1999 UEFA Cup Final
 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 1998–99 UEFA Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 12 May 1999 | ||||||
| Venue | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Hernán Crespo (Parma)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Hugh Dallas (Scotland)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 62,000 | ||||||
The 1999 UEFA Cup Final was a football match between Parma of Italy and Marseille of France on 12 May 1999 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Parma won the match 3–0. In doing so, Parma won their second UEFA Cup title and fourth European trophy, having previously won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup on one occasion each.
Background
Although this was just Parma's third entry into the UEFA Cup, they were contesting their second UEFA Cup final, winning the only other one in 1995, beating Juventus over two legs. Having also won the Coppa Italia that year, Parma were attempting a rare cup double. Parma had previous experience of playing against French sides in Europe, having played Paris Saint-Germain in 1995's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (against whom they lost by three goals to one on aggregate in the quarter-finals) and Bordeaux en route to the final against Marseille, also at the quarter-final stage. Parma lost by two goals to one in France before defeating them 6-0 at home.
Marseille had also had European success, but had won just one trophy: the UEFA Champions League in 1993. That victory was marred by match-fixing accusations and, although the title was not stripped from the French club, their participation in the UEFA Super Cup was barred. Coincidentally, Parma would have been their opponents had they been granted permission to compete.
The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia played host to the match, having never previously hosted a major European final. Its capacity stood at 78,360, making it Russia's largest sports stadium.
Route to the final
| Parma | Marseille | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Round | Opponent | Result | Legs |
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3–2 | 0–1 away; 3–1 home | First round |  |
6–2 | 2–2 away; 4–0 home |
 |
3–2 | 1–1 away; 2–1 home | Second round |  |
3–2 | 1–1 away; 2–1 home |
 |
4–2 | 1–1 away; 3–1 home | Third round |  |
3–2 | 2–2 away; 1–0 home |
|
7–2 | 1–2 away; 6–0 home | Quarter-finals |  |
2–1 | 2–1 home; 0–0 away |
|
5–2 | 3–1 away; 2–1 home | Semi-finals |  |
1–1 (a) | 0–0 home; 1–1 away |
Match
Team selection
While Parma's selection for the match was more straightforward, underdogs Marseille had four players suspended for the final after the team's spicy semi-final victory over Bologna, which also ended in a fight in the players' tunnel at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. Fabrizio Ravanelli and William Gallas both received yellow cards which barred their participation in the final.[3] Christophe Dugarry and Hamada Jambay would serve the first match of their respective and five- and four-match suspensions on the sidelines for the final for their involvement in the brawl.[4]
Summary
Hugh Dallas, the Scottish referee who had also officiated in the Franco-Italian 1998 World Cup quarter-final, conducted the coin toss, which was won by Marseille captain Laurent Blanc and the Frenchman elected to shoot towards his team's own fans in the second half. Roberto Sensini, Parma's captain, chose to kick the match off.
The first 25 minutes saw a cautious Marseille side play much of their football in their own half, only to knock it long to their isolated frontmen Robert Pirès and Florian Maurice. Following such an occasion, Sensini hit a long ball forward towards Juan Sebastián Verón, whose headed flick-on looked not to be dangerous until a lazy headed backpass from the experienced Laurent Blanc gifted Hernán Crespo one-on-one with the keeper; the Argentine coolly lobbed Stéphane Porato with his first touch to give Parma the lead after 26 minutes.
Ten minutes later, as the Italians continued to dominate the match, a Parma attack twice looked to have been ended by Marseille's defence, but the ball found Lilian Thuram in an advanced right-back position on both occasions. On the second occasion, Thuram was able to slide in to find Diego Fuser five yards from the byline and just onside. He whipped in a deep cross which Paolo Vanoli, the Gialloblù's car mechanic turned midfield player, expertly directed his header past Marseille's goalkeeper into the net to double Parma's advantage.
Five minutes before the hour mark, Thuram surged forward down the right before giving the ball to Verón outside him. Verón chipped the ball into the penalty area with a ball looking to be destined for Crespo's boot, a fine dummy duped the Marseille's defence and gave Enrico Chiesa the opportunity to volley home emphatically from 12 yards to make it 3–0 and seal a Parma victory.
Details
          Parma
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     Marseille
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Match rules
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See also
References
- 1 2 "Parma subjugate Marseille for title". Reuters. The Indian Express. 14 May 1999. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- 1 2 McLeman, Neil (11 May 1999). "Hugh Dallas; Taking all the heat .. and happy to be back for more". The Scotsman. HighBeam Research. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ↑ "Bologna, Marseille downplay brawl". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. 21 April 1999. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
- ↑ "UEFA takes action for brawl". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. 30 April 1999. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
External links
- 1998–99 season at UEFA.com