German return for Trapattoni

SL Benfica have reached eight UEFA club competition finals and return for this game to a city where they played in the 1987/88 European Champion Clubs’ Cup final. On that occasion Benfica lost 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to PSV Eindhoven.

Goal glut
Both clubs were in high scoring form in their opening group games. VfB Stuttgart won 5-1 at KSK Beveren with two goals from the Brazilian Cacau, and further goals from Kevin Kuranyi, Philipp Lahm and Imre Szabics. Benfica beat SC Heerenveen 4-2 at home with a double from Nuno Gomes, while Manuel dos Santos and Azar Karadas were also on the scoresheet.

First meeting
Though Stuttgart began their European campaigns 40 years ago and Benfica back in 1957/58, this will be their first meeting. Stuttgart have met only one Portuguese club in UEFA club competitions when they beat Vitória Setúbal in the quarter-final of the 1973/74 UEFA Cup. Stuttgart won their home game 1-0, and drew 2-2 in Portugal, for a 3-2 aggregate win, but were to be beaten by eventual winners Feyenoord in the semi-final.

Unrivalled experience
Benfica have won six games with nine draws and 11 defeats in 26 games against German clubs since they played and beat 1. FC Nürnberg 7-3 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of their defence of the 1961/62 European Champion Clubs’ Cup. The Portuguese club have played 12 ties plus two group games in the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League against German clubs and have won four of those ties. Their last success was in the 1993/94 Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final when a 1-1 home draw with Bayer 04 Leverkusen was followed by a 4-4 draw in Germany and progress via the away goals rule.

German return
The game also marks a return to Germany for Benfica’s Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who coached FC Bayern München to the 1996/97 Bundesliga.