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Turkish delight Galatasaray wins UEFA Cup on penalty kicks
Posted: Wednesday May 17, 2000 06:23 PM
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- Galatasaray won the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday night, beating Arsenal 4-1 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 0-0 after regulation and extra time. Ergun Penbe, Hakan Sukur, Umit Davala and Gheorghe Popescu -- one of the Istanbul side's two Romanian stars -- scored for Galatasaray in the shootout. Davor Suker, who came in as a substitute in the overtime, and Patrick Vieira both missed penalties for the Gunners that decided it. Suker hit the post and Vieira hit the crossbar. Ray Parlour was the only Arsenal player to connect, making it 2-1. Galatasaray's win was one of the finest accomplishments in Turkish sports history and certainly the biggest in soccer, Turkey's national sport. "It's marvelous," said Turkish sports minister Fikret Unlu, who attended the final. "It is a big present from Galatasaray to Turkey." At least 12,000 flag-waving, singing Turkish fans celebrated the win in Parken Stadium after the shootout. Although Galatasaray made European soccer history by becoming the first Turkish team to win a major soccer title, it was hardly a sensational result. Galatasaray proved it has been a great team all season long. And coach Fatih Terim said on the eve of the final that "there are no favorites in a final like this." Galatasaray's march to its most glorious triumph since the club was founded nearly 100 years ago included wins over such clubs as Bologna of Italy, Borussia Dortmund of Germany, Real Mallorca of Spain, and finally, Leeds United in last month's ill-fated semifinals when two English fans were stabbed to death in Istanbul before the match. The victory also completed a triple for Terim's side this season, having clinched the Turkish League title Sunday and the Turkish Cup final two weeks ago. During regulation time, Galatasaray had two of the best scoring chances. Just before halftime, Erdem Arif fired just wide of goalkeeper David Seaman's left post with a low shot. Three minutes into the second half, Sukur also hit Seaman's left post with a powerful shot from just inside the penalty area. Galatasaray was down to 10 men early into extra time, when its Romanian playmaker Gheorghe Hagi was sent off with a red card after fouling Arsenal captain Tony Adams. Neither team, however, failed to create dangerous chances, the best one a point-blank shot by Arsenal's Kanu that was saved by Galatasaray's Brazilian goalie Taffarel. Arsenal's loss meant that England failed to win a European competition this season. Real Madrid and Valencia will meet later this month in an all-Spanish final in the Champions League, the most prestigious tournament. One of the most storied English teams with 11 league, eight FA Cup and two League Cup titles, Arsenal made its second trip to Parken Stadium. Six years ago, the Gunners won the Cup Winners' cup in a 1-0 upset over Italy's Parma. The final was marred by clashes downtown that left eight fans injured, two seriously, and at least 26 arrested, causing police to call in reinforcements for an already extensive security operation. The fighting broke out in the late afternoon when hundreds of supporters of both teams started chasing each other around a downtown square, throwing bottles and uprooting tables and flagpoles as helmeted riot police arrive and fired tear gas. The tear gas chased the fans to another part of the City Hall Square but they continued fighting using iron bars and anything else they could grab until police regained control of the square after more than hour. It was the same square where clashes had erupted in the early morning hours, resulting in the stabbing of 41-year-old Arsenal fan Paul Dineen of London. The violence came amid fears that English hooligans would attempt to avenge the killing of two English fans last month before Leeds' first-leg semifinal in Istanbul against Galatasaray.
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