A look back at Wembley's five European Cup finals

© Reuters : Wembley Stadium will stage the European Cup/Champions League final for a record extending sixth time on Saturday when Barcelona play Manchester United.

No other stadium has staged as many as its five finals, all of which were played at the original Wembley with Saturday's the first there since it reopened after being rebuilt in 2007.

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The previous finals were:

MAY 22 1963: AC MILAN 2 BENFICA 1

AC Milan became the first Italian club to lift the European Cup and ended Benfica's hopes of a hat-trick of trophies in front of 45,000 in a match played on a Wednesday afternoon.

Eusebio, who had scored Benfica's last two goals in their 5-3 win over Real Madrid, gave his side the lead after 18 minutes but Jose Altafini struck twice in the second half to give Milan victory. The Italians were skippered by Cesare Maldini, the father of future Milan legend Paolo.



MAY 29 1968: MANCHESTER UNITED 4 BENFICA 1

Ten years after his team were decimated by the Munich air disaster, Matt Busby led Manchester United to their first European Cup success and again Benfica lost at Wembley.

Munich survivor Bobby Charlton scored twice, George Best slotted home a superb solo effort and Brian Kidd claimed the other goal on his 19th birthday as United, in an all-blue strip, earned a memorable extra-time success.



JUNE 2 1971: AJAX AMSTERDAM 2 PANATHINAIKOS 0

Ajax's domination of Europe under Johan Cruyff began when they won the first of their hat-trick of titles against Panathinaikos. the unlikely finalists from Greece whose manager Ferenc Puskas was at the heart of Real Madrid's domination of the competition more than a decade earlier.

Dick Van Dijk scored after five minutes and Arie Haan struck three minutes from time as Rinus Michels guided Ajax to victory.



MAY 10 1978: LIVERPOOL 1 CLUB BRUGES 0

Kenny Dalglish, who had made his debut for Liverpool at Wembley in the Charity Shield against Manchester United the previous August, sealed a glorious first season at the club with the winner against Bruges as Bob Paisley coached Liverpool to successive European Cup triumphs.

Dalglish had a tough act to follow, succeeding fans' favourite Kevin Keegan who had inspired Liverpool to their first European Cup success the previous year before leaving for SV Hamburg. Thirty-three years on, Dalglish is still at the Merseyside club, in his second spell as manager.



May 20 1992: BARCELONA 1 SAMPDORIA 0

Unlike arch-rivals Real Madrid, Barcelona failed to make a real impact on the European Cup with defeats in 1961 and 1986 all they had for their efforts until Ronald Koeman blasted home an unstoppable extra-time shot after a quick Hristo Stoichkov freekick against Sampdoria to send the Barca fans into ecstasy.

Cruyff, who lifted the European Cup as an Ajax player at Wembley in 1971, managed the Barcelona side, which included current manager Pep Guardiola, to victory. Roberto Mancini, who managed Manchester City to victory in the FA Cup final at Wembley this month, captained the losing Sampdoria team.

Barcelona and Manchester United previous finals

© Reuters :Barcelona and Manchester United have featured in 10 previous European Cup/Champions League finals between them including the 2009 final when Barcelona beat United 2-0 in Rome.

They also met each other in the 1991 European Cup Winners Cup final which Manchester United won 2-1.

A look at their previous appearances in the elite competition:



BARCELONA

Berne, May 31 1961: BENFICA 3 BARCELONA 2

Real Madrid ruled European soccer from the time the European Cup started in 1955, until their arch-rivals Barcelona beat them 4-3 on aggregate in a second-round tie in November 1960 to end their reign.

Barcelona, however, could not assume Real's mantle as European kings. Despite taking a 20th-minute lead against Benfica in the 1961 final through Sandor Kocsis, they ended up losing 3-2 to Benfica and had to wait more than three decades to emulate Real's success.



Seville, May 7 1986: STEAUA BUCHAREST 0, BARCELONA 0

(Steaua won 2-0 on penalties)

A quarter of a century on and this defeat still ranks as one of the greatest upsets in European soccer and one of the most galling for Barcelona fans to stomach.

Managed by Englishman Terry Venables, Barcelona had had a roller-coaster ride to the final, but had knocked out reigning champions Juventus along the way and were hot favourites to succeed in Seville.

However, Steaua goalkeeper Helmut Duckadam had the game of his life and Barcelona could not even find the net in the penalty shootout.



London, May 20 1992: BARCELONA 1 SAMPDORIA 0

Barcelona finally achieved the Holy Grail by lifting the European Cup in the last European Champions Cup final before the competition became known as the Champions League the following season.

Dutchman Ronald Koeman blasted home the only goal eight minutes from the end of extra time at Wembley Stadium as Barcelona lifted the yoke that had hung so heavily since Real Madrid won the first European Cup in 1956.



Athens, May 18 1994: AC MILAN 4 BARCELONA 0

Two years after being crowned European champions, Barcelona were humbled by Fabio Capello's AC Milan who overcame the absence of suspended defenders Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta, and ran riot in Athens, leading 3-0 after 47 minutes with two goals from Daniele Massaro and one from Dejan Savicevic.

Marcel Desailly put the outcome beyond doubt with Milan's fourth after 58 minutes as Johan Cruyff's "dream team" crashed to defeat.



Paris, May 17, 2006: BARCELONA 2 ARSENAL 1

With 14 minutes to play at the Stade de France, Arsenal, who had played most of the match with 10 men after goalkeeper Jens Lehmann became the first player sent off in a European Cup final, were on their way to becoming the first side from London to win the competition thanks to a first-half header from Sol Campbell.

Barcelona though, had been outstanding throughout the competition and clicked into top gear when Henrik Larsson came on as a substitute midway through the second half, creating the goals for Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti, who squeezed in the winner from an acute angle nine minutes from time.



Rome, May 27 2009: BARCELONA 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 0

Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win a treble of the Champions League and the domestic double when they got the better of holders Manchester United at the Olympic Stadium after Eto'o's 10th-minute opener.

The match was billed as a showdown between Barca's Argentine genius Lionel Messi and United's Portuguese hero Cristiano Ronaldo, and it was Messi who emerged victorious, scoring Barca's second with a rare header 20 minutes from time.



MANCHESTER UNITED

London, May 29 1968: MANCHESTER UNITED 4 BENFICA 1

One of European soccer's most famous matches ended in an emphatic 4-1 extra-time victory for United who were crowned kings of Europe just 10 years after the Munich air disaster all but wiped out the Busby Babes.

Manager Matt Busby spent the next decade re-building his club and his team and they emerged victorious with Bobby Charlton, who survived the plane crash, scoring twice, George Best once and Brian Kidd once, on his 19th birthday.

It could all have been very different though, if Eusebio, clean through on goal in the dying minutes, had not fired straight into the arms of United keeper, Alex Stepney.



Barcelona, May 26 1999: MANCHESTER UNITED 2 BAYERN MUNICH 1

United staged the greatest comeback in a European final as goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in stoppage time after the 90 minutes were up, gave them victory over Bayern who had led with a sixth-minute goal from Mario Basler.

UEFA president Lennart Johansson has told the story many times of how, when he left the VIP box to prepare to present the cup, Bayern were winning and by the time he got down in the lift to pitch level, he had missed both goals and United had won. It would have been Busby's 90th birthday.



Moscow, May 21 2008: MANCHESTER UNITED 1 CHELSEA 1

(Manchester United won 6-5 on penalties)

Another United win, another night of unrelenting drama in Moscow's rain-lashed Luzhniki Stadium as the first all-English final and the first in Russia ended in a stalemate after 120 minutes with Ronaldo and Frank Lampard both scoring in the first half.

The match was finally settled by penalties. After Ronaldo failed with his kick, Chelsea skipper John Terry only had to score his to give Chelsea victory, but he slipped as he shot and the ball went wide. Edwin Van der Sar finally sealed the victory when he saved Nicolas Anelka's effort.

Rome, May 27, 2009 BARCELONA 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 0

See above. Barcelona are looking for a repeat, United looking for revenge.

Barcelona, Manchester United structure, finances

© Reuters: The following factbox compares the structure and finances of Barcelona and Manchester United, the second- and third-richest clubs by revenue, who meet in Saturday's Champions League final at Wembley stadium:



STRUCTURE

Barcelona is one of four top-flight Spanish clubs owned by its members (along with Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna). It has about 170,000 members and declares it is "more than a club" thanks to a strong emphasis on charitable work and its status as a symbol of Catalan nationalism.

United belongs to the American Glazer family, owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League team, who bought the English champions in 2005 for about 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion).

The club sits at the top of a web of subsidiaries but is ultimately dependent on a corporate entity based in Nevada in the United States called Red Football General Partner Inc.



REVENUES

Barca earned 398.1 million euros ($560 million) in the 2009/10 season, putting it second on Deloitte's ranking of the richest clubs by revenue behind Spanish rivals Real Madrid, who made 439 million euros. United were third with 350 million.

Barca's revenue has increased from 259 million in 2006, while United's has grown from 243 million over the same period.

The Catalan club's main source of income by far last season was from broadcast rights (178.1 million euros) while commercial revenue was 122.2 million and matchday income 97.8 million.

United's earnings were more evenly spread -- broadcast 128 million, matchday 122.4 million and commercial 99.4 million.



EXPENDITURE, NET INCOME AND DEBT

Barca's operating costs in the 2009/10 season were 459.2 million euros, or 115.3 percent of revenue, compared with 284.1 million for United, or 81.1 percent.

The Spanish club spent 234.8 million on personnel and players, while United's outlay was 161.1 million.

Barca made a net loss of 79.6 million euros, although club officials expect it to return to profit again this season, and United made a net profit of 20.5 million.

Barca's total debt was 548.6 million last season, compared with United's 975 million.



SHIRT SPONSORS

Barca, who previously paid UNICEF to display the organisation's name on their shirts, broke with tradition this season and signed their first commercial shirt sponsorship deal.

The agreement with Qatar Sports Investment guarantees them 165 million euros through to the end of the 2015/16 campaign and is the biggest of any reported shirt sponsorship deal.

United secured a new agreement with Aon Corporation which came into effect for the 2010/11 season and is worth 23.6 million euros.

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Sources: "FC Barcelona vs Manchester United, Quintaesencia de club ante capitalismo financiero a ultranza," Jose Maria Gay de Liebana y Saludas, University of Barcelona, May 2011; "The Untouchables", Football Money League 2011, Deloitte; SPORT+MARKT European Jersey Report, October 2010.

Barcelona's Spain crop on cusp of near-perfect year

© Reuters:
For the eight Spain internationals in Barcelona's probable starting 11 for Saturday's Champions League final, victory over Manchester United at Wembley would put a gilt edge on an already spectacularly successful year.

Goalkeeper Victor Valdes, defenders Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol, midfielders Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta and forwards Pedro and David Villa -- the only one of the group who is not a product of Barca's youth school -- came away from last year's World Cup in South Africa with winners medals.

They have since added the Spanish Super Cup and the Spanish league title, the club's third in a row, and narrowly missed out on a King's Cup triumph when they were beaten 1-0 in the final by great rivals Real Madrid.

At only 22, Busquets has already won more titles than most professionals dream of -- 10 in three seasons including the 2009 Champions League -- and has a chance at Euro 2012 with defending champions Spain to win the only major title that eludes him.

"It's a dream," Busquets, whose goalkeeper father Carles played for Barca in the 1990s, told Reuters in an interview earlier this year.

"Of course you never think that everything will go so well, that you could achieve so much in so little time," he added.

"But when you look at the team and its philosophy and then at how it all turned out, well, it was normal."

Playmaker Xavi, who turned 31 in January, is the creative engine at the heart of the Spain and Barca teams and preventing him from exerting his customary control will be key to United's chances of success on Saturday.

Together with Iniesta, he was on a shortlist of three for this year's World Player of the Year award that went to club team mate Lionel Messi for a second consecutive year.



SOMETHING EXTRA

One of the reasons for the recent success of Spain and Barca is the close relationship between the players who learned their trade in the Catalan club's famed "La Masia" youth school, which also produced current coach Pep Guardiola, Xavi said this week.

"Playing with people who come from within the club gives you something extra," Xavi said in an interview with Spanish daily El Pais.

"We have a very good relationship on and off the pitch. We invite each other round to our houses, we do things together away from football," he added.

"I have never experienced that before and I have been here for 13 years. The players from the youth system provide commitment and continuity."

Like Xavi, Iniesta has been instrumental in an historic year for Spanish soccer, managing to stay free of the injuries that have dogged his career and netting the dramatic winning goal against Netherlands in the World Cup final in Johannesburg.

Despite the success, he has not lost the hunger to add to his 16 career titles, including two Champions Leagues and five domestic leagues with Barca and the world and European championships with Spain.

"The European Cup is a very special competition, very attractive, that gives us all an extra motivation," the 27-year-old, who became a father for the first time this year, told Barca TV last week.

"I have always seen it as something special and I feel priveleged to to have been able to enjoy playing in Champions League games and have the good fortune to win two titles."

Upstart Guardiola locks horns with warhorse Ferguson

© Reuters: Saturday's Champions League final again pits the young Barcelona pretender who has enjoyed swift and spectacular success against the battle-hardened warhorse who survived an inauspicious start to become Britain's most successful manager.

Former Barca midfielder Josep "Pep" Guardiola, 40, took over as coach in June 2008, leading the club to an unprecedented treble of Spanish league and cup and European Champions League in his first season in charge.

His lavishly-praised side, who overcame Alex Ferguson's United 2-0 in the final of Europe's elite club competition in 2009, have gone on to win two more Spanish league titles, as well as the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

Ferguson moved on from a playing and coaching career in his native Scotland to managing United in 1986 and, since claiming the FA Cup a barren four years later, the 69-year-old has won more than 30 trophies, including 12 domestic league titles, four more FA Cups and two Champions Leagues.

Ferguson's success and the strength of his personality have helped him to forge a seemingly unassailable position at the English Premier League club and he has defied his critics and the march of time to remain at the helm while many others have fallen by the wayside.

He has done so while often risking the wrath of the fans, releasing crowd favourites such as Paul Ince and David Beckham when he felt the time was right as, during his remarkable 25-year stint, he has overseen the rebuilding process from one great team to another with barely a dip in between.

Guardiola earned his status as a Barcelona club hero while still a player and his performance as coach has put him in an unusually stable position in a country where clubs hire and fire with alarming regularity.

"Alex Ferguson has won absolutely everything. He lives for his club and he is an example for other coaches," Shakhtar Donetsk boss Mircea Lucescu said on UEFA.com this week.

"The same goes for Josep Guardiola," the Romanian added. "He grew up in Barcelona and he spent most of his life with the club, so he shares their philosophy.

"You can hardly imagine either coach going off to sign for someone else."



KILLER BLOW

As a product of Barca's youth system, Guardiola has played and coached only one basic style: keep possession, make the other team chase the ball and carve open defences with a swift interchange of short passes or a perfectly weighted assist.

Ferguson, by contrast, tends to field more muscular teams, with tall, burly centre backs and combative midfielders feeding pacy forwards who can destroy opponents with devastating counter-attacks.

In the 2009 final, United rocked Barca in the early stages with their harrying and chasing and Samuel Eto'o's opening goal in the 10th minute was against the run of play.

Once Barca get ahead they are masters at holding on to the ball and wearing down opponents before dealing a killer blow, as in Rome when Lionel Messi struck with a header to end United's hopes of a comeback.

"Barcelona's forte is possession, controlling the direction and rhythm of the game; they know exactly what they have to do," Lucescu said.

"United are a better-built team physically, with fast players who can play direct football.

"They are dangerous going upfield quickly and on the counter-attack. That power could decide this match, and they also have the advantage of playing in England."



SHORT FUSE

As well as a 29-year age gap, Guardiola and Ferguson have starkly contrasting personalities.

The quietly-spoken, elegantly-attired Guardiola rarely loses his cool and is respectful towards opponents in both victory and defeat.

Ferguson has a short fuse and his gruff, intimidating manner has led to many clashes with journalists and officials.

Despite his age he remains as animated as ever on the sidelines, wildly celebrating goals while furiously berating officials over perceived injustices.

Barca defender Gerard Pique, the only man to have played under both Guardiola and Ferguson thanks to his stint at United between 2004 and 2008, singles out one character trait he says both coaches possess.

"Guardiola and Ferguson are two born motivators," he said this week.

The Spanish World Cup-winner has fond memories of his time at United, despite not getting as much time on the pitch as he would have liked.

"To me, I have always said, he (Ferguson) was like a second father," he told Barca TV in October.

"My family was in Barcelona and I was on my own and he helped me in every aspect, not only professionally but also personally."

(Additional reporting by Mitch Phillips in London)

World awaits mouth-watering Champions League final

© Reuters: All the ingredients are in place for a classic Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday when millions of fans around the world will settle down to dine on what should be a rare footballing feast.

Barcelona, champions of Spain, seeking their second European crown in three years after their victory over Manchester United in 2009, and United, Premier League champions in pursuit of their second in four having beaten Chelsea on penalties in 2008.

The coruscating passing patterns Barcelona have weaved to reach their second final in three years have brought them accolades from far and wide and not even the most dyed-in-the-wool dissenters have raised much objection to their being described as the best club team there has ever been.

Standing four-square in front of them are Manchester United, long vying with the Spaniards for the unofficial title of the world's most popular club and now returning to the site of their first European Cup 43 years ago, albeit a rebuilt Wembley.

Barcelona hold the ace in the pack in the shape of Lionel Messi, a giant of the sport to rank alongside the mighty triumvirate of Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff and scorer of an incredible 52 goals this season.

His second in the semi-final win over Real Madrid compares with the best of any of those great players and, having failed to live up to expectations at last year's World Cup, Messi is due a performance to grace the biggest of club stages.

Surrounding him is the bulk of Spain's World Cup and European Championship-winning team, players who have forged a bond of telepathic understanding that enables them to mesmerise world class opponents with the relentless speed and accuracy with which they fizz the ball between them.

United cannot claim to match those talents but the 2008 winners and Premier League champions have their own way of winning big matches.

The all-action, raw power of Wayne Rooney, the natural finishing of Javier Hernandez, the midfield energy of Park Ji-sung, the vast experience of Ryan Giggs, the granite defending of Nemanja Vidic and the reliable goalkeeping of Edwin van der Sar, making his final appearance before retiring at the age of 40, combine to make a formidable unit.

They also have Alex Ferguson, the man who dragged the club back from their self-flagellating role as England's fallen giants into their current position as a team who expect to be challenging for, and winning, the Champions League every season.

Barcelona's fledgling but already hugely successful manager Pep Guardiola will relish pitting his wits against Ferguson, a man he respects and admires, but in truth his team virtually runs itself while it is the Scot who will have to come up with the answers on Saturday.

Ferguson's pride in the name of United will make it hard for him to go in to the match thinking of how to stop the opposition, but realistically that is their key task.

He knows United will get enough of the ball enough times to create problems, especially on the break, and that he has players of the right quality to take the chances that will come.

But in between there will be long spells of Barcelona dominance, triangles of crisp, one-touch passing and the constant probing of Messi.

How his players deal with that and where they allow it to happen will go a long way to deciding the outcome.

Probable teams

Manchester United: 1-Edwin van der Sar; 20-Fabio, 5-Rio Ferdinand, 15-Nemanja Vidic (captain), 3-Patrice Evra; 25-Antonio Valencia, 16-Michael Carrick, 11-Ryan Giggs, 13-Park Ji-Sung; 10-Wayne Rooney, 14-Javier Hernandez.

Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 2-Daniel Alves, 3-Gerard Pique, 5-Carles Puyol, 22-Eric Abidal; 16-Sergio Busquets, 6-Xavi, 8-Andres Iniesta; 17-Pedro, 10-Lionel Messi, 7-David Villa.

Stage set for Champions League final battle of wits

DPA © Barcelona and Manchester United will be expected to serve up a thriller as they each seek to become European champions for the fourth time in Saturday's showpiece at Wembley.

A more cautious battle of wits may be more the order of the day as two sides try to find the solutions needed to cancel out the considerable threats of their opponents in a Champions League final repeat of 2009.

Barcelona showed in that 2-0 victory through goals by Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi that they had more than the measure of United that night in Rome.

As a result, and from the fact that there has been no waning of form since then, Barcelona will start the London re-match as favourites.

However, United are oozing confidence after winning a record 19th league title and may feel destiny is on their side as they return to the scene of their first European Cup triumph in 1968.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes Barcelona are an even better team than they were in 2009, but says his own squad has gained in experience and learnt from past mistakes in Europe.

He looks back to two other meetings with Barcelona in the 2008 semi-final, when United were able to keep a pair of clean sheets, as templates to counter the Catalans.

"We showed fantastic concentration in those two ties," he said. "That is the key for us. It is an important issue in terms of Saturday."

Ferguson recognizes the danger of Messi who tops the competition's goalscoring list with 11 goals, but says Barcelona will also be aware of United's threats.

"We have played against Barcelona three times and there's always a solution to every good player," he said.

"We hope we can find a solution for Messi on Saturday. You have to recognise they have other good players and we have other good players. That's why it's such a thrilling game on Saturday. I'm sure Barcelona are aware of the threats we have."

Ferguson, 69, told UEFA.com that experience "has acquitted us well for European football now" and that the players were more patient and playing with higher levels of concentration.

Recalling the Rome final he said: "We could have been a couple of goals up in the first 15 minutes but when we lost the goal, there was an indication of how Barcelona play today because Messi was a central striker on that particular day with Eto'o playing wide right and Thierry Henry wide left."

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola says Ferguson has the greater strength in depth in his squad, as shown in United's semi-final elimination of Schalke 6-1. Having won 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen, Ferguson made nine changes for the second leg which United won 4-1.

"I can't make nine changes to my team because we have a small squad, but they have so much quality - (Dimitar) Berbatov, Chicharito (Javier Hernandez), (Wayne) Rooney, (Paul) Scholes, (Ryan) Giggs - they have so many players to choose from," Guardiola said.

Messi has also predicted Saturday's showdown is unlikely to be a repeat of the final two years ago.

"All finals are different and this will be a totally different game to that one - United have changed (some of) their players and it will be different," he said.

"They are not weak; they have very good players and a lot of quality up front - and they are used to winning."