The date and venue for this year’s Champions League final have already been selected.
The UEFA Champions League is one of the most demanding tournaments in world football and the road to the final is full of obstacles, especially in a season disrupted by a World Cup.
The venue for this year’s final has already been selected and will take place on 10 June 2023, a little later than usual because of the World Cup in Qatar.
The Champions League final will be played in the stadium where one of the best finals in the history of the competition took place: the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. The stadium, which was completed in 2022, commemorates the founder and first president of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
The 76,092-capacity stadium, located in Istanbul, is well known to all football fans, especially fans of Liverpool and AC Milan, who played in the thrilling 2005 final.
In 2005, Liverpool produced one of the most famous comebacks in recent times. Milan were three ahead. Paolo Maldini and a brace from Hernan Crespo gave the team coached by Carlo Ancelotti a very comfortable half-time lead, or so they thought.
An inspired Rafa Benítez speech at half-time helped the Merseysiders pull off one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history. Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso, after missing a penalty, levelled the match, leaving a Milan side who were almost certain to win the final on the ropes.
It all came down to the penalty shootout, with Liverpool keeping their cool to knock out one of the best teams of the 21st century.
Jerzy Dudek was the hero on the night. Thanks to his saves in the decisive shootout, Liverpool became Champions League winners and Gerrard lifted the trophy on a famous night in Istanbul.
The Atatürk Stadium was down to host the 2020 Champions League final, however, due to the covid-19 pandemic, the match was moved to Lisbon, where Bayern defeated PSG in the final.
Los Blancos are looking to continue breaking records in the competition. They have won 14 Champions League titles, and will be hoping to go one better in 2023. The Atatürk is where they want to be next June.