German giants dig deep for final

Two German teams will contest UEFA Women's Cup final for the first time as holders 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and inaugural victors 1. FFC Frankfurt meet in the two-legged final over the next two Saturdays.

Potsdam absentees
Potsdam, who stage the first leg, have already won a German double and have beaten their arch rivals Frankfurt three times this season - twice in the league and once in the German Cup final. But for coach Bernd Schröder retaining the European title and completing a treble would be the biggest success in his 35-year spell in charge. However, Nadina Angerer was missing in the 3-1 win at Hamburger SV on Wednesday due to illness, Inken Becher has a foot injury and Ariane Hingst is also still far from full fitness. Schröder said: "We have to see whether we can get these three important players fit by Saturday."

Frankfurt motivation
Schröder is taking nothing for granted despite his side's good recent form against Frankfurt. "Our players know what is at stake," he said. "Of course we have the chance to win this time too, but no one thinks the match will go our way without any effort. On the contrary, Frankfurt want to take their chance and record a win against us."

Injury concerns
Frankfurt are below strength themselves. Pia Wunderlich, Sarah Günther, Christina Zerbe, Susanne Hartel and Jasmin Jannermann all miss out and Sandra Albertz is in doubt. "We have the guts to beat Potsdam," insisted club general manager Siegfried Dietrich, who extended his contract during the week for three more years until 2009. "We just have to score."

Coach's hope
Coach Dr. Hans-Jürgen Tritschoks believes they can reverse this season's form. "We got a punch on our nose in the first match against Potsdam," he said. "Then in the cup final we played as a unit again which is what I want as a coach. We had a number of absentees, while Bernd Schröder had everyone on board, but we showed that we can compete. It was a good game and it would have been a very good one if we had taken our chances."