home win over Grenoble Foot 38 at the weekend but, according to Niang, there is no question of them choosing one piece of silverware over another. “We want to go all the way [in the UEFA Cup],” stated the 29-year-old. “We won’t be calculating. We’ll do everything we can in this match and then we’ll have plenty of time to recover for Lorient [on Sunday]. We want to win every game because we hate losing. We have no preference and it’s the end of the season, so it’s not an issue.”

Having held Paris Saint-Germain FC to a goalless draw in France last week, FC Dynamo Kyiv coach Yuri Semin says his well-rested side “are capable of accomplishing even the hardest of missions” in order to book a UEFA Cup semi-final spot.

Defensive understudies
Dynamo are 90 minutes away from the last four and have the edge in the tie after coming away from the Parc des Princes with a hard-earned 0-0 draw. “I don’t agree that we were outplayed in France,” said Semin. “We have to improve on the attacking front as we played poorly going forward, yet we defended well.” Their back line stood firm under, at times significant, pressure despite being shorn of Taras Mikhalik and Pape Diakhate due to knee injuries, and Goran Sablji? and Ayila Yussuf will once again deputise at a sold-out Valeri Lobanovskiy Stadium.

Vital rest
Semin admits that striker Artem Kravets is unlikely to play on Thursday even though he has recovered from a hamstring injury, but the coach certainly has other options. With Dynamo 15 point clear of possible UEFA Cup semi-final opponents FC Shakhtar Donetsk at the Ukrainian Premier League summit, the 61-year-old was afforded the luxury of selecting a weakened side for Sunday’s home game against FC Chornomorets Odesa. Olexandr Shovkovskiy replaced Stanislav Bogush in goal, as Sablji?, Carlos Corrêa, Betão, Roman Eremenko and Badr El Kaddouri were all rested – Dynamo nevertheless won 3-1. “I had to rest some of the lads as it’s a hectic period,” said Semin. “Everyone who played in Paris has recovered; now we just have to put on a good performance.”

Luyindula ready
PSG are also vying for domestic honours but, five points off the pace in Ligue 1, counterpart Paul Le Guen could not afford to take the foot of the pedal at LOSC Lille Métropole on Sunday. The decision to leave Péguy Luyindula, the French side’s top scorer in the UEFA Cup with six goals, on the bench was perhaps the only indication of interests elsewhere. “Luyindula is in good condition though he has played a lot recently so I decided to give him a little rest,” said Le Guen, who introduced the striker midway through the second half, although he could not conjure the breakthrough in a 0-0 draw. Having been rested at home to Dynamo, Ludovic Giuly and Claude Makelele both started, and the experienced duo are expected to remain in the side in Kiev.

PSG goal
PSG will be without Mateja Kežman, who has remained in France due to an achilles problem, and though Le Guen has been boosted by the return of left-back Sylvain Armand following his recent knee injury, the coach is not underestimating the size of the task at hand. “I am sure it will be harder for us here than a week ago,” he said. “We have to score a goal at all costs or Dynamo will go through. A match with a lot of goals is always good for the fans, but I doubt we’ll see many goals on Thursday.”

Forward thinking the key for Ninkovi?
FC Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Miloš Ninkovi? is confident his side will get the better of Paris Saint-Germain FC and reach the UEFA Cup semi-finals providing they show more attacking intent than in the goalless draw at the Parc des Princes last Thursday.

Even chances
The hosts created most of the scoring chances in Paris and the 24-year-old Ninkovi? agreed that PSG had the edge over the first 90 minutes. “We didn’t show how we can play in the French capital, we defended for almost the full game, and that wasn’t the plan [coach] Yuri Semin had given us,” he told uefa.com. “Had we played to our potential there, our chances of getting through to the semi-final would have been bigger. Now they are 50-50.”

‘Tough match’
PSG midfielders Ludovic Giuly and Claude Makelele were rested for the first leg and their return would strengthen the French side’s hand at the Valeri Lobanovskiy Stadium in Kiev. Ninkovi?, though, is focused only on what Dynamo must do to advance. “They are a very strong side with a group of classy players,” he said. “In addition, Giuly and Makelele will probably play this time. It is going to be a very tough match for us. Giuly and Makelele are experienced players of a very high class, and our life would be easier if they stayed on the bench again, but the most important thing for us is to concentrate on our own game and play in the best possible way.”

Weakest link
Ninkovi? is now in his fifth season with Dynamo who he joined from FK ?ukari?ki in 2004. Twice called up by Serbia but yet to be capped, he is calling for patience ahead of Thursday’s decider. “We hope to be fortunate up front, but we must not forget about our defence. It is vital to keep a clean sheet in Kiev, because if we let in a goal, our situation will become really difficult. I don’t think our opponents have any real weaknesses. Their usual tactic is to send long balls to their powerful striker Guillaume Hoarau. That said, PSG’s defensive line, in my opinion, is inferior to their midfield and strikers so if we attack in the proper way, everything will be fine.”

Shakhtar target
The winner of this tie will meet either FC Shakhtar Donetsk or Olympique de Marseille in the semi-finals, and though Ninkovi? insists he is not looking that far ahead, there is no disguising who he would most like to meet. “We aren’t thinking about the semi-finals now, because we have to beat PSG first. If we do, I would prefer Shakhtar. Our teams know each other very well, so there can’t be any surprises. The fans would see two hard-fought games, and it would be a great occasion for the whole of Ukraine.”

While Mark Hughes works hard to manage expectations and a certain Brazilian superstar at Manchester City FC, a potential trophy-winning team could emerge at the City of Manchester Stadium on Thursday should Hamburger SV coach Martin Jol get his wish.

Work to do
The feeling among German observers is that Jol’s side should end Hamburg’s 22-year wait for a trophy this season, but whether they can overcome the latest test to their defensive and mental strength – presented by Hughes’s men – remains a moot point. Hamburg, three points off the Bundesliga summit and facing a German Cup semi-final next week, arguably have one foot in the last four of the UEFA Cup already. However, the first-minute goal scored by City’s Stephen Ireland in last week’s quarter-final first leg makes the two-goal cushion they eventually secured less than comfortable.

Caution
“We have a two-goal advantage but three would be better,” said Jol, who had a good record against City as Tottenham Hotspur FC manager. “My experience of playing English teams is that it is good [for Hamburg] to score tomorrow. If City score early, that changes the whole dynamic.” Hughes said this week that City’s own attempts to win silverware – something they have not done since 1976 – could take “another couple of seasons”. Hamburg’s emphatic response to Ireland’s strike – goals from Joris Mathijsen, Piotr Trochowski and José Paolo Guerrero – supported that view, yet Jol accepts that City could be a different proposition in front of 47,000 fans in north-west England.

Going for broke
“At home they are very strong, away from home less strong, and we took advantage of that,” he said. “It is a big task to win here, but it will be unbelievably good for us if we get through.” Hamburg triumphed at Galatasaray A? in the last round, their fifth successive away victory of this UEFA Cup run, but will anticipate less than accommodating hosts here. Ignore City’s 3-1 defeat by visitors Fulham FC on Sunday, because since coming through UEFA Cup qualifying they have registered four home victories and a draw in this competition. The likelihood is they will go for broke against HSV, with Hughes expected to risk the “doubtful” Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta. The last two should provide defensive cover in midfield, allowing Robinho – rested from the starting lineup against Fulham – Wright-Phillips and Ireland creative freedom.

‘Opportunity’
“There is a strong possibility Robinho will start,” Hughes said of the player who dominated much of his pre-match news conference. Upping the ante, Hughes described the game as “the biggest so far of our season – an opportunity to get into the semi-final of a major European competition. We’d love to be part of a team that brought a trophy to Man City who, over the years, have struggled to put trophies on the sideboard.” Jol hopes Hamburg “have the resources” to do likewise. The side rated by Hughes as “one of the best in Germany” fell 1-0 at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday and are without defender Collin Benjamin and anchorman Guy Demel for this encounter. Yet City may have to match them physically and mentally if they are to prosper.

Onuoha backing City to last the pace
Manchester City FC defender Nedum Onuoha is confident his team have the legs to outlast Hamburger SV in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, even though their European adventure began fully nine months ago.

Long road
City kicked off their campaign, as beneficiaries of the UEFA Fair Play competition, in the first qualifying round on 17 July, yet according to centre-back Onuoha they are far from running out of steam. The 22-year-old believes the Premier League side can summon the necessary energy to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Bundesliga heavyweights Hamburger SV and reach the semi-finals.

Keeping fresh
“Some of our lads have played since the second week in July, but with the conditioning team we have at the club, we are ready to play the next game and give everything we have,” said City academy product Onuoha. Indeed, with the blue side of Manchester having come through five knockout ties so far, in addition to winning their section in the group stage, Onuoha is determined to drag out this continental journey until the not-so-bitter end – the final in Istanbul on 20 May.

Belief
“I am just enjoying every game,” said the Nigerian-born England Under-21 international, who has played 78 top-flight matches for City. “With the squad we have, we are very ambitious and also very confident people as well. At home, all the players fancy themselves and believe that they will get a result, whatever the opposition.”

Tough examination
Mark Hughes’s men found out to their cost last Thursday the strength of opponents Hamburg, with the German title challengers providing an arguably sterner test than City’s previous knockout rivals – Danish clubs Aalborg BK, FC København and FC Midtjylland, Cyprus’s AC Omonia and EB/Streymur of the Faroe Islands. However, Onuoha expects a much improved second-leg performance from a home side still with a foothold in the contest thanks to Stephen Ireland’s away goal.

‘Concentrate’
“They are quite a big team and this time we have to match them both physically and in one-on-one situations. We have to concentrate,” he said. Sunday’s 3-1 home defeat by Fulham FC in the league gave mid-table City further cause to refocus on a tie which, if won, will give new meaning to their season. “The weekend result came down to personal mistakes from some of our players and you can’t really legislate for that. But there is so much potential here it is incredible.”

Hamburger SV are preparing to feel the full force of Galatasaray A?’s fearsome home support when the two teams meet in Istanbul, with their UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie delicately poised at 1-1.

• Ayhan Akman gave Galatasaray the lead in Hamburg, but Marcell Jansen replied after the break, with the visitors playing much of the second half with ten men following Emre A??k’s dismissal for a professional foul.
• The first leg was Hamburg and Galatasaray’s first meeting in UEFA club competition.
• Hamburg have now played four games against Turkish sides in Europe, with the first three in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Their record in those games reads P4 W2 D2 L0. Their only previous match in Turkey ended in a 2-2 draw at Trabzonspor in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup.
• Having won 1-0 at Hertha BSC Berlin in the group stage – with the attendance swelled by members of the German capital’s Turkish community – Galatasaray’s record against Bundesliga opponents now reads P23 W6 D11 L6. Their record at home against German sides reads P10 W2 D7 L1, with that sole defeat a 1-0 loss against BV Borussia Dortmund in the 1997/98 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Prior to the first leg, Hamburg coach Martin Jol had only been involved in one game against a Turkish club, when his Tottenham Hotspur FC side triumphed 2-0 at Be?ikta? JK in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage.
• Galatasaray have plenty of connections to Germany, with two Germans having been in charge of first-team affairs in the past 12 months: Karl-Heinz Feldkamp, who remains at the club in an advisory role, and Michael Skibbe, who was replaced by Bülent Korkmaz on 23 February 2009.
• No fewer than seven Galatasaray players were born in Germany:
– Serkan Çalik was born in Dinslaken and started his career with SC Rot-Weiss Essen.
– German Under-21 international Bar?? Özbek was born in Castrop-Rauxel and also started his career with Rot-Weiss Essen.
– Aykut Erçetin was born in Goppingen and began with VfB Stuttgart.
– Alparslan Erdem was born in Vechta and started his career with Werder Bremen.
– Volkan Yaman was born in Munich and started his career with TSV 1860 München.
– Hakan Balta was born in Berlin and started his career with Hertha.
– Ümit Karan was also born in Berlin and started his career with local Turkish side Türkiyemspor Berlin.
• The current Hamburg side also has Turkish connections, with their 18-year-old striker Tunay Torun having turned down an approach to play for Germany’s Under-19 side in favour of Turkey’s, despite having been born in Hamburg.
• Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost and Galatasaray playmaker Lincoln were team-mates at FC Schalke 04 from 2004 to 2007.
• Hamburg defender Michael Gravgaard and Galatasaray midfielder Tobias Linderoth were team-mates at FC
København from 2005 to 2007. Linderoth played in the København side that lost 2-1 on aggregate to Hamburg in the first round of the 2005/06 UEFA Cup.
• Former Be?ikta? and Fenerbahçe SK goalkeeper Özcan Arkoç also provides a strong connection between Hamburg and Turkey. Now 69, he played for Hamburg from 1967 to 1975 and later became the club’s assistant coach – helping Kuno Klötzer’s side win the 1976/77 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup – before taking sole command from 1977 to 1978.
• Hamburg’s Ivica Oli? and Mladen Petri? played in the Croatia team that lost out to a Turkey side featuring Galatasaray’s Emre A??k, Mehmet Topal, Hakan Balta, Sabri Sar?o?lu and Arda Turan on penalties in the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals. The teams drew 1-1 in Vienna, with Turkey winning 3-1 on penalties. Petri? had his spot-kick saved by Rüstü Reçber.
• Galatasaray’s Mehmet Topal, Hakan Balta, Ayhan Akman and Sabri were also members of the Turkey side that lost 3-2 to a Germany team featuring Hamburg’s Jansen in the semi-finals of the same competition. Jansen also played in Germany’s 2-1 friendly defeat by Turkey in October 2005.
• Jansen likewise featured in the Germany team that won 2-1 away to the Czech Republic in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying, with Galatasaray’s Milan Baroš on the scoresheet for the hosts. Baroš was also on target as the Czechs beat Germany 2-1 at UEFA EURO 2004™ to knock them out of the competition at the group stage.
• Hamburg’s Petri? and Galatasaray’s Shabani Nonda have met in two previous European ties. Nonda’s Blackburn
Rovers FC beat Petri?’s FC Basel 1893 3-0 in a 2006/07 UEFA Cup group-stage game and both players scored once as Nonda’s AS Roma overcame Petri?’s Basel 3-1 at the same phase of the previous season’s competition.
• Last season, Galatasaray were knocked out of the UEFA Cup Round of 32 by German opposition, losing 5-1 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen after drawing the home leg 0-0.
• Galatasaray are one of four sides left in the UEFA Cup who qualified for 2008/09 European competition as domestic league champions, the others being Aalborg BK (Denmark), FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) and FC Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia).
• Galatasaray are also one of four clubs still in the competition to have won the UEFA Cup along with AFC Ajax (1991/92), PFC CSKA Moskva (2004/05) and Zenit (2007/08).
• Hamburg have lost only once in nine European games this season, 1-0 at home against Ajax in the UEFA Cup group stage.
• They have lost just once in their last eleven European away games, 1-0 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in last season’s Round of 16, and have won all of their away games in the UEFA Cup this season, scoring at least twice in each.
• Galatasaray are unbeaten in their last four UEFA club competition games since losing 1-0 at home against FC Metalist Kharkiv in the group stage.
• The Turkish champions have lost just once in their last seven European home games, 1-0 against Metalist in this season’s UEFA Cup group stage.
• Six-goal Oli? is Hamburg’s most dangerous marksman in Europe this season, though team-mate Petri? is snapping at his heels on five goals.
• Baroš is Galatasaray’s top European goalscorer this season with four efforts, while team-mate Harry Kewell has scored three.
• Korkmaz is the only coach left in the competition to have won the UEFA Cup as a player, triumphing with his current side in the 1999/00 edition.
• Hamburg, fourth in the Bundesliga in 2007/08, topped UEFA Cup Group F and beat NEC Nijmegen comfortably in the Round of 32, winning 3-0 in the Netherlands and 1-0 at home.
• Galatasaray, for their part, came second in UEFA Cup Group B and beat FC Girondins de Bordeaux in dramatic style in the Round of 32, drawing 0-0 in France before prevailing 4-3 in Istanbul thanks to Sabri’s late winner in Korkmaz’s first game in charge.
• Galatasaray’s only UEFA club competition penalty shoot-out ended 4-1 in their favour against Arsenal FC in the final of the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup. The match had ended 0-0 after extra time.
• Hamburg’s only UEFA club competition penalty shoot-out to date ended in defeat by Sparta Rotterdam, the German club losing 4-3 on spot-kicks after a 2-2 aggregate draw in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup first round.
• Galatasaray’s Emre A??k is suspended, while Lincoln and Bar?? Özbek are within a caution of a suspension. Milan Baroš is available again after serving a one-match ban.
• Hamburg’s Jerome Boateng and José Paolo Guerrero are within a booking of a ban.
• The draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals takes place in Nyon on 20 March, exactly two months before the final at the ?ükrü Saraco?lu Stadium – the home ground of Galatasaray’s city rivals Fenerbahçe – in Istanbul on 20 May.