Aachen await high-flying Alkmaar

They qualified as runners-up in the German Cup to Werder Bremen, who also won the Bundesliga to seal a berth in the UEFA Champions League, yet remained undaunted in the group stage. Needing a win to progress on the final matchday, Aachen travelled to Greece - traditionally a difficult country to procure points from - and left with a 2-0 success against AEK Athens FC thanks to second-half goals from Erik Meijer and Daniel Gomez.

The reward is a tie against AZ Alkmaar which guarantees sell-out crowds; Aachen's Rhein Energie Stadion lies less than ten kilometres from the border with the Netherlands. Meijer, a former Dutch international who has scored some crucial goals this term, will particularly relish coming up against his countrymen.

The last Dutch club aside from the dominant trio of AFC Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord to win the Eredivisie, Alkmaar have designs on doing so again this term and led the way at the winter break. Their six European campaigns have failed to produce a tie against a German side, although half-a-dozen seasons have produced one to remember.

Known as AZ '67 Alkmaar between 1967 and 1986, they reached the 1980/81 UEFA Cup final under that guise and were involved in a superb final over two legs against another team making their debut in a European final, Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town FC.

Ipswich won the first leg comfortably 3-0 at Portman Road, but the return was an entirely different affair. Dutchman Frans Thijssen put the English team ahead after four minutes, only for Alkmaar to strike back through Kurt Welzl and Johnny Metgod.

John Wark's 14th goal of the campaign seemingly put Ipswich into an unassailable position, but Alkmaar were not finished and moved 4-2 in front, Kees Tol and Jos Jonker scoring either side of half-time. Despite a late onslaught, Alkmaar failed to register again and had to settle for second place; a position they will be trying to improve on in 2005.