CSKA receive rapturous welcome

Portuguese upset
CSKA became the first Russian club to lift a major European trophy on Wednesday, defeating Portuguese side Sporting Clube de Portugal 3-1 at their home ground, the Estádio José Alvalade, in Lisbon.

Prominent supporters
Almost 2,000 CSKA fans greeted their heroes at Sheremetyevo international airport in the early hours of Thursday morning while several thousand more were present a few hours later at a rally in front of CSKA's sports palace in the centre of Moscow. Dozens of politicians, including defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, joined in the chorus of praise for the CSKA players and coach Valeriy Gazzaev.

Moscow history
The last Russian team to reach a major European final were FC Dinamo Moskva in the 1971/72 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup where they eventually lost to Rangers FC. CSKA's achievement has accordingly been met with great fanfare in Moscow after the club's long European campaign, which began in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round in July last year.

Trophy ceremony
CSKA have revealed that they plan to parade the UEFA Cup trophy in front of their fans at their next Russian Premier League match, against city rivals FC Spartak Moskva, at the 84,000 capacity Luzhniki Olympic stadium on Sunday.