2000: Sosa fires up Udinese
Tuesday 1 August 2000
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Martin Jørgenson (Udinese Calcio) (©Getty Images)
Roberto Sosa scored six goals in as many games as Udinese Calcio triumphed in the UEFA Intertoto Cup after a thrilling extra-time victory against SK Sigma Olomouc. That was one of three absorbing finals, with VfL Stuttgart holding off AJ Auxerre, and RC Celta de Vigo edging past FC Zenit St. Petersburg, the latter clearing the way for a UEFA Cup run that was only halted by FC Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
Record win
Big scorelines dominated the early rounds, with Slovenian side NK Primorje earning a competition record 11-0 aggregate victory against KVC Westerlo in the first round. FC Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt were also in the goals, hitting nine past JK Trans Narva, and they continued that form in the second round when they shocked RCD Mallorca by the odd goal in seven. Their hopes were ended by FK Austria Wien at the next stage, however, as the bigger names gradually came to the fore.
Late drama
Celta introduced themselves with a 5-1 aggregate victory against FK Pelister in the third round and, after negotiating their way past Aston Villa FC in a tense semi-final, they lined up against Zenit with a UEFA Cup place at stake. It seemed destined for Russia going into the final ten minutes of the second leg, but late goals from Valeri Karpin and Benni McCarthy turned the tie in the Spanish side's favour.
Sosa six
Udinese were also pushed hard by Sigma as their final went into extra time before Sosa struck with his sixth goal of the competition just before the turnaround. Massimo Mariotta then added a second late on to secure a place in the UEFA Cup, where they were joined by Stuttgart, the Bundesliga side comfortably holding on to the 2-0 first-leg lead they earned at Auxerre by drawing 1-1.
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