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UEFA Cup final to be played despite politician's murder
The UEFA Cup final is being played despite murder of Dutch politician.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: February 25, 2007 08:27 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Rotterdam:
Tonight's UEFA cup final is going ahead in Rotterdam despite the murder of a Dutch politician. There is plenty at stake for both teams, the home side Feyenoord are looking to win their third European trophy, while Borussia Dortmund are looking for a double after having won the Bundesliga title. Feyenoord will have home advantage when they meet Borussia Dortmund in the final of the UEFA Cup. It will be the biggest game Rotterdam will have seen since the final of Euro 2000. Feyenoord striker Pierre van Hooijdonk, who has scored six goals in this year's UEFA Cup competition, said his teammates were trying hard to stay focused despite the assassination. Feyenoord have plenty of talent with Dutch internationals Paul Bosvelt and van Hooijdonk alongside foreign stars like Bonaventure Kalou and Jon Dahl Tomasson of Denmark. The Danish striker hopes to bring his four-year career with Feyenoord to a successful climax before joining AC Milan next season. Tomasson said, "At the moment I'm just concentrating on the game. It's such an important game not just for me, but for the club and for Holland as well. I'm just looking forward to playing in the final, to achieve something big, a trophy would be great." The final has special significance for Borussia Dortmund coach Matthias Sammer and his men as they bid to join an elite band of clubs who have won the full set of European titles: UEFA Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Champions League. Only Bayern Munich, Juventus, Barcelona and Feyenoord's great rivals Ajax can boast such a feat. Borussia were crowned German champions on Saturday when they won their sixth Bundesliga title after a frantic finale. Sammer is also hoping his side give veteran defender Juergen Kohler a fitting send-off. The 36-year-old Kohler, capped 105 times by Germany in an illustrious career, will hang up his boots after Wednesday's game. Whether the sides can conjure as much drama and as many goals as Liverpool and Alavés did in last season's nine-goal finale is doubtful. Nevertheless with 61,500 fans set to be in attendance and two lineups brimming with skill and innovation, a memorable occasion looks certain.Topics mentioned in this article
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