CSKA Moscow, having beaten Partisan Belgrade in the aggregate of two matches in the match leading up to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup, set a new record in the Russian clubs' achievements in European Cup tournaments.

In the Champions' League and the UEFA Cup season matches, CSKA has already scored 18 points and is now behind only Italian Juventus, Inter and English Newcastle in the number of points scored.

CSKA is the first Russian team this century to make the top eight in European club tournaments.

The UEFA Cup - the second most prestigious after the Champions League - traditionally proved to be the most complex for Soviet and Russian clubs. CSKA's qualification for the UEFA Cup quarterfinals became the fifth in club history. Only Spartak Moscow achieved this, once in 1998.

Soviet and Russian clubs advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup 16 times and 19 times to the quarterfinals of the no longer existing Winners' Cup.

CSKA's current success also marks the 40th qualification of Soviet and Russian clubs for the quarterfinals of the European tournaments, and allowing Russia to be represented by two teams in the Champions League in the 2006/07 season.

CSKA's next opponent will be announced Friday after a drawing at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. None of the seven possible opponents is unbeatable for the club if they demonstrate the same skill as they did in the UEFA Cup matches against Portuguese Benfica and Partisan.

MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti's sports commentator Mikhail Smirnov)