German tests loom for Zenit and Milan
Friday, December 19, 2008
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Holders FC Zenit St. Petersburg will mark their return to the UEFA Cup by taking on VfB Stuttgart following the Round of 32 draw in Nyon, with AC Milan set to meet Werder Bremen in the next phase of the competition.
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Holders FC Zenit St. Petersburg will mark their return to the UEFA Cup with a daunting tie against VfB Stuttgart while AC Milan's quest to win the only major European trophy that has so far eluded them sees them meet Werder Bremen in the Round of 32.
Previous meeting
The draw for the last 32 in Nyon saw the 2007/08 UEFA Cup winners paired with Stuttgart. The two teams previously met in the second round of the 1989/90 UEFA Cup, when the Russian side were still known as Zenit Leningrad, but Dick Advocaat's side will hope for better luck in their encounter in the spring. The 1989 Zenit vintage lost 1-0 at home and 5-0 away against the German side.
Missing trophy
Milan have been European champions seven times, and have also won two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups and five UEFA Super Cups, with the UEFA Cup the only major continental title they have yet to claim. They will meet Thomas Schaaf's Bremen in their Round of 32 tie. The two clubs have met in four previous matches, with Milan winning twice and the other two fixtures ending in draws.
Surprise packages
In other ties, ACF Fiorentina will have the honour of taking on AFC Ajax, FC Girondins de Bordeaux meet Galatasaray AŞ and FC Dynamo Kyiv play Valencia CF. The competition's two surprise packages, FC Metalist Kharkiv and KKS Lech Poznań, both received tough draws against Italian sides. Franciszek Smuda's Lech will take on Udinese Calcio, playing the first leg at home, while Metalist visit UC Sampdoria in their first UEFA Cup game of 2009.
Procedure
The sides who finished first in each UEFA Cup section were drawn against one of the third-ranked teams from another group while the runners-up in each section were paired with one of the eight clubs joining the competition from the UEFA Champions League group stage. The group winners and runners-up will play their second leg at home, while sides from the same association were kept apart in the draw. The format is two-legged knockout ties with the first legs being played on 18/19 February and the second legs on 26 February. No teams were seeded in the draw for the last 16. Match dates are set for 12 and 18/19 March.
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