Translated material
On a collision course
The French and Spanish clashed between Spartak and Zenit in the UEFA Cup
For the first time, two Russian clubs can meet each other in the European Cup. Zenit St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow are in the same part of the UEFA Cup bracket, and their path in the tournament may cross in the 1/8 finals of the tournament. But this is only if at the previous stage the Muscovites manage to beat the French Marseille, and the St. Petersburg team beat the Spanish Villarreal.“Let's not look so far into the 1/8 finals, but first focus on the nearest opponent,” Zenit head coach Dick Advocaat refused to discuss further prospects. - It is a great honor for us to play with such a team as Villarreal. The strength of this club is evidenced by the fact that it ranks fourth in the Spanish Championship. I would compare Villarreal to Sevilla. It’s always interesting to play with a club of this level because it’s a good development path for us.”
It was not for nothing that the lawyer came up with analogies with Seville. “Villarreal” can now be said to replace Kerzhakov’s team in this Spanish championship: while the exhausted “Seville” is rising from the depths of the standings, “Villarreal” is competing with “Real” and “Barça” on the first lines. And fighting on two fronts, the “yellow submarine” dreams of the UEFA Cup - a trophy that Sevilla has already become tired of.
Now Villarreal has everything to try to repeat this path. Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini, who was recently rumored to have refused to take over at Chelsea, has managed to create a very likeable team that does not allow itself to fall below a certain level, and sometimes even jumps over its head. For example, this season they beat Barcelona 3:1. But for all the team play, Villarreal also has European-level stars. In attack for the submariners, the tone is set by the Turk Nihat, whom the Russian clubs were unable to lure, and the Dane Dal Thomasson, in defense by the famous Frenchman Pires. Even Riquelme did not need Pellegrini - the Argentine, after a protracted conflict with the head coach, was eventually sold to Boca Juniors.
Spartak has no less authoritative opponent. Marseille's best days may have long passed, but the French club could well have found itself in the knockout stages of the Champions League, if not for an unexpected defeat in the final match against Liverpool. Meanwhile, the same Englishmen were beaten away without any problems. So Marseille is a very real force. And despite the fact that the team has no top stars on its roster, except perhaps the fading Djibril Cissé, some players are of great interest to richer foreign clubs. First of all, this is the Senegalese forward Mamadou Niang, bought from Strasbourg for a very significant 7 million euros for the French market. And there is also 20-year-old Samir Nasri, who is being eyed by almost half of the Italian Serie A, and the still quite young Mathieu Velbuena. So, if Marseille manages to retain its young leaders during the winter pre-registration period, Spartak will have a very difficult time in February.
UEFA Cup. Draw for 1/16 finals. Marseille - Spartak, Zenit - Villarreal, Aberdeen - Bayern, AEK - Getafe, Bolton - Atlético Madrid, Galatasaray - Bayer Leverkusen ", "Anderlecht" - "Bordeaux", "Zurich" - "Hamburg", "Brann" - "Everton", "Rangers" - "Panathinaikos", "PSV" - "Helsingborg", "Slavia" -- Tottenham, Rosenborg -- Fiorentina, Sporting -- Basel, Werder -- Braga, Benfica -- Nuremberg. The first matches are on February 13-14, the return matches are on February 21.
Champions League. Draw for 1/8 finals. Celtic - Barcelona, Lyon - Manchester United, Schalke - Porto, Liverpool - Inter, Roma - Real Madrid, Arsenal - - Milan, Olympiacos - Chelsea, Fenerbahce - Sevilla.