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UEFA Champions League Final on FOX Sports Features Battle Perennial European Heavyweights
FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano to Clash May 22 in Network’s First-Ever Soccer Broadcast; All-Star Announcing Team Finalized
April 29, 2010, New York & Los Angeles – FC
Bayern München of Germany and Italy’s FC Internazionale Milano
battle for supremacy on Saturday, May 22 in Madrid when FOX
Sports airs exclusive live HD coverage of the 2010 UEFA
Champions League Final, the culmination of Europe’s most
prestigious annual club soccer competition.
This season’s UEFA Champions League Final is being held on a
Saturday for the first time in its history, with a 2:30 PM ET
FOX on-air time. The event is FOX Sports’ first-ever soccer
broadcast and joins a select few major international soccer
championships ever to receive broadcast television exposure in
the U.S.
The internationally-respected announcing duo of Martin Tyler
(play-by-play) and Andy Gray (expert analyst) call the action
from Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In addition to their
work on UEFA Champions League telecasts, Tyler and Gray team for
Sky Sports’ coverage of the Barclays Premier League in the
United Kingdom.
Curt Menefee, a long-time aficionado of international soccer who
since 2006 has co-hosted FOX NFL SUNDAY, anchors the network’s
coverage from Madrid beginning with a live 15-minute pregame
show. He is joined by analysts Bruce Arena – head coach of Major
League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy and former head coach of the
United States Men’s National Team – and Eric Wynalda, a member
of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the second-leading goal
scorer in U.S. history. Wynalda retired in 2001 following a
lengthy professional career that included time with clubs in
Germany, Mexico and the U.S., and currently works as a
commentator on several Fox Soccer Channel programs. The trio
also provides halftime and postgame coverage.
Menefee, Arena and Wynalda set the stage for a battle between
two iconic European clubs who have combined to win 38 titles in
their respective domestic leagues. FC Bayern München (known
worldwide as Bayern Munich) is making its first appearance in
the UEFA Champions League Final since 2001, but is no stranger
to Europe’s biggest stage with four continental crowns and three
runner-up finishes in its illustrious history. The Bavarians
feature electrifying midfielder Arjen Robben, who also stars for
the Dutch National Team.
FC Internazionale Milano (commonly known as Inter Milan) is the
four-time defending Italian Serie A champion, and is on track to
capture the title again with a world-class lineup including
prolific goal scorers Diego Milito of Argentina and Cameroonian
Samuel Eto’o. The Nerazzurri took home consecutive European
championships in 1964 and 1965, and find themselves in the title
match for the first time since 1972. Meanwhile, Inter’s colorful
coach José Mourinho won the 2004 UEFA Champions League while in
charge of Portuguese club FC Porto.
Fox Soccer Channel bookends FOX Sports’ coverage of the UEFA
Champions League Final on May 22 with a live, one-hour preview
show from Madrid beginning at 1 PM ET and a half-hour postgame
show, both available in HD. Beginning Monday, May 17, America’s
premier television destination for the “beautiful game”
showcases expanded UEFA Champions League coverage during
Champions Week on FSC, presented by Gillette. Fox Soccer Channel
viewers are set to enjoy top matches and highlights from each
round of the 2009/10 tournament, as well as feature programs
tracing Munich and Inter’s road to European soccer’s biggest
event.
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League – formerly known as the European Cup –
was first staged in 1955 and features the reigning champion and
other top-of-table finishers from each of Europe’s domestic
competitions, historically including elite clubs such as
Liverpool, FC Barcelona, Chelsea FC, AC Milan, Juventus and
Bayern München. FC Barcelona is the current defending champion,
while Real Madrid has won a record nine titles. The 2009
Champions League Final was watched live by over 145.2 million
people worldwide. For more information log onto
www.championsonfox.com.
About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the flagship network of the FOX Sports Television
Group. As America’s top-rated network for sports for 13 straight
years (1997-2009), FOX Sports boasts rights agreements with each
of the nation’s highest-rated sports. FOX Sports is the
exclusive national over-the-air television rights holder for
Major League Baseball, including the All-Star Game, alternating
League Championship Series and World Series (2007-2013); the
National Football League’s NFC package, including the NFC
Championship Game and Super Bowls XLV and XLVIII (2006-2013);
NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from February through May, including
the Daytona 500 (2007-2014); the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and
the UEFA Champions League Final. Since its inception in 1994,
FOX Sports has earned 82 Emmy Awards for production excellence.
David Hill and Ed Goren are the Executive Producers of FOX
Sports. For the latest sports news, opinion and video, log on to
www.FOXSports.com. Fans can gain more access to exclusive
content by following FOX Sports on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX,
http://twitter.com/NFLONFOX and
http://twitter.com/NASCARONFOX and by logging on to
www.facebook.com/foxsports and
www.myspace.com/foxsports.
About Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer Channel offers the most comprehensive coverage of
world-class soccer available in the United States, serving as
the primary television destination for coverage of England’s
Barclays Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. Matches
from Major League Soccer, Italy’s Serie A, Women’s Professional
Soccer, the Argentine First Division and the Australian Hyundai
A-League are also featured prominently, in addition to such
global tournaments as the English FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup
and CONCACAF Champions League™. The Official Broadcast Partner
of the United States Youth Soccer Association, Fox Soccer
Channel also televises the United Soccer Leagues and NCAA
Division I college men’s and women’s soccer. The Nielsen-rated
channel reaches more than 36 million cable and satellite
households nationwide. For more information, visit America’s
most visited online soccer destination at
www.foxsoccer.com.
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Contact:
Lou D’Ermilio
212/556-2573
Dan Bell
310/369-6326