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50-561: The anthem is played inside the stadium before the start of each UEFA Champions League match, in addition to the beginning and end of television broadcasts of the games. Special vocal versions of the anthem have been performed live at the UEFA Champions League Final . UEFA's official website states, "the anthem is now almost as iconic as the trophy." In 1991, UEFA instructed its commercial partner Television Event and Media Marketing (TEAM) to develop new ways of branding

100-446: A Champions League final, and teams from ten of those have won the competition. Since the 1995–96 season, other than Porto's win in 2003–04, the winners have come from one of only four nations – Spain (13), England (7), Germany (4) and Italy (4) – and other than Monaco in 2003–04 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2019–20, the runners-up have all come from the same four nations. England has produced the most winning teams, with six clubs having won

150-411: A completely different area altogether. There's a rising string phase which I pinched from Handel and then I wrote my own tune. It has a kind of Handelian feel to it but I like to think it's not a total rip-off." The composing process took "just a matter of days". Britten also mentioned that he does not own the rights to the anthem, which are retained by UEFA, but he receives royalties when it is used. For

200-583: A concept of silver in both sound and vision. For the season, 2024/25 the anthem was slightly refined by Tony Britten and re-recorded as part of a new brand identity for the UEFA Champions League. Ce sont les meilleures équipes Sie sind die allerbesten Mannschaften The main event Die Meister Die Besten Les grandes équipes The champions Une grande réunion Eine große sportliche Veranstaltung The main event Ils sont les meilleurs Sie sind die Besten These are

250-478: A cross toward Neuer's near post, which the Bayern keeper deflected out for a corner. A Mario Mandžukić header forced a save from Roman Weidenfeller and Javi Martínez put a header from the ensuing corner just over the bar. The first half was an open affair; while Dortmund dominated the early stages, Bayern were still able to generate several chances through Arjen Robben , who forced Weidenfeller into three saves in

300-407: A lottery. The two finalist clubs were allocated 25,000 tickets each. Borussia Dortmund received 502,567 requests for tickets, while there were approximately 250,000 orders for tickets from members of Bayern Munich. Both clubs used draws as a means of awarding tickets. As is the annual custom, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women's Champions League trophies were presented to the host city at

350-519: A record six clubs and Italy have produced twelve winners from three clubs. English teams were banned from the competition for five years following the Heysel disaster in 1985. The current champions are Real Madrid, who beat Borussia Dortmund 2–0 in the 2024 final . While the venue for the final is chosen well in advance, on four occasions clubs have reached a final scheduled to be played in their own stadium; Real Madrid won their second European Cup in

400-625: A special ceremony at Banqueting House, Whitehall , on 19 April 2013. Receiving the trophies from UEFA President Michel Platini were the Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson and the Mayor of London 's commissioner for sport, Kate Hoey . Representing the previous season's competition winners were John Terry , Frank Lampard , Petr Čech , Fernando Torres and Branislav Ivanović of Chelsea , and Lotta Schelin of

450-707: A €2 million loan without collateral to the nearly bankrupt Dortmund which has since been repaid. There has been a heated rivalry between Bayern and Dortmund, known in Germany as Der Klassiker , which became prevalent during the 1990s. In 2011–12, Dortmund won the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal with Bayern finishing runners-up in both competitions; Dortmund clinched the league title in a home match where bananas were tossed at Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer . In 2012–13, Bayern bested Dortmund for both trophies, as well as

500-496: Is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season , the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) member associations (except Liechtenstein , which has no league competition), as well as to the clubs finishing from second to fourth position in the strongest leagues. Originally, only

550-511: The 1963 final , beaten 2–1 by A.C. Milan , while Ajax won the first of three consecutive European Cups at Wembley in 1971 , beating Panathinaikos 2–0. In the 1992 final , Spanish club Barcelona defeated Italian side Sampdoria 1–0 in the final match played as the European Cup prior to the following season's introduction of the current Champions League format. First opened for the British Empire Exhibition in 1923,

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600-528: The 2012–13 DFB-Pokal and, having already won the 2012–13 Bundesliga , completed the continental treble . As a result of their Champions League win, Bayern qualified to play against Chelsea , the winners of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League , in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup , and also earned the right to enter the semi-finals of the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup as the UEFA representative. They would eventually go on to win both competitions. A viewership of 21.6 million on

650-511: The COVID-19 pandemic . The 2022 and 2024 finals similarly used a standard pre-recorded version of the anthem. In the 2023 final , held in Istanbul, Hungarian pianist Ádám György performed the piano version of the anthem. The complete anthem is about three minutes long, and has two short verses and a chorus. In addition to the anthem, there is also entrance music, which contains parts of

700-559: The DFL-Supercup . Just before Dortmund's Champions League semi-final, it was announced that one of their homegrown stars, Mario Götze , would make a €37 million transfer to Bayern for the upcoming 2013–14 season, a move that some felt would have put more distance between wealthy Bayern and the rest of the Bundesliga. The final 2012–13 Bundesliga game between the two clubs was a 1–1 draw marked by acrimony as Bayern's Rafinha

750-453: The England national football team , was announced as the venue of the 2013 final on 16 June 2011. Having hosted the 2011 final , Wembley made history for being the first stadium in the tournament's history to host the final twice in three years. Discussing the short time between the two finals, UEFA President Michel Platini explained that the final would be in celebration of 150 years of

800-562: The European Champion Clubs' Cup and a new one was commissioned; since 2009, the winning team each year has received a full-size replica of the trophy, while the original is retained by UEFA. A total of 23 clubs have won the Champions League/European Cup. Real Madrid holds the record for the most victories, having won the competition 15 times, including the inaugural edition. They have also won

850-534: The Football Association 's existence. It was the seventh occasion that Wembley hosted the final after hosting the 1963 , 1968 , 1971 , 1978 , 1992 and the 2011 finals of Europe's premier club competition. The original Wembley Stadium hosted five European Cup finals. The 1968 and 1978 finals were both won by English sides: Manchester United beat Benfica 4–1 in 1968 and Liverpool defeated Club Brugge 1–0 in 1978. Benfica also lost in

900-689: The Lyon ladies' team. Also in attendance were final ambassadors Graeme Le Saux and Faye White , who had escorted the trophies from Stamford Bridge to Banqueting House via London's public transport system, and David Bernstein , the chairman of The Football Association . The UEFA Champions Festival was held at the International Quarter, Stratford City , next to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park , from 23 to 26 May 2013. The 2013 UEFA Women's Champions League final

950-777: The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in 1957, while in 1965 Inter Milan also won their second title in the final at the San Siro . In 1984, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome was the venue and saw Roma defeated on penalties by Liverpool, while 2012 saw the Allianz Arena host the final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea , which the English club also won on penalties. Teams from thirteen nations have appeared in

1000-710: The 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League . The match took place on Saturday, 25 May 2013, at Wembley Stadium in London , England, between German Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich . In the first all-German Champions League final, Bayern won the match 2–1 with goals from Mario Mandžukić and man of the match Arjen Robben coming either side of an İlkay Gündoğan penalty for Dortmund. One week later, Bayern won

1050-511: The European Cup (which would be renamed the UEFA Champions League in 1992). This process resulted in the Champions League's anthem, as well as its "starball" logo and distinctive house colours. "Magic... it's magic above all else. When you hear the anthem it captivates you straight away." — Zinedine Zidane . The anthem was written by English composer Tony Britten in 1992, adapted from George Frideric Händel 's anthem Zadok

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1100-415: The European Cup final had been held at Wembley Stadium. The ball was unveiled on 30 January 2013 and was used for all knockout stage matches in the 2012–13 competition. The international ticket sales phase for the general public ran from 11 February to 15 March 2013. Tickets were available in four price categories: £ 330, £230, £140, and £60. Due to the high demand for tickets, allocation was determined by

1150-469: The German ZDF and over 360 million worldwide has been reported, making it the most watched sports broadcast of 2013. This was the first time in the history of the Champions League (and European Cup) that the final was contested between two German sides. There were three previous Champions League finals between two clubs from the same country: 2000 (Spain), 2003 (Italy), and 2008 (England). It

1200-634: The Match: Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) Fans' Man of the Match: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) Assistant referees : Renato Faverani ( Italy ) Andrea Stefani ( Italy ) Fourth official : Damir Skomina ( Slovenia ) Additional assistant referees : Gianluca Rocchi ( Italy ) Paolo Tagliavento ( Italy ) Reserve assistant referee : Gianluca Cariolato ( Italy ) Match rules Borussia Dortmund's manager Jürgen Klopp commented that

1250-568: The Priest , which is traditionally performed at the coronation of British monarchs. In a 2013 newspaper interview, Britten stated that "I had a commercials agent and they approached me to write something anthemic and because it was just after The Three Tenors at the World Cup in Italy so classical music was all the rage. Hooliganism was a major, major problem and UEFA wanted to take the game into

1300-461: The anthem itself, which is played as teams enter the field. The anthem has been released commercially in its original version on iTunes and Spotify with the title of Champions League Theme. In 2018, composer Hans Zimmer remixed the anthem with rapper Vince Staples for EA Sports' video game FIFA 19 , with it also featuring in the game's reveal trailer. List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League finals The UEFA Champions League

1350-529: The champions Die Meister Die Besten Les grandes équipes The champions The anthem's chorus is played before each UEFA Champions League game as the two teams are lined up, as well as at the beginning and end of television broadcasts of the matches, and when the winning team lifts the trophy after the final. Special vocal versions have been performed live at the Champions League Final with lyrics in other languages, changing over to

1400-431: The champions of their respective national league and the defending champions of the competition were allowed to participate. However, this was changed in 1997 to allow the runners-up of the stronger leagues to compete as well, and again in 1999 when third and fourth-placed teams of the said leagues also became eligible. In the Champions League era, the defending champions of the competition did not automatically qualify until

1450-440: The competition the most consecutive times, with five straight titles from 1956 to 1960. Juventus have been runners-up the most times, losing seven finals. Atlético Madrid is the only team to reach three finals without having won the trophy while Reims and Valencia have finished as runners-up twice without winning. Spain has provided the most champions, with twenty wins from two clubs. England have produced fifteen winners from

1500-579: The finalist is given first (H: home; A: away). The two-time Champions League winner and ex-England international Steve McManaman was appointed as the official ambassador for the final. In May 2013, Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli was selected to supervise the final. He was joined by compatriots Renato Faverani and Andrea Stefani as assistant referees , Gianluca Rocchi and Paolo Tagliavento as additional assistant referees , Gianluca Cariolato as reserve assistant referee , and Slovenian Damir Skomina as fourth official . The opening ceremony

1550-407: The first half. Dortmund were able to generate many of their chances due to uncharacteristically poor play from Philipp Lahm , who gave the ball back to Dortmund in his own half on two occasions. Bayern later took the initiative and scored the first goal in the 60th minute, when Robben and Franck Ribéry combined to set up Mandžukić for a left-footed finish, the ball going past Marcel Schmelzer on

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1600-406: The goal line from three yards out. Shortly after, Dante raised his foot in the penalty area and caught Reus in the stomach; İlkay Gündoğan scored the resulting penalty, shooting low into the left corner and sending Neuer the wrong way. Bayern had a chance to re-take the lead several moments later, when Thomas Müller rounded Weidenfeller and attempted to find Robben, with the ball rolling towards

1650-489: The host country's language for the chorus. These versions were performed by: In the 2013 final at Wembley Stadium , the chorus was played twice. In the 2018 and 2019 finals, held in Kyiv and Madrid respectively, the instrumental version of the chorus was played, by 2Cellos (2018) and Asturia Girls (2019), while the 2020 and 2021 finals used the pre-recorded anthem's chorus instead, without any live performances due to

1700-469: The installation of a new head of state. The baroque music of the Zadok anthem associates the Champions League with the monarchies of Ancien Regime Europe. The baroque music also interconnects with the silver house colours, for the aristocratic connotations evoked by the silver are reflected and affirmed in this noble music. It is notable here that the anthem is associated with the (silver) cup itself because, in

1750-477: The introductory sequences, the music reaches its climax just as the footage of the Cup being lifted at the end of the previous year's competition is shown. It is interesting that the anthem is orchestrated so that the most prominent instruments at this climax are horns; they communicate a shining metallic sound which musically reflects the trophy itself. Music and colours merge together as one dense signifier, communicating

1800-517: The open goal, only for Neven Subotić to make a last ditch clearance off the line, preventing a tap-in from Robben. Late in the match, Bayern seemed the more likely to score, as David Alaba forced Weidenfeller into a save with a shot from long range. Moments later, a through-ball from Robben caught the Dortmund defence cold, resulting in Bayern having Müller and Mandžukić in a two-on-one with Weidenfeller. Subotić again came to Dortmund's rescue, as he

1850-408: The quarter-final. Dortmund were the dominant team in the first half-hour of the match, pressing Bayern intensely. Manuel Neuer made five important saves in the first 35 minutes, including two from shots by Robert Lewandowski and one from Marco Reus . Despite this dominance, Dortmund failed to generate many dangerous attacks, as Neuer's only difficult save came when Jakub Błaszczykowski volleyed

1900-579: The recording used in television transmissions of UEFA Champions League matches and events, the piece was performed by London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chorus. The chorus is in UEFA's three official languages : English , French , and German . Anthony King writes: The majestic music which rises to an impressive major key crescendo signifies

1950-409: The rules were changed in 2005 to allow title holders Liverpool to enter the competition. Teams that have won the UEFA Champions League three consecutive times, or five times overall, receive a multiple-winner badge . Six teams have earned this privilege: Real Madrid , Ajax , Bayern Munich , AC Milan , Liverpool, and Barcelona . Until 2009, clubs that had earned that badge were allowed to keep

2000-399: The semi-final second leg against Real Madrid. Right-back Łukasz Piszczek did play, however, despite being due for hip surgery, while centre-back Mats Hummels recovered from a sprained ankle in time to play. Bayern Munich were without defender Holger Badstuber , who was expected to be out for 10 months with a knee injury, and Toni Kroos , who had yet to recover from an injury sustained in

2050-464: The stadium was originally known as the Empire Stadium. That year, it hosted its first FA Cup Final , when almost 200,000 spectators attempted to watch the match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United . Wembley played host to all of England 's matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup , including the 4–2 victory over West Germany in the final , and at UEFA Euro 1996 . The original stadium

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2100-493: The story of activist and fundraiser Stephen Sutton , who was part of the group of performers. The match ball for the final was the Adidas Finale Wembley, which featured the same "Starball" panel configuration as the last three finals. The ball was predominantly white, with each star in blue with yellow patterning and a purple border. Six of the 12 stars featured designs recalling the six previous times that

2150-506: The trophy. Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands have produced three winners, while Spain and Portugal have produced two winning clubs. Scotland, Romania, Yugoslavia, and France have produced one winner each. 2013 UEFA Champions League final The 2013 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League , the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA , and

2200-519: Was Bayern Munich's 10th European Cup/Champions League final, third all-time behind Real Madrid (12) and A.C. Milan (11). They won four of those finals: in 1974 , 1975 , 1976 , and most recently in 2001 . The 2013 final was Bayern's third final in four years; they lost in both 2010 and 2012 (as the first team since 1984 to reach the Final held in their home stadium), adding to previous final losses in 1982 , 1987 , and 1999 . For Dortmund, this

2250-580: Was able to catch up and pressure Müller into playing a poor pass, which left Mandžukić with a tight angle, and the Croatian blasted into the side netting. With a minute left in normal time, Ribéry played in Robben with a back-heeled pass; the Dutch forward burst past the defence and scuffed a weak, low shot past the onrushing Weidenfeller with his left foot from eight yards out for the winning goal. UEFA Man of

2300-411: Was closed in 2000 and demolished three years later, to be replaced by a 90,000-capacity stadium, which opened in 2007. The new stadium hosted the 2011 UEFA Champions League final , which pitted Barcelona against Manchester United in a re-match of the final played two years previously. Barcelona claimed their fourth European title as they ran out 3–1 winners. Note: In all results below, the score of

2350-574: Was directed by Kevin Spacey 's executive assistant and The Prince's Trust ambassador Hamish Jenkinson and his business partner Jonny Grant, who had previously directed the 2011 opening ceremony, also at Wembley. The ceremony, also titled "Battle of Kings", was produced by Films United. It was directed and produced by Grigorij Richters and his producing partner Alex Souabni. Both were the former filmmakers-in-residence of Kevin Spacey and Jenkinson at The Old Vic Theatre in London . The film focused around

2400-487: Was held at Stamford Bridge on 23 May 2013 between Wolfsburg and Lyon . Wolfsburg won the game, with Martina Müller scoring the only goal. This ensured that for the first time ever the same nation won both the men's and women's European club titles in the same year. Borussia Dortmund's Mario Götze , who would join Bayern Munich in the summer, missed the match with a hamstring injury that had kept him out since

2450-447: Was sent off for elbowing Dortmund's Jakub Blaszczykowski, sparking an argument on the touchline between Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp and Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer . The press has used terms like 'power shift' and 'changing of the guard' after Dortmund and Bayern eliminated Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, in the Champions League semi-finals. Wembley Stadium, England's national stadium and home of

2500-486: Was their second Champions League final, with them winning their first title in 1997 . The next season as defending champions, they defeated Bayern in their only previous meetings in European competitions, winning 1–0 on aggregate in the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, before being eliminated 2–0 on aggregate in the semi-finals by Real Madrid, managed at the time by Jupp Heynckes . In 2003, Bayern provided

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