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  • UK: Espanyol and Sevilla train ahead of the UEFA Cup final

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UK: Espanyol and Sevilla train ahead of the UEFA Cup final

Spanish sides Espanyol and Sevilla are gearing up for their UEFA Cup final. Sevilla and Espanyol had training sessions at hampden Park on Tuesday (May 15) in preparation for the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday. Sevilla expect fellow Spaniards Espanyol to give them a tougher time than Middlesbrough did in last year's final as they bid to become the first side in 21 years to make a successful defence of the UEFA Cup. Sevilla swept aside their English opponents with an irresistible display of attacking football to claim an emphatic 4-0 win in Eindhoven last year, but coach Juande Ramos is certain Espanyol will prove a harder nut to crack. Ramos' side are aiming to become the first to make a successful defence of the UEFA Cup since Real Madrid in 1986. Sevilla are still in the running for an historic treble with chances to win the league and King's Cup. Sevilla will be hoping that striker Freddie Kanoute is on form; the Malian international has scored 19 goals in the league this season, just two fewer than leading scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy of Real Madrid. They will also be hoping for good performances from midfielders Adriano of Brazil and Dane Christian Poulsen. Painful memories of defeat in the 1988 will serve as an extra motivation for Espanyol. Espanyol reached the 1988 final against Bayer Leverkusen after eliminating European heavyweights such as Inter and AC Milan and looked certain to win the competition after taking a 3-0 lead in the first leg. But the Catalans squandered their advantage in the return and eventually suffered a heart-breaking defeat to the Germans in a penalty shootout. Espanyol qualified for this season's UEFA Cup by beating a much-fancied Real Zaragoza side 4-1 in the final of last season's King's Cup, but they also had to endure a nerve-shredding relegation struggle and only stayed in the top flight thanks to a last-gasp goal in their final league match.

ITN Source | May 17, 2007Watch more videos from ITN Source

Tags:. .football. .english. .successful. .preparation. .coach











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