Vicente Rodriguez and Miguel Angel "Mista" Ferrer scored a goal in each half Wednesday as Spanish champion Valencia won the UEFA Cup after beating Marseille 2-0.
Valencia, which lost back-to back Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001, won its third UEFA Cup, though it was called the Inter Cities Fairs Cup when it won in 1962 and 1963.
PHOTO: EPA
"This win is dedicated to everyone, everyone that came here and those that couldn't come, it goes to everyone who carries Valencia with them," Valencia captain David Albelda said.
Vicente converted from the penalty spot in injury time to give Valencia a 1-0 lead with just seconds remaining in the first half on a cold, windy night at Ullevi stadium.
"The penalty was a boost," Mista said. "It gave us the advantage, particularly because of the dismissal. The second half we dominated from start to finish and in the end we deserved to win."
Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was sent off for bringing down Mista inside the penalty area in the 45th minute, and Vicente easily scored from the spot.
Mista broke free from the Marseille defense on a cross from Curro Torres, and was brought down brutally on a slide tackle from Barthez, the only survivor from the Marseille team that edged AC Milan 1-0 in Munich to take its only Champions Cup title in 1993.
Jeremy Gavanon, who replaced Barthez, had no chance on the penalty, diving left as Vicente rolled the ball inside the right post.
Mista, a 25-year-old striker, gave Valencia a two-goal cushion in the 58th minute.
Vicente set up the second goal with a perfect cross from the left flank to Mista, who was unmarked and fired a left-foot drive past Gavanon from just outside the area.
"The team gave a professional display and the second goal proved definitive," Valencia coach Rafa Benitez said.
Mista, who trailed only Real Madrid's Ronaldo in league scoring this season, received UEFA's Man of the Match award for his final performance -- a 0 check to be given to a charity of his choice in Spain.
"There were more than one good player although Mista did a very good job," Benitez said. "If I'd been on the national team [as a coach] I could have used him there as well."
Down to only 10 men, Marseille struggled in the second half against Valencia, which has one of Europe's toughest defenses.
Marlet fired a shot over the crossbar after goalkeeper Santiago Canizares gave up a rebound in the 65th, and Canizares fisted away a shot by Sylvain N'Diaye in the 65th for Marseille's two sharpest chances.
More than 10,000 fans from Valencia made the long trip to Sweden, UEFA said. Immediately after the final whistle, thousands of joyous and noisy Valencia supporters -- more than 4,000, according to Spanish television -- gathered outside the city hall, waving flags, setting off fireworks and cheering.
"We've waited a long time for this," midfielder Ruben Baraja said. "It's a historic win. It's been a real triumph. Our style of play makes it very hard for other teams to score against us and this we showed tonight."
Amedeo Carboni, 39, became the oldest player ever to win a European club competition final. Hungarian Ferenc Puskas was nearly a month older when Real Madrid won the Champions Cup in 1966, but Puskas didn't play in the final.
The previous oldest UEFA Cup winner was Real Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Angel, who was 37 when the Spaniards won in 1985. Carboni also became the oldest player to win the Spanish championship when Valencia clinched two weeks ago. The Italian has renewed his contract for another two years.
For Carboni, it was the 100th appearance in UEFA club competitions. He is the 16th player to reach that milestone.
Carboni, suspended when Valencia lost the Champions Cup final in 2000 to Real Madrid, previously lifted the UEFA Cup at the same stadium in Goteborg 14 years ago when his Italian team Sampdoria beat Anderlecht 2-0 on Gianluca Vialli's two goals in extra time.
Marseille striker Didier Drogba, who has scored 75 percent of Marseille's goals this season, went scoreless for the first time in nine UEFA Cup matches this season.
Drogba had been racing against time to be fit for the final after sustaining a hip injury in a 1-0 loss to Monaco 11 days ago in the French league.
The 26-year-old from the Ivory Coast has been in sensational form, exploding onto the European scene with a goal in each round of the UEFA Cup and 31 in all competitions this season -- including 18 league goals.
"The red card changed the match," said Marseille coach Jose Anigo, who was promoted from head of the club's youth academy to replace sacked Alain Perrin in January.
"I really thought the red card was bit hard, sometimes in similar situations you only have a yellow card."
No French team has won the UEFA Cup.
With one game to play in the French league, Marseille is only seventh in the standings, 22 points behind Lyon. That means that Marseille will not qualify for European soccer next season.
Had Marseille won the final, UEFA would have invited the club to return to next season's UEFA Cup as champion.
This was the fifth major European club team final held at Ullevi Stadium, where Pele played his first World Cup match in 1958 for eventual champion Brazil and Denmark stunned Germany 2-0 in the 1992 European Championship final.
Local side IFK Goteborg twice won UEFA Cup titles over Hamburger SV and Dundee United in 1982 and 1987, when the final was played home and away, Aberdeen upset Real Madrid 2-1 in the 1983 Cup Winners' Cup final and Sampdoria blanked Anderlecht 2-0 in the 1990 Cup Winners' Cup title match.
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