2002 UEFA Champions League final

2002 UEFA Champions League final
Match programme cover
Event2001–02 UEFA Champions League
Bayer Leverkusen Real Madrid
Germany Spain
1 2
Date15 May 2002
VenueHampden Park, Glasgow
Man of the MatchZinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)[1]
RefereeUrs Meier (Switzerland)[2]
Attendance50,499[1]
WeatherMostly cloudy, rain showers
15 °C (59 °F)[3]
← 2001
2003 →

The 2002 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The show-piece event was contested between Bayer Leverkusen of Germany and Real Madrid of Spain at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland,[4] on 15 May 2002 to decide the winner of the Champions League.[4] Leverkusen appeared in the final for the first time, whereas Real Madrid appeared in their 12th final.

Each club needed to progress through two group stages, and two knockout rounds to reach the final. Real Madrid won their group and moved into the second group stage, which they also won, before facing the defending champions Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the knockout stage. Bayer Leverkusen finished second in their group behind Barcelona and progressed to the second group stage. There, they won their group, before beating the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United to progress to the final.

Before the match, a minute of silence was held in honour of Ukrainian manager Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who died two days earlier.[5]

Real Madrid were regarded as favourites before the match and took the lead in the eighth minute through Raúl. Lúcio equalised five minutes later, before Zinedine Zidane scored the winning goal on the stroke of half-time, a left-footed volley into the top corner that has since gone down as one of the greatest goals in the history of the competition,[6] to secure Real Madrid's ninth European Cup.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference attendance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ursmeier was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Weather History for Glasgow, Gambia – Weather Underground". wunderground.com.
  4. ^ a b Smith, Sean (13 May 2002). "Glasgow in party mood". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  5. ^ "Champions League final clockwatch". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 May 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
  6. ^ "15 years on from Zidane's final wonder goal". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2018.