 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2012–13 UEFA Champions League | ||||||
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| Date | 25 May 2013 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| UEFAMan of the Match | Arjen Robben(Bayern Munich)[1] | ||||||
| Fans' Man of the Match | Manuel Neuer(Bayern Munich)[2] | ||||||
| Referee | Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)[3] | ||||||
| Attendance | 86,298[4] | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny 14 °C (57 °F) 40%humidity[5] | ||||||
←2012 2014 → | |||||||
The2013 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the2012–13 UEFA Champions League, the 58th season of Europe's premier clubfootball tournament organised byUEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to theUEFA Champions League.
The match took place on Saturday, 25 May 2013, atWembley Stadium inLondon, England,[6] between GermanBundesliga clubsBorussia Dortmund andBayern Munich. In the first all-German Champions League final, Bayern won the match 2–1 with goals fromMario Mandžukić and man of the matchArjen Robben coming either side of anİlkay Gündoğan penalty for Dortmund.
One week later, Bayern won the2012–13 DFB-Pokal and, having already won the2012–13 Bundesliga, completed thecontinental treble. As a result of their Champions League win, Bayern qualified to play againstChelsea, the winners of the2012–13 UEFA Europa League, in the2013 UEFA Super Cup, and also earned the right to enter the semi-finals of the2013 FIFA Club World Cup as theUEFA representative. They would eventually go on to win both competitions.
A viewership of 21.6 million on the GermanZDF and over 360 million worldwide has been reported, making it the most watched sports broadcast of 2013.[7]
This was the first time in the history of the Champions League (and European Cup) that the final was contested between two German sides. There were three previous Champions League finals between two clubs from the same country:2000 (Spain),2003 (Italy), and2008 (England).[8]
It was Bayern Munich's 10th European Cup/Champions League final, third all-time behindReal Madrid (12) andA.C. Milan (11). They won four of those finals: in1974,1975,1976, and most recently in2001.[9] The 2013 final was Bayern's third final in four years; they lost in both2010 and2012 (as the first team since 1984 to reach the Final held in their home stadium), adding to previous final losses in1982,1987, and1999.[10]
For Dortmund, this was their second Champions League final, with them winning their first title in1997. The next season as defending champions, they defeated Bayern in their only previous meetings in European competitions, winning 1–0 on aggregate in the1997–98 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, before being eliminated 2–0 on aggregate in the semi-finals by Real Madrid, managed at the time byJupp Heynckes.[11]
In 2003, Bayern provided a €2 million loan without collateral to the nearly bankrupt Dortmund which has since been repaid.[12][13][14] There has been a heated rivalry between Bayern and Dortmund, known in Germany asDer Klassiker, which became prevalent during the 1990s. In 2011–12, Dortmund won theBundesliga and theDFB Pokal with Bayern finishing runners-up in both competitions; Dortmund clinched the league title in a home match where bananas were tossed at Bayern goalkeeperManuel Neuer.[15] In 2012–13, Bayern bested Dortmund for both trophies, as well as theDFL-Supercup. Just before Dortmund's Champions League semi-final, it was announced that one of their homegrown stars,Mario Götze, would make a €37 million transfer to Bayern for the upcoming 2013–14 season,[16] a move that some felt would have put more distance between wealthy Bayern and the rest of the Bundesliga.[17][18] The final 2012–13 Bundesliga game between the two clubs was a 1–1 draw marked by acrimony as Bayern'sRafinha was sent off for elbowing Dortmund's Jakub Blaszczykowski, sparking an argument on the touchline between Dortmund coachJürgen Klopp and Bayern sporting directorMatthias Sammer.[19] The press has used terms like 'power shift' and 'changing of the guard' after Dortmund and Bayern eliminated Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, in the Champions League semi-finals.[20][21]
Wembley Stadium, England'snational stadium and home of theEngland national football team, was announced as the venue of the 2013 final on 16 June 2011.[22] Having hosted the2011 final, Wembley made history for being the first stadium in the tournament's history to host the final twice in three years.[23] Discussing the short time between the two finals,UEFA PresidentMichel Platini explained that the final would be in celebration of 150 years of theFootball Association's existence.[24] It was the seventh occasion that Wembley hosted the final after hosting the1963,1968,1971,1978,1992 and the2011 finals of Europe's premier club competition.[25]
Theoriginal Wembley Stadium hosted five European Cup finals. The1968 and1978 finals were both won by English sides:Manchester United beatBenfica 4–1 in 1968 andLiverpool defeatedClub Brugge 1–0 in 1978. Benfica also lost in the1963 final, beaten 2–1 byA.C. Milan, whileAjax won the first of three consecutive European Cups at Wembley in1971, beatingPanathinaikos 2–0. In the1992 final, Spanish clubBarcelona defeated Italian sideSampdoria 1–0 in the final match played as the European Cup prior to the following season's introduction of the current Champions League format.
First opened for theBritish Empire Exhibition in 1923, the stadium was originally known as the Empire Stadium. That year, it hosted itsfirst FA Cup Final, when almost 200,000 spectators attempted to watch the match betweenBolton Wanderers andWest Ham United. Wembley played host to all ofEngland's matches at the1966 FIFA World Cup, including the 4–2 victory overWest Germany in thefinal, and atUEFA Euro 1996. The original stadium was closed in 2000 and demolished three years later, to be replaced by a 90,000-capacity stadium, which opened in 2007.[26] The new stadium hosted the2011 UEFA Champions League final, which pittedBarcelona againstManchester United in a re-match of the final played two years previously. Barcelona claimed their fourth European title as they ran out 3–1 winners.
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
 Borussia Dortmund | Round | Bayern Munich | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Ajax | 1–0 (H) | Matchday 1 |  Valencia | 2–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Manchester City | 1–1 (A) | Matchday 2 |  BATE Borisov | 1–3 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 2–1 (H) | Matchday 3 |  Lille | 1–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 2–2 (A) | Matchday 4 | Lille | 6–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ajax | 4–1 (A) | Matchday 5 | Valencia | 1–1 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manchester City | 1–0 (H) | Matchday 6 | BATE Borisov | 4–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group D winners
Source:Soccerway | Final standings | Group F winners
Source:Soccerway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Shakhtar Donetsk | 5–2 | 2–2 (A) | 3–0 (H) | Round of 16 | Arsenal | 3–3 (a) | 3–1 (A) | 0–2 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Málaga | 3–2 | 0–0 (A) | 3–2 (H) | Quarter-finals |  Juventus | 4–0 | 2–0 (H) | 2–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 4–3 | 4–1 (H) | 0–2 (A) | Semi-finals | Barcelona | 7–0 | 4–0 (H) | 3–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The two-time Champions League winner and ex-England internationalSteve McManaman was appointed as the official ambassador for the final.[27]
In May 2013, ItalianrefereeNicola Rizzoli was selected to supervise the final. He was joined by compatriots Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani asassistant referees,Gianluca Rocchi andPaolo Tagliavento asadditional assistant referees, Gianluca Cariolato asreserve assistant referee, and SlovenianDamir Skomina asfourth official.[3]
Theopening ceremony was directed byKevin Spacey's executive assistant andThe Prince's Trust ambassador Hamish Jenkinson and his business partner Jonny Grant, who had previously directed the 2011 opening ceremony, also at Wembley. The ceremony, also titled "Battle of Kings", was produced by Films United. It was directed and produced byGrigorij Richters and his producing partner Alex Souabni. Both were the former filmmakers-in-residence ofKevin Spacey and Jenkinson atThe Old Vic Theatre inLondon. The film focused around the story ofactivist andfundraiserStephen Sutton, who was part of the group of performers.[28][29]
The match ball for the final was the Adidas Finale Wembley, which featured the same "Starball" panel configuration as the last three finals. The ball was predominantly white, with each star in blue with yellow patterning and a purple border. Six of the 12 stars featured designs recalling the six previous times that the European Cup final had been held at Wembley Stadium. The ball was unveiled on 30 January 2013 and was used for all knockout stage matches in the 2012–13 competition.[30]
The international ticket sales phase for the general public ran from 11 February to 15 March 2013.[31] Tickets were available in four price categories:£330, £230, £140, and £60. Due to the high demand for tickets, allocation was determined by a lottery.[32]
The two finalist clubs were allocated 25,000 tickets each. Borussia Dortmund received 502,567 requests for tickets,[33] while there were approximately 250,000 orders for tickets from members of Bayern Munich.[34] Both clubs used draws as a means of awarding tickets.[33][34]
As is the annual custom, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women's Champions League trophies were presented to the host city at a special ceremony atBanqueting House, Whitehall, on 19 April 2013. Receiving the trophies from UEFA PresidentMichel Platini were theMinister for Sport and the OlympicsHugh Robertson and theMayor of London's commissioner for sport,Kate Hoey. Representing the previous season's competition winners wereJohn Terry,Frank Lampard,Petr Čech,Fernando Torres andBranislav Ivanović ofChelsea, andLotta Schelin of theLyon ladies' team. Also in attendance were final ambassadorsGraeme Le Saux andFaye White, who had escorted the trophies fromStamford Bridge to Banqueting House via London's public transport system, andDavid Bernstein, the chairman ofThe Football Association.[35]
The UEFA Champions Festival was held at the International Quarter,Stratford City, next to theQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park, from 23 to 26 May 2013.[36]
The2013 UEFA Women's Champions League final was held atStamford Bridge on 23 May 2013 betweenWolfsburg andLyon. Wolfsburg won the game, withMartina Müller scoring the only goal. This ensured that for the first time ever the same nation won both the men's and women's European club titles in the same year.[37]
Borussia Dortmund'sMario Götze, who would join Bayern Munich in the summer, missed the match with a hamstring injury that had kept him out since the semi-final second leg against Real Madrid. Right-backŁukasz Piszczek did play, however, despite being due for hip surgery, while centre-backMats Hummels recovered from a sprained ankle in time to play.[38] Bayern Munich were without defenderHolger Badstuber, who was expected to be out for 10 months with a knee injury,[39] andToni Kroos, who had yet to recover from an injury sustained in the quarter-final.[40]
Dortmund were the dominant team in the first half-hour of the match, pressing Bayern intensely.Manuel Neuer made five important saves in the first 35 minutes, including two from shots byRobert Lewandowski and one fromMarco Reus. Despite this dominance, Dortmund failed to generate many dangerous attacks, as Neuer's only difficult save came whenJakub Błaszczykowski volleyed a cross toward Neuer's near post, which the Bayern keeper deflected out for a corner. AMario Mandžukić header forced a save fromRoman Weidenfeller andJavi Martínez put a header from the ensuing corner just over the bar. The first half was an open affair; while Dortmund dominated the early stages, Bayern were still able to generate several chances throughArjen Robben, who forced Weidenfeller into three saves in the first half. Dortmund were able to generate many of their chances due to uncharacteristically poor play fromPhilipp Lahm, who gave the ball back to Dortmund in his own half on two occasions.[41]
Bayern later took the initiative and scored the first goal in the 60th minute, when Robben andFranck Ribéry combined to set up Mandžukić for a left-footed finish, the ball going pastMarcel Schmelzer on the goal line from three yards out.[41] Shortly after,Dante raised his foot in the penalty area and caught Reus in the stomach;İlkay Gündoğan scored the resulting penalty, shooting low into the left corner and sending Neuer the wrong way. Bayern had a chance to re-take the lead several moments later, whenThomas Müller rounded Weidenfeller and attempted to find Robben, with the ball rolling towards the open goal, only forNeven Subotić to make a last ditch clearance off the line, preventing a tap-in from Robben.[41] Late in the match, Bayern seemed the more likely to score, asDavid Alaba forced Weidenfeller into a save with a shot from long range. Moments later, a through-ball from Robben caught the Dortmund defence cold, resulting in Bayern having Müller and Mandžukić in a two-on-one with Weidenfeller. Subotić again came to Dortmund's rescue, as he was able to catch up and pressure Müller into playing a poor pass, which left Mandžukić with a tight angle, and the Croatian blasted into the side netting. With a minute left in normal time, Ribéry played in Robben with a back-heeled pass; the Dutch forward burst past the defence and scuffed a weak, low shot past the onrushing Weidenfeller with his left foot from eight yards out for the winning goal.[41]
        Borussia Dortmund[5] |      Bayern Munich[5] |
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UEFA Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[3] | Match rules[42]
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Borussia Dortmund's manager Jürgen Klopp commented that the long season caught up with Dortmund. "It was late in the game and from the 75th minute it was very hard for us after a tough season, but we deserved to be in the final and we showed that tonight" he said.[44]Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels said the game was really close and very disappointing, and that they were the better team in the first 25 minutes but missed the goal that was needed.[45]Bayern Munich's manager Jupp Heynckes said that "We have achieved something unique".[46]
