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Stevens sees hope for Schalke

Having guided FC Schalke 04 to UEFA Cup glory in 1996/97, Huub Stevens is sure the German side can succeed again as their semi-final concludes tonight.

Having guided FC Schalke 04 to UEFA Cup glory in 1996/97, Huub Stevens is sure the German challengers can succeed again as they prepare for a semi-final decider at Spain's Sevilla FC.

Schalke situation
Schalke were held to a scoreless draw in their home first leg last week but Stevens, now coaching Dutch club Roda JC, maintains the tie is far from over for the Gelsenkirchen team. "Of course they still have a chance," he told uefa.com. "Last weekend at Werder Bremen they proved they can perform away from home [drawing 0-0]. There is enough quality in the team to score in Seville and then I can't see any reason why they should not advance.

'In person'
"Schalke are one of the favourites for the UEFA Cup. If they perform to their limit, they can win it," added Stevens. "I will watch this game on television, but I will be at the final in Eindhoven in person. Of course, I am hoping to watch Schalke play there." Schalke defied the odds to overcome FC Internazionale Milano on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw in the final nine years ago, although Stevens saw the 2-0 semi-final second-leg win against CD Tenerife as a more impressive achievement.

Fantastic reaction
"I will never forget the final, but as a coach, our return match against Tenerife was the best we played," he said. "Having lost 1-0 in Spain, we had to do without both our forwards - Martin Max and Youri Mulder were injured - but the way the team compensated for that loss was fantastic. The crowd went wild when Marc Wilmots scored the winning goal in extra time. Schalke's fans are one of a kind. You have to look really hard to find such enthusiasm anywhere else. They love their team and live for it. Winning the UEFA Cup again would be the biggest thing for them."

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