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2016 UEFA Champions League final

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2016 UEFA Champions League final

The 2016 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. It was played at the Stadio San Siro in Milan, Italy, on 28 May 2016, between Spanish teams Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, in a repeat of the 2014 final. It was the second time in the tournament's history that both finalists were from the same city. Real Madrid won 5–3 on a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time, securing a record-extending 11th title in the competition.

Real Madrid earned the right to play against the winners of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Sevilla, in the 2016 UEFA Super Cup. They also qualified to enter the semi-finals of the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the UEFA representative, ultimately triumphing in both competitions.

The Stadio San Siro, officially known as Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, was announced as the venue of the final at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Nyon, Switzerland, on 18 September 2014, the fourth European Cup/Champions League final hosted at the stadium following those in 1965, 1970 and 2001.[citation needed]

The San Siro was built in 1925, opened in 1926 as the home of Milan, and was sold to the city in 1935. Internazionale became tenants in 1947, and the stadium has been shared by the two clubs ever since, with Inter winning the first European Cup final played at the stadium in 1965. The stadium was used as a venue in the 1934 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 1980, and the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Its current capacity is 80,018, but is reduced to just under 80,000 seats for UEFA competitions.

The 2016 final marked the first time a final has been held at the San Siro when neither of its tenants were able to win the competition, as Milan and Internazionale both failed to qualify for any European competitions after their performance in the 2014–15 Serie A.[citation needed]

This final was the sixth tournament final to feature two teams from the same association, the third all-Spanish final, and the second between teams from the same city, fielding exactly the two teams that faced each other in the 2014 final, making it the seventh repeated final pairing. The all-Madrid final also guaranteed the city of Madrid becoming the most successful city in the European Cup with 11 wins and 17 final appearances, and also in all UEFA club competitions with 16 wins, overtaking the city of Milan with 10 wins and 16 final appearances in the European Cup and 15 wins in all UEFA club competitions.

Real Madrid reached a record 14th final after a 1–0 aggregate win against Manchester City, with a chance to win a record 11th title. Previously, they won finals in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2014, and lost in 1962, 1964 and 1981. This was also their 18th final in all UEFA club competitions, having also played in two Cup Winners' Cup finals (losing in 1971 and 1983) and two UEFA Cup finals (winning in 1985 and 1986). Their manager, Zinedine Zidane, who scored the winning goal for Real Madrid in the 2002 final, was aiming to become the seventh man to win the Champions League as both player and manager, joining Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti, Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola. The team had had a disastrous first half of the season, being left out of contention to win La Liga, sacking newly-appointed Rafael Benítez in January.

Atlético Madrid reached their third European Cup final after defeating Bayern Munich on away goals (2–2 on aggregate). Their previous two European Cup finals in 1974 and 2014 both ended in defeats, to Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively. Atlético Madrid had also played in three Cup Winners' Cup finals (winning in 1962, and losing in 1963 and 1986) and two Europa League finals (winning in 2010 and 2012), with their most recent Europa League triumph in 2012 led by current coach Diego Simeone, widely attributed as having brought Atlético Madrid back to glory, but had yet to win a Champions League. He had the chance to join fellow Argentinians Luis Carniglia and Helenio Herrera as the only non-European coaches to win the European Cup/Champions League. Had they won the final, they would have become the first Spanish club and the fifth club overall to have won all three major European trophies at the time (European Cup/Champions League, UEFA Cup/Europa League and the now-defunct Cup Winners' Cup). On the other hand, if they were to lose, they would become the first team to lose their first three European Cup finals.

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