Duisburg lift last UEFA Women's Cup

The eighth and last UEFA Women's Cup before the introduction of the UEFA Women's Champions League ended like the first, and indeed three of the others, with German victors: FCR 2001 Duisburg. They set a new record in the competition's last game, attracting an unprecedented attendance of 28,112 for the second leg of their final with Zvezda-2005, where a 1-1 draw followed FCR's 6-0 win in Russia.

Zvezda, also making a competition debut, were the only one of 35 sides to begin in the first qualifying round to make past the two group stages to the quarter-finals. However, although Iceland's Valur Reykjavík fell in the second qualifying round, striker Margrét Lára Vidarsdóttir had already totalled 14 goals, equalling a single-season record set in 2004/05 by Conny Pohlers for 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam.

In the second qualifying round, Zvezda had announced their arrival on the European scene with a 1-0 defeat of holders 1. FFC Frankfurt, the goal scored by 41-year-old assistant coach Hanna Kostraba, drafted into the team because of an injury crisis. Zvezda's run continued against competition regulars Brøndby IF as they won 7-3 on aggregate. Duisburg ousted injury-hit Frankfurt 5-1 overall, Olympique Lyonnais knocked out the other beaten 2007/08 semi-finalists ASD CF Bardolino Verona 5-0 and 4-1 and although Arsenal LFC triumphed 3-2 in the first leg of their 2006/07 final rematch with Umeå IK, the Swedish side prevailed 6-0 in the return with four goals from Marta on her last club appearance.

Umeå had only played one domestic game in the 2009 season when they travelled to Kazan in March, and although Zvezda had not even started their own league campaign they won the first leg of their semi-final 2-0 and drew the return 2-2. Duisburg joined them in the final, drawing 1-1 in Lyon before a 3-1 home victory.

Neither Duisburg nor Zvezda had lost a European fixture when they met in the first leg of the final in Kazan, but Zvezda's record went in stunning style as Duisburg won 6-0, with five second-half goals, including an Inka Grings hat-trick. Femke Maes scored twice and Fatmire Bajramaj added another. Captain Grings was now only two short of Vidarsdóttir's 14-goal tally but did not add to her total in the return at the city of Duisburg's main MSV Arena, where the record crowd saw Darina Apanaschenko give Zvezda the lead before Annike Krahn equalised on the stroke of half-time.