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On Friday in Eindhoven, the draws for the quarterfinals and semifinals of the 2005/06 UEFA Cup season were made, revealing that one of the strongest four teams in the tournament will be a Romanian team - both Bucharest clubs will compete for this honor in the quarterfinals.
Despite the unexpected drops of "Steaua" and "Rapid" teams to the quarterfinals, rumors have even surfaced about a possible "Romanian" final, they will have to settle their relationship in the city derby much earlier - this happened because club coefficients or the countries they are from had no significance during the draws.
Another surprise of this season from the "east" - the Bulgarian Sofia "Levski" team - will play against the Gelsenkirchen "Schalke" club in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, St. Petersburg's "Zenit", which also includes Lithuanian Robertas Poškus, will face Spanish "Sevilla", and English "Middlesbrough" will meet Swiss "Basel".
The first quarterfinal match will be played on March 30th, and the return leg on April 6th. The semifinals, where the winners of the "Sevilla"-"Zenit" and "Levski"-"Schalke" as well as "Rapid"-"Steaua" and "Basel"-"Middlesbrough" pairs will play, will take place on April 20th and 27th. The UEFA Cup final will be held on May 10th in Eindhoven.
UEFA Cup quarterfinal pairings:
St. Petersburg "Zenit" (Russia) - "Sevilla" (Spain)
Bucharest "Rapid" (Romania) - Bucharest "Steaua" (Romania)
"Basel" (Switzerland) - "Middlesbrough" (England)
Sofia "Levski" (Bulgaria) - Gelsenkirchen "Schalke" (Germany)
UEFA Cup semifinal pairings:
"Sevilla"/"Zenit" - "Levski"/"Schalke"
"Rapid"/"Steaua" - "Basel"/"Middlesbrough"
