THE 2016 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL; THE SAN SIRO IN MILAN

THE 2016 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL; THE SAN SIRO IN MILAN

The 2016 UEFA Champions League Final will be the final match of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It will be played at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, on 28 May 2016.

The winners will earn the right to play against the winners of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League in the 2016 UEFA Super Cup. They will also qualify to enter the semi-finals of the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the UEFA representative.

The San Siro, officially known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, was announced as the venue of the final at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 18 September 2014. This will be the fourth European Cup/Champions League final hosted at the stadium, following previous finals in 1965, 1970 and 2001.

The San Siro was built in 1925 and opened in 1926 as the home of A.C. Milan, and was sold to the city in 1935. F.C. Internazionale Milano became tenants in 1947, and the stadium has been shared by the two clubs ever since, with Inter winning the first European Cup final played at the stadium in 1965. The stadium was used as a venue in the 1934 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1980, and the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Its current capacity is 80,018, but is reduced to just under 80,000 seats for UEFA competitions.

                            

The San Siro in Milan was selected to host the final in September 2014.

The 2016 final will mark the first time a final has been held at the San Siro where neither of its tenants will be able to win the competition, as Milan and Inter both failed to finish in the top three of the 2014–15 Serie A and therefore did not qualify for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League. Milan's Stadio Giuseppe Meazza will host the 2016 UEFA Champions League final on 28 May. It will be the fourth time the European Cup has been decided at the stadium after 1965, 1970 and 2001. The arena, first opened in 1926, is home to both AC Milan and Internazionale Milano.

BARCELONA: OUT OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2016

A deserved victory for Atlético. Barcelona should have had a penalty right at the end, of course; Gabi handled Iniesta’s shot inside the box. But then should Iniesta have been on the pitch, after making a save as last man to concede a penalty himself a couple of minutes earlier? Questions, questions. But on the whole the home team were far superior. Every single one of their players put in a fine performance; the same can’t really be said for Barcelona, who were very poor indeed. Lionel Messi stomped off with a face on, the most notable thing he did all evening. So Atletico make the semis, where they may get a chance to avenge their 2014 final heartbreak at the hands of city rivals Real. Barcelona, meanwhile, join the long list of Champions League winners unable to hang onto their crown. Ah well, there’s always next year!

                    

                       Lionel Messi (left) failed to score for the fifth game in a row for Barcelona

FULL TIME: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Barcelona (agg 3-2)

Atletico had done it! Deservedly so! They do have Barca’s number in Europe! The holders were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Spanish rivals Atletico Madrid, who won the second leg 2-0. "The team are sad. We aren't at our best at the moment, nor our most effective," he said.

"I'm 99.9% to blame, no 100. That's why I am the coach, the most responsible. We all have to improve."

Antoine Griezmann scored both goals for Atletico at the Vicente Calderon, while Lionel Messi failed to net for the fifth club game in a row.

"It is clear that we are not in our best form, especially if you consider how we were playing before, but we need to lift ourselves," added Enrique.

It is only the third time in 11 years that Barcelona have not reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.

They are three points clear of Atletico at the top of La Liga, but have lost three of their past four games in all competitions.

"It was the game we predicted, although perhaps I didn't expect Atletico to play so deep. It wasn't our best day," added Enrique, who won the treble in his first year in charge at Barca.

"We have to stay calm and think that we still have two competitions where we are in the running.

"Everyone can choose the explanation. To give mine I have to analyse the performance. It is not our best time, but it is not the time to be nervous."

                       

                                          Atlético Madrid fans celebrate.

Barcelona are "in a hole" and "finding it difficult to score goals" admitted boss Luis Enrique following their shock Champions League quarter-final defeat.

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UEFA Champions League semi-final draw

The UEFA Champions league draw will be done on Friday, April 15, 2016  and streamed live in the UEFA.com DrawCentre from 11.30CET. Bayern München and Atlético Madrid have joined Manchester City and Real Madrid in the draw for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

• Qualified: Atlético Madrid, Bayern München, Manchester City, Real Madrid
• The draw will be open, meaning all match-ups are possible
• Watch live on UEFA.com or the UEFA Champions League app via our DrawCentre
• Ties will take place on 26/27 April & 3/4 May. Final 28 May, Milan

 Bayern München and Real Madrid are into the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for at least the fifth season running.

Madrid are through to a sixth successive UEFA Champions League semi-final, surpassing Barcelona's 2008/09–2012/13 record of five. Bayern themselves made it five on Wednesday. Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Real Madrid will find out their continental fate at 6:30 a.m ET in an open draw in which any tie is possible.

Potentially mouth-watering clashes include Bayern drawing the club Pep Guardiola will be leaving for at the end of the season, Man City, and a Madrid derby between 2013-14 finalists Atletico and Real

The last time neither Bayern nor Real Madrid failed to make it to the last four was 2008/09.

 The odds are firmly stacked against Manchester City and Atlético Madrid: since Marseille won the first edition in 1992/93, only two sides have won the UEFA Champions League who had not previously won the European Champion Clubs' Cup – Borussia Dortmund in 1996/97 and Chelsea in 2011/12. Dortmund are the only side to win the new competition in their first UEFA Champions League or European Cup final appearance.

                            

                                       Barcelona beat Bayern 5-3 12 months ago

 Most UEFA Champions League semi-final appearances by club (inc 2016):
11: Barcelona
11: Real Madrid
10: Bayern München
7: Chelsea, Manchester United
6: AC Milan, Juventus
3: Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Monaco
2: Arsenal, Atlético Madrid, Internazionale Milano, Porto, Valencia
1: Deportivo La Coruña, Dynamo Kyiv, Leeds United, Bayer Leverkusen, Manchester City, Nantes, Panathinaikos, Paris Saint-Germain, Schalke, Lyon, PSV Eindhoven, Villarreal

Spain have had two semi-finalists in each of the past five seasons

UEFA Champions League semi-finalists by nation:
27: Spain (six clubs: Atlético, Barcelona, Deportivo, Real Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal)
21: England (six clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United)
14: Italy (three clubs: AC Milan, Internazionale, Juventus)
15: Germany (four clubs: Bayern, Dortmund, Leverkusen, Schalke)
5: France (four clubs: Lyon, Monaco, Nantes)
4: Netherlands (two clubs: Ajax, PSV)
2: Portugal (one club: Porto)
1: Greece (Panathinaikos), Ukraine (Dynamo Kyiv)

Classic semi-finals

·         Semi-final lineups by season
15/16: Atlético, Bayern, Manchester City, Real Madrid
14/15: Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, Real Madrid
13/14: Atlético, Bayern, Chelsea, Real Madrid
12/13: Barcelona, Bayern, Dortmund, Real Madrid
11/12: Barcelona, Bayern, Chelsea, Real Madrid
10/11: Barcelona, Man. United, Real Madrid, Schalke
09/10: Barcelona, Bayern, Internazionale, Lyon
08/09: Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea, Man. United
07/08: Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man. United
06/07: AC Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man. United
05/06: AC Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona, Villarreal
04/05: AC Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool, PSV
03/04: Chelsea, Deportivo, Monaco, Porto
02/03: AC Milan, Internazionale, Juventus, Real Madrid
01/02: Barcelona, Leverkusen, Man. United, Real Madrid
00/01: Bayern, Leeds, Real Madrid, Valencia
99/00: Barcelona, Bayern, Valencia, Real Madrid
98/99: Bayern, Dynamo Kyiv, Juventus, Man. United
97/98: Dortmund, Juventus, Monaco, Real Madrid
96/97: Ajax, Dortmund, Juventus, Man. United
95/96: Ajax, Juventus, Nantes, Panathinaikos
94/95: AC Milan, Ajax, Bayern, Paris
93/94: AC Milan, Barcelona, Monaco, Porto
92/93: No semi-finals*

·         *No semi-finals in 1992/93; top side from each of the two groups – Marseille and AC Milan – went straight to the final.

Here on the soccerbetting202 team we see a draw where Bayern may be drawn with Manchester city and the two Madrid sides clash in what may look like a repeat of the 2014/2015 finals.
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LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB

LEICESTER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB

Leicester City Football Club also known as the Foxes, are an English professional football club based in Leicester at the King Power Stadium. They play in the Premier League, having been promoted as champions of the Football League Championship in 2013–14, signalling a return to the top flight of English football after a decade away.

The club was founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse, playing on a field near Fosse Road. The name Leicester City was adopted in 1919.

They moved to Filbert Street in 1891 and played there for 111 years,^[4] before moving to the nearby Walkers Stadium in 2002. They renamed the stadium the King Power Stadium after a change of ownership in 2011.

Leicester City were elected to the Football League in 1894. The club's highest ever finish was second place in the top flight, in Division One in 1928–29. The club holds a joint-highest seven second tier titles (six Second Division and one Championship), as well as one League One title. They have won the League Cup three times and have been FA Cup runners-up four times, a tournament record for the most defeats in the final without having won the competition. The club has only spent one season outside the top two tiers of English football, which was in the 2008–09 season, when they won the Football League One title.

Leicester City
Full name	Leicester City Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Foxes
Founded	1884; 132 years ago (as Leicester Fosse)
Ground	King Power Stadium
Capacity	32,262[1]
Owner	King Power International Group
Chairman	Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha
Manager	Claudio Ranieri
League	Premier League
2014–15	Premier League, 14th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Rival clubs

In football, there exist rivalries and the club is not left out too. Leicester fans consider Nottingham Forest to be their primary rivals. The club's secondary rivals are Derby County. The term East Midlands derby covers any match involving two of these three clubs.

Despite being based in the East Midlands, Leicester's other rivals in more recent years have been Coventry City, who are based just 24 miles away. The game between the two clubs has become known as the 'M69 derby' taking its name from the motorway connecting the two cities

European record

Most people think Leicester city have not been to the European continent before but they are mistaken as the table below shows that the club indeed has some European records.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	1st Leg	2nd Leg	Aggregate
1961–62	European Cup Winners' Cup	PR	Glenavon	4–1	3–1	7–2
		1R	Atlético Madrid	1–1	0–2	1–3
1997–98	UEFA Cup	1R	Atlético Madrid	1–2	0–2	1–4
2000–01	UEFA Cup	1R	Red Star Belgrade	1–1	1–3	2–4
2016–17	UEFA Champions League	TBC		–	–	–

Notes

• PR: Preliminary round
• 1R: First round

PREMIER LEAGUE GLORY

Leicester city as a club is on the verge of English premier league history as of April 14, 2016 with just five league games to go, the club have played 33 games, won 21 lose 3 and draw  9 amassing a total points of 72. Even the last home league games has already has its tickets sold. In a nutshell, the club is on the verge of making history.

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