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Aachen to be a success

German minnows TSV Alemannia Aachen are looking to become UEFA Cup giants.

By Alois Urban

In Germany they called it the Tivoli miracle. There was no other way to explain how second division TSV Alemannia Aachen managed to win a place in this season's UEFA Cup.

Exciting expedition
Aachen start their UEFA Cup campaign today against FH Hafnarfjördur at the Laugardalsvöllur stadium, Reykjavik, and finally the club, the players and the supporters will get to embark upon perhaps the most exciting expedition in the club's existence.

European excitement
It was a story that began at 22:22CET on 17 March 2004 when, shortly after winning 1-0 against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the semi-final of the German Cup, Aachen discovered that, since league champions-elect Werder Bremen were to be their final opponents, they had earned a place in Europe for 2004/05.

Miraculous outcome
"If someone had told me last season that we would be playing in the UEFA Cup next season, I'd have said they were crazy," Aachen's veteran Dutch striker Erik Meijer told uefa.com.

Giantkilling feats
It was a just, if slightly surprising, reward for Aachen, who had created headlines in Germany by first knocking TSV 1860 München out of the competition before sparking hysteria in the German press by beating FC Bayern München in the quarter-finals.

Unhappy ending
Aachen's qualification for Europe was some consolation for losing 3-2 to Bremen in the German Cup final and then missing out on promotion to the Bundesliga on the final day of the season for the second year in succession. Those results saw 59-year-old coach Jörg Berger relieved of his duties, but his successor - Dieter Hecking - is now benefiting from the financial windfall that has come with Aachen's European campaign.

'Simply unbelievable'
At the end of 2002, Aachen had debts totalling €3.9m but the sharp rise in ticket and merchandising sales and TV revenue that greeted their qualification has helped clear all of that. "All of our huge financial worries have disappeared," said club president Horst Heinrichs. "It's simply unbelievable."

New signings
That windfall has also helped fund some summer signings. Having signed Portuguese forward Sérgio Pinto on loan from FC Schalke 04, Aachen have also brought in Scottish striker Chris Iwelumo and Serbo-Montenegrin playmaker Ivan Petrovic. "I am sure that both players will be valuable assets," said sporting director Jörg Schmadtke.

Previous successes
Six other German second division clubs have competed in Europe in the past: PSV Schwerin (1990/91), Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt (1991/92) and Hannover 96 (1992/93) played in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup; while Rot-Weiss Erfurt, Hallesche FC (both 1991/92) and 1. FC Union Berlin (2001/02) took part in the UEFA Cup.

Group phase
Erfurt and Berlin both managed to reach the second round, which is where Meijer says Aachen want to be: "The group phase begins with the second round of the UEFA Cup," said the former Liverpool FC, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven forward. "We want to fulfil that dream for ourselves and of course our fantastic fans."

Next target
Right now, Aachen are just two games away from achieving that first objective. For the time being at least, the Tivoli miracle has lost none of its magic.

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