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<SPAN class=art-title2>Arsenal aim to unseat Umea</SPAN> <TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=5 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
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<SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>Double trouble for Arsenal from Umeå's Brazilian duo Marta and Elaine, who are hoping to fire the Swedish champions to a third UEFA Women's Cup title.
</SPAN><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>(FIFA.com)</SPAN> <SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>Anders Carlsson Copyright © 2005 Umeå IK
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<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(FIFA.com)</SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">01 Dec 2006</SPAN>
<SPAN class=art-text>The name of Arsenal might generally hold more resonance in football circles than that of Umea, but in the women's game it is the Swedes who are the giants and the Gunners mere novices by comparison.
The English champions are not without their stars, of course - either male or female - but while they can boast of Thierry Henry and Rachel Yankey, Umea's strikeforce alone contains the combined talents of Martaand Hanna Ljungberg - the women's equivalent of pairing Henry with Ronaldinho.
As for the sides' continental pedigree, there is simply no contest. When they meet in next year's UEFA Women's Cup Final, Umea will be seeking to make history by winning the tournament for a record third time, while Arsenal will be taking part in their first-ever European final. Even their respectives managers are in agreement: the Swedes, who earlier this month crushed Norwegians Kolbotn IL by an aggregate semi-final score of 11-1, are the undisputed favourites.
"We'll be underdogs going to Sweden and when they come here," acknowledged Arsenal's long-serving coach, Vic Akers, who watched his side beat Brondby 5-2 on aggregate in the last four. "On paper they look very strong. It's going to be a tough final as they're obviously the best team around at this moment in time."
"I think we are favourites, yes," concurred Aker's Umea counterpart, Andree Jeglertz. "Arsenal have done very well to beat Brondby so convincingly but I think we have the players that people recognise more than Arsenal. A lot of my players have played in many important games, not only for the club but also their national teams, so I think that is a big advantage. They know how to prepare for these big games and they don't get so nervous." <TABLE id=IMGTAB height=150 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=left summary="" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR id=TRCAP><TD vAlign=bottom align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>Arsenal's Emma Burke (L), Lianne Sanderson (C) and Kelly Smith celebrate after winning the English Women's FA Cup final with a 5-0 win over Leeds United at the Den, Millwall, London on 1 May 2006. But will champagne corks be popping again next April.</SPAN></TD></TR><TR id=TRSOURCE><TD align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>(REUTERS)</SPAN></TD></TR><TR id=TRAUTHOR><TD align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>Eddie Keogh</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>April advantage?
Unashamedly bullish about his side's prospects, Jeglertz also believes that the timing of next April's final will be to Umea's benefit. After all, the teams will then be at opposite ends of their respective seasons, with the Swedes only a few matches into their 2007 campaign and Arsenal coming to the end of a term in which they are targeting no fewer than four trophies.
"Usually it's good that it's at the beginning of the season, so I hope we can use
</TD></TR><TR class=paddingall><TD vAlign=top>
<SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>Double trouble for Arsenal from Umeå's Brazilian duo Marta and Elaine, who are hoping to fire the Swedish champions to a third UEFA Women's Cup title.</SPAN><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>(FIFA.com)</SPAN> <SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>Anders Carlsson Copyright © 2005 UmeÃ¥ IK
</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(FIFA.com)</SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">01 Dec 2006</SPAN>
<SPAN class=art-text>The name of Arsenal might generally hold more resonance in football circles than that of Umea, but in the women's game it is the Swedes who are the giants and the Gunners mere novices by comparison.
The English champions are not without their stars, of course - either male or female - but while they can boast of Thierry Henry and Rachel Yankey, Umea's strikeforce alone contains the combined talents of Martaand Hanna Ljungberg - the women's equivalent of pairing Henry with Ronaldinho.
As for the sides' continental pedigree, there is simply no contest. When they meet in next year's UEFA Women's Cup Final, Umea will be seeking to make history by winning the tournament for a record third time, while Arsenal will be taking part in their first-ever European final. Even their respectives managers are in agreement: the Swedes, who earlier this month crushed Norwegians Kolbotn IL by an aggregate semi-final score of 11-1, are the undisputed favourites.
"We'll be underdogs going to Sweden and when they come here," acknowledged Arsenal's long-serving coach, Vic Akers, who watched his side beat Brondby 5-2 on aggregate in the last four. "On paper they look very strong. It's going to be a tough final as they're obviously the best team around at this moment in time."
"I think we are favourites, yes," concurred Aker's Umea counterpart, Andree Jeglertz. "Arsenal have done very well to beat Brondby so convincingly but I think we have the players that people recognise more than Arsenal. A lot of my players have played in many important games, not only for the club but also their national teams, so I think that is a big advantage. They know how to prepare for these big games and they don't get so nervous." <TABLE id=IMGTAB height=150 cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width=150 align=left summary="" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR id=TRCAP><TD vAlign=bottom align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>Arsenal's Emma Burke (L), Lianne Sanderson (C) and Kelly Smith celebrate after winning the English Women's FA Cup final with a 5-0 win over Leeds United at the Den, Millwall, London on 1 May 2006. But will champagne corks be popping again next April.</SPAN></TD></TR><TR id=TRSOURCE><TD align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>(REUTERS)</SPAN></TD></TR><TR id=TRAUTHOR><TD align=left><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>Eddie Keogh</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>April advantage?Unashamedly bullish about his side's prospects, Jeglertz also believes that the timing of next April's final will be to Umea's benefit. After all, the teams will then be at opposite ends of their respective seasons, with the Swedes only a few matches into their 2007 campaign and Arsenal coming to the end of a term in which they are targeting no fewer than four trophies.
"Usually it's good that it's at the beginning of the season, so I hope we can use