Déjà vu? Real Madrid and Liverpool face each other in the Champions League final once again. As they did four years ago. Two of Europe’s best and highest-scoring attacking teams will meet once more to decide which club is the best on the continent. Even though it is Europe’s best football team that will be chosen, a whole world will follow the game from kick-off at 21.00 tonight until we have a champion. Will La Liga winner Real Madrid make history once more – or will Premier League runner-up Liverpool take home the coveted trophy? This should be an exciting final! Such entertainment is best experienced with friends, acquaintances or other fans, and you can feel the excitement here in Spain! Following two years of pandemic restrictions people can again gather in restaurants, pubs, bars and cafés to watch the UEFA Champions League final together.
This time the Stade de France, the home stadium of France’s national team, in Saint-Denis (a suburb in northern Paris) is hosting the annual football festivities. The final is expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors to the host city and will gather millions around their TV screens. According to Goal.com as many as 380 million people watched the final last year.
Expectations on the entertainment value in this season’s Champions League final are high. Both teams are aggressive and already successful this season and many believe this will be a football match full of fireworks. But while Real Madrid won their domestic league, Liverpool did not. Although they are “just” runners-up in their domestic league, they have won both cups in England this year. So Liverpool is not without trophies this season either. However, some suggest that winning both at home and in Europe may actually be too demanding.
To assert itself in both the national league and the Champions League the same year is possible only for the biggest clubs with the best finances. To succeed on a broad front throughout a season, you must compete in the league (38 matches), the Champions League (13 matches if you reach the final) and national cups (Copa del Rey in Spain and FA Cup and League Cup in England). Liverpool, for example, have played 63 games this season according to “This is Anfield”. On top of that, many of the players have also played for their national teams. The burden on the players with such a schedule is obviously great. There are restrictions on the number of players you are allowed to use in a team during a season, so priorities in relation to which competitions you want to compete in are necessary. And winning the Champions League trophy is considered a club’s biggest achievement: it is after all the most generous (in financial terms) of all trophies in European football. And you face the best teams from all corners of Europe.
In Spain’s La Liga, Real Madrid was again number one this season. And with a very significant points margin too. It is now four years since the team playing their home games at the Santiago Bernabeu won the competition. But, the 2017/2018 season was the first time in history any team had won the Champions League three times in a row. (It did happen during the European Cup days though as the Champions League was called until it reinvented itself as a competition)
As mentioned, a victory does not only mean honor and glory, the winner brings home large sums of money which in turn can be used to develop the club and secure players who can contribute to an even better team next season.
Real Madrid is in fact the most winning club in the history of the Champions League (European Cup) with as many as 13 final victories. Last time against the same rivals, Liverpool. The team’s comeback against Manchester City in the final stages of the second leg of the semi-final shows a lot of strength both in ability and morale. With French forward Karim Benzema on fire this season and a well drilled and experienced group of players, Los Blancos are in good shape to take on their rivals from northwestern England. But, Liverpool also have a great squad of players and play a high-pressing, aggressive style of football. And they may be looking to avenge the loss to Real Madrid four years ago. And Liverpool, with their six wins in this tournament, won this competition just one year after losing to Real Madrid in Kyiv.
Liverpool’s German head coach Jürgen Klopp has built winning teams in several clubs and introduced an energetic “gegen-pressing” (counter-pressure) style of play. This style does not allow the opponent to “rest” in possession of the ball. That has brought the team several trophies over the last few seasons, including a Champions League victory, a Premier League title and wins in both the FA and League cups this season.
Carlo Ancelotti on the other hand, Real Madrid’s Italian manager, is as experienced and successful as any manager. And his brand of play has yet again shown to be successful following his return to Los Blancos from Liverpool’s home town rivals of Everton in June of 2021. With a convincing win in the Spanish league, his team is ready for the final game of the season in the Champions League.
Tonight’s final is set to be a great and entertaining time for those of us who appreciate good football. Enjoy!
If you want to get in the mood and hear perhaps the most famous goal celebration of any TV sports commentator, click on the link below. This is Andres Cantor celebrating a gooooaaalll.
Featured pictures: the club flags of Real Madrid and Liverpool. (Source: Image by jorono, Pixabay).
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