Underdogs have their days

By Jan Juhlin in Gothenburg

Tonight's UEFA Cup final between Valencia CF and Olympique de Marseille is not the first such showpiece to be held at Gothenburg's Ullevi stadium.

Major finals
Indeed it will be the third time that fixture has been played there - though both previous occasions involved local club IFK Göteborg. However, those are just two of a number of major finals to be staged at the stadium at both club and international level.

IFK joy
The Ullevi's inaugural European decider was the first leg of the 1981/82 UEFA Cup final. Then played home and away, the semi-professionals of IFK welcomed Hamburger SV, who were to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup the following year. On this occasion, though, IFK - coached by a young Sven-Göran Eriksson - restricted Hamburg with a pressing game and won the leg late on through Tord Holmgren, before going on to triumph 3-0 in Hamburg.

Aberdeen triumph
A year later the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final came to the Ullevi. Again, it was the underdogs led by a future managerial star that triumphed. Real Madrid CF were favourites to beat Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen FC, but the Scottish side were at the height of their powers. Although Eric Black's early goal was cancelled out soon afterwards by Juanito's penalty, substitute John Hewitt struck eight minutes from the end of extra time to claim the trophy.

Friendly atmosphere
In 1987 memories of both those games were evoked as IFK again staged the first leg of a UEFA Cup final - against Scotland's Dundee United FC. The friendship between the fans produced a wonderful atmosphere, but the celebrations were IFK's, as Stefan Pettersson gave them a 38th-minute lead that their Glenn Hysén-marshalled defence preserved to the end. A 1-1 draw in Dundee ensured the cup returned to Gothenburg.

Vialli stars
UC Sampdoria and RSC Anderlecht were next to step out in an Ullevi European final as they vied for the 1990 Cup Winners' Cup. The 90 minutes were goalless, but in extra time Gianluca Vialli showed his class as he scored twice to give Sampdoria a 2-0 win and take his tournament tally to an impressive seven.

Danish delight
The most recent continental final at the arena was on an even grander scale, as EURO '92 came to a thrilling conclusion. As last-minute replacements for Yugoslavia, Denmark had surpassed all expectations, and their semi-final victory on penalties against the Netherlands at the Ullevi had brought them face to face with Germany - whose previous visit to the stadium had resulted in a group stage defeat by the Dutch.

Excitement guaranteed
What happened next is the stuff of legend, as John Jensen struck a long-range goal for Denmark on 18 minutes, and Kim Vilfort confirmed a 2-0 triumph 12 minutes from the end to the delight of the Swedish crowd. Whether Marseille become the first French team to lift a European trophy at the Ullevi, or Valencia go one better than Madrid 17 years ago and break the Spanish hoodoo, excitement equal to that of the previous five showpieces at the stadium seems guaranteed.