2006 UEFA Champions League Final
Encyclopedia
The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League
, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Barcelona
of Spain
and Arsenal
of England
at the Stade de France
in Saint-Denis
, Paris
, France
, on Wednesday, 17 May 2006, to decide the winner of the Champions League. One-time winner Barcelona were appearing in their fifth final, whereas Arsenal were appearing in the final for the first time and in doing so became the first club from London to feature in the final.
Each club needed to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final, playing 12 matches in total. Barcelona won their group and progressed to the final after beating Chelsea
, Benfica and Milan
, respectively. Arsenal won their group to move into the knockout stage, and progressed without conceding a goal against Real Madrid
, Juventus
and Villarreal
, respectively.
Arsenal had Jens Lehmann
sent off early in the first half, however they took the lead through Sol Campbell
towards the end of the first half. Barcelona equalised through Samuel Eto'o
near the end of the second half, and a few minutes later Juliano Belletti
scored to give Barcelona a 2–1 victory. This was Barcelona's second triumph in the competition, 14 years after they first won the European Cup in 1992
.
. The group stages were contested as eight double round robin groups of four teams, with the top two qualifying for the knockout stages. Knockout matches were decided based on home and away matches
, with the away goals rule
, extra time and penalty shootout
s as tiebreakers if needed.
after considering its merits in terms of capacity, stadium infrastructure and dossiers including city and airport agreements and promotional plans. UEFA also conducted a variety of site visits. The Stade de France previously staged the 2000 UEFA Champions League Final
between Real Madrid and Valencia
, which Madrid won 3–0 and was the first time two clubs from the same country had faced each other in the final. Saint-Denis was chosen to host the final in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first European Cup final in 1956
, held in nearby Paris
at the Parc des Princes
, now home of Paris Saint-Germain. The Parc des Princes also hosted the 1975
and 1981
European Cup finals, the 1978
and 1995
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
finals, and the 1998 UEFA Cup Final
.
Barcelona were to show the match live from their Mini Estadi
on a 70 metres (229.7 ft) television screen for an estimated audience of 15,276. Before the final an estimated 1.2 million people converged on to the streets of Barcelona
, as the team toured the city on two open-top double-decker buses to celebrate winning La Liga. Arsenal went into the match with the record for the longest time without a conceding a goal. They had gone 919 minutes without conceding since conceding against AFC Ajax in the group stages. Arsenal were featuring in their first European final six years to the day since their last final. They faced Galatasaray
in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final
; the match had finished goalless after 90 minutes and extra time. Arsenal lost the subsequent penalty shootout 4–1. Of the players who featured in that final, only Thierry Henry
and Dennis Bergkamp
remained at the club, whilst Sylvinho
, who had featured for Arsenal in the final, was now a Barcelona player.
The 2006 final was the first time that Arsenal had reached the showpiece match; in doing so they became the first club from London
to feature in the final. Barcelona were appearing in the final for the fifth time; their last appearance had been in a 4–0 loss to Milan in 1994. Two more losses preceded the 1994 final (1961
and 1986
), and their only success in the competition came in 1992
when they beat Sampdoria
. Going into the final Barcelona, had won their domestic league
the fortnight before the final. They were regarded as being the best side on the continent, owing to the fact they possessed players such as Ronaldinho
and Samuel Eto'o
. Barcelona player Deco
dismissed the notion of Barcelona being favourites, insisting they would not be complacent: "Milan were winning 3–0 last year against Liverpool and ended up losing in the end. We need to be serious, calm and fully concentrated so that we don't make any errors".
Neither side had been beaten en route to the final, with Arsenal only conceding two goals in their 12 matches before the final, including a record ten successive matches without conceding. Barcelona, on the other hand, had scored 114 goals in all competitions before the final. The two finalists were guaranteed a financial windfall from their progress to the final. Arsenal would receive a revenue of around €37.3m if they won and approximately €34.7m if they lost. Barcelona would earn €31.5m from revenue if they won, and around €28.9m if they were to lose. Included in the total for participating in the final, the UEFA Champions League winners would collect approximately €6.4m, with the runners-up receiving approximately €3.8m. The final marked the appearance of a new trophy following Liverpool's
triumph over Milan the previous year
. As Liverpool won the competition for the fifth time they were entitled to keep the trophy, creating the need for a new trophy.
Barcelona were expected to line up in a 4–2–3–1 formation, with Ronaldinho, Ludovic Giuly
and Deco supporting Samuel Eto'o who would be deployed as the lone striker. They had doubts about the fitness of Lionel Messi
going into the final. He had pulled a thigh muscle during the second leg of their match with Chelsea, and had not played since, though he was included in the 22 man squad for the final. Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard
stated he would leave it late before deciding whether to select him. Despite being included in the squad Messi did not feature in the final. Arsenal were expected to line up in a 4–5–1 formation, with Thierry Henry
as the sole striker. There was much discussion about whether José Antonio Reyes
would take the place of Robert Pirès
on the left of midfield. It had been announced before the match that this would be Pirès' last match as he had agreed to join Villarreal
next season.
On the morning of the final it emerged that the assistant referee for the game Ole Hermann Borgan
had posed for photographs in a Barcelona shirt for Drammens Tidende
, a Norwegian newspaper. After initially sticking by the official, UEFA eventually decided to replace him with fellow Norwegian Arild Sundet
. Norway's head of refereeing Rune Pedersen stated that "It is an unwritten rule that referees should not do anything that can doubt their impartial stance".
and Edmílson lining up in midfield alongside Deco, ahead of Xavi
and Andrés Iniesta
. Lionel Messi did not feature in the match day squad, despite returning from injury and featuring in the 22 man squad, whilst Henrik Larsson
in potentially his last game for the club was among the substitutes. Arsenal fielded a 4–5–1 formation, which saw Emmanuel Eboué
replace the injured Lauren
, and Ashley Cole
return at left-back to make only his third appearance in the competition that season due to injury. Thierry Henry was deployed as the lone striker, with Fredrik Ljungberg
playing off his shoulder.
As both teams' first choice colours featured claret, Arsenal wore their yellow away strip, whilst Barcelona wore their traditional blue and maroon striped kit. Arsenal won the coin toss
and Barcelona kicked off. Barcelona almost immediately came under pressure when Thierry Henry shot straight at Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés
, who conceded a corner
. From the resulting corner Arsenal had another chance again courtesy of Henry, whose shot was again saved by Valdés. The next attack in the seventh minute resulted in Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann
saving from Ludovic Giuly after he shot from a narrow angle. Four minutes later Barcelona were awarded a free-kick
35 yards (32 m) from goal; Ronaldinho subsequently shot wide of the goal. With 18 minutes played, Lehmann became the first person to be sent off
in a European Cup final after he brought down Samuel Eto'o
outside the Arsenal box. Giuly subsequently scored, but the goal was ruled out due to the foul. Arsenal subsequently substituted Robert Pirès for Manuel Almunia
, Arsenal's substitute goalkeeper. The free-kick was sent wide by Ronaldinho. Following Lehmann's dismissal Barcelona began to exert more pressure on Arsenal, to the point where Emmanuel Eboué was cautioned for a high tackle
. Arsenal overcame their numerical disadvantage to score in the 35th minute when Sol Campbell
headed in from a free-kick following Carles Puyol
's foul on Emmanuel Eboué, although some observers believed that Eboué appeared to dive
. Arsenal held onto their lead for the remainder of the half, as Barcelona's best chance came courtesy of Eto'o, whose shot hit the post via a save from Almunia.
Barcelona replaced Edmílson, who had picked up an injury in the first half, with Andrés Iniesta for the second half in an effort to equalise. The period immediately after half‑time saw few chances, but after six minutes of the second half Iniesta had a shot saved by Almunia. Just after an hour's play, Barcelona substituted Mark van Bommel for striker Henrik Larsson
. Minutes later, Alexander Hleb received a pass from Henry but shot wide of the goal. Arsenal began to press forward and both Henry and Fredrik Ljungberg saw shots saved; Henry then had another chance to score after being put through by Hleb, but he shot straight at Valdés. Following this attack Oleguer was replaced by Juliano Belletti
, and Arsenal responded by replacing Cesc Fàbregas
with Mathieu Flamini
. Immediately following the substitutions, Iniesta sent a pass down the left flank for Larsson, who passed to Eto'o, who equalised for Barcelona. Four minutes later Barcelona had another attack, as Larsson crossed to Belletti, who ran onto the ball and shot through Almunia's legs to score at the near post. The remaining minutes saw Arsenal replace Hleb with Reyes in an attempt to equalise, but Barcelona had the best chance during this period, only for Giuly to hit his shot straight at Almunia. Following this, Larsson impeded the Arsenal goalkeeper and was cautioned as a result.
The match finished soon after with Barcelona winning 2–1. A podium was hastily arranged in the middle of the pitch to present the trophy and medals to the teams. Barcelona captain Carles Puyol collected the trophy from UEFA president Lennart Johansson
as Barcelona celebrated their second European Cup triumph. As a result of winning the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona would face Sevilla
, the winners of the UEFA Cup
, in the UEFA Super Cup. The subsequent match, played on the 25 August 2006, was won 3–0
by Sevilla. Barcelona's victory meant they would also participate in the FIFA Club World Cup
. Receiving a bye in the first round, they beat Club América
4–0 in the semi-finals to progress to the final
where they faced Copa Libertadores champions Internacional
, who won 1–0.
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center>
ARSENAL:
|
GK
1
Jens Lehmann
RB
27
Emmanuel Eboué
CB
28
Kolo Touré
CB
23
Sol Campbell
LB
3
Ashley Cole
RM
7
Robert Pirès
CM
19
Gilberto Silva
CM
15
Cesc Fàbregas
LM
13
Alexander Hleb
SS
8
Fredrik Ljungberg
CF
14
Thierry Henry
(c)
Substitutes:
GK
24
Manuel Almunia
DF
20
Philippe Senderos
DF
22
Gaël Clichy
MF
16
Mathieu Flamini
FW
9
José Antonio Reyes
FW
10
Dennis Bergkamp
FW
11
Robin van Persie
Manager:
Arsène Wenger
's decision to send off Lehmann. Football pundit Mark Lawrenson
stated: "The game changed when Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off". Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger agreed: "When Jens Lehmann got sent off, that left us with 70 minutes to play with ten against eleven, against a team that retains the ball very well". He refused to openly criticise this decision, although he did criticise the decision to award Barcelona's first goal, as he felt that Samuel Eto'o was offside. Wenger was also adamant that his young side would bounce back from the defeat. One person who did criticise the referee was Thierry Henry, stating: "I was kicked all over the place. I expected the referee to do his job. I don't think he did". There was much discussion after the match over whether Henry would remain with Arsenal or move to Barcelona, whom he had been linked with a move to over the past months. Arsène Wenger was asked post match if Henry would leave, to which the Arsenal manager replied: "I don't know. I don't think so". However, on 19 May, Henry signed a new four-year contract with Arsenal, ending the speculation about a possible move to Barcelona.
Thierry Henry paid tribute to Larsson's contribution to Barcelona's win after the game, saying, "People always talk about Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Giuly and everything, but I didn't see them today, I saw Henrik Larsson. He came on, he changed the game, that is what killed the game. Sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Eto'o and people like that; you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference, and that was Henrik Larsson tonight." Indeed his ability to give Barcelona the cutting edge required to overcome Arsenal was noted by the international press.
Henrik Larsson
, who provided the two assists for the goals, was delighted with the triumph and had no regrets over deciding to leave Barcelona after the match: "I want to play football. I feel I haven't played as much as I would love to because of the great players we have at Barcelona". Fellow Barcelona player Giovanni van Bronckhorst
was emotional as he won against his former club: "It's special to win the final, and even more special to do it against your old team". Samuel Eto'o, scorer of Barcelona's first goal, cited Liverpool's comeback against Milan as inspiration for Barcelona's victory: "After having seen what Liverpool did last year, we told ourselves not to throw in the towel. We followed Liverpool's example". Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard praised the role of goalkeeper Victor Valdés in their victory, stating that he made a number of important saves to keep them in the match: "Valdes played a decisive role. He saved us at crucial moments".
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
in Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on Wednesday, 17 May 2006, to decide the winner of the Champions League. One-time winner Barcelona were appearing in their fifth final, whereas Arsenal were appearing in the final for the first time and in doing so became the first club from London to feature in the final.
Each club needed to progress through the group stage and knockout rounds to reach the final, playing 12 matches in total. Barcelona won their group and progressed to the final after beating Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Benfica and Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, respectively. Arsenal won their group to move into the knockout stage, and progressed without conceding a goal against Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
and Villarreal
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community...
, respectively.
Arsenal had Jens Lehmann
Jens Lehmann
Jens Gerhard Lehmann is a German former football goalkeeper. He was voted UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for the 1996–97 and 2005–06 seasons, and he has been selected for three World Cup squads. He was a member of Arsenal's Invincibles, playing every match of their famous unbeaten title winning...
sent off early in the first half, however they took the lead through Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
towards the end of the first half. Barcelona equalised through Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Fils is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He is also the current captain of the Cameroon national team.Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy...
near the end of the second half, and a few minutes later Juliano Belletti
Juliano Belletti
Juliano Haus Belletti , is a former Brazilian footballer. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A...
scored to give Barcelona a 2–1 victory. This was Barcelona's second triumph in the competition, 14 years after they first won the European Cup in 1992
1992 European Cup Final
The 1992 European Cup Final was a football match held on 20 May 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, between FC Barcelona of Spain and U.C. Sampdoria of Italy. Barcelona won the game 1–0, thanks to a Ronald Koeman free-kick, to record their first triumph in the competition. This was the last tournament...
.
Route to the final
Teams qualified for the Champions League group stage, either directly or through three preliminary rounds, based on both their position in the preceding domestic league and the strength of that league. Both Arsenal and Barcelona entered the competition in the group stages: Arsenal by finishing second in the 2004–05 FA Premier League, and Barcelona by winning La Liga2004–05 La Liga
2004–05 season was composed of the following clubs:* Albacete Balompié* Athletic Bilbao* Atlético Madrid* FC Barcelona* Real Betis* Deportivo de La Coruña* Espanyol* Getafe CF* Levante UD* Málaga CF* Real Mallorca* CD Numancia* CA Osasuna...
. The group stages were contested as eight double round robin groups of four teams, with the top two qualifying for the knockout stages. Knockout matches were decided based on home and away matches
Two-legged match
In sport , a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or legs, with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of the scores of the two legs...
, with the away goals rule
Away goals rule
The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...
, extra time and penalty shootout
Penalty shootout (football)
A penalty shoot-out, referred to as kicks from the penalty mark in the Laws of the Game, is the FIFA official term for a method used in association football to decide which team progresses to the next stage of a tournament following a tied game...
s as tiebreakers if needed.
| Barcelona | Round | Arsenal | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Group stage |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Knockout stage | Opponent | Result | Legs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
3–2 | 2–1 away; 1–1 home | First knockout round | Real Madrid Real Madrid C.F. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la... |
1–0 | 1–0 away; 0–0 home | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Benfica |
2–0 | 0–0 away; 2–0 home | Quarter-finals |  JuventusJuventus F.C. Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont... |
2–0 | 2–0 home; 0–0 away | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milan A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others... |
1–0 | 1–0 away; 0–0 home | Semi-finals | Villarreal Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community... |
1–0 | 1–0 home; 0–0 away | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Build-up
UEFA awarded the right to host the final to the Stade de France in Saint-DenisSaint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
after considering its merits in terms of capacity, stadium infrastructure and dossiers including city and airport agreements and promotional plans. UEFA also conducted a variety of site visits. The Stade de France previously staged the 2000 UEFA Champions League Final
2000 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2000 UEFA Champions League Final took place at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France on 24 May 2000. The match pitted Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Valencia...
between Real Madrid and Valencia
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football club based in Valencia, Spain. They play in La Liga and are one of the most successful and biggest clubs in Spanish Football and European Football. Valencia have won six La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey trophies, two Fairs Cups which was the...
, which Madrid won 3–0 and was the first time two clubs from the same country had faced each other in the final. Saint-Denis was chosen to host the final in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first European Cup final in 1956
1956 European Cup Final
The 1956 European Cup Final was the first ever final in the pan-European football competition, the European Cup, now known as the UEFA Champions League. It was contested by Real Madrid of Spain and Stade de Reims-Champagne from France. It was played at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 13 June 1956...
, held in nearby Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at the Parc des Princes
Parc des Princes
The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
, now home of Paris Saint-Germain. The Parc des Princes also hosted the 1975
1975 European Cup Final
The 1975 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Parc des Princes, Paris, on 28 May 1975 between Leeds United and Bayern Munich.-Background:...
and 1981
1981 European Cup Final
The 1981 European Cup Final was an association football match between Liverpool of England and Real Madrid of Spain on 27 May 1981 at the Parc des Princes, Paris, France. It was the final match of the 1980–81 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the European Cup. Liverpool were appearing in...
European Cup finals, the 1978
1978 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
The 1978 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match contested between R.S.C. Anderlecht of Belgium and Austria Vienna of Austria. It was the final match of the European Cup Winners' Cup 1977–78 and the 18th European Cup Winners' Cup Final. The final was held at Parc des Princes in Paris,...
and 1995
1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final
The 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match on 10 May 1995 contested between cup holders Arsenal of England and Real Zaragoza of Spain. The final was held at Parc des Princes in Paris. It was the final match of the 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the 35th UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final...
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
finals, and the 1998 UEFA Cup Final
1998 UEFA Cup Final
The 1998 UEFA Cup Final was a football match played at Parc des Princes in Paris on 6 May 1998 between Internazionale and Lazio of Italy. Internazionale won the match 3–0. It was the first single-legged UEFA Cup final.-Match details:...
.
Barcelona were to show the match live from their Mini Estadi
Mini Estadi
Mini Estadi is a football stadium located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The 15,276 seat stadium is situated across from Camp Nou, the home stadium of FC Barcelona.The stadium was home to FC Barcelona C until July 2007, when they disbanded...
on a 70 metres (229.7 ft) television screen for an estimated audience of 15,276. Before the final an estimated 1.2 million people converged on to the streets of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, as the team toured the city on two open-top double-decker buses to celebrate winning La Liga. Arsenal went into the match with the record for the longest time without a conceding a goal. They had gone 919 minutes without conceding since conceding against AFC Ajax in the group stages. Arsenal were featuring in their first European final six years to the day since their last final. They faced Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K. (football team)
Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....
in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final
2000 UEFA Cup Final
The 2000 UEFA Cup Final was a football match contested between Galatasaray of Turkey and Arsenal of England on 17 May 2000 at Parken in Copenhagen...
; the match had finished goalless after 90 minutes and extra time. Arsenal lost the subsequent penalty shootout 4–1. Of the players who featured in that final, only Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
and Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...
remained at the club, whilst Sylvinho
Sylvinho
Sylvio Mendes Campos Junior , commonly known as Sylvinho is a retired Brazilian footballer, who played for Corinthians, Arsenal, Celta Vigo, FC Barcelona and Manchester City...
, who had featured for Arsenal in the final, was now a Barcelona player.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to feature in the final. Barcelona were appearing in the final for the fifth time; their last appearance had been in a 4–0 loss to Milan in 1994. Two more losses preceded the 1994 final (1961
1961 European Cup Final
The 1961 European Cup Final was held at the Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, on 31 May 1961, and saw Benfica play against Barcelona. This was the first final not to include Real Madrid, who had won the previous five finals. Benfica lifted the trophy for the first time, beating Barcelona 3–2.-Match...
and 1986
1986 European Cup Final
The 1986 European Cup Final was a football match held at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, on 7 May 1986, that saw Steaua Bucureşti of Romania defeat Barcelona of Spain in an extraordinary penalty shoot out, after 120 minutes of play could not separate the two sides...
), and their only success in the competition came in 1992
1992 European Cup Final
The 1992 European Cup Final was a football match held on 20 May 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, between FC Barcelona of Spain and U.C. Sampdoria of Italy. Barcelona won the game 1–0, thanks to a Ronald Koeman free-kick, to record their first triumph in the competition. This was the last tournament...
when they beat Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...
. Going into the final Barcelona, had won their domestic league
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
the fortnight before the final. They were regarded as being the best side on the continent, owing to the fact they possessed players such as Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year...
and Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Fils is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He is also the current captain of the Cameroon national team.Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy...
. Barcelona player Deco
Deco
Anderson Luís de Souza, OIH , commonly known as Deco, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for Fluminense....
dismissed the notion of Barcelona being favourites, insisting they would not be complacent: "Milan were winning 3–0 last year against Liverpool and ended up losing in the end. We need to be serious, calm and fully concentrated so that we don't make any errors".
Neither side had been beaten en route to the final, with Arsenal only conceding two goals in their 12 matches before the final, including a record ten successive matches without conceding. Barcelona, on the other hand, had scored 114 goals in all competitions before the final. The two finalists were guaranteed a financial windfall from their progress to the final. Arsenal would receive a revenue of around €37.3m if they won and approximately €34.7m if they lost. Barcelona would earn €31.5m from revenue if they won, and around €28.9m if they were to lose. Included in the total for participating in the final, the UEFA Champions League winners would collect approximately €6.4m, with the runners-up receiving approximately €3.8m. The final marked the appearance of a new trophy following Liverpool's
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
triumph over Milan the previous year
2005 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Liverpool of England and Milan of Italy at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 May 2005...
. As Liverpool won the competition for the fifth time they were entitled to keep the trophy, creating the need for a new trophy.
Barcelona were expected to line up in a 4–2–3–1 formation, with Ronaldinho, Ludovic Giuly
Ludovic Giuly
Ludovic Giuly is a French footballer who plays for Monaco as an attacking midfielder and winger. He represented France at international level, gaining 17 caps over a five-year period, and was a member of their 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup winning squad.-Early career:After starting his career with...
and Deco supporting Samuel Eto'o who would be deployed as the lone striker. They had doubts about the fitness of Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...
going into the final. He had pulled a thigh muscle during the second leg of their match with Chelsea, and had not played since, though he was included in the 22 man squad for the final. Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard
Frank Rijkaard
Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch football manager of Dutch and Surinamese descent and former player. Rijkaard has played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan, and represented his national side 73 times, scoring 10 goals. In his coaching career, he has been at the helm of the Dutch national side,...
stated he would leave it late before deciding whether to select him. Despite being included in the squad Messi did not feature in the final. Arsenal were expected to line up in a 4–5–1 formation, with Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
as the sole striker. There was much discussion about whether José Antonio Reyes
José Antonio Reyes
José Antonio Reyes Calderón is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid.Mainly a left winger but also a forward, he made his professional debuts for hometown's Sevilla at only 16, signing with England's Arsenal aged 20.After a relatively successful career abroad, Reyes...
would take the place of Robert Pirès
Robert Pirès
Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04...
on the left of midfield. It had been announced before the match that this would be Pirès' last match as he had agreed to join Villarreal
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. , usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or just Villarreal, is a Spanish Primera División football club based in Vila-real, a city in the province of Castellón within the Valencian Community...
next season.
On the morning of the final it emerged that the assistant referee for the game Ole Hermann Borgan
Ole Hermann Borgan
Ole Hermann Borgan is a Norwegian football assistant referee. He has a great amount of experience and after having been appointed by UEFA on New Year's Day 1996, he has run the line for many European matches and international competitions including UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal.Internationally he...
had posed for photographs in a Barcelona shirt for Drammens Tidende
Drammens Tidende
Drammens Tidende is Norway's tenth largest newspaper, with a circulation of 40,954. Owned by Edda Media, the newspaper convers central parts of Buskerud as well as Drammen with seven weekly issues...
, a Norwegian newspaper. After initially sticking by the official, UEFA eventually decided to replace him with fellow Norwegian Arild Sundet
Arild Sundet
Arild Sundet is a Norwegian Football Assistant Referee. Having been appointed by UEFA to referee European Cup competitions, he has run the line for many European matches, including the UEFA Champions League....
. Norway's head of refereeing Rune Pedersen stated that "It is an unwritten rule that referees should not do anything that can doubt their impartial stance".
Summary
Barcelona fielded a 4–3–3 formation with Mark van BommelMark van Bommel
Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Milan and captains the Netherlands national team as a midfielder....
and Edmílson lining up in midfield alongside Deco, ahead of Xavi
Xavi
Xavier Hernández i Creus , commonly known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi , is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 14-year career....
and Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta
Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team....
. Lionel Messi did not feature in the match day squad, despite returning from injury and featuring in the 22 man squad, whilst Henrik Larsson
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before...
in potentially his last game for the club was among the substitutes. Arsenal fielded a 4–5–1 formation, which saw Emmanuel Eboué
Emmanuel Eboué
Emmanuel Eboué is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and Ivory Coast. His natural position is at right back, but he is also used in various other positions. Eboué also holds a Belgian passport.-Early career:...
replace the injured Lauren
Lauren Etame Mayer
Laureano Bisan-Etame Mayer , commonly known as Lauren, is a retired Cameroonian footballer of Equatoguinean origin, who formerly played for the Cameroonian national team.-Early career:...
, and Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world....
return at left-back to make only his third appearance in the competition that season due to injury. Thierry Henry was deployed as the lone striker, with Fredrik Ljungberg
Fredrik Ljungberg
Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a right winger for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Ljungberg was captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear...
playing off his shoulder.
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
and Barcelona kicked off. Barcelona almost immediately came under pressure when Thierry Henry shot straight at Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés
Víctor Valdés
Víctor Valdés i Arribas is a Spanish football goalkeeper who currently plays for FC Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga.He is the most successful goalkeeper in Barcelona's history and is widely considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world, having won a total of 17 titles including five...
, who conceded a corner
Corner kick
A corner kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football. It was first devised in Sheffield under the Sheffield Rules 1867...
. From the resulting corner Arsenal had another chance again courtesy of Henry, whose shot was again saved by Valdés. The next attack in the seventh minute resulted in Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann
Jens Lehmann
Jens Gerhard Lehmann is a German former football goalkeeper. He was voted UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for the 1996–97 and 2005–06 seasons, and he has been selected for three World Cup squads. He was a member of Arsenal's Invincibles, playing every match of their famous unbeaten title winning...
saving from Ludovic Giuly after he shot from a narrow angle. Four minutes later Barcelona were awarded a free-kick
Direct free kick
A direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football following a foul. Unlike an indirect free kick, a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.-Award:...
35 yards (32 m) from goal; Ronaldinho subsequently shot wide of the goal. With 18 minutes played, Lehmann became the first person to be sent off
Misconduct (football)
Misconduct in association football is any conduct by a player that is deemed by the referee to warrant a disciplinary sanction in accordance with Law 12 of the Laws of the Game. Misconduct may occur at any time, including when the ball is out of play, during half-time and before and after the...
in a European Cup final after he brought down Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Fils is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He is also the current captain of the Cameroon national team.Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy...
outside the Arsenal box. Giuly subsequently scored, but the goal was ruled out due to the foul. Arsenal subsequently substituted Robert Pirès for Manuel Almunia
Manuel Almunia
Manuel Almunia Rivero is a professional footballer. He plays as a goalkeeper for Arsenal.-Early career:Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Almunia started his senior career with Osasuna's reserve team in 1997, playing two seasons with the team in Segunda División B...
, Arsenal's substitute goalkeeper. The free-kick was sent wide by Ronaldinho. Following Lehmann's dismissal Barcelona began to exert more pressure on Arsenal, to the point where Emmanuel Eboué was cautioned for a high tackle
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
. Arsenal overcame their numerical disadvantage to score in the 35th minute when Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
headed in from a free-kick following Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol i Saforcada is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team.Mainly a central defender, he can also play on either flank, especially as a right back...
's foul on Emmanuel Eboué, although some observers believed that Eboué appeared to dive
Diving (football)
In association football, diving is an attempt by a player to gain an unfair advantage by diving to the ground and possibly feigning an injury, to appear as if a foul has been committed. Dives are often used to exaggerate the amount of contact present in a challenge...
. Arsenal held onto their lead for the remainder of the half, as Barcelona's best chance came courtesy of Eto'o, whose shot hit the post via a save from Almunia.
Barcelona replaced Edmílson, who had picked up an injury in the first half, with Andrés Iniesta for the second half in an effort to equalise. The period immediately after half‑time saw few chances, but after six minutes of the second half Iniesta had a shot saved by Almunia. Just after an hour's play, Barcelona substituted Mark van Bommel for striker Henrik Larsson
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before...
. Minutes later, Alexander Hleb received a pass from Henry but shot wide of the goal. Arsenal began to press forward and both Henry and Fredrik Ljungberg saw shots saved; Henry then had another chance to score after being put through by Hleb, but he shot straight at Valdés. Following this attack Oleguer was replaced by Juliano Belletti
Juliano Belletti
Juliano Haus Belletti , is a former Brazilian footballer. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A...
, and Arsenal responded by replacing Cesc Fàbregas
Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...
with Mathieu Flamini
Mathieu Flamini
Mathieu Flamini is a French professional footballer of Italian descent who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Milan..-Marseille:...
. Immediately following the substitutions, Iniesta sent a pass down the left flank for Larsson, who passed to Eto'o, who equalised for Barcelona. Four minutes later Barcelona had another attack, as Larsson crossed to Belletti, who ran onto the ball and shot through Almunia's legs to score at the near post. The remaining minutes saw Arsenal replace Hleb with Reyes in an attempt to equalise, but Barcelona had the best chance during this period, only for Giuly to hit his shot straight at Almunia. Following this, Larsson impeded the Arsenal goalkeeper and was cautioned as a result.
The match finished soon after with Barcelona winning 2–1. A podium was hastily arranged in the middle of the pitch to present the trophy and medals to the teams. Barcelona captain Carles Puyol collected the trophy from UEFA president Lennart Johansson
Lennart Johansson
Lennart Johansson was the president of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations from 1990 until 2007. Johansson is probably most famous for starting the UEFA Champions League and for bringing the UEFA European Football Championship to his native Sweden.He started as a bandy leader in AIK...
as Barcelona celebrated their second European Cup triumph. As a result of winning the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona would face Sevilla
Sevilla FC
Sevilla Fútbol Club S.A.D. is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville, Spain that plays in the Spanish La Liga championship.They are one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football having won a 1 La Liga title, 5 Spanish "Copa del Rey" Cups, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 2 UEFA...
, the winners of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, in the UEFA Super Cup. The subsequent match, played on the 25 August 2006, was won 3–0
2006 UEFA Super Cup
The 2006 UEFA Super Cup was the 31st edition of the annual UEFA Super Cup, a UEFA-sponsored football club match that pitted the winners of the UEFA Champions League against the winners of the UEFA Cup...
by Sevilla. Barcelona's victory meant they would also participate in the FIFA Club World Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup is a football competition between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations.The first FIFA Club World Championship took place in Brazil in January 2000...
. Receiving a bye in the first round, they beat Club América
Club América
Club América is a Mexican Professional football club based in Mexico City. It competes in the Primera División, the top professional league in the country. The team's nickname is Las Águilas ....
4–0 in the semi-finals to progress to the final
2006 FIFA Club World Cup Final
The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup Final took place at the International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan on 17 December 2006.The match pitted Internacional of Brazil against Spain's Barcelona. Internacional won 1–0, after a counter-attack led by Iarley and the goal scored by Adriano at the 82nd minute, in...
where they faced Copa Libertadores champions Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
, who won 1–0.
Details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> | BARCELONA: | |||
| GK | 1 | Víctor Valdés Víctor Valdés Víctor Valdés i Arribas is a Spanish football goalkeeper who currently plays for FC Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga.He is the most successful goalkeeper in Barcelona's history and is widely considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world, having won a total of 17 titles including five... |
||
| RB | 23 | Oleguer |
||
| CB | 4 |  Rafael MárquezRafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez is a Mexican footballer who plays for New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer and the Mexico national team. He plays as a centre back or defensive midfielder.... |
||
| CB | 5 | Carles Puyol Carles Puyol Carles Puyol i Saforcada is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team.Mainly a central defender, he can also play on either flank, especially as a right back... (c) |
||
| LB | 12 | Giovanni van Bronckhorst Giovanni van Bronckhorst Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst OON , known as Gio in Spain, is a retired Dutch footballer of Moluccan descent who served as the captain of the Dutch national team from August 2008 until his retirement.... |
||
| DM | 15 | Edmílson |
||
| CM | 20 | Deco Deco Anderson Luís de Souza, OIH , commonly known as Deco, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for Fluminense.... |
||
| CM | 17 | Mark van Bommel Mark van Bommel Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Milan and captains the Netherlands national team as a midfielder.... |
||
| RW | 8 | Ludovic Giuly Ludovic Giuly Ludovic Giuly is a French footballer who plays for Monaco as an attacking midfielder and winger. He represented France at international level, gaining 17 caps over a five-year period, and was a member of their 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup winning squad.-Early career:After starting his career with... |
||
| LW | 10 | Ronaldinho Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira , commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian national team as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is a two-time winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year, awarded to the best player over the year... |
||
| CF | 9 |  Samuel Eto'oSamuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He is also the current captain of the Cameroon national team.Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy... |
||
| Substitutes: | ||||
| GK | 25 | Albert Jorquera Albert Jorquera Albert Jorquera i Fortià is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.He spent the bulk of his professional career with FC Barcelona , but could never be more than second or third-choice at his main club, which he left in 2009.-Football career:Born in Bescanó, Girona, Catalonia,... |
||
| DF | 2 | Juliano Belletti Juliano Belletti Juliano Haus Belletti , is a former Brazilian footballer. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A... |
||
| DF | 16 | Sylvinho Sylvinho Sylvio Mendes Campos Junior , commonly known as Sylvinho is a retired Brazilian footballer, who played for Corinthians, Arsenal, Celta Vigo, FC Barcelona and Manchester City... |
||
| MF | 3 | Thiago Motta Thiago Motta Thiago Motta Santon Olivares , known as Thiago Motta, is a Brazilian-born Italian footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A club Internazionale.... |
||
| MF | 6 | Xavi Xavi Xavier Hernández i Creus , commonly known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi , is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, where he has spent his entire 14-year career.... |
||
| MF | 24 | Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team.... |
||
| FW | 7 | Henrik Larsson Henrik Larsson Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before... |
||
| Manager: | ||||
| Frank Rijkaard Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch football manager of Dutch and Surinamese descent and former player. Rijkaard has played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan, and represented his national side 73 times, scoring 10 goals. In his coaching career, he has been at the helm of the Dutch national side,... |
||||
Jens LehmannJens Lehmann
Jens Gerhard Lehmann is a German former football goalkeeper. He was voted UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for the 1996–97 and 2005–06 seasons, and he has been selected for three World Cup squads. He was a member of Arsenal's Invincibles, playing every match of their famous unbeaten title winning...
Emmanuel EbouéEmmanuel Eboué
Emmanuel Eboué is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Süper Lig club Galatasaray and Ivory Coast. His natural position is at right back, but he is also used in various other positions. Eboué also holds a Belgian passport.-Early career:...
Kolo TouréKolo Touré
Kolo Habib Touré is an Ivorian footballer who plays for Manchester City and Ivory Coast. Touré is a central defender. He is the elder brother of Manchester City team-mate Yaya Touré and Makasa's Ibrahim Touré.-Arsenal:...
Sol CampbellSol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
Ashley ColeAshley Cole
Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world....
Robert PirèsRobert Pirès
Robert Emmanuel Pirès is a former French international footballer. He is perhaps best known for his time with Arsenal, with whom he won three FA Cups and two FA Premier League titles including the club's famous unbeaten season of 2003–04...
Gilberto SilvaGilberto Silva
Gilberto Aparecido da Silva, commonly known as Gilberto Silva, is a Brazilian footballer. He currently plays for Grêmio.Gilberto was raised in a poor family and as a child he balanced playing football with various labour jobs. He began his football career in 1997 with América Mineiro, where good...
Cesc FàbregasCesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...
Alexander Hleb Fredrik LjungbergFredrik Ljungberg
Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg is a Swedish footballer who currently plays as a right winger for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Ljungberg was captain of the Swedish national team until he announced his international retirement after UEFA Euro 2008.Ljungberg was a model for Calvin Klein underwear...
Thierry HenryThierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
(c)
Manuel AlmuniaManuel Almunia
Manuel Almunia Rivero is a professional footballer. He plays as a goalkeeper for Arsenal.-Early career:Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Almunia started his senior career with Osasuna's reserve team in 1997, playing two seasons with the team in Segunda División B...
Philippe SenderosPhilippe Senderos
Philippe Sylvain Senderos - is a Swiss footballer who plays as a defender for Fulham and the Switzerland national football team. Previously he has played for Servette, Arsenal, A.C...
Gaël ClichyGaël Clichy
Gaël Clichy is a French footballer who plays as a defender for Manchester City and the France national football team. Though initially right-foot dominant, he primarily plays as a left back that is also capable of playing as an offensive-minded wingback. Clichy is described as a player who...
Mathieu FlaminiMathieu Flamini
Mathieu Flamini is a French professional footballer of Italian descent who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Milan..-Marseille:...
José Antonio ReyesJosé Antonio Reyes
José Antonio Reyes Calderón is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid.Mainly a left winger but also a forward, he made his professional debuts for hometown's Sevilla at only 16, signing with England's Arsenal aged 20.After a relatively successful career abroad, Reyes...
Dennis BergkampDennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...
Robin van PersieRobin van Persie
Robin van Persie is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Arsenal and the Dutch national team. He is a youth product of Feyenoord. Having joined Arsenal in 2004, Van Persie became the club captain on 16 August 2011...
Arsène WengerArsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
Man of the Match: Samuel Eto'oSamuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He is also the current captain of the Cameroon national team.Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy... (Barcelona) Assistant referees:  Steinar Holvik (NorwayFootball Association of Norway The Football Association of Norway is the governing body of football in Norway. Current FIFA World Champions It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the Norwegian Premier League.The team are enjoying their best ever spell thanks to World Player of the... ) Arild SundetArild Sundet Arild Sundet is a Norwegian Football Assistant Referee. Having been appointed by UEFA to referee European Cup competitions, he has run the line for many European matches, including the UEFA Champions League.... (Norway Football Association of Norway The Football Association of Norway is the governing body of football in Norway. Current FIFA World Champions It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the Norwegian Premier League.The team are enjoying their best ever spell thanks to World Player of the... ) Fourth official: Tom Henning ØvrebøTom Henning Øvrebø Tom Henning Øvrebø is a Norwegian football referee. Born in Oslo, Øvrebø is a former UEFA Elite referee, who has refereed matches in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League... (Norway Football Association of Norway The Football Association of Norway is the governing body of football in Norway. Current FIFA World Champions It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the Norwegian Premier League.The team are enjoying their best ever spell thanks to World Player of the... ) |
Post-match
Much of the discussion after the match centred around referee Terje HaugeTerje Hauge
Terje Hauge is a Norwegian football referee from the club Olsvik IL.-Refereeing career:Since he made his debut in 1990, Hauge has refereed 232 matches in the Tippeligaen. He has been an authorised FIFA referee since 1993...
's decision to send off Lehmann. Football pundit Mark Lawrenson
Mark Lawrenson
Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...
stated: "The game changed when Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off". Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger agreed: "When Jens Lehmann got sent off, that left us with 70 minutes to play with ten against eleven, against a team that retains the ball very well". He refused to openly criticise this decision, although he did criticise the decision to award Barcelona's first goal, as he felt that Samuel Eto'o was offside. Wenger was also adamant that his young side would bounce back from the defeat. One person who did criticise the referee was Thierry Henry, stating: "I was kicked all over the place. I expected the referee to do his job. I don't think he did". There was much discussion after the match over whether Henry would remain with Arsenal or move to Barcelona, whom he had been linked with a move to over the past months. Arsène Wenger was asked post match if Henry would leave, to which the Arsenal manager replied: "I don't know. I don't think so". However, on 19 May, Henry signed a new four-year contract with Arsenal, ending the speculation about a possible move to Barcelona.
Thierry Henry paid tribute to Larsson's contribution to Barcelona's win after the game, saying, "People always talk about Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Giuly and everything, but I didn't see them today, I saw Henrik Larsson. He came on, he changed the game, that is what killed the game. Sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Eto'o and people like that; you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference, and that was Henrik Larsson tonight." Indeed his ability to give Barcelona the cutting edge required to overcome Arsenal was noted by the international press.
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before...
, who provided the two assists for the goals, was delighted with the triumph and had no regrets over deciding to leave Barcelona after the match: "I want to play football. I feel I haven't played as much as I would love to because of the great players we have at Barcelona". Fellow Barcelona player Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Giovanni Christiaan van Bronckhorst OON , known as Gio in Spain, is a retired Dutch footballer of Moluccan descent who served as the captain of the Dutch national team from August 2008 until his retirement....
was emotional as he won against his former club: "It's special to win the final, and even more special to do it against your old team". Samuel Eto'o, scorer of Barcelona's first goal, cited Liverpool's comeback against Milan as inspiration for Barcelona's victory: "After having seen what Liverpool did last year, we told ourselves not to throw in the towel. We followed Liverpool's example". Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard praised the role of goalkeeper Victor Valdés in their victory, stating that he made a number of important saves to keep them in the match: "Valdes played a decisive role. He saved us at crucial moments".