Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund had the two highest scorers in the competition that season in Pierre van Hooijdonk, who finished top of the scoring charts with eight goals, and Márcio Amoroso, who scored five goals overall. Both players added to their tallies during this match with Van Hooijdonk scoring two goals and Amoroso scoring one goal.
Both Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund started off their European campaigns in the 2001-02 Champions League and entered the 2001-02 UEFA Cup in the third round, after finishing third in their respective Champions League groups.
Borussia Dortmund, who had already won the Bundesliga title, were hoping to join Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus in being the only clubs to win all three European trophies.
The match was the last for Borussia Dortmund veteran Jürgen Kohler, who was retiring after this match.
Previous to this match, Feyenoord had not won a European trophy since 1974, when they beat Tottenham Hotspur to win the UEFA Cup.