1996–97 UEFA Cup
The 1996–97 UEFA Cup was the 26th season of the UEFA Cup, the third-tier club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations. It was won by German side Schalke 04, who beat Internazionale of Italy on penalties after the two-legged final finished 1–1 on aggregate. Defending champions Bayern Munich were eliminated in the first round by Valencia.
This was the last year in which the UEFA Cup final was played in a two-legged, home-and-away format. From 1998, the final was played as a single match at a neutral venue.
Format
According to 1995 UEFA ranking, Bulgaria ceded a slot to Norway.The access list was finally increased to 117 clubs:
- all the 47 federations obtained a UEFA place,
- all the 24 national champions excluded from the Champions League entered in the UEFA Cup,
- all the 8 national champions that failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage entered in the UEFA Cup First round
- a third winner of the UEFA Intertoto Cup was added,
- 3 clubs of the UEFA Fair Play ranking were confirmed.
Teams
The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:- TH: Title holders
- LC: League Cup winners
- Nth: League position
- IC: Intertoto Cup
- FP: Fair play
- CLQ: Relegated from the Champions League
Preliminary round
First leg
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Second leg
Dinamo Tbilisi won 6–2 on aggregate.----
Barry Town won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Dinamo-93 Minsk won 4–2 on aggregate.
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Croatia Zagreb won 10–2 on aggregate.
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Sliema Wanderers won 4–3 on aggregate.
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Jazz won 4–1 on aggregate.
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Vardar won 3–1 on aggregate.
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Anorthosis Famagusta won 6–2 on aggregate.
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Vojvodina won 5–1 on aggregate.
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HJK won 6–5 on aggregate.
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Lantana Tallinn won 2–1 on aggregate.
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1–1 on aggregate. Dinamo Minsk won on away goals.
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Beitar Jerusalem won 8–2 on aggregate.
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Legia Warsaw won 7–2 on aggregate.
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Slavia Sofia won 5–4 on aggregate.
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ÍA won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Lokomotiv Sofia won 7–2 on aggregate.
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Skonto won 7–1 on aggregate.
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Hajduk Split won 6–1 on aggregate.
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APOEL won 9–3 on aggregate.
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Žalgiris Vilnius won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Košice won 6–2 on aggregate.
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Haka won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Mura won 2–0 on aggregate.
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Hutnik Kraków won 11–2 on aggregate.
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Partizan won 4–1 on aggregate.
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''Slovan Bratislava won 5–3 on aggregate.''
Qualifying round
First leg
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Second leg
Dynamo Moscow won 4–2 on aggregate.----
Rapid București won 2–0 on aggregate.
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Neuchâtel Xamax won 6–1 on aggregate.
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Halmstad won 1–0 on aggregate.
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GAK won 7–1 on aggregate.
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Legia Warsaw won 4–1 on aggregate.
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APOEL won 3–1 on aggregate.
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Helsingborg won 4–1 on aggregate.
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CSKA Moscow won 6–1 on aggregate.
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Odense won 9–1 on aggregate.
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Aberdeen won 5–4 on aggregate.
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4–4 on aggregate. Barry Town won 4–2 on penalties.
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Hutnik Kraków won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Trabzonspor won 5–3 on aggregate.
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Național București won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Aarau won 4–2 on aggregate.
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3–3 on aggregate. Spartak Moscow won on away goals.
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Tirol Innsbruck won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Torpedo Moscow won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Bodø/Glimt won 7–2 on aggregate.
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Lyngby won 2–0 on aggregate.
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Celtic won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Chornomorets Odesa won 4–2 on aggregate.
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Dinamo Tbilisi won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Malmö FF won 4–1 on aggregate.
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''Beşiktaş won 3–2 on aggregate.''
First round
First leg
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Second leg
Feyenoord won 2–1 on aggregate.----
Ferencváros won 5–3 on aggregate.
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Slavia Prague won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Beşiktaş won 3–0 on aggregate.
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Hamburg won 4–0 on aggregate.
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Național București won 2–0 on aggregate.
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Metz won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Brøndby won 7–0 on aggregate.
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Club Brugge won 3–1 on aggregate.
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4–4 on aggregate. Boavista won on away goals.
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Valencia won 3–1 on aggregate.
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Roma won 6–1 on aggregate.
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Neuchâtel Xamax won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Schalke 04 won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Lazio won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Internazionale won 4–1 on aggregate.
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Aberdeen won 6–4 on aggregate.
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Sporting CP won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Trabzonspor won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Espanyol won 3–2 on aggregate.
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1–1 on aggregate. Helsingborg won on away goals.
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3–3 on aggregate. GAK won on away goals.
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Newcastle United won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Anderlecht won 5–2 on aggregate.
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Vitória Guimarães won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Dinamo Tbilisi won 2–1 on aggregate.
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Monaco won 4–1 on aggregate.
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Spartak Moscow won 5–3 on aggregate.
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4–4 on aggregate. Legia Warsaw won on away goals.
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Karlsruhe won 4–2 on aggregate.
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Tenerife won 4–3 on aggregate.
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''Borussia Mönchengladbach won 6–4 on aggregate.''
Second round
First leg
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Second leg
Boavista won 5–1 on aggregate.----
Newcastle United won 6–3 on aggregate.
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Club Brugge won 3–1 on aggregate.
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1–1 on aggregate. Anderlecht won on away goals.
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Metz won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Feyenoord won 3–1 on aggregate.
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Brøndby won 2–0 on aggregate.
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Valencia won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Tenerife won 5–4 on aggregate.
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1–1 on aggregate. Internazionale won 5–3 on penalties.
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Helsingborg won 3–1 on aggregate.
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Beşiktaş won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Schalke 04 won 4–3 on aggregate.
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Monaco won 4–3 on aggregate.
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Karlsruhe won 4–2 on aggregate.
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''Hamburg won 5–2 on aggregate.''
Third round
First leg
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Second leg
Brøndby won 6–3 on aggregate.----
Schalke 04 won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Monaco won 5–0 on aggregate.
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Anderlecht won 1–0 on aggregate.
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Valencia won 5–3 on aggregate.
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Newcastle United won 3–1 on aggregate.
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Internazionale won 7–1 on aggregate.
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''Tenerife won 4–2 on aggregate.''
Quarter-finals
First leg
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Second leg
Monaco won 4–0 on aggregate.----
Internazionale won 3–2 on aggregate.
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Schalke 04 won 3–1 on aggregate.
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''Tenerife won 2–1 on aggregate.''
Semi-finals
First leg
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Internazionale won 3–2 on aggregate.----
''Schalke 04 won 2–1 on aggregate.''
Final
First leg
Second leg
''1–1 on aggregate. Schalke 04 won 4–1 on penalties.''Top scorers
The top scorers from the 1996–97 UEFA Cup are as follows:| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Maurizio Ganz | Internazionale | 8 |
| 2 | Victor Ikpeba | Monaco | 7 |
| 3 | Peter Møller | Brøndby | 6 |
| 3 | Andreas Sotiriou | APOEL | 6 |
| 5 | Faustino Asprilla | Newcastle United | 5 |
| 5 | Herfried Sabitzer | GAK | 5 |
| 5 | Marc Wilmots | Schalke 04 | 5 |
| 8 | Alexis Alexandrou | APOEL | 4 |
| 8 | Sonny Anderson | Monaco | 4 |
| 8 | Shota Arveladze | Trabzonspor | 4 |
| 8 | Runar Berg | Bodø/Glimt | 4 |
| 8 | Igor Cvitanović | Croatia Zagreb | 4 |
| 8 | Billy Dodds | Aberdeen | 4 |
| 8 | Les Ferdinand | Newcastle United | 4 |
| 8 | Juanele | Tenerife | 4 |
| 8 | Hami Mandıralı | Trabzonspor | 4 |
| 8 | Marcin Mięciel | Legia Warsaw | 4 |
| 8 | Oktay Derelioğlu | Beşiktaş | 4 |
| 8 | Michael Schjønberg | Odense | 4 |
| 8 | Josip Skoko | Hajduk Split | 4 |
| 8 | Andrey Tikhonov | Spartak Moscow | 4 |