UEFA Cup Finals
From 1998 onwards the UEFA Cup football final was a single fixture event contested at a neutral venue. The change in final format was accompanied by the inclusion of European domestic cup winners into the UEFA Cup football competition. The influx of top notch clubs into the competition ensured that the updated competition produced some fascinating UEFA Cup finals.
2000: Galatasary vs. Arsenal - Copenhagen: 4 - 1 (Penalties)
The 2000 UEFA Cup final marked a historic occasion in Turkish football history. After entering the UEFA cup courtesy of Champions League group-stage failure, Galatasary went on the rampage, destroying a series of much fancied teams on their way to the final.
Arsenal were favourites to take the UEFA Cup. Not only had they risen to the top of English football, but they had also put away several top European clubs on their march to the final.
The UEFA Cup final, hosted in Copenhagen, was a scrappy affair. Mirroring the hostility between fans on the streets of Copenhagen, events on the pitch eventually led to violence and resulted in Galatasary midfielder Hagi being sent off in extra-time.
Neither team managed to score during the game. The final went to penalties where Galatasary put away 4 penalties to Arsenal’s 1, making them the first Turkish side to claim major honours in European football competitions.
2001: Liverpool vs. Deportivo Alavés - Dortmund: 5 - 4
The 2001 UEFA Cup final produced the highest scoring single game in the history of the UEFA Cup finals. The 9 goals scored even equalled the highest number of goals scored across both finals in the UEFA Cup two-legged finals era.
The match-up appeared somewhat uneven. Despite their amazing 9 goal rout of Kaiserslautern in the semi-finals, Deportivo Alavés had never won a top-flight competition. Liverpool, in contrast, were historically the most successful team in English football. If anybody had expected the game to be a high scoring affair they would have expected the score to come at Deportivo’s expense.
In reality the match proved to be possibly the finest in the history of the UEFA Cup finals. Both sides found the back of their opponent’s nets on four occasions as the game swung wildly back and forth. It eventually took an own goal by Geli in extra time to break Deportivo hearts and hand Liverpool their 3rd UEFA Cup title.
Read profiles of UEFA Cup winners from 1955-2007.
For live football betting we recommend William Hill, one of the world's leading bookmakers.
