体坛英语新闻：Zenit lift UEFA Cup in historical glory

MANCHESTER, England, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg lifted its first European trophy after beating Scotland's Glasgow Rangers 2-0 in the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday.

    The Russians enjoyed plenty of possession but could not find ways into Rangers' packed defense until 18 minutes from time.

    Igor Denisov played a neat one-two with Andrei Arshavin before firing home and Konstatin Zyryanov sealed victory with a close range effort in stoppage time at the City of Manchester stadium.

    "Winning a prize like this does not come often in your life," said Zenit's Dutch manager Dick Advocaat. "I'm very proud for Zenit that we have won."

    "I think we deserved this victory. Hopefully this is the start of something for Russian football."

    It was only the second Russian side that had won a European trophy following CSKA Moscow's UEFA cup triumph in 2005.

    But their victory ended Rangers' dream of repeating their 1972 Cup-Winners' Cup success and left tens of thousands of Scottish fans heartbroken.

    Officials expected 100,000 Rangers supporters to have reached Manchester by game time with ticketless fans thronging the city center to watch on big screens.

    "Zenit looked the more offensive team, but obviously at this stage I'm disappointed to have lost," said Rangers' manager Walter Smith.

    "We've had a terrific tournament. In the end, I can have no complaints."

Zenit St Petersburg's captain Anatoly Tymoschuk (R) and Igor Denisov celebrate after defeating Rangers in their UEFA Cup Final soccer match at the City of Manchester stadium in Manchester, northern England, May 14, 2008

Rangers had been accused of playing "anti-football" during a miserly run to the final built on a solid defensive foundation.

    The Russian side started in swift style as Andrei Arshavin, back in the side after being banned for the semifinals, fired into the side-netting after just four minutes.

    Rangers quickly settled though but Zenit's Victor Fayzulin made a well-timed interception to clear Jean-Claude Darcheville's dangerous cross into the goalmouth.

    Rangers showed more adventure after the break and Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev pulled off a fine save with his feet to block a low Darcheville drive.

    During the goalmouth melee that followed, Rangers claimed a penalty as Barry Ferguson's flick appeared to strike the arm of Denisov but the Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt decided to wave the match on.

    The decisive moment of the match came after 72 minutes Denisov and playmaker Arshavin finally split the Rangers defense through the middle with the former sliding the ball past keeper Neil Alexander into the net from eight meters.

    Smith threw on Nacho Novo, Lee McCulloch and Kris Boyd in a bid to get back into the game and Carlos Cuellar shot over as Rangers got numbers in the box from a throw in.

    But the Russians finished them off deep in injury time when Konstantin Zyrianov put away a Kim Dong Jin cross at the near post.