UEFA Champions League Final 2014/2015
The 2015 UEFA Champions League Final will be the final match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League, the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It will be played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on 6 June 2015,[1] between Italian side Juventus and Spanish side Barcelona.
The winners will earn the right to play against the winners of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla, in the 2015 UEFA Super Cup. They will also qualify to enter the semi-finals of the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup as the UEFA representative.
The Olympiastadion was announced as the venue for the final at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in London on 23 May 2013.[2] This will be the first European Cup/Champions League final hosted in Berlin.
The current Olympiastadion was built for the 1936 Summer Olympics in the western part of the city and formed the southern part of the Reichssportfeld (today Olympiapark Berlin). During the Second World War, the area suffered little damage. After the war, Allied military occupation used the northern part of the Reichssportfeld as its headquarters until 1949.
Since 1985, the stadium has hosted the finals of both the DFB-Pokal and its companion women's tournament, the Frauen DFB Pokal. The Olympiastadion hosted the Internationales Stadionfest, which also served as an IAAF Golden League event until 2010. The stadium hosted the 2009 World Championships in Athletics where Usain Bolt broke the 100m and 200m world records.
Aside from its use as an Olympic stadium, the Olympiastadion has a strong footballing tradition. Historically, it has been the home ground of Hertha BSC since 1963. It was also used for three matches at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It was renovated ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, at which it hosted six matches, including the final.
This will be the eighth European Cup/UEFA Champions League finals for both Juventus and Barcelona.[3] Juventus won two of their previous finals (1985, 1996) and lost five (1973, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2003), while Barcelona won four of their previous finals (1992, 2006, 2009, 2011) and lost three (1961, 1986, 1994). Barcelona also played in six Cup Winners' Cup finals (winning in 1979, 1982, 1989, 1997, and losing in 1969, 1991), while Juventus also played in one Cup Winners' Cup final (winning in 1984) and four UEFA Cup finals (winning in 1977, 1990, 1993, and losing in 1995).
The two teams have played six times in European competition, but never in a final. In their previous UEFA club competition meetings, Barcelona won 2–1 on aggregate in the 1985–86 European Cup quarter-finals and 3–2 on aggregate in the 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals, while Juventus won 3–2 on aggregate in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.[4]
Both teams may still win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and Champions League titles.[5] Juventus were crowned champions of the 2014–15 Serie A on 2 May 2015, and they also won the 2015 Coppa Italia Final on 20 May 2015. Barcelona were crowned champions of the 2014–15 La Liga on 17 May 2015, and they also won the 2015 Copa del Rey Final on 30 May 2015.
