Tomorrow, Fox Sports airs the UEFA Champions League Final live from Munich, Germany. For the first time in CL history, a finalist gets to play in its home stadium as is the case with Bayern Munich.
Both teams got to the final after beating various clubs from leagues all over Europe. Bayern Munich coming over from the powerful Bundesliga in Germany and Chelsea from the English Premier League.
An interesting storyline for tomorrow. Chelsea finished 6th in the EPL this year and normally would not be able to return as the first four teams in the league go to the Champions League the following year. However, if Chelsea can win tomorrow, it will be able to defend its title and the fourth place team, in the EPL, Tottenham Hotspur would not be eligible, so in effect, Tottenham is rooting for Bayern Munich.
Fox will staff the game with Curt Menefee as the event host. Rob Stone will also be on hand as the studio host and he’ll be joined by Fox Soccer analyst Eric Wynalda and current Tottenham goaltender Brad Friedel.
Fox begins its coverage at 2 p.m. ET with the pregame. Then the game hits the air at 2:30 p.m. with various ceremonies. Fox Soccer will have a pregame show as well starting at 1 p.m. and we’ll expect to see analyst Warren Barton to take part in that program.
Calling the match will be Martin Tyler and Gary Neville. Here’s the Fox press release.
FOX SPORTS MEDIA GROUP TAKES THE FIELD IN MUNICH FOR UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Complete Analysis of Bayern Munich & Chelsea FC’s Battle for European Supremacy Begins Saturday at 2:00 PM ET on FOX
FOX Soccer & FOX Deportes Blanket Coverage Leading Up to Kick-Off
Host Rob Stone Sits Down For Exclusive Interview with UEFA President Michel Platini
Stone & Analysts Wynalda, Friedel and Barton Visit Troops in Germany for Pre-Match FeatureNew York, NY – Elite European soccer again takes center stage Saturday as FOX Sports presents exclusive live coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final from Munich, Germany. The culmination of Europe’s most prestigious annual club soccer competition features German club Bayern Munich, the first team to play a UEFA Champions League Final in its home stadium, taking on England’s Chelsea FC looking to capture its first European Cup.
FOX Sports’ comprehensive coverage kicks off Saturday, May 19 at 2:00 PM ET. Curt Menefee, FOX Sports’ go-to studio host, is on hand in Germany to welcome viewers to Fussball Arena in Munich before handing-off to FOX Soccer lead studio host Rob Stone. Stone is joined at the pre-match desk by American National Soccer Hall of Famer and out-spoken FOX Soccer analyst Eric Wynalda and current Tottenham Hotspur and former US National Team goalkeeper Brad Friedel. The trio offers complete analysis of the Bayern Munich-Chelsea matchup, what to watch for, each team’s strengths and weaknesses and pick which team they think will take home the trophy. FOX Soccer analyst Warren Barton along with match announcers Martin Tyler and Gary Neville also contribute to pre-match analysis.
The atmosphere in Munich is expected to be electric. Menefee looks to capture that energy in a feature on Munich’s love affair with the beautiful game airing during pre-match coverage. Pre-match coverage also highlights Chelsea’s bumpy road to the UEFA Champions League Final which included firing manager Andre Villas-Boas after only eight months on the job.
FOX Soccer has additional features planned during its UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PREVIEW SHOW Friday, May 18 (8:00-9:00 PM ET) and UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PRE-GAME SHOW Saturday, May 19 (1:00-2:00 PM ET), including Stone siting down for an exclusive interview with UEFA President Michel Platini. FOX Soccer also airs a post-match show following FOX Sports’ coverage. All shows are hosted by Stone alongside analysts Wynalda, Friedel and Barton.
One of the highlights of FOX’s trip to Germany includes a visit to Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels to spend the day with troops and their families. Stone, Wynalda, Friedel and Barton take an LUH-72 Lakota helicopter to tour the training area and go on a demo ride in a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle. They also join soldiers in an exhibition soccer game and host a clinic with the boys and girls high school soccer teams.
FOX Deportes, the nation’s leading Spanish-language sports cable network, adds to the comprehensive coverage with a week-long lead-up of programming that includes carrying the Bayern Munich v. Chelsea FC match. Coverage on Saturday, May 19 begins with the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL PREVIEW live from Munich at 1:00 PM ET. Match coverage begins at 2:30 PM ET, followed by the post-match celebration at 5:00 PM ET on Lo Mejor de la UCL. At 5:30 PM ET, FOX Deportes airs La Ultima Palabra, a special one-hour postgame show live followed later on by an encore match presentation at 10:30 PM ET. Manning FOX Deportes’ Los Angeles studio are Mauricio Cardenas and Bruno Vain. John Laguna, Christian Bozzo and Daniel Brailovsky are on-site in Munich with reporters Nelson Vignolles and Alejandro Blanco.
That is all.
