The 2006 UEFA Cup Final was a football match that took place at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Netherlands on 10 May 2006 as the culmination of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. The match was contested by Middlesbrough of England and Sevilla of Spain. Both sides were making their first appearance in a European final; it was Middlesbrough's second season of European competition, while Sevilla had more previous experience in both the UEFA Cup and the European Cup. Both sides had qualified for the competition based on their domestic league positions the previous season, and entered in the first round. To reach the final, they subsequently had to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final. Middlesbrough eliminated VfB Stuttgart, Roma, Basel and Steaua București in the knockout stages, while Sevilla beat Lokomotiv Moscow, Lille, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Schalke 04.
In front of a crowd of 36,500, Sevilla dominated the final. They took the lead in the 27th minute, when Luís Fabiano headed in a cross from Dani Alves. Middlesbrough switched to an attacking formation in the 70th minute, but Sevilla were able to counter-attack, and doubled their advantage when Enzo Maresca scored from a rebound. Maresca scored his second six minutes later, and Frédéric Kanouté added another for Sevilla in the final minute, to make them 4–0 winners.
Background
The UEFA Cup was an annual football club competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualified for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. It was the second-tier competition of European club football, ranking below the UEFA Champions League. In 2009, the UEFA Cup evolved into the Europa League.
Middlesbrough had made their first appearance in European football the previous season, when they were eliminated 4–2 by Sporting Lisbon in the last-16. Sevilla's best European season had also been their first, when they reached the quarter-finals of the 1957–58 European Cup, before suffering a heavy 10–2 aggregate loss to Real Madrid. The two sides had never previously met. Middlesbrough qualified for the tournament due to their seventh-place finish in the 2004–05 FA Premier League, while Sevilla had finished sixth in the 2004–05 La Liga.
Route to the final
Match
Overview
The final was played at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, Netherlands on 10 May 2006, and kicked off at 20:45 CEST. The match was attended by 36,500 people. Sevilla kicked off the match, and had the first attack in the second minute: Dani Alves shot wide. Two minutes later, the Sevilla defender Javi Navarro fouled Mark Viduka, conceding a free kick which Fábio Rochemback struck straight at the Sevilla goalkeeper, Andrés Palop. Sevilla attacked twice more in the opening ten minutes, but on both occasions, the Middlesbrough defender Chris Riggott was able to put the ball behind for a corner kick. After 20 minutes, Sevilla attacked down their right wing; Alves had the opportunity to shoot, but passed the ball across to Javier Saviola, whose shot was blocked by Gareth Southgate. Six minutes later, Sevilla attacked through Alves again. He crossed the ball to Luís Fabiano who headed the ball in off the post to give Sevilla a 1–0 lead. Three minutes later, Sevilla had another chance at goal, but Adriano shot went over the crossbar. In the 34th minute, Middlesbrough won another corner, but it was easily cleared by the Sevilla defence. In the final five minutes of the first half, Sevilla pressed hard for a second goal, consistently putting crosses in the Middlesbrough penalty area. Their closest effort came when Julien Escudé headed wide from a José Luis Martí free kick, but despite their pressure, it remained 1–0 at half-time.