2008 UEFA Cup final

2008 UEFA Cup final
Match programme cover
Event2007–08 UEFA Cup
Date14 May 2008
VenueCity of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Man of the MatchAndrey Arshavin (Zenit Saint Petersburg)
RefereePeter Fröjdfeldt (Sweden)
Attendance43,878[1]
WeatherSunny
16 °C (61 °F)
43% humidity[2]
2007
2009

The 2008 UEFA Cup final was a football match that took place on 14 May 2008 at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England.[3] It was the 37th annual final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament.

The match, which was contested by Zenit Saint Petersburg of Russia and Rangers of Scotland, was won 2–0 by Zenit, with goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov,[4] to claim their first UEFA Cup title, making them only the second Russian side to win the competition, after CSKA Moscow in 2004–05. Zenit went on to play in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup, which they won after beating 2007–08 UEFA Champions League winners Manchester United 2–1.

The fixture is notable for having the largest travelling support in football history, with close to 200,000 Rangers fans travelling to Manchester for the occasion.[5][6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference report was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Line-ups" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 May 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. ^ Chaplin, Mark (4 October 2006). "Moscow chosen for 2008 final". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  4. ^ "Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 Rangers". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Rangers invasion: your views". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  6. ^ "175,000-strong Rangers support the biggest in world football". Daily Record. 14 May 2008. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.