The Hindu : Sport / Football : Werder Bremen lifts German Cup

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Tuesday, Jun 01, 2004

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Sport - Football

Werder Bremen lifts German Cup

LONDON, MAY 31. Werder Bremen won its second football trophy of the season by lifting the German Cup and Paris Saint-Germain won its first in six years by hoisting the French Cup this weekend.

Bremen, which clinched the Bundesliga title three weeks ago, topped Alemannia Aachen 3-2 in the German Cup final. It was Bremen's fifth cup win, and fourth in the past decade.

Tim Borowski scored a pair of goals for Bremen, including the match-winner, while Ivan Klasnic also scored in front of 70,000 at Berlin's Olympiastadion.

``They didn't make it easy for us, but I think we deserved to win,'' Borowski said. ``We're just so happy, incredibly happy we could complete the first double in club history.''

Bremen became the fourth German team to claim the double, which has been achieved seven times.

Stefan Blank and Erik Meijer scored for Aachen, which knocked Bayern Munich out of the competition. Despite the loss, Aachen will play in next year's UEFA Cup because Bremen will play the Champions League.

Pedro Pauleta headed in the winning goal for Paris Saint-Germain, which edged Chateauroux 1-0 at the Stade de France.

Pauleta was denied a second goal by the referee. The Portugal striker chipped the ball above the Chateauroux goalkeeper, but the referee ruled that he had fouled Eddy Viator to get hold of the ball. ``We were a bit tired tonight,'' PSG coach Vahid Halilhodzic said. ``But the guys found the mental resources to win.''

PSG last won a trophy in 1998. ``It's being a long time since PSG has won something,'' captain Frederic Dehu said. But the victory is ``the result of a lot of efforts this season.''

Chateauroux will also get a spot in the UEFA Cup as PSG finished second to French league champion Lyon and qualified for the Champions League.

England

Crystal Palace won promotion to the English Premier League after beating West Ham 1-0 in the first division playoff final.

Neil Shipperley scored the match-winning goal midway through the second half, tapping in a rebound after goalkeeper Stephen Bywater could only deflect Andy Johnson's left-footed shot.

Palace, expected to gain about 35 million pounds ($60 million) by advancing to the Premier League, last played in England's top division six years ago. A return looked unlikely at Christmas, when Iain Dowie took over a team battling relegation.

The Eagles won 14 of its last 22 games to reach the top six. ``It's quite incredible,'' Dowie said. ``The players have shown great commitment and desire.''

First division champion Norwich and West Bromwich Albion were also promoted, while Leicester, Leeds and Wolves were demoted.

Italy

Palermo was promoted to the Serie A after a 32-year absence. The team from Sicily, which last played in the Serie A in 1972, beat Triestina 3-1 to stretch its lead to nine points over sixth-place Fiorentina with two games to go in the Serie B.

Cagliari and Livorno-Leghorn were also promoted.

Messina, Atalanta and Fiorentina are still in the running for the remaining Serie A spots as top division teams will be increased from 18 to 20 next season.

Ancona, Empoli and Modena have been relegated from the Serie A to the second division.

Russia

Chechen team Terek Grozny upset Russian premier league club Kryliya Sovetov 1-0 to become the first first-division team in 35 years to win the Cup of Russia. Andrei Fedkov, the first division's leading scorer with 13 goals from 10 matches, scored two minutes into second-half injury time off a pass from Alexander Lipko.

Undefeated Terek became the first non-premier league side to win a spot in the UEFA Cup. But without a home ground, Terek will have to decide where to play its European games next season. ``We did not expect we would go so far,'' Terek coach Vait Talgayev said. The only other non-premier league side to win the Cup was Ukraine's Karpaty Lviv in 1969. — AP

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