Whether you’re a die-hard football fanatic or have been invited to a weekend braai to watch the UEFA Champion’s League final – and you have no clue what that is – then you’re reading the right blog.
Kick off for this highly anticipated match between Real Madrid and Liverpool will be Saturday at 9pm… but that’s not all you need to know!
Here are five fun facts about the UEFA Champions League 2022 final:
What is the UEFA Champions League?
This football tournament sees 32 European club teams competing in five rounds in an effort to be crowned the champions.
The League has been held annually since the 1955/1956 season.
In the current format, there’s a preliminary round in June, three qualifying rounds a play-off round.
The six remaining teams enter the group stage, joining 26 teams that qualified in advance.
The 32 teams are then drawn into eight groups of four and they compete in a double-round robin system.
The eight winners and eight runners-up then move on to the knockout phase.
The two remaining teams go head-to-head in the final with the winner automatically qualifying for the next UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
UEFA Champions League Final
Here are five fast facts about this year’s final to get you in the mood for football!
1. Wins to date
Real Madrid already has a record 13 Champions League titles whereas Liverpool currently has six. If Liverpool takes this year’s title, they’ll tie with AC Milan for the second most titles of all time.
2. Change of venue
The final will be hosted at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, just outside of Paris. Previously, Champions League finals were played there in 2000 and 2006.
The match was originally meant to be played at Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
However, UEFA decided to relocate the final after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as eliminating Russian clubs from UEFA competitions and removing the national team from World Cup qualifying.
3. Rivals meet again
This is set to be the 9th meeting between Liverpool and Real Madrid in the European Cup or UEFA Champions League. Liverpool won the first three contests, but lost the last five.
4. Top goal scorers
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s forward, has scored 33 goals under Jürgen Klopp in the UEFA Champions League.
There have only been three other players in history who have ever netted more while playing under a single manager in the competition’s history.
Those were Lionel Messi under Pep Guardiola – 43 goals; Ruud van Nistelrooy under Sir Alex Ferguson – 35 goals; and Thierry Henry under Arsène Wenger – also 35 goals.
5. Manager with the most
If Real Madrid take the title, this will be manager Carlo Ancelotti’s fourth UEFA Champions League win, which is the most by any manager in the competition’s history.
He has also managed to take the winning spot in three of his previous four UEFA Champions League finals, losing out to Liverpool in the 2004/2005 season.
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