Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license.
Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat.
We can research this topic together.
The 2011 UEFA Champions League Final is a football match to be played on 28 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, to decide the winner of the 2010–11 season of the UEFA Champions League. The winners will receive the European Champion Clubs' Cup (the European Cup). The 2011 final is the culmination of the 56th season of the tournament, and the 19th in the Champions League era.
Both teams entered the competition having won it three times previously, Manchester United in 1968, 1999 and 2008; and Barcelona in 1992 and 2006, as well as 2009. To reach the final, in the knockout phase Barcelona beat Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk and lastly Real Madrid in the 212th El Clásico derby, while Manchester United beat Marseille, Chelsea and Schalke. In their respective domestic seasons, both teams entered the final as Premier League and La Liga champions but neither team won a domestic cup that season.
The original Wembley Stadium hosted five European Cup finals prior to 2011. The 1968 and 1978 finals were both won by English sides: Manchester United beat Benfica 4–1 in 1968 and Liverpool defeated Club Brugge 1–0 in 1978. Benfica also lost in the 1963 final, beaten 2–1 by Milan, while Ajax won the first of three consecutive European Cups at Wembley in 1971, beating Panathinaikos 2–0. In the 1992 final, Spanish club Barcelona defeated Italian side Sampdoria 1–0 in the final match played as the European Cup prior to the following season's introduction of the current Champions League format.
First opened for the British Empire Exhibition in 1923, the stadium was originally known as the Empire Stadium. That year, it hosted its first FA Cup Final, when almost 200,000 spectators attempted to watch the match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. Wembley played host to all of England's matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, including the 4–2 victory over West Germany in the final, and at UEFA Euro 1996. The original stadium was closed in 2000 and demolished three years later, to be replaced by a 90,000-capacity arena, which opened in 2007.
Wembley Stadium was selected as the venue for the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Nyon, Switzerland, on 29 January 2009. Other stadia in contention to host the final included the Allianz Arena in Munich and Berlin's Olympiastadion. The Allianz Arena will instead host the 2012 final. The weekend set aside by UEFA for the 2011 Champions League Final was originally scheduled by The Football League as the date for the Football League play-off finals, which are traditionally held on the British May bank holiday weekend; however, due to UEFA's requirement that they be given exclusive use of the venue in the lead-up to the final, the play-off finals had to be relocated. Due to this breach of their contract with The Football Association, The Football League demanded compensation. On 21 January 2011, as part of a settlement agreement with the FA, the League One and League Two play-off finals were moved to Old Trafford, Manchester, to be played respectively on 29 May and 28 May 2011; the Championship play-off final was not rescheduled. The Conference National play-off final was also moved to Manchester, to be played at the City of Manchester Stadium on 21 May 2011.
UEFA's ambassador for the 2011 Champions League Final is former Tottenham HotspurforwardGary Lineker. In his first duty as ambassador, on 26 August 2010, Lineker helped to conduct the draw for the group stage of the competition. Lineker was later involved in the unveiling of the branding design for the 2011 final at an event at Wembley Stadium on 25 November 2010. Hosted by Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys, the event was also attended by UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti, former British Minister for Sport and representative of the City of LondonKate Hoey, General Secretary of The Football Association Alex Horne, and England Women's internationalFaye White. The logo for the final is in the style of a heraldic crest and features the European Champion Clubs' Cup in the centre, flanked by two lions. According to the designers of the logo, London-based Radiant Studios, the lions are intended to represent the two teams that will contest the final, battling over the trophy. The use of traditional elements in a contemporary style in the design is said to have been inspired by modern British designers such as Vivienne Westwood and tailors on Savile Row.
Ticketing
Although Wembley Stadium can usually hold up to 90,000 spectators, the net capacity for the 2011 Champions League final will be approximately 86,000. The two teams that reach the final will be allocated 25,000 tickets each, while a further 11,000 tickets were put on general sale. The application period for those tickets opened on 24 February 2011 and closed at 17:00 GMT on 18 March, with recipients to be determined by a random ballot before 6 April.
A ticket launch event was held at London's City Hall on 17 February 2011, at which the above ticketing process was explained. The event was also used to promote the start of ticket sales, and was attended by final ambassador Gary Lineker, his women's final counterpart Hope Powell, UEFA Champions Festival ambassador Graeme Le Saux, UEFA fourth vice-president Marios N. Lefkaritis, and vice-chairman of The Football Association Barry Bright. Le Saux and Powell were presented with the first symbolic tickets for the final by four local schoolchildren.
Match ball
As with the previous ten UEFA Champions League finals, beginning with the 2001 final, the match ball will be provided by German sports equipment company Adidas. Revealed on 3 March 2011 at Wembley Stadium, the Adidas Finale London features the "Starball" design synonymous with the UEFA Champions League. In reflection of the St George's Cross seen on the flag of England, the ball itself is white with red stars, connecting to a central, bright orange star. Technically, the ball shares its structure with the Adidas Finale Madrid, which was used for the 2010 final.
Opening ceremony
The 2011 Champions League final will officially open on 21 May 2011 with the opening of the 2011 UEFA Champions Festival at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London. The festival will run for the entire week leading up to the showpiece match at Wembley, closing a few hours before kick-off. Among the attractions at the festival will be displays detailing the history of the European Cup, miniature football pitches for use by the public, and the trophy itself.
Broadcasting
The match will be shown on ITV 1 and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Fox is showing the final for the second consecutive year. The coverage has been accompanied by a large marketing campaign, including pre-game previews and post-game analysis on Fox Soccer Channel. UK based outside broadcast facilities provider, NEP Visions, are providing host coverage of the event.
Assistant referees: Gabor Erös (touchline) (Hungary)
György Ring (touchline) (Hungary)
Mihaly Fabian (penalty area) (Hungary)
Tamás Bognar (penalty area) (Hungary)
Fourth official: István Vad (Hungary)
Reserve official: Robert Kispal (Hungary)
Arsenal
Marseille
Shakhtar Donetsk
Real Madrid
Schalke 04
Barcelona
