The best of Europe have their sights set on Rome's Stadio Olimpico where the winner of the 2008-09 Champions League will be crown on May 27, 2009 as the successors to 2008 champs Manchester United. The English giants won the May 2008 final in Moscow on penalties against fellow Premiership side Chelsea.
Field Cut To Cut To Round Of 16
The Champions League field has been cut from 32 teams in the group stage to the Round of 16. The two leg ties will be played on February 24-25 and March 10-11. The quarter-finals take place on April 7-8 and April 14-15 and the semi-finals are scheduled for April 28-29 and May 5-6.
Round Of 16 Match-Ups
The match-ups for the last 16 teams are as followed (with the first team hosting the first leg):
Atelico Madrid vs. Porto
Olyimpique Lyon vs. Barcelona
Arsenal vs. Roma
Inter Milan vs. Manchester United
Real Madrid vs. Liverpool
Chelsea vs. Juventus Turin
Villarreal vs. Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon vs. Bayern Munich
Stadio Olimpico Past Host Of Top Games
The historic 82-000 seat Stadio Olimpico in Italy's capital will be hosting the Champions League final for the fourth time. Europe's soccer ruling body UEFA decided in October 2006 to allow Rome to host the event. The other applicants to stage the game were Berlin's Olympic Stadium and London's Wembley Stadium. The stadium in Rome - which is the home venue for AS Roma and Lazio Rome - has also hosted the 1990 World Cup final, two European Championship finals and the 1960 Olympics.
Past Champions League Finals In Rome
In 1977, English club Liverpool FC beat German side Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 to win the European Cup - the predecessor of the Champions League.
Liverpool won the European Cup trophy in Rome again in 1984, beating local club AS Roma 4-2 on penalties after regular time ended 1-1.
And the 1996 Champions League crown was also hoisted in Rome by Italian side Juventus Turin, who beat Ajax Amsterdam 4-2 on penalties after regular time ended 1-1.
1990 World Cup
Rome was also home to the final of the 1990 World Cup in which West Germany beat Argentina 1-0 on Andy Brehme's penalty goal in the 85th minute.
Two European Championship Finals
The European Championship also hosted two finals in the Italian capital. The hosts Italy collected the 1968 title by beating Yugoslavia 2-0 on first half goals by Luigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi.
In 1980, West Germany captured the Euro crown with a 2-1 victory against Belgium as Horst Hrubesch scored both goals.
1960 Olympics
Rome also was host to the 1960 Olympics and the Opening and Closing ceremonies took place in the Stadio Olimpico as well as the track and field events.
