Werder Bremen progress to the last-ever Uefa Cup final thanks to a stunning 3-2 win away to fellow German side Hamburg.
The Weser side cancelled out the one-goal deficit from the first leg and came back from a goal down to book their place in the Istanbul final against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Nevertheless, there was bad news for boss Thomas Schaff: Diego, as well as Hugo Almeida, will both miss the final through suspension after picking up a yellow card.
Martin Jol’s HSV thought they had made the difference when Ivica Olic broke the deadlock only 12 minutes into the game thanks to a trademark cool finish, but Werder reacted quickly thanks to Diego, who did not look disturbed by all the talk surrounding his possible move to Juventus and claimed a vital away goal.
Werder scored twice after the half-time break thanks to Claudio Pizarro and Frank Baumann before Olic claimed his second goal of the night, which, at the end of the 90 minutes, proved nothing more than a consolation.
The visitors provided an early threat on Frank Rost’s goal, with Brazilian maestro Diego testing the keeper from long range in the first minute of the all-German clash.
Pizarro then nodded an unmissable chance to claim a priceless away goal wide when he smashed his header on the pitch, with the ball bouncing above the crossbar. The former Chelsea striker should definitely have scored, as he was only three yards out and left unmarked.
And in the following piece of play, the brilliant Olic beat the off-side trap and made the most of Piotr Trochowski’s clever pass to open the scoring with a little chip above Tim Weise. The Croatian’s effort meant that Werder had to score twice in the HSH Arena.
Shortly before the half-hour mark, Olic was inches away from bagging a brace, with the future Bayern Munich forward collecting the ball inside the box, keeping his composure and seeing his vicious flick saved by the attentive Weise, who ran quick off his line to keep the game alive.
At the other end of this eventful and exciting clash, Diego’s classy finish put the Weser club back into the game, following a gorgeous one-two with Pizarro in the 30th minute. The Peruvian made amends of his earlier howler when he delivered a through ball to Diego.
The Brazilian playmaker then dribbled past his marker Jonathan Pitroipa in midfield and fired a missile of a shot from 25 yards out that struck the crossbar. A minute later, Marcell Jansen responded at the conclusion of a counter attack, with the left back forcing a good save from Weise.
Diego picked up a yellow card following a clash that saw him insult Alex Silva’s mother after the HSV ace had accused him of diving.
Six minutes into the second half, Pizarro rose inside the box and headed home Werder’s second goal of the game, but the referee blew his whistle after the linesman signalled an off-side position. Replays showed that the Peruvian was just off.
Chances continued to arrive at both ends and Jansen hit a low and powerful cross that made Weise shine, with the talented Germany international stopping Trochowski’s half volley with a terrific reflex stop.
Werder put their hosts under intense pressure and claimed the second goal they were after in the 66th minute, courtesy of a long-ranged effort from Pizarro that bobbled up in the air and surprised Rost, who should have done better to prevent the Peruvian from taking the lead.
Jol’s men hit back through Silva, whose rocket was stopped by Weise and at the other end Rost ran quick off his line to win his one-on-one with Pizarro.
The referee took a highly controversial decision in the 78th minute when he disallowed Hamburg’s second goal of the night for a foul inside the box, whereas replays showed that the one that was fouled was Olic. It should definitely have been a penalty for HSV.
However, any hope that arose from that play was extinguished when Baumann headed home a third goal with seven minutes to go after Hugo Almeida’s first header from a corner was deflected by Rost into the path of the midfielder.
But Jol’s boys refused to give up and showed their true colours thanks to Olic, whose diving header hit Weise’s top left corner in the 87th minute.
Despite Rost’s last-ditch attempt, HSV failed to score a third goal. Werder will play their second-ever European cup final after winning the 1992 Cup’s Winners’ Cup against Arsene Wenger’s Monaco.
STAR MAN: Claudio Pizarro (8.5/10) The Peruvian offered a superb assist to Diego, scored a huge goal and was the man to watch on Thursday despite his early miss. Click here to check our player ratings and match sats.