Luzhniki gears up for greatest day

The finishing touches were being applied on Monday as the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow prepared to stage the biggest club match in its 52-year history.

Great events
Russia's foremost stadium has witnessed its share of great events down the years, but few if any can compare with the scale of a UEFA Champions League final. Perhaps only the 1980 Olympics, hosted by the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium (as it was known in Soviet times), comes close to equalling the level of media interest generated by this first all-English final, between Manchester United FC and Chelsea FC. 

Huge audience
The original press box, built alongside the finish line on the athletics track, is supplemented by another erected exclusively for this game on the halfway line. The press conference room, too, has doubled in size, with walls knocked down and seats added to accommodate the world's reporters. Eight hundred journalists will cover this fixture with a further 200 photographers flashing images around the globe. The match will be shown in 230 territories with an estimated overall live audience of 150 million.

EURO record
Contrast that with the lucky 61,000 who will have the chance to follow the action live, with 40,000 thought to be making the trip from England. The stadium's current capacity is 84,745, but before becoming all-seater it regularly fitted more than 100,000 spectators. Indeed, the Luzhniki boasts the record attendance for a UEFA European Championship tie, with 100,572 turning out to watch the first match in the competition's history as the USSR defeated Hungary 3-1 on 29 September 1958. The capacity for the UEFA Champions League final is reduced to ensure the best sightlines for fans and to make room for media requirements.

Disaster
Like Moscow itself, the Luzhniki is vast. The towering Stalinist Moscow State University building on the far bank of the Moskva River provides a suitable backdrop to the ground which still has a statue of Lenin outside, on the main concourse. Not all reminders of the past are glorious. Disaster struck here during a UEFA Cup game in 1982 when a stampede in icy conditions caused untold numbers of deaths. Officially the Soviet press machine said 66, but the reality was much higher, although even today the exact amount is unknown.  

Activity
There may be 48 hours to kick-off yet the Luzhniki remains a hive of activity. The smell of fresh paint wafts through the corridors of the main stand which has been freshened up for the occasion, while out on the pitch the dress rehearsal is taking place for the opening ceremony. The turf for the pitch has been imported from Slovakia especially for the match and has been laid on top of the artificial surface normally used for football. The weather is warm and the little light rain that has fallen is welcome as it should help to bind the grass. Mostly, though, the sun has shone and it is hard to imagine that the previous time a UEFA club final was held here – the 1999 UEFA Cup showpiece – the army had to be called in to clear snow off the pitch and out of the stands so the game could go ahead.

Parma joy
Parma FC beat Olympique de Marseille 3-0 that day, with former Chelsea striker Hernán Crespo scoring once for the Italian side. A good omen for the Blues, perhaps. Either way, whoever fails to get their hands on the trophy will be spared the pain Liverpool FC had to endure after losing to AC Milan in last May's final. In Athens, the changing rooms were so close together that the Liverpool players were forced to shuffle past the celebrating Rossoneri on their way to the team bus. The cavernous corridors deep in the Luzhniki guarantee that the losers will be spared at least that punishment.