Jeglertz sets sights on third title

Umeå IK will contest their fourth UEFA Women's Cup final in April aiming to become the first team to win the crown three times. It is an ambition their coach Andrée Jeglertz is confident of achieving given his side's superb form en route to the final. Umeå scored 29 goals in seven games, winning them all and conceding just five times. They capped a terrific campaign with an 11-1 aggregate rout of Norwegian side Kolbotn IL in the last four.

Good football
"I think we've been playing very well," Jeglertz told uefa.com. "The teams we've played against like Kolbotn are good sides and we've had some marvellous games, playing some good football and scoring a lot of goals. So these games we've played in Europe have been some of our best all season and that's been impressive for us."

Coach confident
Umeå will play England's Arsenal LFC - 5-2 overall winners against Brøndby IF - in only the second final not involving a German club and Jeglertz sees his side as favourites to win the Cup for the first time since guiding them to their last title in 2004. "I think we are favourites yes," he said. "Arsenal have done very well to beat Brøndby that convincingly but I think we have the players that people recognise more than Arsenal."

Wing threat
"I have never seen Arsenal play but I have seen a lot of their players playing for England and I know that they have some good wing players in [Rachel] Yankey and [Karen] Carney and [Kelly] Smith is also a threat. They are the best players in their team but I will have to have a better look at them during the spring before we play to see what is the best way to attack them."

Ljungberg influence
A key part of Jeglertz's plans revolve around the talents of prolific striker Hanna Ljungberg, who has returned from long-term injury to score eight times in this season's UEFA Cup. "She is one of the best players in Sweden so of course it is important that she is back now. But we don't depend on just one player, other players stepped in and scored goals when she was away."

Experienced players
Ljungberg has tasted success in Europe before for Umeå and Jeglertz believes this experience will give his players an edge against opponents who will all be playing in the final for the first time. "A lot of my players have played in many important games, not only for the club but also their national teams, so I think that is a big advantage. They know how to prepare for these big games and they don't get so nervous."

Different seasons
When Umeå meet Arsenal the two sides will face each other at opposite ends of their seasons, with the Swedish club in the early stages of their 2007 campaign and their opponents at the end of their current one. "Usually it's good that it's at the beginning of the season so I hope we can use that as a weapon for us," said Jeglertz.

Umeå holiday
For the moment Umeå's players are enjoying a well-earned holiday. They will follow individual training programs in December before returning to full training early next year when their sights will be fully focused on that unprecedented third European crown.