Santiago Bernabéu in the Spanish city of Madrid will be hosting the 2010 UEFA Champions League final and the other finals will be held in the Arena Hamburg in Germany. The UEFA Executive Committee recently confirmed the selection of the two stadiums after it met in Liechtenstein. The committee also was set to choose a venue of the 2011 Champions League final but that decision was postponed. The reason that the two stadiums were chosen, which are the home stadiums of Real Madrid and Hamburg SV, are because of their facilities, security, and accommodation.
Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid has a capacity of 71,569 has seen three Champion Clubs’ Cup finals, as Real Madrid won the first one in 1957, beating Fiorentina 1-0, AC Milan beat Ajax 4-1 in 1969, and Nottingham Forrest beat Hamburg 1-0 in 1980. Santiago Bernabéu has also been the home of the home legs of two UEFA Cup finals and also two European/South American Cup that involved Madrid, with a few international matches, such as the infamous UEFA European Championship in 1964 when Spain beat the U.S.S.R. 2-1, as well as the 1982 FIFA World Cup final when Italy beat West Germany 3-1.
Opened in 2000 the Arena Hamburg, which seats 51,680, is on the old site of old Volksparkstadion. This venue has been the venue for several matches in the 2006 World Cup. The stadium also hosted the group stages of the 1974 World Cup, as well as the semifinals of the 1988 UEFA European Championship when West Germany was beat by Holland 2-1.
The Executive Committee also confirmed that the 2009, 2010, and 2011, Super Cup matches will be played at the Stade Louis II in Monaco, which is the custom for these matches. The 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was awarded to France, and the 2010 U17 event was awarded to Liechtenstein, while Lyon will stage the 2009 UEFA European Women’s U17 Championship.
The Executive Committee is starting to look into fan participation, meaning fan violence, when they are choosing their venues. The World Cup in Germany was not marred by much of the problems that European soccer has seen in recent years, which is why many believe that Germany will once again hold such a prestigious soccer event.
