Madrid and Hamburg awarded 2010 finals
Friday, March 28, 2008
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The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid will host the 2010 UEFA Champions League final, with the same season's UEFA Cup final going to the Arena Hamburg.
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The Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid will host the 2010 UEFA Champions League final, with UEFA awarding the same season's UEFA Cup final to the Arena Hamburg.
Key criteria
The UEFA Executive Committee confirmed the selection of the two stadiums after its meeting in Liechtenstein on Friday but postponed a decision on the venues for the 2011 finals to allow members more time to consider the bids. The home stadiums of Real Madrid CF and Hamburger SV were chosen on the basis of capacity, facilities, accommodation and security among other considerations.
Famous finals
Now boasting a capacity of 71,569, the Santiago Bernabéu has staged three previous European Champion Clubs' Cup finals. Real Madrid won the first of them, beating AC Fiorentina 1-0 in 1957, before AC Milan had a memorable night in the Spanish capital when they defeated AFC Ajax 4-1 in the 1969 edition. More recently, Nottingham Forest FC overcame Hamburg 1-0 in the 1980 final.
International finals
The Santiago Bernabéu has also held the home legs of two UEFA Cup finals and two European/South American Cup games involving Madrid, together with several major international matches – notably the final of the 1964 UEFA European Championship where Spain beat the Soviet Union 2-1, and the 1982 FIFA World Cup final which Italy won 3-1 against West Germany.
Important games
Seating 51,680, the Arena Hamburg opened in 2000 on the site of Hamburg's old Volksparkstadion and was the setting for matches at the 2006 World Cup. The Volksparkstadion also hosted group-stage games at the 1974 World Cup and the semi-final of the 1988 UEFA European Championship, where West Germany lost 2-1 to the Netherlands.
Super Cup
Meanwhile, the Executive Committee confirmed that the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Super Cup matches will be played at the Stade Louis II in Monaco, as is the custom. The 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was awarded to France, and the same year's U17 event to Liechtenstein, while Nyon will stage the 2009 UEFA European Women's U17 Championship.