LONDON, 15 October 2003 — Former European champions Barcelona and Liverpool hope to avoid slipping on UEFA Cup banana skins today with both sides left with work to do at home to Eastern European opposition.
Barca take on Slovakia’s Puchov at the Nou Camp after being held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their first round clash.
That result, coupled with Barcelona’s failure to win at home this season, has put pressure on coach Frank Rijkaard, who has called for patience from the club’s discontented fans after his side’s slow start.
The Catalans were jeered by sections of their home crowd following a 1-0 defeat by Primera Liga leaders Valencia on Oct. 5, and any slip-up against Puchov is sure to undermine Rijkaard’s position.
Brazilian forward Ronaldinho is a doubt for the game after suffering a leg strain in a King’s Cup match earlier this month.
Liverpool, UEFA Cup winners in 2001, welcome Slovenia’s Olimpija to Anfield after a Michael Owen goal secured a 1-1 draw in the first leg where they had fallen behind to an Anton Zlogar strike.
Gerard Houllier’s side must shake off recent poor league form having lost their last two games to sit in eighth place, nine points behind leaders Arsenal after eight games. Parma, UEFA Cup winners in 1995 and 1999, also drew their first leg 1-1 away to Ukraine’s Metalurg Donetsk but will be confident of progressing having not lost at home this season.
Roma, third in Serie A, should breeze through after hammering Vardar Skopje 4-0 in the first leg, while fellow Italians Perugia and Udinese will expect to join them after picking up away wins at Dundee and Salzburg respectively.
Three German sides will have to improve on their first-leg performances to reach the second round. The 1997 winners Schalke start all-square with Kamen Ingrad after a goalless draw in Croatia, while Hertha Berlin visit Poland’s Groclin Grodzisk, also after a 0-0 first-leg result.
Kaiserslautern, 13th in the 18-team Bundesliga after having three points deducted before the start of the season for breaching licensing rules, travel to the Czech Republic needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Teplice.
Sweden Welcome Home
World Cup Silver Medalists
In Stockholm, thousands of Swedish people welcomed home their Women’s World Cup silver medalists in central Stockholm yesterday.
On Sunday Sweden lost 2-1 to Germany in the final held in Carson, California, a game that was watched live on television by almost four million viewers in Sweden.
“It almost feels like we won the gold,” said striker Hanna Ljungberg, who scored the opening goal of the match before Germany equalized and went on to win with a golden goal in extra time.
“I don’t think we’ve understood how big this is,” said striker Victoria Svensson. “It feels a lot better today than it did yesterday.” The Swedish players were welcomed by Prime Minister Goran Persson, who thanked them for “a fantastic World Cup tournament” in a speech in the Kungstradgarden park.
