Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Facts and figures relating to the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona in Rome.

The final will be the 54th since the competition started in 1955-56 with Barcelona appearing in their fifth final and United appearing for the fourth time. It will be the last final played on a Wednesday. From next season's final in Madrid, the match will be played on a Saturday.

Manchester United have won all three previous finals in which they have competed, in 1968, 1999 and 2008. Barcelona have won two finals, in 1992 and 2006 and been runners-up twice in 1961 and 1994.

Barcelona also won the European Cup Winners Cup a record four times and the UEFA Cup a record-sharing three times. United won the Cup Winners Cup once and have never won the UEFA Cup.

It is the fifth successive season that England have been represented in the final following Liverpool (winners 2005), Arsenal (runners-up 2006), Liverpool (runners-up 2007) and last season's all-England final between Manchester United and Chelsea.

Manchester United are attempting to become the first club since the Champions League started in 1992-93 to retain the European Cup and the first since Milan did so in 1989 and 1990. The last club to finish as runners-up the season after winning the trophy were Juventus, who won in 1996 and lost in 1997.

United are unbeaten in their last 25 Champions League matches, a record for the competition. They last lost to Milan in the semi-finals in 2007.

Rome will be staging the Champions League final for the fourth time following previous finals in 1977, 1984 and 1996. An omen for United could be that an English club - Liverpool - won on the two occasions that an English club played the final in Rome in 1977 and 1984.

London's old Wembley Stadium staged more finals than any other ground, hosting the finals of 1963, 1968, 1971, 1978 and 1992 when Barcelona won. Paris has also staged five finals but at different stadiums. Wembley will host the final again in 2011.

Last season United manager Alex Ferguson became the 16th man to win the European Cup more than once following his first success in 1999.

If United win he will join the late Bob Paisley (Liverpool 1977, 1978, 1981) as the only other manager to win the European Cup three times. He won his first European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup, with Aberdeen in 1983.

Now 67, Ferguson become the second-oldest man to win the trophy last year when he was 66. The oldest is Belgian Raymond Goethals who was 71 when Marseille won in 1993.

If Barcelona win, manager Pep Guardiola, aged 38 years and 129 days, will be the youngest manager for 49 years to lift the trophy and the third youngest of all time. Miguel Munoz was 38 years and 121 days old when he led Real Madrid to their 1960 triumph.

The youngest winning coach was Jose Villalonga, who was 36 years and 185 days old when Real won the first final in 1956.

Guardiola would also become only the sixth man to win the European Cup as player and coach and only the third to do so with the same club following Munoz (Real Madrid player 1956, and 1957 and coach 1960 and 1966) and Carlo Ancelotti (Milan player 1989 and 1990 and coach 2003). Guardiola was in the Barcelona team which triumphed in 1992.

Guardiola spent half a season as a player with AS Roma in 2002-03, his only Champions League action being 44 minutes in a 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the group phase.

As an Arsenal player, Thierry Henry scored his first ever Champions League hat-trick in the Olympic Stadium, against Roma in November 2002 in a 3-1 comeback win for the London club.

United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, voted Man of the Match in last year's final, and United midfielder Owen Hargreaves are among 12 players to have won the European Cup with different teams.

Van der Sar won it with Ajax Amsterdam in 1995 and United last year while Hargreaves won it with Bayern Munich in 2001 and United last year. However he is not part of the squad now, having missed the entire season through injury.

United striker Dimitar Berbatov played for the Bayer Leverkusen side beaten by Real Madrid in the 2002 final. Patrice Evra, who picked up a winners' medal with United last year, was on Monaco's losing team against Porto in 2004.

Barcelona's Thierry Henry and Alexander Hleb were both in the Arsenal team beaten by Barcelona in the 2006 final.

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