Familiar foes on collision course

The 2004 UEFA Women's Cup is down to the last four, with two familiar foes in line to meet once again in the final.

Previous winners
Defending champions Umeå IK and 1. FFC Frankfurt, who won the inaugural competition in 2001/02, have both reached the semi-finals once more, although both must first overcome difficult Scandinavian opposition if they are to set up another meeting.

Danish opposition
Umeå, who took revenge for their 2002 final defeat by eliminating Frankfurt at the semi-final stage last season, defeated FC Energy Voronezh 4-2 on aggregate to earn a semi-final against Brøndby IF.

Emphatic victory
The Danish champions brushed aside Gömrükçü Baku of Azerbaijan 12-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, and are yet to concede a goal in this season's competition. However, that record will be severely tested against an Umeå side who have conceded just three goals themselves and scored 27 in their five European matches to date in 2003/04.

Swedish success
The other semi-final pits Frankfurt against Malmö FF. The Swedish side edged out Kolbotn IL 2-1 in the last eight, and have been in good form in this competition. However, Frankfurt will be favourites to progress after ending Fulham LFC's 75-match unbeaten run with a 3-1 win in the quarter-final first leg, Monika Staab's side going on to win 7-2 overall.

World Cup glory
The German champions have been almost as prolific as Umeå, scoring 26 times so far, and have been lifted by Germany's success in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, fielding a team that included several members of the Frankfurt side.

Home advantage
The two previous winners will each have home advantage for the second legs of the semi-finals, with Umeå visiting Brøndby in the first match and Frankfurt travelling to Malmö. The first legs will take place in late March, with the returns to be played in early April. The two-legged final will be contested in May.