Emilio Butragueño's guide to the Santiago Bernabéu
Friday, May 21, 2010
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Former Real Madrid CF forward Emilio Butragueño gives UEFA.com a behind-the-scenes tour of the Santiago Bernabéu, venue for tonight's UEFA Champions League final.
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With the UEFA Champions League final between FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano rapidly approaching, showpiece ambassador Emilio Butragueño gave UEFA.com a behind-the-scenes tour of the venue for European club football's most prestigious match − the Santiago Bernabéu.
In an access-all-areas walkabout, the former Real Madrid CF striker speaks enthusiastically about the inspiration behind the stadium's construction in 1947, then club president Santiago Bernabéu. "We realise now the extraordinary vision that Santiago Bernabéu had in those days," said Butragueño of the man from whom the stadium takes its name.
Butragueño's tour takes in the glittering trophy room and the many history-steeped displays which decorate the stadium's inner corridors, before progressing on to the pitch, where he marvels at the vast expanse of the towering venue. "It is as if the stadium could swallow you up," he said . "It is a wonderful experience. You become a football player to come to places like this. It is magnificent, magnificent."
The Santiago Bernabéu staged European Champion Clubs' Cup finals in 1957, 1969 and 1980, games which Butragueño describes as "some of the best football matches ever to grace any stadium". With another to come, the former Spanish international is looking forward to an "excellent feast of football".