QuoteI really hope this sells out, I would think between portugese fans and the all the usual UEFA officials, it would be full.
Are you ignoring my evidence?Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
The Braga Benfica game was a sell out - not a seat left in the house - packed to the rafters -
5 May 2011 ... Date:05 May 2011; Venue:Estadio AXA; Attendance:25384.
I really hope this sells out, I would think between portugese fans and the all the usual UEFA officials, it would be full.
Didn't see it, that's all.
Who did they play in the QF? That definitely wasn't sold out (and no, I'm not counting the vacant ends as "empty").
Such a boring game I can't even remember who it was against.
ya someone forgot to finish the stadium what a fecking joke!!! refects ireland tbh.
Had a tour of the Aviva yday, worth a look round.
The guide mentioned that the structure of the north stadium has been finished in such a way that it can be relatively easily brought up to a 65k seater stadium in future if planning allows. He then finished the sentence with the economic climate and basically no chance any time soon.
Oh right, I thought it was just a regular question.
Good to know the option is there though, should things go back to normal sometime in the next century!
The CL final was held in Hampden Pk, which has a 52k capacity.
I think 50k is the minimum requirement for a CL final.
It would be fanciful to think it could be held in Dublin, but you never know.
I thought getting the Europa final was UEFA's way of saying thanks to the FAI for their part in the building of the new stadium.
They only say thanks once.
tbh the Europa League / UEFA Cup has been held in some fairly minimal stadiums in the past:
2000 - Parken Stadium, c.40,000
2002 - Feyenoord, c.45,000
2004 - Ullevi Gothenburg, c.40,000
2006 - PSV Stadium c.35,000 (and over 2000 of those were empty seats):O
2008 - Eastlands, c.44,000
You should have seen the kip that the 2005 CL final was held in.
Im almost certain that UEFA changed the criteria for the stadia that can hold a CL final only a couple of years ago. I remember reading a piece at the time that Croke Park was one of a handful of European stadia that met the criteria. I think 60k+ capacity was one.
Will go down as probably the greatest CL final ever.
True, but the stadium and its location must go down as the worst.
The greatest final me hole!
Manchester United fan I persume!
Of course the 2005 will be remembered as the greatest, if your a Liverpool supporter, just as the 1999 final would be for a Manchester United fan. Liverpool's win was probably the greatest comeback in a European Cup Final and United's win was probably the most dramatic conclusion to a European Cup Final. Both teams were completely and utterly outplayed and absolutely blessed to win. Milan tore Liverpool apart in the first half and dominated again after Liverpool's seven minute spell, the key part in which Dida dropped Smicer's tame shot into the net for 3-2. Bayern hit the post and the crossbar and generally bossed the game against United. Anyway, both are memorable in their own way but in terms of great matches I'd much prefer the following:
(1) 1992 Barcelona 1 Sampdoria 0 (aet)
(2) 2008 Man Utd 1 Chelsea 1 (aet, pens 6-5)
(3) 2003 Milan 0 Juventus 0 (aet, pens 3-2)
Worst:
(1) 1991 Red Star 0 Marseille 0 (aet, pens 5-3)
(2) 2004 Porto 3 Monaco 0
(3) 1995 Ajax 1 Milan 0
Milan probably produced the greatest masterclass when they hammered Barcelona in 1994 but it was a bit too one sided to make my top three. The first final I saw was in 1991 so I haven't included anything before then. To stay some bit on topic, UEFA Cup Finals have generally been poor but two of the better games were Liverpool v Alavés in 2001 and Porto v Celtic in 2003. Lazio v Mallorca was also a very good match in the last Cup Winners Cup Final.
Last edited by DeLorean; 10/05/2011 at 3:08 PM.
There was a UEFA Cup final a few years ago (think it may have been 2005) which was CSKA Moscow v Sporting Lisbon (in Lisbon's ground) that was a great match. Also Liverpool v Alaves was pretty good (2001?) again in terms of each team looking like they could win it. Also the last UEFA Cup final (i.e. before the name change) Werder v Shakthar was ok.
I think the worst final I've seen in the Champions League was Porto v Monaco in 2004 at Schalke's stadium, it was very one sided but to be fair some of that was when Guily got injured for Monaco so early on, neither team had an over abundance of attacking talent though. I didn't mind the 1991 final - it was the first time I'd seen club teams from the continent play, the football was a bit negative but the prize at steak, especially for Red Star, was massive - the way football and the wider world were changing there was little chance of such a team going so far again. The fact that they remain the last side from a financially bereft league to win the cup, and the fact they were the last team to win it with players* and a manager entirely from their own country illustrates this.
* Belododici was born on the Serbian Romanian border to Serbian parents
Yeah, that's true enough but at the time I was a bit young to appreciate it. I just remember being pretty bored for most of it. I was just getting into football in a big way, watching lots of past world cup videos and that kind of thing. I loved the French side that played in the 1982 WC and the Dutch side from 1988. I remember taking a liking to the French full back Manuel Amoros, and it was him that missed the crucial penalty against Red Star, although he had scored in the big shoot outs for France in 82 and 86, also hit the crossbar with a fantastic shot against Germany in 82. I could be way off here but I have it in my head that Marseille were fairly hot favourites for the match, possibly because of the British media coverage surrounding Chris Waddle. Looking back at it though Red Star had an amazing team, Panchev, Savicevic, Jugovic, Mihajlovic and Prosinecki, who were all big players around Europe afterwards, mainly in Italy when it was the strongest league in the world.
Last edited by DeLorean; 10/05/2011 at 3:09 PM.
Before Barca annihilated Man U in 2009, the most emphatic and brilliant display I have ever seen in a CL/European Cup final, was a (mostly) second string Milan's 4 -0 hammering of Cruyff's Barcelona.
Last year's Europa final was disappointing for the feeble effort Fulham made, looked like they were trying to survive until penalties.
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