The way the UEFA Cup has been going, it was fitting, perhaps even inevitable, that Shakhtar Donetsk triumphed over Werder Bremen to win the competition’s final final before its rebranding as the Europa League.

As Sonia Oxley pointed out, Easter European teams have been the ones taking it seriously of late, and as Justin Palmer noted, the Brazilian influence on the competition has been getting ever stronger. Werder were missing Diego and it showed, as they searched in vain for inspiration after falling behind for a second time. Shakhtar, of course, have far the greater Brazilian contingent.

We’ll have more on this later but for now, click here for our full report, here for reaction and here for a great slideshow of photos.

And as someone who was based in Germany for a long time, I must just spare a thought for Tim Wiese, who had another European night to forget.

PHOTO: Shakhtar Donetsk celebrate with the UEFA Cup trophy after defeating Werder Bremen in final soccer match at Sukru Saracoglu stadium in Istanbul May 20, 2009. REUTERS/Osman Orsal

What have the UEFA Cup and the Eurovision song contest got in common?

A) Some people don’t take them as seriously as they could.

B) They give lesser known participants the chance to appear on prime-time TV.

C) East European countries have started to dominate them

And the answer, I’m starting to think, is C … because of A and B.

This year will be the third year in the past six that an ex-Soviet team plays in the UEFA Cup final after victories by Russian sides Zenit St Petersburg last year and CSKA Moscow in 2005.

Watching Shakhtar Donetsk’s dramatic victory over fellow Ukrainian team Dynamo Kiev, I wondered why eastern European teams were enjoying such a love affair with a competition others have lost their passion for.

Then it struck me — it’s not the competition itself, it’s the winning. Winning anything … even the things no one else takes every seriously.

In a similar trend to Europe’s second-tier club competition, seven of the last 10 winners or runners-up in the continent’s bottom-rung singing competition have been east European.

While others plonked some Z-list no-hopers on the stage, Russia brought out Olympic figure skating champion Yevgeny Plushchenko to perform during their song and duly won last year’s edition.

While English sides like Aston Villa sent several reserve players on to the pitch, Russian and Ukrainian teams showcased their strongest sides, usually featuring several expensive Brazilian or African imports.

They really want to win it.

Before their defeat in the semi-final second leg Ukrainian league leaders Dynamo Kiev had a survey on their website asking fans which competition should be the club’s top priority.

When I last looked, 87 percent of more than 10, respondents had plumped for the UEFA Cup.

I can’t imagine if the same question was asked of Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur fans, the result would be the same — surely they would vote for the Premier League.

During several years spent in Moscow, I used to notice that when a Russian team or person won anything it was the government who was among the most excited — perhaps a throwback to Soviet times where sporting victories were a useful way of showing the country in a good light to the rest of the world.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has got in on the act this year.

“I am convinced that on May 20 in Istanbul in the UEFA Cup final Ukrainian club football will once again confirm its might, tactical talent and irrepressible striving for victory,” local media quoted him as saying.

Were it not for Dynamo drawing Metalist Kharkiv in the last-16, Ukrainian teams might have grabbed three of the last four places, as English ones did in the Champions League.

They have certainly not had an easy ride in the competition, having overcome teams like Valencia, Tottenham Hotspur, Sampdoria and Olympique Marseille.

But the question in my mind is are these ex-Soviet teams actually better than the rest or are they just winning because no one else can be bothered?

They certainly have much to gain with victory — foreign players may be even more tempted to join their leagues if they win European trophies, if they weren’t already convinced by the very attractive salaries the clubs’ wealthy owners can offer.

FOOTBALL PHOTO: Players of Shakhtar Donetsk react against Dynamo Kiev during their UEFA Cup semi-final in Donetsk, May 7, 2009. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

EUROVISION: Svetlana Loboda of Ukraine performs during rehearsals for the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow May 6, 2009. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

Up until a few weeks ago you’d have been fined in Austria for flying a flag on your car. Only ambassadors and government officials were allowed to that. But bureaucracy is slipping and passions are stirring, albeit slowly, as Euro 2008 approaches.

In the last few days Austrian flags have been fluttering from cars in the capital after the government lifted the ban for the duration of the tournament to help drum up some atmosphere. Some of Austria’s cheap supermarket chains will sell tournament merchandise half-price this weekend, and at last the Austrians, whose first sporting love will always be skiing, are starting to show an interest.

Culture reigns supreme in Vienna, famed for its balls, its classical music and art galleries. When I arrived in Vienna in mid-May the city’s residents still pulled faces when asked if they were looking forward to the tournament. Drunk fans might smash windows or make a noise at night.

“Hosted by losers” T-shirts and underwear became must-have items, while the son of a former Austria player even launched a website urging the team to withdraw to spare the country the sort of international humiliation usually only experienced by Britain at the Eurovision song contest.

But now it seems they may want to impress after all. The fan zone will be in the heart of the city, shutting off one of Vienna’s main arteries — a sweeping avenue flanked by imposing imperial architecture. Curiosity if nothing else will have the locals heading off to the fan zone, perhaps to check there is no trespassing on the monuments.

The Austrian team is ranked 101st in the world and not even the most patriotic fans fancy their chances of winning the tournament. But the Austrians are desperate to outperform the Swiss, on and off the pitch, and remember, no one outside Germany thought they’d be able to throw a party at the World Cup, and look how much fun that was.

PHOTO: An Austrian worker holds an official UEFA EURO 2008 logo in the fan zone in front of the historic Hofburg palace at Heldenplatz square in Vienna, May 27, 2008. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger