Lille look to achieve French first

Defender Grégory Tafforeau is confident LOSC Lille Métropole can become the first French winners of the UEFA Cup as the northern club take on Sevilla FC for a place in the quarter-finals.

Four finalists
French teams have reached the UEFA Cup final on four occasions, most recently Olympique de Marseille in 2004, but have never succeeded in clearing the last hurdle. Ligue 1 has three representatives in the last 16 this term, including Lille, who entered the competition after narrowly missing out on qualification from the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Emerging force
Claude Puel's side are one of the emerging forces in French football, and Tafforeau, who has excelled at left-back this season, is setting his sights high ahead of tonight's home first leg. "It's strange to think no French club has won the UEFA Cup, because the French league is a good standard," he told uefa.com. "I think we're capable of doing it. Lille have arguably the best team in their history right now. But while we are ambitious, we know there's a long way to go."

Tafforeau warning
Lille showed impressive resolve to secure a goalless draw at FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Round of 32, progressing 3-2 on aggregate, but Tafforeau expects Sevilla to offer an even sterner test. "We played the Ukrainians during their winter break and they were struggling a little physically," said the 29-year-old. "That won't be the case with Sevilla who are one of the leading clubs in Spain."

Saviola threat
There will be a sprinkling of familiar faces among Lille's opponents, with former AS Monaco FC striker Javier Saviola and ex-French Under-21 internationals Frédéric Kanouté and Julien Escudé set to feature for Sevilla. "I know Escudé and Kanouté from their time in Ligue 1 so it'll be nice to renew acquaintances with them," Tafforeau said. "Saviola is a class player and will be a major threat, even if we did manage to keep him quiet when he played against us for Monaco."

'Scoring freely'
Lille proved during their UEFA Champions League campaign that they can contain high-class opposition, conceding just two goals in their six games. The principal problem was scoring, but that seems to have been solved. Indeed, only Olympique Lyonnais have registered more league goals than Lille this campaign, and Saturday's 4-0 thrashing of Le Mans UC 72 consolidated their third place in the standings. "We're scoring freely and the performance against Le Mans has given us a lot of confidence," Tafforeau said. "It's always good to go into a European match on the back of a league win. It relieves some of the pressure."

'Exciting young players'
Lille's ongoing stadium problems continue to cast a shadow over their impressive displays, however. It remains unclear as to whether they will return to their traditional home, the Stade Grimonprez-Jooris, or move to another site, and Tafforeau is concerned the situation could hold the club back. "Lille aren't one of the biggest teams in France but we're growing quickly and have some exciting young players," he explained. "We're doing our best to continue progressing, and our results in Europe have helped improve the club's image. But until Lille have their own stadium, it'll be difficult to take the next step."