Tampere United lose 2-0 in Trondheim and focus on UEFA Cup

Hyypiä and Pasanen sole Finnish representatives in Champions League

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Much as expected after a 3-0 defeat at home two weeks ago, Tampere United's expedition to Norway in search of a European Champions League place did not have a happy ending.
      In a match that kicked off nearly an hour late owing to a power failure, the Finnish side lost 2-0 to Rosenborg in Trondheim and 5-0 on aggregate, and will thus not be crossing their fingers and hoping for some big European clubs in the group stage of the ECL.
      That pleasure is reserved for the vastly more experienced Rosenborg, who will be taking part for the 11th time.
     
The Norwegians fully deserved their win, although they will have to up their game a good deal if they are to make any impression on the likes of Lyon or Manchester United or AC Milan. A goal from Marek Sapara on the stroke of halftime broke the ice and effectively broke TamU's back, and then a wonderful strike from Didier Konan Ya four minutes after the break allowed Rosenborg to relax and enjoy themselves.
      Tampere United actually had the best opportunity of the first half before Sapara's goal, but a sharp header from Mathias Lindström was tipped over the bar by the Rosenborg keeper.
      In the second half, even though no further goals were forthcoming over the last forty minutes, there was no doubt which was the better side: Rosenborg stretched the Finnish defence time and again, but can be grateful that they had already done the business, for they missed a hatful of chances.
     
TamU will now go into the draw for the UEFA Cup on Friday.
      They will be hoping to avoid the likes of Ajax, Dynamo Bucharest, or Spartak Moscow, who all went out of the Champions League at the same stage, as if the Tampere side can progress through the first round, there is another lucrative "group stage opportunity" to be had.
     
Even if last year's Finnish champions are out of the ECL, there will at least be three Finnish representatives playing Champions League football. Miika Koppinen plays in defence for the victorious Rosenborg side, and scored the opening goal in their first match with TamU two weeks ago. He will be joined by Sami Hyypiä of Liverpool and Petri Pasanen of Werder Bremen. Hannu Tihinen's Zurich, on the other hand, will be joining the other defeated 3rd qualifying round sides in the UEFA Cup draw.
      Sami Hyypiä took the captain's armband for the home game against Toulouse, which Liverpool won at a canter, knocking in four goals without reply to add to the one they scored in France two weeks earlier. Hyypiä himself got on the scoresheet with a firm header early in the second half. He was playing with a broken nose, picked up on Saturday.
     
As much as for the football itself, this match was memorable for the highly-charged scenes beforehand, when the Anfield crowd paid a moving tribute to Rhys Jones, the 11-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Liverpool just under a week ago.
      What made the gesture resonate a great deal more strongly was that the youngster was a confirmed supporter of Liverpool's Merseyside arch-rivals Everton. His shattered parents and his brother, also Everton supporters, were present at Anfield - three blue shirts in a sea of red - as the unthinkable happened and the Everton theme-song was played over the loudspeakers.
      Nobody jeered. They clapped, and then they started to sing. Seldom has the Liverpool FC anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone" sounded more poignant or meaningful, as the blue and red sides of the city came together in scenes reminiscent of the weeks after the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. Then it was the turn of the Everton fans to set aside local rivalry in favour of civic unity.
     
Petri Pasanen played the full 90 minutes in Bremen's 3-2 away win against Dynamo Zagreb, which saw them progress 5-3 on aggregate.
      Hannu Tihinen was also on the field for the entire game, but Zurich went down 2-0 to Besiktas in Istanbul and were eliminated 3-1 over the two legs.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Tampere United´s Champions League dreams crushed by Rosenborg (16.8.2007)

Links:
  UEFA
  UEFA European Champions League Draw - The three Finns avoided meeting each other in the group stages

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