Swedish test awaits Arsenal

By Jan Juhlin & Kevin Ashby

Players from England and Sweden will get a taste of what lies ahead of them in this summer's UEFA European Women's Championship when Djurgården/Älvsjö take on Arsenal LFC in the semi-finals of the UEFA Women's Cup.

Stellar cast
The Swedish side have the honour of staging the first leg this evening at the Råsunda stadium before the tie concludes a week on Saturday at the Londoners' home at Boreham Wood FC. Both sides are laden with internationals, many of whom will meet when the hosts England tackle Sweden in Blackburn on Saturday 11 June, by which time one of these clubs could have been crowned champions of Europe.

Swedish influence
Sweden has been well represented in this competition previously by Umeå IK. The northern side lost the inaugural final to 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2001 and subsequently won the following two editions. The holders' reign ended in the previous round when they were eliminated 3-1 on aggregate by Djurgården/Älvsjö, the team which had already replaced them as domestic champions.

Söderman satisfaction
With the 2005 Swedish season yet to start, Djurgården/Älvsjö have been involved in a number of testing friendly fixtures, recording encouraging results along the way. "It's gone to plan," said coach Mikael Söderman. "It is important that we focus on our own game and use our pace, passing style and use wide areas so that we can grind our way through their team."

Good test
One of a number of intriguing contests sees Sweden striker Victoria Svensson come up against Arsenal and England captain, Faye White. Svensson said: "Faye White is a very good player, but Arsenal have other defenders who play for England so it will not just be about me and her. It will be a good test to play against her though, and hopefully I will be on the winning side."

Top Gunners
Svensson was not on the winning side when the teams met earlier in the competition, Arsenal running out 1-0 winners to clinch top spot in Group B2. White, who was injured for that fixture, said: "I watched the game and I think they simply underestimated us. It was a tight game and a good result for us, but they'll go into the semi-final with a different attitude and we are certainly expecting a harder time."

Comebacks
The Gunners built on that triumph against Torres Terra Sarda in the last eight, producing two dramatic comebacks to edge out the Italians. Scotland striker Julie Fleeting scored the decisive goal with eight minutes of the second leg remaining and will be similarly determined to oust Djurgården/Älvsjö.

'Best shot'
Arsenal manager Vic Akers, whose side reached the semi-finals in 2003, told the club's official website: "I am a realist and I know we are possibly a few years away from winning this competition, but we are definitely improving. This may be a bridge too far but we'll give it our best shot. "