We were very lucky to be the guests of a broadcast partner of the Champions League Final in Munich. For my American friends and readers, this is the Superbowl equivalent in European football (soccer) – so it is a very big deal here.

The final match was held on May 19, 2012 in Munich at the home stadium of one of the finalist – FC Bayern München – the city was packed with their fans wearing red and the atmosphere was incredible throughout the city and the biergartens. The other finalist was Chelsea FC from London, in blue, their fans were in smaller numbers but no less vocal than the locals.

A day before the match, the Cup was displayed in the Commercial Partner’s lounge, and as guests, we had a chance to hold the Cup! Apparently, it is one of three identical official cups – the one we posed with would be used on match day.

The stadium is named Allianz (an insurance company) but its name was not mentioned as it was not one of the commercial partner.

After we were bus-ed to the stadium, we were lead to an area (Champions Village) where the organizer served us pre- and post-game buffet and drinks. There was a fan shop and live entertainment.

Other partners like Ford, Mastercard, Sony, Heineken … had their own parties.

There was also a final result prediction lottery at the Champions Village. Of course, the result did not turn out as predicted.

In the UEFA lounge, we were watching the field before the broadcast transmission began around the world. See countdown clock below.

The sun was setting as we entered the stadium – it was a beautiful evening.

Our seat was in the middle of the stadium and half way up, a few rows below these TV cameras. Great seats.

More about the game in our next post.