Journey of Deportivo Alaves to the final of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup final
In one of the greatest journeys in the European Club competition, Schalke have managed to defy all odds by setting up a UEFA Champions League semi-final clash with English Premier League giants, Manchester United. However, this journey is not yet as exciting
as the journey La Liga club Deportivo Alaves made almost 10 years ago. Let’s re-live the fantastic 2000-01 season for Deportivo Alaves where they reached the dizzy heights of European football.
Spanish side, Alaves won promotion to the Spanish La Liga in 1998. This was the club’s first appearance in the Spanish top tier after a 42-year hiatus. The La Liga newcomers had already surprised everyone when they finished 6th in the La Liga
standings in their second season after winning promotion. On the basis of their position, Alaves qualified for the UEFA Cup. The club from the Basque Country finished the European season on 10th place but they saved their best for Europe. They easily
disposed off Turkish side http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gaziantepspor-c39407 and then defeated Lillestrom. Then, the Spaniards beat Norwegian side Rosenborg 4-2 on aggregate to make through to the 4th round.
Bigger teams now awaited the small club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan were their opponents in the fourth round. In the first leg at home, they drew 3-3 but conquered the mighty Nerazzurri 2-0 at San Siro. In the quarter-final, they faced fellow La
Liga outfit, Rayo Vallecano. They won the two-legged tie 4-2 to book a semi-final date with Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern. Once again, the Spaniards surprised everyone by beating Kaiserslautern 5-1 and 4-1 over the course of two legs to record an emphatic
9-2 win over the Germans.
On the other side, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 had booked their place in the final after beating Barcelona 1-0 at Anfield. The first leg of that particular fixture was a stalemate at the Camp Nou. Westfalenstadion, Dortmund was the venue of the final. The final turned out
to be one of the most exciting matches in European competition’s history. Markus Babbel scored in the 6th minute to give Liverpool an early lead. Nine minutes later, a young and promising http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Uruguay-c3035 international
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alonso-c5254 pulled one back for Alaves but McAllister restored Liverpool’s 2-goal lead after he scored from a penalty in the final minutes of the first half.
Barely a minute into the second half, Javi Moreno scored a goal to keep Alaves in the tie. Moreno scored again just four minutes later to make the score line 3-3. However, it wasn’t the end as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Robbie-Fowler-c31214 put Liverpool ahead once again in the 70th minute
after some good build-up play from Steven Gerrard and Markus Babbel. The see-saw action continued as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jordi-c19110 Cruyff, son of Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff, scored a goal to take the game to extra-time.
The first half of the extra time was a routine affair but the game burst into life in the following fifteen minutes. Three minutes from the whistle, Liverpool won a free-kick just outside the penalty box. Gary McAllister stepped up to take the free-kick.
Alaves defender Delfi Geli could only manage to deflect the kick into his own net as Liverpool won the UEFA Cup. Since then, Deportivo Alaves have seen a major slump in fortunes and form. The Basque Country side is now in the Spanish Segunda Division B and
it seems that they are going to stay there for some time.
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