 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2010–11 UEFA Champions League | ||||||
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| Date | 28 May 2011 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| UEFAMan of the Match | Lionel Messi (Barcelona)[1] | ||||||
| Fans' Man of the Match | Lionel Messi (Barcelona)[2] | ||||||
| Referee | Viktor Kassai (Hungary)[3] | ||||||
| Attendance | 87,695[4] | ||||||
| Weather | Cloudy 15 °C (59 °F) 76%humidity[5] | ||||||
←2010 2012 → | |||||||
The2011 UEFA Champions League final was anassociation football match played on 28 May 2011 atWembley Stadium in London that decided the winner of the2010–11 season of theUEFA Champions League. The winners received theEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup (the European Cup). The 2011 final was the culmination of the 56th season of the tournament, and the 19th in the Champions League era.
The final was contested byBarcelona ofSpain andManchester United ofEngland, in a repeat of the2009 final held in Rome, which Barcelona won 2–0. The match kicked off at 19:45BST. Thereferee for the match wasViktor Kassai fromHungary.[3] The venue, the new Wembley Stadium, hosted its first European Cup final, having opened in 2007; theold Wembley Stadium hosted the finals in1963,1968,1971,1978 and1992.[6]
Both teams entered the competition having won it three times previously; Manchester United in1968,1999 and2008, and Barcelona in1992,2006 and2009. To reach the final, in theknockout phase Barcelona beatArsenal,Shakhtar Donetsk and lastlyReal Madrid in the 212thEl Clásico derby, while Manchester United beatMarseille,Chelsea andSchalke 04. Both teams also entered the final as champions of their domestic leagues (thePremier League andLa Liga, respectively), but neither team had won a domestic cup that season.
Barcelona dominated the match, winning 3–1 with goals fromPedro,Lionel Messi andDavid Villa, securing their fourth Champions League title.[7]Wayne Rooney scored for Manchester United to level the score going into half-time.[8]
As a result, Barcelona qualified to play againstPorto, the winners of the2010–11 UEFA Europa League, in the2011 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco on 26 August 2011,[9][10] and they also earned a place in the semi-finals of the2011 FIFA Club World Cup in December 2011 as theUEFA representative.
The match was a rematch of the final two years earlier, which Barcelona had won 2–0 inRome. United and Barcelona had both won three European titles prior to the match. United had won three years earlier againstChelsea,Bayern Munich in 1999, andBenfica in 1968. Barcelona had won their first title 19 years earlier, againstSampdoria at Wembley Stadium. They then won their second title in 2006, beatingArsenal 2–1 inParis. The most recent title win for Barcelona was against United in 2009 and it was the most recent final for both of these teams. However, in 2008, United defeated Barcelona 1–0 on aggregate, at the semi-final stage, en route to claiming their third trophy. Barcelona were appearing in the final for the third time in six years while United were for the third time in four years.[11]
Wembley Stadium was selected as the venue for the 2011 UEFA Champions League final at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee inNyon,Switzerland, on 29 January 2009.[12] Other stadia in contention to host the final includedAllianz Arena inMunich andBerlin'sOlympiastadion.[13] Allianz Arena instead hosted the2012 final.[12] The weekend set aside by UEFA for the 2011 Champions League final was originally scheduled byThe Football League as the date for theFootball League play-off finals, which are traditionally held on the British May bank holiday weekend; however, due to UEFA's requirement that they be given exclusive use of the venue in the lead-up to the final, the play-off finals had to be relocated. Due to this breach of their contract withThe Football Association, The Football League demanded compensation.[14] On 21 January 2011, as part of a settlement agreement with the FA, theLeague One andLeague Two play-off finals were moved toOld Trafford,Manchester, to be played respectively on 29 May and 28 May 2011; theChampionship play-off final was not rescheduled.[15][16] TheConference National play-off final was also moved to Manchester, to be played at theCity of Manchester Stadium on 21 May 2011.[17]
Theoriginal Wembley Stadium hosted five European Cup finals prior to 2011. 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 its firstFA 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 arena, which opened in 2007.[6]
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
 Barcelona | Round |  Manchester United | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Panathinaikos | 5–1 (H) | Matchday 1 |  Rangers | 0–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Rubin Kazan | 1–1 (A) | Matchday 2 | Valencia | 1–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Copenhagen | 2–0 (H) | Matchday 3 |  Bursaspor | 1–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copenhagen | 1–1 (A) | Matchday 4 | Bursaspor | 3–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Panathinaikos | 3–0 (A) | Matchday 5 | Rangers | 1–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rubin Kazan | 2–0 (H) | Matchday 6 | Valencia | 1–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group D winners
Source:Soccerway | Final standings | Group C winners
Source:Soccerway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arsenal | 4–3 | 1–2 (A) | 3–1 (H) | Round of 16 |  Marseille | 2–1 | 0–0 (A) | 2–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Shakhtar Donetsk | 6–1 | 5–1 (H) | 1–0 (A) | Quarter-finals | Chelsea | 3–1 | 1–0 (A) | 2–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 3–1 | 2–0 (A) | 1–1 (H) | Semi-finals |  Schalke 04 | 6–1 | 2–0 (A) | 4–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UEFA's ambassador for the 2011 Champions League final was the formerTottenham HotspurforwardGary Lineker. In his first duty as ambassador, on 26 August 2010, Lineker helped to conduct the draw for the group stage of the competition.[18] Lineker was later involved in the unveiling of the branding design for the 2011 final at an event at Wembley Stadium on 25 November 2010. Hosted bySky Sports presenterRichard Keys, the event was also attended by UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti, former BritishMinister for Sport and representative of theCity of LondonKate Hoey, General Secretary ofThe Football Association Alex Horne, andEngland Women's internationalFaye White.
The logo for the final is in the style of a heraldic crest and features theEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup in the centre, flanked by two lions. According to the designers of the logo, London-based Radiant Studios, the lions are intended to represent the two teams that would contest the final, battling over the trophy. The use of traditional elements in a contemporary style in the design is said to have been inspired by modern British designers such asVivienne Westwood and tailors onSavile Row.[19][20]
In May 2011, Hungarian refereeViktor Kassai was chosen toreferee the final. He was joined by fellow Hungarians Gabor Erös and György Ring asassistant referees,fourth officialIstván Vad,additional assistant refereesTamás Bognár and Mihaly Fabian, andreserve assistant referee Róbert Kispál.[3]
Although Wembley Stadium can usually hold up to 90,000 spectators, the capacity for the 2011 Champions League final was approximately 86,000. The two teams that reached the final were allocated 25,000 tickets each, while a further 11,000 tickets were put on general sale. The application period for the latter opened on 24 February 2011 and closed at 17:00GMT on 18 March, with recipients to be determined by a random ballot before 6 April.[21][22]
A ticket launch event was held at London'sCity Hall on 17 February 2011, at which the above ticketing process was explained. The event was also used to promote the start of ticket sales, and was attended by final ambassador Gary Lineker, hiswomen's final counterpartHope Powell, UEFA Champions Festival ambassadorGraeme Le Saux, UEFA fourth vice-presidentMarios N. Lefkaritis, and vice-chairman of The Football AssociationBarry Bright. Le Saux and Powell were presented with the first symbolic tickets for the final by four local schoolchildren.[23]
As with the previous ten UEFA Champions League finals, beginning with the2001 final, the match ball was provided by German sports equipment companyAdidas. Revealed on 3 March 2011 at Wembley Stadium, theAdidas Finale London features the "Starball" design synonymous with the UEFA Champions League. In reflection of theSt George's Cross seen on theflag of England, the ball itself is white with red stars, connecting to a central, bright orange star. Technically, the ball shares its structure with theAdidas Finale Madrid, which was used for the2010 final.[24]
The 2011 Champions League final was officially opened on 21 May 2011 with the opening of the 2011 UEFA Champions Festival atSpeakers' Corner inHyde Park, London. The festival ran for the entire week leading up to the show-piece match at Wembley, closing a few hours before kick-off. Among the attractions at the festival were displays detailing the history of the European Cup, miniature football pitches for use by the public, and the trophy itself.[25]
TheUEFA Champions League Anthem was performed by Britishclassical crossover groupAll Angels.[26] The opening ceremony also featured a performance from English rapperTinchy Stryder.[27]
Barcelona outplayed Manchester United, controlling 68% of possession and having 22 attempts on goal compared to United's four.[28] United's game plan was to get bodies in front of Barcelona's attack and hope to keep the ball away from their end whenever they received possession.[29] United would therefore often try long balls as their method of attack. Manchester United started the better of the sides, with more possession and brief sights of goal in the opening minutes.Javier Hernández had a shot towards goal blocked, and another fly over the bar (he had been offside anyway in the approach play). Barcelona came into the game after their slow start and created a few chances.David Villa had a shot from range go just wide in the 19th minute, and another in the 21st minute was saved well by Van der Sar. Barcelona then took the lead in the 27th minute whenXavi played inPedro, who struck from inside the penalty area. It looked as if Barcelona could keep possession to win the game with just that goal. However, United equalised seven minutes later against the run of play. After some pressuring by United on Barcelona who were taking a throw-in deep in their own half,Wayne Rooney received the ball, played a one-two withRyan Giggs, and curled the ball into the corner from 15 yards. Replays showed that Giggs may have been just offside in the approach play. On the stroke of half-time, Messi almost latched onto a cross from Villa but could not turn it into the net from a few yards out. The whistle blew soon afterwards for half-time.[28]
Barcelona's dominance continued in the second half. Messi almost gave Barcelona the lead in the 52nd minute when he latched onto a rebound from a Van der Sar save fromDani Alves, butPatrice Evra cleared off the line with his head. Barcelona regained the lead in the 54th minute when Messi received the ball and fired home from 20 yards out. Barcelona dominated for the next 15 minutes or so. Messi turnedRio Ferdinand and got a shot away from about eight yards out, forcing a save from Van der Sar. In the 66th minute, Xavi had a long shot saved by Van der Sar, and Iniesta had another long shot saved by the United keeper a few minutes later. A third goal came in the 69th minute.David Villa got the ball about 20 yards out and curled a shot into the top corner to seal the result.[28][30] United tried to hit back immediately with an attack, with Rooney having a curling shot go just over the bar.Nani then made a run across Barcelona's 18-yard box in the 85th minute and got a shot away which went just wide. But there was no way back for United and Barcelona held on comfortably to win their fourth European title and the third in six years.[31]
          Barcelona[5] |      Manchester United[5] |
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UEFA Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[3] |
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In a gesture by his teammates,Eric Abidal, who had undergone surgery only two months earlier to remove a tumour in his liver, was given the honour of wearing the captain's armband during the trophy presentation ceremony. He was the first player to lift the trophy. Speaking afterwards, Abidal, who was in tears, appreciated the gesture, and spoke of how "special" his club was.[33]
Barcelona coachPep Guardiola singled out Messi after the game, stating the Argentine was "the best player [he'd] ever seen" and that Messi "made the difference" in the game.[34] Meanwhile, Manchester United managerSir Alex Ferguson acknowledged that the Barcelona side was the best team he had ever faced.[35] His sentiments were echoed by United captainNemanja Vidić and defenderRio Ferdinand.[36]
Gerard Piqué cut the mesh from the net in front of the Barcelona fans where Barcelona had scored the two winning goals, and took it back to the club museum at theCamp Nou. The Barcelona players, coaches, and their families then formed a circle at centre field and danced. The sprinklers at Wembley came on at this time and the players and coaches celebrated under them.[37]
The match was the last for Manchester United goalkeeperEdwin van der Sar, who had announced his retirement from football to follow the 2011 season.[38]
The match was shown onITV andSky Sports in the United Kingdom. In the United States,Fox aired the final for the second consecutive year.[39] UK-based outside broadcast facilities providerNEP Visions provided host coverage of the event.[40] InSouth America,Rede Globo andRede Bandeirantes broadcast the match forBrazil.[41]Sky Deutschland (Pay TV) andSat. 1 were broadcasting the match forGermany, public broadcasterSF 2 showed the final inSwitzerland, as well as, the public broadcasterORF 1 inAustria.[42]
The match was broadcast live in 3D in the Trädgår'n club hall inGothenburg, Sweden on theGuinness Book of World Records' largest television.[43][44]
