1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final

Chelsea earned automatic qualification as the 1996–97 season winners of England's yearly competition, the FA Cup.[1] In the first round of the event, they were drawn against Slovan Bratislava.[2] Both matches resulted in 2–0 wins for the English outfit; the first leg took place at Stamford Bridge,[3] and the second at Tehelné pole, as they won 4–0 in total.[4]

Chelsea then faced Tromsø IL in the second round.[5] They lost the first leg by 2–3 which took place at Alfheim Stadion, with Gianluca Vialli registering a brace.[6] In the home leg, Chelsea beat Tromsø 7–1, during which Vialli scored a hat-trick; the other goals were scored by Dan Petrescu, who contributed with a double, Gianfranco Zola and Frank Leboeuf to ensure an amassed score of 9–4.[7]

In the quarter-finals, Chelsea clashed with Real Betis.[8] The opening game at Estadio Manuel Ruíz de Lopera was won with 2–1 after a Tore André Flo double,[9] before a 3–1 win at home with goals signed by Frank Sinclair, Roberto Di Matteo and Zola were enough to hand Chelsea an overall 5–2 victory.[10] The final opposition in the semi-finals was Vicenza.[11] Chelsea lost the away fixture 0–1, at Stadio Romeo Menti.[12] They ended the round with a 3–1 home victory, following goals by Gus Poyet, Zola and Mark Hughes to send them through to their second final.[13][14]

VfB Stuttgart received a place in the tournament, following their celebrations in the 1996–97 campaign, of the German Cup, Germany's annual cup contest.[15] Starting in the round of 32, the Germans were pitted against ÍBV.[16] They rounded off the first tie, by completing a 3–1 win at Hásteinsvöllur,[17] before a 2–1 victory at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion was enough to see them through with 5–2.[18]

As Stuttgart entered the second round, they were up against Germinal Ekeren.[5] They won the first leg 4–0 at Veltwijckstadion with Fredi Bobic and Jonathan Akpoborie each scoring twice.[19] In the return game, Stuttgart suffered a 2–4 loss, but regardless of this, goals from Frank Verlaat and Gerhard Poschner ensured they won the stage 6–4.[20][21]

In the quarter-finals, Slavia Prague were Stuttgart's next opponents.[22] The away leg at Stadion Evžena Rošického ended in a 1–1 draw following a Poschner goal.[23] Back on German soil, Stuttgart won 2–0 after Krasimir Balakov scored two goals, giving them a 3–1 overall win.[24] In the semi-finals, Stuttgart were drawn against Lokomotiv Moscow.[25] The first home leg ended 2–1 to the German side, with Bobic finding the winning goal late; the first was netted by Akpoborie.[26] At Lokomotiv Stadium, Bobic once again managed to score, during the first half, which proved to be decisive as Stuttgart won 1–0 and the concluding tie 3–1 to proceed to the final.[27][14]

Both Chelsea and Stuttgart ended their seasons in fourth place of their respective leagues, the FA Premier League and the Bundesliga.[28][29] Chelsea beat Bolton Wanderers 2–0 on the last matchday,[30] while Stuttgart oversaw a 1–0 win over Werder Bremen.[31] Both sides also progressed in their cup competitions – Chelsea lost against Manchester United with three to five in the 1997–98 FA Cup third round,[32] but found success with a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough in the 1998 Football League Cup Final.[33] Stuttgart saw themselves overrun 0–2 by Bayern Munich in the 1997 German League Cup Final,[34] only to succumb to Bayern again with a 0–3 deficit in the 1997–98 German Cup semi-final.[35]

Chelsea and Stuttgart faced each other for the first time in European football.[36] The English side were appearing in their second Cup Winners' Cup final, having won the tournament in 1971,[37] while Stuttgart made their debut.[38] Chelsea had met German clubs once, in the 1965–66 season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup against 1860 Munich[39] – Chelsea advanced to the next round after managing a 2–2 stalemate at the Grünwalder Stadion,[40] and a 1–0 home win.[41]

Stuttgart had been pitted against English clubs on two meetings of the same competition, the former over Burnley in the following season.[39] The Germans were knocked out in the opening stage, after being held 1–1, in the first game at Neckarstadion,[42] before following up with a 0–2 loss at Turf Moor.[43] The latter was opposite Leeds United, in the 1992–93 season of the UEFA Champions League;[44] the club saw themselves be eliminated in the same fashion, as they won 3–0 at home,[45] before losing the second leg 4–1.[46] However, Leeds were awarded an automatic 3–0 win, after Stuttgart were found to have fielded an ineligible player.[47] A play-off in Camp Nou was required to decide the round,[48] which Stuttgart fell with 1–2.[49]

Both teams were each given 12,000 tickets[50] – the remaining 6,000 tickets were released, for purchase to the Swedish people.[51] However, Stuttgart decided to send 11,000 of their 12,000 tickets back to UEFA, due to the German club's supporters finding it difficult to make their way to the country, as well as the absence of air flights available.[50] Subsequently, none of the unsold tickets were granted for Chelsea and its followers;[52] the consequences proved worse, when Stuttgart announced that they had issued tickets alone for those who had ordered the more higher-priced package. Thousands of these tickets made their way onto the black market and were snapped up by Chelsea fans. On the day of the match it was estimated that at least 25,000 of the 30,000 crowd were Chelsea fans. With most flying out from England, it also represented the largest airlift of people from the UK for a single event since World War II. [53]

The 1998 final was held at Råsunda Stadium.

Råsunda Stadium was revealed as the official venue of the final in December 1997.[54] Located in Solna, Stockholm, the stadium opened its doors to the public in 1937,[55] and was used by the Sweden national team for their games in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, including the final, as well as most of their general ties.[56] Råsunda also held four of the national team's fixtures, in the 1992 European Championship,[57] and the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup Final;[58] it was also the home base of AIK's matches,[59] until demolishment plans began in 2012.[60] For the final, Råsunda had a capacity of generally 35,000.[61]

Adidas Tricolore was the match ball of the final.[62] It was the sixteenth edition in the Adidas football series; the name "Tricolore" translates to "three-coloured" and contains a tricolour crest and a cockerel, along with French classic themes which were used as influences, for the ball's construction, to illustrate the nation's flag.[63] The Tricolore became the first ball available in different colours and was later introduced at that year's World Cup.[63] It was the last ball to carry the vintage Tango layout.[64]

Stefano Braschi from the Italian Football Federation, was appointed to officiate the final,[65] making it his first time to decide a closing match in a European contest.[66] He was regonised as a professional Serie A referee in 1992.[67] The Italian took charge of his first European fixture in a 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup group stage meeting between Lierse and Groningen.[66][68] The same year, Braschi made FIFA's international referees list;[69] he debuted in February 1997 in an Israel–Germany friendly.[70] Before the final, he had been the match official in four Champions League and two UEFA Cup matches (including one qualifier), as well as four international friendlies.[66] Braschi was accompanied by an all-Italian team, which was made up of assistant referees Gennaro Mazzei and Pietro Contente – the reserve referee was unveiled as Livio Bazzoli.[65]

Chelsea centre back Frank Sinclair and left back Graeme Le Saux were both sidelined for the final due to their calf injuries,[78][79] causing player-manager Vialli to swap them with Michael Duberry,[80] and Danny Granville, who had recovered from an abscess pain.[78] Central midfielder Poyet was also included in the starting line-up to join captain Dennis Wise, after returning from a damaged cruciate ligament.[81] Together with forward and lead goalscorer Vialli, Flo began in the attack, instead of Zola,[78] who was named as a substitute,[82] despite making an improvement from his damaged groin,[83] sustained in a league fixture against Liverpool in April.[84]

Stuttgart suffered from no player injuries, but defenders Frank Verlaat and Martin Spanring's bans, prevented them from taking part in the game,[80] leading to manager Joachim Löw to replace Verlaat, with midfielder Murat Yakin as libero,[85] and Thomas Berthold taking over Spanring's role in the middle.[61]

Chelsea's goalscoring chance came in the fifth minute when Poyet found Di Matteo, who fumbled his opportunity as it went over the goal.[86] Stuttgart almost took the lead through Bobic, who took advantage of Steve Clarke's poor clearance but Bobic's attempt went just past the right goalpost.[87] The Germans continued to push forward, as Balakov had a chance on goal, after being found by Poschner, but his shot was kept out by Ed de Goey to mark the first save of the match.[86] Chelsea held on however; a few minutes later, Poyet ran towards the ball to direct a powerful volley on goal following a weak clearing header from Berthold, but a well-placed Franz Wohlfahrt dived to read the attempt.[87] Chelsea had another chance before half time, which saw Wise from a Di Matteo free kick launch another volley, with the successive effort going just off the target.[86]

Prior to the first half, Chelsea continued to dominate possession and round-up more opportunities – the ball was given to Wise, after cooperation between Petrescu and Vialli, whose shot went just across the left goal.[88] It did not take long, before Granville generated another endeavor for Chelsea to make Wohlfahrt throw himself to the right in order to prevent the shot.[86] The club made its first substitute change in the 71st minute, which saw Flo being replaced by Zola.[87] He made an effect immediately, picking up the ball after a well-timed pass by Wise, and finishing with a half volley in the penalty box, past Wohlfahrt, which found its way straight in the top right corner.[88][89] As the match went on, Petrescu was sent off for an illegal tackle on Yakin.[86] It did not affect Chelsea as Stuttgart failed to produce anything to turn the final in their favour.[87] Stuttgart's situation proved worse when they were also reduced to ten men, as Poschner was dismissed after quarrels with referee Braschi.[86][90]