Best UEFA Cup final ever?

By: Ian Rose | May 13th, 2008

Tomorrow, the 37th champion of the UEFA Cup will be crowned, and it will be the first UEFA Cup for either side if they manage it. Looking back on all those years, which are the best UEFA Cup finals ever?

My three candidates are as follows:

1988: Bayer Leverkusen 3-3 Espanyol
One of the great comebacks in European history. The opening leg was in Spain, and Espanyol took a commanding 3-0 lead on a brace from Roberto Losada. When things went back to Germany, it looked very much like the Spanish side would hold on, as it was still 3-0 on aggregate at halftime, but a second-half explosion saw Leverkusen bring it back to 3-3 by the end of regular time. The clincher was an 81st minute strike from Cha Bum-Kun, the greatest player in Korean football history. After a scoreless extra time, the tie went to penalties, and Leverkusen lifted the cup, winning the shootout 3-2.

2003: Porto 3-2 Celtic
After the two sides felt each other out for most of the first half, Jose Mourinho’s Porto opened the scoring just before the interval, but each time they scored, Henrik Larsson answered, and after 90 minutes it was 2-2. It took an extra time goal from Derlei to finish off the Bhoys. The trip was a proud one for Celtic not only in terms of reaching a European final, but also because even with an estimated 80,000 Hoops fans in Seville, not a single incident was reported by police.

1989: Napoli 5-4 Stuttgart
Back when finals were decided over two legs, a format I am glad is now in the past. After Maradona’s Napoli had come from behind to beat Juventus in the quarterfinals, they took down Bayern in the semis, and moved on to a final with another Bundesliga side in Stuttgart. They took a slight advantage from the opening leg in Naples, which ended 2-1 to the Italians. Maradona himself got a goal in the 68th minute, to start a comeback after Stuttgart’s early opener. The return leg in Germany, though, would produce the real fireworks, as Napoli went up 3-1 by the 60th minute. Stuttgart fought back hard, forcing an own goal from the aptly named Fernando de Napoli and a goal of their own to tie it up. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the Italians, and Napoli won 5-4 on aggregate.

Any other suggestions?