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After playing the second leg matches of the UEFA Cup sixteenth final, the sixteen best teams of the tournament became clear. The only former cup champion team left in the competition was the "Schalke" club, while teams like "Monaco", "Espanyol", "Stuttgart", "Bolton", "Brugge" and "Lens" ended their performances. One of the most unexpected results came from Monaco, where "Basel" played a draw and eliminated the French giants "Monaco" from further competition due to their victory in the first match. The Principality team took the lead with a goal from Cristiano Vieri from the penalty spot, however, in the second half, Daniel Majstorovič equalized the score and secured Basel's triumph. The matches in Hamburg also received a lot of attention, where "HSV" managed to recover from a narrow defeat against "Thun" in the first leg, thanks to two goals scored by defender Daniel van Buyten in the first half, securing their spot in the quarterfinals. Football fans were also eagerly awaiting the match in Barcelona between "Espanyol" and Gelsenkirchen's "Schalke", but there were no major surprises there - the Germans, after goals from Kevin Kuranyi, Ebbe Sand, and Lincoln in the second half, took a crushing victory and won 5-1 on aggregate. The fate of the only match was decided in extra time - even though Sevilla's "Betis" lost 2-1 to last season's UEFA Cup semifinalist Alkmaar's "AZ", they advanced due to a goal by Melli in the fourth minute of extra time. In two pairs, the winners were determined by goals scored away. Thus, "Middlesbrough" advanced to the next round by eliminating "Stuttgart", despite losing 1-0 at home on Thursday, and "Palermo" defeated Prague's "Slavia" with a minimal score at home and advanced, although they had lost in the Czech Republic with a score of 2-1. Also, "Zenit" from St. Petersburg advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating the Norwegian champions Trondheim's "Rosenborg" in both matches. Lithuanian Robertas Poškus was not registered for these matches. The representation of Donetsk's "Shakhtar" in Ukraine had a tougher time, as they played a goalless draw at home against "Lille" and were forced to withdraw due to their defeat in the first leg. Despite a very poor performance in the French league, another team from France, "Strasbourg", continues their journey in the UEFA Cup by eliminating Lovech's "Litex" team, while the Italian "Roma", without their leader Francesco Totti, defeated "Brugge" with the same result for the second time and also advanced. Both Bucharest teams will participate in the quarterfinals - "Steaua", who lost to "Heerenveen" at home but defeated their opponent away, and Bucharest's "Rapid", which once again defeated Berlin's "Hertha" and became one of the biggest quarterfinal surprises. After goalless draws in the first leg matches, the cup continues for another Sevilla team, "Sevilla", with a convincing 2-0 victory at home against Moscow's "Lokomotiv", while the English "Bolton" could not maintain their advantage in France against "Marseille" and suffered defeat, ending their participation. A minimal victory was not enough for the "Lens" club, as they were crushed away by the "Udinese" team, while Sofia's team "Levski" easily won against Bratislava's "Artmedia" and ended the European journey of the team that made a name for itself in the Champions League. So, two cities have two teams each among the sixteen best participants of the UEFA Cup - Seville (Spain) and Bucharest (Romania). Italy and France lead with three teams each, followed by two teams from Germany, Romania, and Spain, while the Netherlands no longer have any representatives among the best. The quarterfinals of the cup will feature intriguing matches: "Middlesbrough" will face "Roma", "Marseille" will play against R. Poškus' "Zenit", "Rapid", the team that humiliated the "Hertha", will play against another German team "Hamburger", and "Palermo" will meet "Schalke". The first quarterfinal matches will be played on March 9th, while the second leg matches will take place on March 15-16. Statistics of the second leg matches of the quarterfinals
Highlighted teams advanced St. Petersburg "Zenit" 2 - 1 Trondheim "Rosenborg" (first match 2-0, aggregate score 4-1) 45` [0 - 1] Vidar Riseth 55` [1 - 1] Aleksandr Kerzhakov 86` [2 - 1] Igor Denisov "Strasbourg" 0 - 0 Lovech "Litex" (2-0, 2-0) "Roma" 2 - 1 "Brugge" (2-1, 4-2) 55` [1 - 0] Amantino Mancini 60` [1 - 1] Gert Verheyen 71` [2 - 1] Cesare Bovo Bucharest "Steaua" 0 - 1 "Heerenveen" (3-1, 3-2) 85` [0 - 1] Arnold Bruggink Barcelona "Espanyol" 0 - 3 Gelsenkirchen "Schalke" (1-2, 1-5) 54` [0 - 1] Kevin Kuranyi 70` [0 - 2] Ebbe Sand 73` [0 - 3] Lincoln "Sevilla" 2 - 0 Moscow "Lokomotiv" (0-0, 3-0) 34` [1 - 0] Enzo Maresca 90` [2 - 0] Antonio Puerta Donetsk "Shakhtar" 0 - 0 "Lille" (2-3, 2-3) "Marseille" 2 - 1 "Bolton" (0-0, 2-1) 25` [0 - 1] Stylianos Giannakopoulos 45` [1 - 1] Franck Ribery 68` [2 - 1] Tal Ben Haim (own goal) Bucharest "Rapid" 2 - 0 Berlin "Hertha" (1-0, 3-0) 50` [1 - 0] Daniel Niculae 79` [2 - 0] Mugurel Buga Alkmaar "AZ" 2 - 1 Seville "Betis" (after extra time) (0-2, 2-3) 26` [1 - 0] Shota Arveladze 35` [2 - 0] Kew Jaliens 94` [2 - 1] Melli "Monaco" 1 - 1 "Basel" (0-1, 1-2) 21` [1 - 0] Christian Vieri (penalty) 56` [1 - 1] Daniel Majstorovic Sofia "Levski" 2 - 0 Bratislava "Artmedia" (1-0, 3-0) 14` [1 - 0] Emil Angelov 27` [2 - 0] Emil Angelov "Lens" 1 - 0 "Udinese" (0-3, 1-3) 55` [1 - 0] Pierre-Alain Frau "Hamburger SV" 2 - 0 "Thun" (0-1, 2-1) 2` [1 - 0] Daniel van Buyten 33` [2 - 0] Daniel van Buyten 82` David Jarolim ("Hamburger") sent off "Middlesbrough" 0 - 1 "Stuttgart" (2-1, 2-2, "Middlesbrough" advanced due to away goals) 13` [0 - 1] Christian Tiffert "Palermo" 1 - 0 Prague "Slavia" (1-2, 2-2, "Palermo" advanced due to away goals) 51` [1 - 0] Denis Godeas
UEFA Cup quarterfinal matchups Bucharest "Rapid" - "Hamburger" "Basel" - "Strasbourg" "Middlesbrough" - "Roma" Bucharest "Steaua" - Seville "Betis" "Palermo" - Gelsenkirchen "Schalke" "Marseille" - St. Petersburg "Zenit" "Udinese" - Sofia "Levski" "Lille" - "Sevilla""
