Braga claim final Intertoto honour
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Article summary
UEFA will present SC Braga with a trophy ahead of their home leg against Paris Saint-Germain FC in the UEFA Cup last 16 after getting further in the competition than any of their ten fellow winners of the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
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SC Braga are the final outright winners of the UEFA Intertoto Cup after getting further in the UEFA Cup than any of their ten fellow winners of the summer competition.
Qualifying
With the revamp of the continental club competitions from 2009/10 signalling the end of the UEFA Intertoto Cup, the tournament's final edition commenced last June when the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals were still being played. It concluded in late July with Aston Villa FC, Grasshopper-Club, IF Elfsborg, RC Deportivo La Coruña, Rosenborg BK, Braga, SC Vaslui, SK Sturm Graz, SSC Napoli, Stade Rennais FC and VfB Stuttgart progressing to the UEFA Cup second qualifying round.
PSG test
Five of those eleven clubs subsequently advanced to the UEFA Cup group stage, where Rosenborg fell to leave Villa, Deportivo, Stuttgart and Braga vying for overall supremacy in the Round of 32. The Portuguese team were the only winners, however, a 4-1 aggregate defeat of R. Standard de Liège earning them a Round of 16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain FC and plaudits as the Intertoto Cup's only remaining competitors.
Bordeaux run
Braga will be presented with a trophy by UEFA ahead of their second leg with PSG on 19 March – after which they will attempt to become the first Intertoto qualifiers to lift the UEFA Cup, with the previous best run being when FC Girondins de Bordeaux reached the 1995/96 final.
