Match Details
Location: Millenium Stadium, Cardiff
Date: 06/03/2017
Time: 20:45 CET / 02:45 PM EST
Where to Watch
http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/2466431/juventus-vs-real-madrid/
About the Champions League
The UEFA Champions League is an annual continental club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champion (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of each UEFA national association. The final of the 2012–13 tournament was the most watched UEFA Champions League final to date, as well as the most watched annual sporting event worldwide in 2013, drawing 360 million television viewers.
Introduced in 1992, the competition replaced the European Champion Clubs' Cup, or simply European Cup, which had run since 1955, adding a group stage to the competition and allowing multiple entrants from certain countries. The pre-1992 competition was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to the champion club of each country. During the 1990s, the format was expanded, incorporating a round-robin group stage to include clubs that finished runner-up of some nations' top level league. While most of Europe's national leagues can still only enter their national league champion, Europe's strongest national leagues now provide up to four teams for the competition, and will provide up to five teams from the 2015–16 season onwards. Clubs that finish next-in-line in each nation's top level league, having not qualified for the UEFA Champions League competition, may be eligible for the next level UEFA Europa League competition.
In its present format, the UEFA Champions League begins in mid-July with three knockout qualifying rounds and a play-off round. The 10 surviving teams enter the group stage, joining 22 other teams qualified in advance. The 32 teams are drawn into eight groups of four teams and play each other in a double round-robin system. The eight group winners and eight runners-up proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match in May. The winner of the UEFA Champions League qualifies for the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Teams
Juventus, colloquially known as Juve, is a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont, founded in 1897 as Sport-Club Juventus. Juventus is also the most successful club in Italian football, the one that has the most sporting tradition in the country and one of the most awarded globally having won overall sixty-three official titles on the national and international stage, more than any other club in Italy: a record thirty-three official league titles, a record twelve Coppa Italia titles, a record seven Supercoppa Italiana titles and, with eleven titles in confederation and inter-confederation competitions (two Intercontinental Cups, two European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions Leagues, one European Cup Winners' Cup, three UEFA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and one UEFA Intertoto Cup) it ranks fourth in Europe and eighth in the world with the most trophies won.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the team has traditionally worn a white home kit since inception. The word Real is Spanish for Royal and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. The team has played its home matches in the 85,454-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club throughout its history.
Real Madrid established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s. The club won five consecutive European Cups, and reached the final seven times. This success was replicated in the league, where the club won five times in the space of seven years. This team, which consisted of players such as Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Gento, Raymond Kopa, and Santamaría, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time.
In domestic football, the club has won a record 33 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey, 9 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa Eva Duarte, and 1 Copa de la Liga. In international football, the club has won a record 11 European Cup/UEFA Champions League titles and a joint record 3 Intercontinental Cups, as well as 2 UEFA Cups, 2 UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cup.
The Venue
The Millennium Stadium, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Principality Stadium, is the national stadium of Wales, located in Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and has also staged games of the Wales national football team. Initially built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup, it has gone on to host many other large-scale events, such as the Tsunami Relief concert, the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain, the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain and various music concerts. It also hosted six FA Cup finals and several other high-profile football fixtures while Wembley Stadium was being redeveloped.
Listed as a category four stadium by UEFA, the stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final, due to take place on 3 June 2017.
Road to the Final
