Pehla and Firstnet brings live action from Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on May 27 to viewers in Mena region
DUBAI, May25, 2009: The stage is set for European club football’s greatest prize as Barcelona and Manchester United join battle at Romes Stadio Olimpico on May 27 in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League final. This is the second major duel between these two modern-day football superpowers, following their face-off for the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in Rotterdam in 1991, and each will be seeking to write another chapter in their glorious history.
The exciting action of this pulsating final will be brought live to viewers in the Gulf, Middle East and North African region at 21.45 hours local time on ART Prime Sport for subscribers of Arab Digital Distribution’s (ADD) Firstnet Premium, Pehla Gold and Pehla Silver pay TV platforms, according to an announcement here today by ADD, the region’s largest pay TV platform management company.
The final promises some edge-of-the-seat action with two of the world’s most celebrated attackers in direct competition in the opposing teams. Lionel Messi of Barcelona is already the leading scorer in the League and its most valued player, ahead of United’s Christiano Ronaldo, although the latter did pip Messi in the FIFA World Player of the Year vote for 2008.
The face-off between these two superstars and their superpower teams is a once-in-a-lifetime experience not to be missed. Should United win, it would cap a record-breaking 25-match unbeaten run in the competition to become the first team to retain the trophy in the UEFA Champions League era - and their fourth European Champion Clubs Cup overall following wins in 1967/68, 1998/99 and 2007/08. On the other hand, a Barcelona victory would bring the Catalan giant’s their third European crown in six appearances in the final, having lifted the Cup earlier in 1991/92 and 2005/06.
The final - the fourth to be staged at the Stadio Olimpico - promises more entries for the record books. A victory at Rome would earn 38-year old Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola, in his first season as a coach in Europe, a place on the privileged list of men who have won the trophy as both player (Barcelona, 1992) and coach, while it would earn United manager Sir Alex Ferguson a place alongside Liverpools Bob Paisley as the manager with the most European Cup wins following his previous successes with United in 1999 and 2008. |