Istanbul hosts last UEFA cup final game

Ukrainian and German football teams Shakhtar Donetsk and Werder Bremen will clash at the Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul this evening in the last final of the UEFA Cup, which will be known as the Europa League from the 2009-2010 season on. Consequently, Sukru Saracoglu Stadium will not only be honored but will also go into the soccer record books as the last host of the UEFA Cup. The idea behind the establishment of the UEFA Cup was to organize a tournament for European cities in which fairs were regularly organized. The competition began in 1971 and replaced the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Then in 1999, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was abolished and merged with the UEFA Cup. English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur was the first winner of the UEFA Cup competition, beating the Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 in an all-English final in 1971-72. Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg, with Turkey striker Fatih Tekke, who was acquired from Trabzonspor for 7.5 million euros in 2006, in its lineup, clinched the UEFA Cup last season after beating Scottish Premier League side Glasgow Rangers 2-0 in the final in the City of Manchester Stadium. Turkey will always be remembered whenever and wherever the UEFA Cup is mentioned in the decades or centuries ahead because Istanbul giant Galatasaray brought home the coveted trophy in 2000. Wednesday, May 17, 2000 is a day Turkish soccer lovers will never ever forget. That was the day the Galatasaray Lions won the UEFA Cup after beating English Premier League side Arsenal of England, 4-1, in a penalty shootout in Copenhagen after the game ended 0-0 in regulation and extra time.