At the stage of the Champions League final, the Ataturk Olympic Stadium stopped hosting the decision within two years due to Covid-19

At long last, the city of Istanbul will receive the decision for the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League. The duel between Manchester City and Inter Milan will take place at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, on Saturday (10), at 4 pm (Brasilia time).

Bucklow was scheduled to host the 2019/2020 Competition Resolution, but has been affected due to Covid-19. The following year, the venue was also unable to host the duel between Chelsea and Manchester City for reasons of restrictions caused by the pandemic. Thing! Remember the episodes.

The beginning of the epidemic

In February 2020, UEFA held the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 as normal, even though Covid-19 was already a topic of concern in the health field around the world. The following month, part of the return matches were played, but the effects of the pandemic were seen in empty stadiums and crucial matches without spectators.

After suspending football for months, UEFA resumed the Champions League in a manner similar to that adopted by the NBA for the playoffs. The entity decided to move the decision-making place to Portugal and created a kind of “bubble”, in which the eight teams ranked in the quarter-finals will fight their seedings in single matches, without fans present and without leaving the country of the Iberian Peninsula.

With this, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich contested the great decision of Europe’s most important rivalry at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. Because of the change, UEFA indicated to Turkey that the country would host the tournament’s final in the following season. However, not everything went as planned. In 2020, Bayern defeated Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade de Luz behind closed doors (Photo: MIGUEL A. LOPES/POOL/AFP)

The new change

In 2021, Covid-19 was still a reality. Almost two weeks before the Champions League Final between Chelsea and Manchester City, UEFA made a new official change of headquarters, which ceased to be located in Istanbul for the second year in a row to go to the Estádio do Dragão, in Porto.

At the time, Turkey was on a kind of “red list” in the UK due to the high number of Covid-19 cases. As a result, fans of both teams will be banned from traveling to Istanbul, and UEFA chose this step to have a (limited) presence for both fans in the stadium.

At the time, the UK tried to take the duel to Wembley Stadium, but UEFA required around 21,000 people to be there, while England had never played in front of more than 10,000 people in London’s Home Arena since the restrictions began. In addition, the entity likes to welcome guests, which once again made Portugal the best solution. In 2021, Chelsea beat Manchester City at the Estádio do Dragão with only a few fans in attendance (Photo: CARL RECINE/POOL/AFP)

Last final in Ataturk

The last time the Ataturk Olympic Stadium hosted the Champions League final was in the 2004/2005 season. On this occasion, the decision was curiously contested between a team from England against a team from Italy – namely from Milan. Liverpool and AC Milan played one of the most memorable matches in football history.

In the decision, the Italians were overwhelming in the first half and opened 3-0, with two goals from Paolo Maldini and two goals from Hernan Crespo. However, in the second stage, the English managed to equalize in just 15 minutes with goals from Gerrard, Smisser and Xabi Alonso.

3-3 remained in extra time, and the dispute was settled by penalties. Milan missed their first two kicks with Serginho and Pirlo, while Shevchenko also failed to convert his chance on the fifth shot. Liverpool hit three penalties e. In front of more than 70,000 spectators in Turkey’s most emblematic stadium, he was crowned the Champions League in epic fashion.