2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch, Final classifications
The victory ceremony was held at 17:15 British Summer Time (UTC+1). The winner was awarded the rainbow jersey and the top three riders got flowers and respectively a gold, silver and bronze medal.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch, Medalists reactions
"I was never World champion so it is my biggest victory so far! I was focused on the individual pursuit, everything for me was on that. My individual pursuit was good, but I was fifth and just missed the finals. I was very disappointed because I also missed the Olympic Games, because I only started riding [world cups] on the track four months ago. I didn't have enough points to ride in the individual pursuit in the Olympics."


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch, Medalists reactions
About the scratch race she continued: "My plan was to attack about 10 laps from the finish, I wanted to go when the speed was a bit lower. I did it about eight laps before the finish. I was surprised, but every country has just one rider so they don't work together. That was better for me to ride away. I didn't look behind, just once," she added. "I knew I had to give it everything and if there was no gap, then there was no gap. But it worked out well."


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch, Medalists reactions
Despite having quite a considerable gap coming into the final lap, Van Dijk refused to believe that the race was won until the very end. She detailed the point at which she realised that she was definitely going to triumph. "Just 100 metres before the finish," she said. "I didn't know how big the gap was [before then], I didn't look back, I was just focused on riding hard and getting everything out." A few days on from the frustration of non-qualification, her new rainbow jersey and gold medal provide her with a great deal of compensation. "I was really, really disappointed with that," she confirmed. "But this makes up for it."


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch, Medalists reactions
"The race was very fast." She told the assembled media. "I didn't feel very good but at the end I was able to get the silver medal so I am happy about that."


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch, Medalists reactions
"I'm certainly stoked by the result. It is such a great improvement on last year. It would have been great to have got gold, the top prize, but I am really happy. It has been a long wait. I had to put it in my head that I'd get in some training this week, get a bit fitter. But I am really happy with myself; things have been going well for me. I rode well in Europe last year."


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
The Women's Sprint was one of the 8 women's events at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Manchester, United Kingdom.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
28 cyclists from 18 countries were due to participate in the contest, but two riders did not start. After the qualifying heats, the fastest 24 riders were to advance to the 1/16 finals, therefore all riders who contested the qualification advanced to the next round.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
The first rider in each of the 12 heats advanced to the second round. There was no repechage for this round.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
The first rider from each of the six Second Round heats advanced to the Quarterfinals and the second placed riders from a repechage to determine the other two riders that competed in the quarterfinals.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
The quarterfinals turned out to be quite eventful, as Simona Krupeckaitė was relegated in her first match sprint against Willy Kanis when she failed to hold her line in the last 200 metres but won the next two matches to go through to the semifinals. Guo Shuang was also relegated in her second match sprint against Clara Sanchez when she entered the sprinter's lane when the opponent was already there. Lisandra Guerra also received a warning for dangerous riding in the final bend. The first rider in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals and the 4 losing athletes faced a race for 5th-8th place.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
The qualifying, first round, second round, second round repechages and quarterfinals took place on 28 March. The Semifinals and Finals took place on 29 March.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team pursuit
The Women's Team Pursuit was one of the 8 women's events at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Manchester, United Kingdom. 42 cyclists from 14 countries participated in the contest. After the qualification, the fastest two teams advanced to the final and the 3rd and 4th fastest raced for the bronze medal.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team pursuit
The qualification took place on 28 March and the finals were held later the same day.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team sprint
The Women's Team Sprint was one of the 8 women's events at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Manchester, United Kingdom.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team sprint
Ten teams of 2 cyclists each participated in the contest. After the qualifying, the fastest 2 teams raced for gold, and 3rd and 4th teams raced for bronze.


2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team sprint
The Qualifying and the Finals were held on the evening session on 27 March.


2008 UCI Women's Road World Cup
The 2008 UCI Women's Road World Cup is the 11th edition of the UCI Women's Road World Cup. The calendar remains close to the 2007 UCI Women's Road World Cup with the addition of the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio and a team time trial event in conjunction with the Open de Suède Vargarda.


2008 UCI Women's Road World Rankings
The 2008 UCI Women's Road Rankings is an overview of the UCI Women's Road Rankings, based upon the results in all UCI-sanctioned races of the 2008 women's road cycling season.


2008 UCI Women's Road World Rankings, UCI Teams Ranking
This is the ranking of the UCI women's teams from 2008.Final result.


2008 UCLA Bruins baseball team
The 2008 UCLA Bruins baseball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bruins played their home games in Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA finished the regular season as the #3 team in the Pacific-10 Conference behind #2 Stanford and #1 Arizona State. The Bruins made it to the 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament for the third year in a row, competing in the Fullerton Regionals. After beating Virginia 3–2 in the first round, the Bruins beat the number 1 seeded Cal State Fullerton Titans 11–4. Since the Titans beat Virginia in their double elimination game, the Bruins faced the Titans again in the Regional Finals. The Bruins lost 11–8 and 5–4 to the Titans to finish the season as runners-up in the Fullerton Regionals.


2008 UCLA Bruins baseball team, Previous season
The 2007 season saw the Bruins finish 33–28 and third in the Pac-10 Conference behind #1 Arizona State and #2 Arizona. The 2007 season ended in the Fullerton Super Regionals when the Bruins lost two games in a row to Cal State Fullerton.


2008 UCLA Bruins baseball team, UCLA Bruins in the 2008 MLB Draft
The following members of the UCLA Bruins baseball program were drafted in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team
The 2008 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They opened the season at home against Tennessee under new head coach Rick Neuheisel, at the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, California. The Bruins played six of the Top 25 teams in the 2007 final Associated Press rankings. More than half of the opponents had won nine or more games during the 2007 season.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team
The Bruins had seven home games and five away games this season, UCLA's 90th season in college football and 27th season at the Rose Bowl. Since moving to the Rose Bowl, the Bruins had a 109–46–2 record, winning 70% (prior to this season).


2008 UCLA Bruins football team
On Monday, August 19, Neuheisel named Kevin Craft (#3) as starting quarterback for the first game of the season. Both Ben Olson (#7) and Patrick Cowan (#12) were injured in pre-season practices. Other available quarterbacks were Chris Forcier (#8), Osaar Rasshan (#11), and Nick Crissman (#18).


2008 UCLA Bruins football team
Alterraun Verner and Aaron Perez were named to the 2008 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team. Verner majors in mathematics and Perez is a sociology major. Sophomore place kicker Kai Forbath was named to Associated Press' All-America third team.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Coaching staff, Norm Chow
Other members of the coaching staff include: Wayne Moses, Running Backs coach; Bob Palcic, Offensive Line coach; Reggie Moore, Wide Receivers coach; Todd Howard, Defensive Line coach; Chuck Bullough, Linebackers coach; Tim Hauck, Secondary Coach; Frank Gansz, Jr., Special Teams.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Players, Depth chart
SPECIALISTS: PK – Kai Forbath (25), Jeff Locke (49); KO – Jimmy Rotstein (37); P – Aaron Perez (17),	39 Danny Reese (39); LS – Christian Yount (52); H – 17 Aaron Perez (17); PR – Terrence Austin (4), Ryan Graves (2); KOR 4 Terrence Austin (4), Raymond Carter (20).


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Media
In addition to the games on TV, the football games were broadcast on the UCLA ISP Sports Network (AM570 Sports, in Los Angeles), with Chris Roberts, Matt Stevens and Wayne Cook. 2008 marked the 17th year of the voice of the Bruins for Roberts, 12th season for Stevens, and 7th year for Cook. Both Stevens and Cook are former quarterbacks for UCLA.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
This was the season-opening game for both teams. Tennessee held a 7–4–2 record on the Bruins before game time. Only San Diego State had more games with the Bruins in a non-conference series history. The 1996 game against Tennessee set an attendance record with a crowd of 106,297 at Neyland Stadium.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
UCLA and the University of Tennessee agreed to move up their football game to Labor Day in order to have the game nationally televised on ESPN as one of only two football games played on the final day of college football opening weekend. The game was originally scheduled for September 6. The game kicked off from the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. Pacific Time in the ESPN Monday Night Football time slot, which for the rest of the season was devoted to NFL professional football. The moving of the game altered the schedules of the two teams. Tennessee was scheduled to begin the season on August 30 against the University of Alabama-Birmingham, but that game was moved to September 13. UCLA changed the September 6 slot to be an open date.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
UCLA went ahead in the first quarter when Sean Westgate returned a blocked-punt for a 17-yard touchdown. After throwing four interceptions in the first half, Kevin Craft threw a 3-yard pass to Ryan Moya in a 70-yard drive that gave UCLA the lead late in the fourth quarter. Then Tennessee's Daniel Lincoln's 47-yard field goal tied the game with no time in regulation. But Kai Forbath kicked a 42-yard field goal to give the Bruins a 27–24 lead in overtime. The Volunteers were unable to match the Bruins in overtime when Lincoln's field goal attempt went wide left.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
The win made Rick Neuheisel, a former UCLA quarterback who was the 1984 Rose Bowl MVP, only the third head coach to win in the first game. The win also marked the first win as a Bruin offensive coordinator for Norm Chow.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Tennessee Head Coach Phil Fulmer has a season opener record of 14–3, with all three losses coming to teams in California: a 25–23 loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl in 1994, a 45–31 loss to California in 2007, and this game.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, BYU
It was a homecoming for Norman Chow, who was an assistant coach at BYU for many years. Dewayne Walker also coached the Cougars as defensive coordinator. The Bruins held a 7–2 record on the Cougars prior to the game. BYU was ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25 poll and No. 15 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. Former BYU quarterback Ben Olson did not play due to injuries. In his first career start at San Diego State, Kevin Craft completed 20 of 32 passes for 216 yards against BYU.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, BYU
BYU scored first on a Max Hall pass to Dennis Pitta for 10 yards for a touchdown; then another Hall pass to Austin Collie for a two-yard score in the second quarter. UCLA fumbled the ball and the Cougars recovered, which led to Hall's pass to Collie for the third touchdown. The Bruins again fumbled and Hall had his 4th touchdown pass to Michael Reed. Another Bruins' fumble gave Hall his 5th pass touchdown. Before the end of second quarter, Hall threw his 6th pass (2 yards) to Pitta.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, BYU
In the second half, Max Hall passed to Harvey Unga for a 6-yard touchdown, Mitch Payne kicked a 24-yard field goal and Wayne Latu rushed for a 13-yard touchdown to give BYU the 59-0 win. This was the worst loss the Bruins endured since a 76–0 defeat in the very first UCLA–USC rivalry football game.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona
The Bruins held a 19–11–2 record on the Wildcats at game time. On a day when the Bruins were woeful in punt coverage and bad in third down conversions, the Arizona Wildcats won 31-10 in the Rose Bowl. Arizona quarterback Willie Tuitama, who had been a thorn to UCLA for the last couple of years, threw 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns to tight end Rob Gronkowski.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona
The only touchdown for UCLA came from Korey Bosworth, who recovered a Wildcat fumble and rolled one yard into the end zone for the score. Kai Fobath kicked a 35-yard field goal to cut Arizona's lead to 17–10 at half-time.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona
No scoring by either team in the third quarter, but Arizona took care of that by scoring two touchdowns with the short fields in the final period. UCLA running back Chane Moline (#42) had 72 yards rushing and Arizona's wide receiver Mike Thomas (#10) caught for 112 yards. Aaron Perez kicked two punts for more than 50 yards for the Bruins and they were downed inside the two-yard line.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Fresno State
Before the game, the Bruins held a 6–1 record on the Bulldogs. The game was a public safety appreciation game. Because of a knee injury, Fresno State's top defense lineman Jon Monga did not play.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Fresno State
A Derrick Coleman fumble in the redzone in the fourth quarter took away the Bruins' hope of keeping the Bulldogs from winning a game in the Rose Bowl stadium. Fresno State won its first game there by five points, taking control of the final 8 minutes and 55 seconds and not allowing a UCLA comeback.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington State
The Bruins had a 35–18–1 record on the Cougars. UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony was held during half-time. The game was the conference opener for both teams.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington State
UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft (#3) passed for 224 yards, Derrick Coleman (#33) rushed for 51 yards and Terrence Austin (#4) had 78 yards of receiving in this game. There were no UCLA turnovers for the first time since their game at Arizona on November 3, 2007. With the win, Coach Rick Neuheisel has a 6–0 record on the Washington State Cougars.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The Ducks beat the Washington Huskies 44–10 in the first game of the season. UCLA led the series with a 39–22 record on Oregon.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The Oregon Ducks handed UCLA a fourth loss for the season by scoring two touchdowns in the first half. In the early third quarter, Derrick Coleman scored a touchdown for UCLA, but the Ducks answered with a LeGarrette Blout touchdown within 90 seconds. Kahlil Bell scored with 27 seconds left in the third quarter to close the gap at 21–14.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon
Fourth quarter saw both teams scoring a field goal and a touchdown. Jeff Miller caught a touchdown pass for the Bruins and Blount had a touchdown for the Ducks.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Stanford
It was Homecoming, parent's weekend and high school Band Day at the Rose Bowl for the Bruins. High school bands, along with Stanford Band and UCLA Band performed during half time. The Cardinal started the season with a Pac-10 win over the Beavers 36–28 and had a 4–3 (3–1 in Pac-10) record entering the game. In the previous week, the Cardinal beat Arizona 24–23 in an exciting conference game, while the Bruins lost a close game to the Ducks. UCLA had a record of 44–31–3 on the Cardinal going into the game.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Stanford
With ten seconds left and UCLA behind by four points, quarterback Kevin Craft passed to freshman Cory Harkey for a 7-yard touchdown in the northeast corner of the Rose Bowl to stage an upset win, 23–20, over the Stanford Cardinal. Two turnovers by the Bruins led to the 14 Stanford points in the first half.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Stanford
In the game, Bruins' Craft had 285 passing yards and Taylor Embree caught 72 yards, while Stanford's Toby Gerhard rushed for 138 yards. Also for UCLA, Terrence Austin scored on a 2-yard pass from Craft and Kai Forbath kicked three field goals (37, 19, and 28 yards). Gerhard scored two touchdowns and Aaron Zagory kicked two field goals (40 and 29 yards) for Stanford.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
Cal quarterback Kevin Riley started for the Bears, his first since nearly a month before against Colorado State on September 27. The Bruins took their only lead of the game at the beginning of the second quarter by managing to block a punt attempt by Bryan Anger and recovering the ball in the end zone to go up 7–3. On the ensuing possession Jahvid Best was able to break free for 34-yard run, the only offensive touchdown in the first half for the Bears.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
Marcus Ezeff then intercepted a pass by Bruins quarterback Kevin Craft which he was able to return for a 69-yard touchdown. Both teams then traded field goals into the fourth quarter. After getting a stop on a fake Bruins punt attempt which nearly converted a 4th and 23 with a 22-yard pass, Riley hit Nyan Boateng for a 53-yard touchdown. Michael Mohammed then intercepted a Craft pass for a 19-yard score. Riley threw his second touchdown pass of the game on a ten-yard strike to Cameron Morrah. UCLA got in the final score of the game when backup quarterback Chris Forcier threw a nine-yard pass to Dominique Johnson, which was set up by a kickoff return by wide receiver Terrence Austin for 81 yards.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
Craft passed for 206 yards and was picked off four times, two coming off tipped balls. Wide receiver Taylor Embree had 90 yards receiving. The Bears held the Bruins to 16 yards rushing, while Jahvid Best ran for 115 and Shane Vereen had 99. Riley passed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, although he was sacked three times. The victory continued Cal's win streak against UCLA at Memorial Stadium, having not lost to the Bruins at home since 1998.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
Veterans and Armed Forces Appreciation Day at the Rose Bowl, honoring the U.S. service men and women. Flyover by the United States Air Force. UCLA led the series with a 39–13–4 record.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
The Oregon State Beavers took the game away from the Bruins in the second half by scoring 14 points after half-time in the third quarter and allowing only a field goal to UCLA. Kevin Craft was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter to dash any hope of a comeback. Highlights for the Bruins included a 67-yard punt by Aaron Perez, Taylor Embree's five receptions for 64 yards and Reggie Carter's 10 tackles.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington
Huskies head coach Tyrone Willingham already had been fired from his position. On October 27, 2008, the University of Washington announced that he will not be retained as head coach after the completion of Washington's 2008 football season. Willingham became the third Washington coach to be fired (out of the last four) since Hall of Fame coach Don James resigned in 1993 because of pending NCAA and Pac-10 sanctions against his team where his players were determined to have "accepted substantial and illegal benefits under James, likely with his knowledge".


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington
UCLA coach Neuheisel had been fired in the summer of 2003 from the University of Washington in relation to his participation in a neighborhood pool for the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and lies he told about his actions. The University of Washington had its probation extended for failing to monitor its football program. This was Neuheisel's first return to Husky Stadium following the firing. There was some booing, but not a significant amount. The Huskies had been on a winless streak all season, and were at 0–9.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington
The day was sunny and dry, so weather was not a factor as can often be the case in Seattle in November. Under the direction of quarterback Kevin Craft, the Bruins drove 80 yards in 12 plays. Running back Derrick Coleman rushed for a touchdown in the first half. In the second half, the Bruins launched a ninety-two yard drive. Backed up against the goal line, running back Kahlil Bell ran four straight times, and Craft followed with several key pass completions. UCLA finally scored on a run by Bell, taking the 24–7 lead.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
UCLA led the series 15–8–1 entering the game, following the Sun Devils' 2007 24–20 win.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
The Sun Devils ended UCLA's hope of postseason play with a 34–9 victory over the Bruins. Kai Forbath kicked three field goals, including a 53-yarder, for all of the Bruins' points. ASU had four defensive touchdowns, including a 100-yard interception touchdown.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
In the game, Marcus Everett caught eight passes for 75 yards, Michael Norris had six tackles, and Korey Bosworth tallied two sacks during the game for UCLA. A school record was set when Aaron Perez punted eight times for a total career punt yards mark and Terrence Austin ran for 188 all purpose yards, 131 yards in kickoff returns.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, USC
USC led the series, 42–28–7, but UCLA had an 8-5 record over the Trojans in the Rose Bowl. Rick Neuheisel vs. USC was 1-1. Senior athlete salute. Before the season, this game garnered interest in seeing how coach Rick Neuheisel would perform in his battle to gain supremacy in Los Angeles. Both schools wore their home colorful uniforms, the first time since 1982.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, USC
A fumble recovery turned into a pass reception touchdown by Kahlil Bell in the beginning of the game was all the scoring by the Bruins in this the latest cross-town rivalry game. Quarterback Kevin Craft completed 11 out of 28 passes for a total of 89 yards and had one pass intercepted. He finished the season with 232 completions, second place in history. Terrence Austin set a new school record with 1,878 all-purpose yards, surpassing Maurice Jones Drew, who had 1,863 yards in 2005.


2008 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, USC
Joe McKnight (12-yard run), Damian Williams (12-yard pass from Mark Sanchez), Stafon Johnson (2-yard run) and Patrick Turner (18-yard pass from Sanchez) accounted for the Trojans' scores. Sanchez passed for 269 yards, McKnight ran for 99 yards and Turner caught for 81 yards.


2008 UEC European Track Championships
The 2008 European Track Championships took place in Pruszków, Poland from 3 September to 7 September 2008. They were the annual European championship for track cycling for junior and under 23 riders. Events were also held at elite level in the women's omnium discipline. A men's omnium European Championship was held in Alkmaar, the Netherlands at 18 October 2008.


2008 UEC European Track Championships, Medal summary, Under 23
i) There were awarded 2 gold medals (and no silver medal) because Ellen van Dijk and Lizzie Armitstead finished at the same time. See the .


2008 UEC European Track Championships – U23 Women's 500 m time trial
The Women's 500 m Time Trial was one of the 8 women's events at the 2008 European Track Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's omnium
The Women's Omnium was the only elite women's events at the 2008 European Track Championships held in Pruszków, Poland and took place at 3 September. The omnium consisted of four events: elimination race, scratch race, 3000m individual pursuit and a points race. Seventeen cyclists participated in the women's omnium.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 individual pursuit
The U23 Women's individual pursuit was one of the 8 women's under-23 events at the 2008 European Track Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland. It took place from 5 to 6 September 2008. 17 cyclists participated in the contest.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 individual pursuit, Competition format
The women's individual pursuit consists of a 3 km time trial race between two riders, starting on opposite sides of the track. If one rider catches the other, the race is over.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 individual pursuit, Competition format
The tournament consisted of an initial qualifying round. The top four riders advanced to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals advanced to the gold medal match and losers advanced to the bronze medal race.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 points race
The Women's Points Race was one of the 8 under-23 women's events at the 2008 European Track Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland. The race was held on 6 September and 22 cyclists from 14 countries participated in the event.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 points race
Ellen van Dijk won the race ahead of Lizzie Armitstead and Aksana Papko.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 scratch
The U23 Women's scratch was one of the 8 women's under-23 events at the 2008 European Track Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland. It took place on 7 September 2008. 23 cyclists were on the start list and 22 participated in the race.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 scratch, Competition format
A scratch race is a race in which all riders start together and the object is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. There are no intermediate points or sprints.


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 scratch, Final results
i) There were awarded 2 gold medals because Ellen van Dijk and Lizzie Armitstead finished at the same time. See the .


2008 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 sprint
The Women's Sprint was one of the 8 women's events at the 2008 European Track Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2008 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on 21 May 2008, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, to determine the winner of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. It was contested by Manchester United and Chelsea, making it an all-English final for the first time in the history of the competition; it was only the third time that two clubs from the same country had contested the final, after 2000 and 2003. It was the first European Cup final played in Russia, and hence the easternmost final in the tournament's history. It also marked the 100th anniversary of Manchester United's first league triumph, the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, and the 40th anniversary of United's first European Cup triumph in 1968. It was Manchester United's third European Cup final after 1968 and 1999, while it was Chelsea's first.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final
Manchester United won the match 6–5 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Manchester United in the 26th minute with a header from a cross by Wes Brown, but Frank Lampard equalised shortly before half-time. The second half and most of extra time passed without incident until Chelsea's Didier Drogba was sent off for slapping Nemanja Vidić four minutes from the end.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final
In the penalty shoot-out, Ronaldo missed Manchester United's third kick, giving John Terry the chance to win the title for Chelsea, only for his shot to hit the post when he slipped as he was about to kick the ball. Edwin van der Sar then saved Nicolas Anelka's effort from Chelsea's seventh kick to secure Manchester United's third European Cup title.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final
More than 67,000 people watched the game in the stadium, along with more than 17.5 million television viewers in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In addition to prize money received from earlier in the competition, Manchester United received €7 million for winning the final, while Chelsea received €4 million. As winners, Manchester United went on to play in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup, losing 2–1 to 2007–08 UEFA Cup winners Zenit Saint Petersburg, and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup, which they won after beating 2008 Copa Libertadores winners LDU Quito 1–0 in the final.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Manchester United and Chelsea had played each other 150 times prior to the Champions League final, including 18 meetings in domestic cup competitions (the FA Cup, the Football League Cup and the FA Community Shield). Due to various historical restrictions regarding the number of teams from the same country entering European competitions, they had never met in Europe before. Manchester United held the upper hand in the teams' previous meetings, winning 65 times to Chelsea's 41, with 44 draws. Their cup record was equally good, winning 10 of their 18 meetings, with 4 draws and 4 Chelsea wins.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
However, honours were even in cup finals, with Manchester United having won the 1994 FA Cup Final 4–0, while Chelsea won the 2007 FA Cup Final 1–0, the last cup game between the two sides. Manchester United responded to defeat in the 2007 FA Cup Final by beating Chelsea in the 2007 FA Community Shield the following August, winning 3–0 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in normal time. They went on to claim their 17th league title at the end of the 2007–08 Premier League season, finishing two points ahead of Chelsea.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Both teams went into the final game of the season level on points, but United were ahead of Chelsea because of their superior goal difference, meaning United's 2–0 win against Wigan Athletic on the final day made Chelsea's late draw with Bolton Wanderers irrelevant. In the two sides' league meetings that season, United won 2–0 at Old Trafford in Avram Grant's first game in charge of Chelsea on 23 September 2007, while Chelsea won 2–1 at Stamford Bridge in the return game on 26 April 2008.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Because of the aforementioned restrictions on entry to UEFA competitions, Manchester United had only met English opposition in Europe twice before, while Chelsea had far more experience against English opposition, having played 12 matches against compatriot clubs, winning five, drawing five and losing just two. There had been two previous Champions League finals between teams from the same country: in 2000, when Real Madrid beat fellow Spanish side Valencia 3–0 at the Stade de France; and in 2003, when Italian sides Milan and Juventus played out a 0–0 draw at Old Trafford before Milan won 3–2 on penalties.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Both sides had a connection to the early history of European football; Chelsea were invited to take part in the inaugural European Cup in 1955–56 as champions of England, only to be denied entry by The Football League, allowing Manchester United to become the first English entrants in the competition the following season. In February 1958, eight Manchester United players were killed in the Munich air disaster, when the aeroplane carrying their team back from a match in Belgrade crashed while attempting to take off from a refuelling stop in Munich.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Manager Matt Busby was seriously injured in the crash and almost died as a result, but he rebuilt the team, and in May 1968, Manchester United became the first English winners of the European Cup, beating Benfica 4–1 in the 1968 European Cup Final. Chelsea won their first European trophy three years later, when they beat Real Madrid 2–1 in the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup Final replay after a 1–1 draw in the first match.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Both Chelsea and Manchester United won that same competition during the 1990s – first Manchester United beat Barcelona 2–1 in the 1991 final (followed by victory over Red Star Belgrade in the 1991 Super Cup), and then Chelsea beat VfB Stuttgart in the 1998 final (followed by victory over Real Madrid in the 1998 Super Cup, their most recent European success at the time). Manchester United then won their second European Cup the following year, beating Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Manchester United
Manchester United were drawn in Group F along with Roma, Sporting CP and Dynamo Kyiv. United won their first five group games; they first travelled to Lisbon, where Cristiano Ronaldo's header secured a 1–0 win against his old club, Sporting. Next was another 1–0 win at home to Roma, followed by back-to-back four-goal victories over Dynamo Kyiv (4–2 in Ukraine and 4–0 at Old Trafford). United secured top spot in the group with a 2–1 win at home to Sporting in their fifth game. They travelled to Roma for the final group game, in which both teams were already guaranteed to progress; it finished as a 1–1 draw, with Gerard Piqué scoring his second goal for the club before Mancini's equaliser. United finished with 16 points, the most of all the group winners.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Manchester United
In the first knockout round, United were drawn against Lyon. They drew the away leg 1–1, thanks to a late equaliser from Carlos Tevez, before winning the second leg 1–0 – Ronaldo scoring the only goal – to ensure a 2–1 aggregate victory and a place in the quarter-finals, where they were again drawn against Roma.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Manchester United
The quarter-final matches represented the fifth and sixth times these two clubs had met in Europe in just over 12 months; they had met at the same stage of the previous season's competition and then again in the group stage this season. United went to Rome and secured a 2–0 win with a first-half header from Ronaldo and a second-half goal tapped in by Wayne Rooney. United went on to secure the tie in the second leg with a 1–0 win, their record 11th consecutive home Champions League win.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Manchester United
The semi-final pitted United against Barcelona; the teams had not met since the group stage of the 1998–99 tournament, the last time United won it. The teams also had identical records going into the semi-final, each having won eight and drawn two of their 10 games, scoring 18 goals and conceding just five. The first leg at the Camp Nou saw United spend most of the game defending, while Barcelona tried to pass the ball around them. United were awarded a penalty in the first minute, but Ronaldo sent the ball wide, hitting the stanchion behind the goal.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Manchester United
That was as close as either team got to a goal in the first leg and it ended 0–0. The second leg at Old Trafford was played at a higher tempo, and United won 1–0 thanks to a goal from Paul Scholes after 14 minutes. This result extended United's consecutive home win record in the Champions League to 12 and ensured that they reached the final unbeaten.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Manchester United
In reaching the final, United won nine and drew three of their 12 matches, dwarfing their record of four wins and six draws in the 10 games they took to reach the final in 1999 (when teams advanced from the group stage directly into the quarter-finals). United scored 19 goals en route to the final, Ronaldo scoring seven of them, more than any other player.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Chelsea
In the group stage, Chelsea were drawn into Group B, along with Schalke 04 of Germany, Rosenborg of Norway and Spanish club Valencia. Chelsea's first match in the group was against Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge, where they were held to a 1–1 draw. Two days later, manager José Mourinho left Chelsea by mutual consent, and was replaced by their director of football, former Israel national team coach Avram Grant. Chelsea's second match was against Valencia, whom they beat 2–1, leaving Chelsea with four points from their two matches.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Chelsea
They then faced Schalke in their next two matches; the first was played at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea winning 2–0, while the return match in Gelsenkirchen ended in a 0–0 draw. Chelsea's final two matches in their group resulted in a 4–0 victory away to Rosenborg and a goalless draw at home to Valencia. Chelsea progressed as group winners with 12 points from six games.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Chelsea
Chelsea faced Greek side Olympiacos in the first knockout round. The first leg in Athens ended in a 0–0 draw, but a 3–0 win in the second leg, with goals from Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou, saw Chelsea through to the quarter-finals. There, they were drawn against Fenerbahçe of Turkey. The first leg was held at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul, and ended in a 2–1 defeat, as Deivid made up for an early own goal by scoring the winner nine minutes from time after Colin Kazim-Richards' equaliser. Chelsea won the second leg at Stamford Bridge 2–0, with goals from Ballack and Lampard, to claim a 3–2 aggregate victory over the Turkish side.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final, Chelsea
Chelsea faced fellow English club Liverpool in the semi-finals. This was the fourth year in succession that these teams had met in the Champions League, following semi-final meetings in 2004–05 and 2006–07, and two group stage matches in 2005–06. The first leg at Anfield was a 1–1 draw, in which Chelsea got a 95th-minute equaliser through a John Arne Riise own goal after Dirk Kuyt had put Liverpool 1–0 up just before half-time. Chelsea won the second leg 3–2 after extra time, with two goals from Didier Drogba and one from Lampard sending the Blues through to the first Champions League final in their history.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow was selected as the venue for the match at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 4 October 2006. The committee – who decided the venue for the 2009 final and the 2008 and 2009 UEFA Cup Finals at the same meeting – based their decision on a number of factors, including stadium capacity, safety and security facilities, and accessibility. The other venues in contention were the Estadio Olímpico in Seville, the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Wembley Stadium in London, and the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, which was chosen to host the 2009 final.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
This was the easternmost final in the history of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League. It was the first time the competition's showpiece match had been played in Russia, although the Luzhniki Stadium had previously played host to the 1999 UEFA Cup Final, in which Italian club Parma beat French side Marseille 3–0. Because of the difference in time zones, the match kicked off at 22:45 Moscow Time, making it the first Champions League final to start on one day and finish in the next.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
Originally known as the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium, the venue opened in 1956 as a new national stadium for the Soviet Union national football team. In 1973, it served as the principal venue for the seventh Summer Universiade, before going on to perform the same function at the 1980 Summer Olympics. By this point, the stadium's capacity was 103,000; however, renovations in the mid-1990s reduced the capacity to just under 85,000. The stadium was given five-star status by UEFA in 1998, before hosting the UEFA Cup final the following year.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
To help the stadium cope with cold Russian winters, the grass pitch was replaced by an artificial FieldTurf surface in 2002. Although UEFA allowed matches in earlier rounds and European Championship qualifying to be played on the synthetic surface, they mandated that the Champions League Final should be played on natural grass. The FieldTurf was removed after Russia's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against England on 17 October, but the first grass pitch laid was deemed to be too bumpy.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
Another pitch was laid less than three weeks before the final at a cost of £160,000, using turf shipped in from Slovakia, but groundsman Matt Frost said, "I'm totally disappointed with the whole project and what we are presenting for the final." UEFA's director of communications, William Gaillard, said the pitch might not look as good as they had hoped to television audiences, but was confident that it would be fine to play on.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
As part of the marketing for each Champions League final since 1997, UEFA commissions a unique design concept inspired by the cultural and historical heritage of the host city. The 2008 final's design was announced on 31 October 2007 in a ceremony at the Luzhniki Stadium, attended by the ambassador for the final, former Russian goalkeeper Rinat Dasayev.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
The design was based on a colour scheme of deep red and gold, inspired by the predominant colours of Red Square, the Kremlin and the gold domes of Moscow's cathedrals, and featured images of the Moscow skyline, as well as the UEFA Champions League logo and trophy rendered in a Russian artistic style, with text in a font similar to Cyrillic script.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
As has also taken place for every Champions League final since 1997, a ceremonial handover of the UEFA Champions League trophy was held in the host city; the 2008 ceremony was at the GUM Centre in Moscow's Red Square on 3 April 2008.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
On behalf of 2007 champions Milan, their technical operations director and former player Leonardo, and club director Umberto Gandini presented the trophy to UEFA president Michel Platini, who passed it on to the Mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov, for it to be displayed in five cities around the country – Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Saint Petersburg and Samara – before returning to Moscow ahead of the final. Also in attendance at the ceremony were final ambassador Rinat Dasayev and Russian Football Union president Vitaly Mutko.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing and supporters
Although the Luzhniki Stadium had a usual capacity of almost 85,000 spectators, that was reduced to 69,500 for the final. Of those tickets, approximately 21,000 were reserved for each finalist club, with a further 10,500 available for purchase by the general public via the UEFA website. Recipients of those tickets were determined by a random ballot following an online application process that ran from 28 February to 19 March 2008. Tickets were available in three categories, priced at €80, €140 and €200 depending on their location in the stadium. UEFA received around 125,000 applications for tickets from the general public over the course of the three-week application process.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing and supporters
The clubs were able to distribute their tickets however they wished; Manchester United chose to make their allocation available to all Executive Seat Holders and any Season Ticket Holders who had successfully applied for a ticket to at least one of the club's five away Champions League matches between the group stage and the quarter-finals, while Chelsea opened up applications to all club members and season ticket holders.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing and supporters
Manchester United chief executive David Gill expressed disappointment that his club had only been allocated 21,000 tickets for their supporters, claiming that they could have potentially sold up to 100,000. While Manchester United managed to sell out their entire allocation, UEFA's William Gaillard indicated that Chelsea still had "up to a couple of thousand" tickets unsold the day before the game, despite claims by Chelsea's chief operations officer, Ron Gourlay, to the contrary.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing and supporters
One of the major concerns for English fans attending the final was the acquisition of visas for entry into Russia. However, after a period of negotiations between representatives of Russia, the United Kingdom, UEFA and the two clubs, it was agreed that fans with tickets for the match would not require a visa, provided they were also able to produce a passport with at least six months before expiry and a completed immigration card on entry into Russia.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing and supporters
The visa-free period was initially supposed to run for 72 hours between 19 May and 23 May, but this was later extended to an eight-day period lasting from 17 to 25 May. Because of the difficulty and expense of acquiring a ticket and visa, fans who had not already got tickets were advised against travelling to Moscow by Gaillard, who also warned fans about Russia's strict laws regarding the consumption of alcohol.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing and supporters
Although the two clubs claimed to have sold most of the 42,000 tickets allocated to them, only about 25,000 fans were said to have travelled to Moscow from the United Kingdom, with about 110 charter flights arriving ahead of the game. According to the head of the Russian national tourist office, Mikhail Ignatiev, many fans were put off by the cost of travel and accommodation. Additionally, most of Moscow's hotels were full on the night of the game.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing and supporters
As some fans looked to offload tickets to the match, The Moscow Times reported that the black-market price dropped from a high of €2,000 (£1,600) to around €500 (£400), while Russian TV channel Sport-1 was reporting prices as low as £300 for tickets belonging to fans who had failed to make the trip to Moscow. Among the celebrities who did not travel were Chelsea supporter and chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) Sebastian Coe, who had to attend meetings ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics, and Manchester United fan and Simply Red lead singer Mick Hucknall, who was due to perform at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Match ball
The match ball for the final was the Adidas Finale Moscow, the eighth in the Adidas Finale range. The ball's design was based around the "starball" pattern, inspired by the UEFA Champions League logo; the stars are dark red with gold detailing, tying in with the overall design concept for the final. Technically, the ball is based on the Adidas Europass, which was used at UEFA Euro 2008 later that summer; it has the same 14-panel configuration as the Adidas Teamgeist, but with the proprietary surface texture developed for the Europass. The ball was unveiled at a ceremony in Moscow's Manezhnaya Square, attended by UEFA General Secretary David Taylor, former Germany player and coach Franz Beckenbauer, final ambassador Rinat Dasayev and Russian Football Union president Vitaly Mutko.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Officials
The referee for the final was 40-year-old Slovakian referee Ľuboš Micheľ, the first Slovak to take charge of a European Cup final. His team was completed by fellow Slovak assistant referees Roman Slysko and Martin Balko and fourth official Vladimír Hriňák. Having presided over the 2003 UEFA Cup Final, Micheľ was the second man to referee the finals of both the Champions League and UEFA Cup since the latter changed to a single-legged affair in 1998; the other was Pierluigi Collina, who had been the referee in Manchester United's last Champions League final appearance in 1999.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Officials
Micheľ began refereeing in 1987 at the age of 19, and took charge of his first top-flight game in 1993. That same year, he was promoted to the FIFA list of international referees, and in November 1993, he refereed his first international match – a UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifier between San Marino and England.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Officials
Micheľ's first UEFA Champions League matches came in the 1998–99 season, including Manchester United's 5–0 win over Brøndby in the group stage. Up to the 2008 final, he had refereed 55 Champions League matches (including qualifying), notably the second leg of the semi-final between Chelsea and Liverpool in 2005, in which Liverpool's Luis García scored a controversial goal that Micheľ chose to allow. He was also selected to referee at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, and the European Championships in 2004 and 2008.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
Sir Alex Ferguson guaranteed a place in the starting line-up for Paul Scholes, after the midfielder had missed the 1999 final through suspension. Ferguson made one change from the team that had beaten Wigan Athletic to secure the league title 10 days earlier, with Owen Hargreaves starting on the right side of midfield in a 4–4–2 formation in place of Park Ji-sung, who did not even make the substitutes bench despite starting both legs of the semi-final. Cristiano Ronaldo started on the left wing, where he was pitted against makeshift Chelsea right-back Michael Essien.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
This went against the prediction of The Guardian's David Pleat, who thought a duel between Ronaldo and Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole would be key to the final. Ferguson hoped his substitutes might have a big impact on the match, just as Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær did in 1999, when the pair came off the bench to help Manchester United come from behind and beat Bayern Munich. A week before the game, Ryan Giggs was philosophical about his chances of being included in the starting line-up; he was eventually named as one of seven allowed substitutes.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
The day before the match, Chelsea manager Avram Grant predicted that the game would throw up few tactical surprises due to the two teams' knowledge of each other from the domestic league. Like Ferguson, Grant made only one change to the team that started Chelsea's final league game against Bolton 10 days earlier; centre-back Ricardo Carvalho overcame a recurring back injury to start in place of Alex. Captain John Terry (dislocated elbow) and striker Didier Drogba (knee) also recovered from injuries suffered against Bolton to start the match.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
Florent Malouda retained his place on the left wing ahead of Salomon Kalou, while Michael Essien continued at right-back, rather than in his preferred midfield position, ahead of Paulo Ferreira – who did not even make the bench despite starting both legs of the semi-final – and Juliano Belletti. Ashley Cole also started despite hurting his right ankle in training the day before the game under a heavy challenge from Claude Makélélé; Cole's replacement would have likely been Wayne Bridge, but he recovered sufficiently that Bridge was not even included in the matchday squad as cover.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
After a fairly cagey first 21 minutes, the first major incident of the game occurred when Scholes and Makélélé clashed in mid-air, resulting in both players being booked and Scholes having to leave the field for treatment to a bloody nose.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
The first goal of the game came five minutes later, when an interchange of passes between Scholes and Wes Brown after a throw-in on the right flank gave Brown time to pick out a cross for Ronaldo, who directed his header past Petr Čech; it was the first time United had scored in the first half of a European final, and the first time Chelsea had gone behind in their three final appearances. Chelsea almost equalised in the 33rd minute when Frank Lampard's cross was headed back into the goal area by Drogba.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
United's Rio Ferdinand, under pressure from Michael Ballack, was forced to head the ball towards his own goal and Edwin van der Sar pulled off a one-handed save to deny Chelsea a goal. United spent the rest of the first half pressing for a second goal, and had two good opportunities to extend their lead, but were denied by a double-save from Čech. Wayne Rooney delivered a long ball into the path of Ronaldo and the United goalscorer placed his cross on the head of the diving Carlos Tevez, only for Čech to deny him. Chelsea's failure to clear the loose ball gave Michael Carrick the chance to extend his side's lead, but Čech was again equal to the task with another save.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
Chelsea survived the pressure, as Tevez failed to connect with a low cross from Rooney, and equalised in the final minute of the first half. The goal followed a long-range shot by Michael Essien, which deflected first off Nemanja Vidić and then Ferdinand. The ball's change in direction caused Van der Sar to lose his footing, leaving Lampard, who had made a run from deep, with a simple finish. In celebration, Lampard looked up and pointed to the sky with both hands in memory of his mother, Pat, who had died a month earlier. At the end of the first half, Sir Alex Ferguson confronted referee Micheľ, "jabbing out an angry finger and spitting out a few choice words".


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
Lampard's equaliser at the end of the first half led to a transformed Chelsea in the second, and they kept United on the back foot for long periods. Nevertheless, the Red Devils managed to contain most of Chelsea's attacks. Chelsea had a few opportunities to take the lead, with Essien breaking free of United's defence in the 54th minute, only for his left-footed shot to curl well over the goal. Chelsea's closest opportunity to take the lead came in the 77th minute when a Drogba shot struck the post from 25 yards (23 m) out. The Ivorian striker came very close to turning Joe Cole's low cross home for the winner four minutes from time, but fired wide. Ryan Giggs was then introduced in place of Scholes, making a record 759th appearance for Manchester United.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Extra time
The game moved into extra time, and both teams had chances to score a vital second goal; first, Lampard hit the underside of the bar with a left-footed shot after the ball was played in to him with a disguised pass from Ballack, then Giggs stabbed the ball left-footed towards goal instead of sweeping it with his weaker right foot, only to see it headed off the line by Terry. Late in the second half of extra time, the ball was put out of play so players could be treated for cramp.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Extra time
In returning the ball to Chelsea, Tevez put it out for another throw-in deep in Chelsea's half then signalled to his teammates to put pressure on the restart. Terry and Ballack reacted angrily to this and were joined by several of their teammates, while Manchester United's players rushed in to protect Tevez. Ultimately, most of the 22 players were involved in the fracas. Amid the melée, assistant referee Martin Balko saw Drogba slap Nemanja Vidić and reported the incident to referee Micheľ.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Extra time
After showing a yellow card to Ballack, Micheľ showed a red card to Drogba for violent conduct, making him only the second player in history to be sent off in a European Cup final after Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in 2006. In preparation for the penalty shoot-out, both clubs made last-minute substitions; Manchester United brought on Anderson in place of Brown, while Chelsea took off Makélélé in favour of Belletti.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Penalty shoot-out
As the match went to penalties, Rio Ferdinand won the coin toss for Manchester United, and opted for his side to go first in the shoot-out, which would be taken at the end housing the Manchester United fans. Tevez stepped up first and sent Čech the wrong way. Ballack was next up, shooting powerfully past Van der Sar. Carrick buried his spot-kick, as did Belletti with his first touch of the game. The first miss of the shoot-out came from Ronaldo, who characteristically stuttered in his run-up in an attempt to put Čech off, but the goalkeeper dived to his right to save.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Penalty shoot-out
Lampard then put Chelsea 3–2 ahead, but Hargreaves levelled things up with a shot into the top corner. Ashley Cole was the next up, and Van der Sar got a strong hand to the ball but could not keep it out.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Penalty shoot-out
Nani then knew he had to score to keep United in it, and he did, leaving it up to Terry to win the cup for Chelsea; however, Terry lost his footing when planting his standing foot by the ball, and, even though Van der Sar was sent the wrong way, Terry's mis-hit effort struck the outside of the right post and went wide.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Penalty shoot-out
With the first penalty of sudden death, Anderson – like Belletti – scored with his first kick of the game. Kalou then sent Van der Sar the wrong way to make it 5–5. Giggs was next up and he was also successful.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Penalty shoot-out
Van der Sar then pulled off the crucial save for United; he pointed to his left to indicate to Nicolas Anelka that he thought he would kick to that side, as had the six players who had kicked before him, only to correctly dive to his right to deny Anelka, whose kick was at a good height to be saved, securing European football's top prize for United for the third time in their history.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Details
UEFA Man of the Match:Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United)Fans' Man of the Match:Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
Having missed what would have been Chelsea's winning penalty, John Terry had to be consoled by his manager, Avram Grant. The Manchester United players formed a guard of honour for Chelsea, lining up in two opposite rows at the foot of the steps up to the presentation party and applauding as the Chelsea team – led by chief executive Peter Kenyon – walked through.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
As Drogba had been sent off during the game, he was not allowed to collect his medal himself and it was given to Grant; when he returned to pitch level, Grant tossed his own medal into the crowd. After Chelsea's team received their medals, Munich air disaster survivor Bobby Charlton, who had captained United to the European Cup title in 1968, led his team up to collect their medals in his capacity as a club director.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
UEFA President Michel Platini presented both Kenyon and Charlton with commemorative plaques and medals, but Charlton declined to accept his medal; he later donated it to the club museum. When all the players had received their medals, Platini presented Manchester United with the trophy, which Rio Ferdinand – as team captain for the match – and Ryan Giggs – standing in for injured club captain Gary Neville – lifted together.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said his side deserved to win the game despite Chelsea performing better in the second half, and acknowledged the historical significance of the win, which came 40 years after the club's first European Cup title and 50 years after the Munich air disaster. He also said it was the first penalty shoot-out he had ever won as a manager: "I won the Charity Shield that way, but that doesn't really count. The European Cup? The FA Cup? The Scottish cups? Never.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
I've lost three with Aberdeen and three with United, so seventh time lucky – magnificent." Ferguson later apologised to Park Ji-sung for not including him in the matchday squad. Ronaldo expressed his relief at his side's shoot-out victory, saying, "In my opinion I played well in the game, scored a goal, and then missed the penalty. It would have been the worst day of my life. We deserved to win as we played better in the whole game. It means everything to me, we have won both trophies, it is the best day in my life." He then attempted to quash speculation about his future and a potential transfer to Real Madrid, saying, "I am going to stay."


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
Carvalho, Lampard and Grant all refused to point the finger of blame at Terry, but assistant manager Henk ten Cate admitted that Terry was not originally due to take one of the first five penalties (if Drogba had not been sent off, the Ivorian would have taken the fifth penalty). Chelsea offered Terry counselling to help cope with having missed his penalty and lost the match. Terry was later accused of spitting at Manchester United striker Tevez, but a UEFA report into the video evidence cleared him of any wrongdoing. Terry also wrote an open letter, published on Chelsea's official website, apologising for missing the penalty and costing Chelsea the trophy. Nicolas Anelka, who took the decisive kick, revealed he did not actually want to take a penalty, citing his lack of warm-up time.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
Following the loss, Grant's future as manager was thrown into doubt, and owner Roman Abramovich (who attended the final), chief executive Peter Kenyon, director Eugene Tenenbaum and chairman Bruce Buck were reportedly already seeking a replacement for Grant the day after the game. Buck was unimpressed with Chelsea's second-place league finish and being runners-up in the Champions League, saying, "We have very high expectations at Chelsea and a couple of second-place finishes is just not good enough for us." Grant was officially sacked three days after the match. Buck also confirmed plans to trim the Chelsea squad by selling at least three players, and said that discussions were due to take place regarding Drogba's future with the club, after the striker reportedly expressed a desire to leave earlier in the season.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
In Moscow, around 6,000 police were on duty to prevent a repeat of the 2008 UEFA Cup Final riots in Manchester a week earlier, but police reported that none of the 40,000 visiting fans were arrested, due in part to public safety measures such as a ban on public drinking and no large screens being set up for members of the public to watch the game outdoors.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
In London, violence escalated outside Fulham Broadway tube station, near Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground; police arrested 12 people on public order offences, while one man was arrested for grievous bodily harm, drink driving and dangerous driving, after he hit a 31-year-old while attempting to drive down Fulham Broadway. Five police were also believed to have been injured in the incident.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match
Manchester United had originally intended to hold a parade through the streets of Manchester to celebrate their Double triumph on their return from Moscow on 22 May. However, following the violence that occurred at the UEFA Cup Final, Greater Manchester Police determined that any victory parade could only take place later in the summer. The public parade was ultimately cancelled, but fans were given the opportunity to photograph the players with the Premier League and Champions League trophies before Manchester United's home friendly against Juventus on 6 August 2008.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Media, Broadcasters
The match was shown simultaneously in the United Kingdom by free-to-air channel ITV 1 and subscription channel Sky Sports 1, whose networks in 2005 had won the rights to broadcast UEFA Champions League matches for three seasons from 2006–07 to 2008–09. Sky acted as the host broadcaster for UEFA, providing pictures to all other networks covering the final with around 30 cameras and 100 crew members. The ITV broadcast was led by Steve Rider, with Clive Tyldesley commentating, David Pleat as an analyst, and Andy Townsend and Mark Hughes as in-studio pundits. Sky's team consisted of presenter Richard Keys, joined in the studio by Graeme Souness and Jamie Redknapp, and Ruud Gullit via phone, with commentary from Martin Tyler and analysis from Andy Gray.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Media, Broadcasters
ITV's viewing figures peaked at 14.6 million in the five minutes from 22:30, during the penalty shoot-out. During the match (from 19:45 to 22:35), the number of viewers averaged at 11.1 million (46% of the total audience), while the average over the entire broadcast from 19:00 to 23:15 was 9.6 million (43% of the total). Meanwhile, Sky Sports' peak was 2 million viewers in a five-minute period near the end of extra time; their average for the match was 1.8 million, and 1.3 million for the full broadcast.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Media, Broadcasters
In Ireland, RTÉ Two's coverage of the match reached a one-minute peak of 998,000 (62% share), with an average over their four-hour broadcast of 653,000 (44% share). In the United States, viewership was split between the English-language channel ESPN2 and Spanish-language channel ESPN Deportes; viewership on ESPN2 averaged at 1.097 million, while ESPN Deportes received an average of 213,000 viewers, totalling 1.31 million. It was the first time a UEFA match on ESPN had been watched by more than 1 million viewers.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Media, Advertising
Based on an expected audience of up to 13 million, ITV raised the prices of their 30-second advertising slots during the final from between £100,000 and £150,000 to as much as £250,000. It was estimated that ITV would stand to make £9 million in advertising revenue during the final, rising to £10 million if it went to extra time and penalties; this compared with amounts of £2–3 million normally received for its Wednesday night schedule and £3–4 million for a Champions League final with no British teams involved. Among the confirmed advertisers on ITV were Ford, Cadbury, Nike, Heineken, Audi and BlackBerry. Sky's advertising prices were not reported, but among their scheduled advertisers were Audi, Ford, Nike, Samsung and Pepsi.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Rewards
In addition to the €5.4 million participation bonus, €5.7 million won from the group stage and €7.7 million from the three rounds prior to the final, Manchester United also received €7 million for winning the final. Chelsea also received €5.4 million for participation and €7.7 million for the first three knockout rounds, but received only €5.1 million from the group stage, having drawn two more games and won two fewer than Manchester United. Chelsea also received €4 million for finishing as runners-up.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Rewards
In addition to the €23.4 million and €19.8 million earned respectively by the two clubs as prize money, Manchester United and Chelsea received money from the UEFA market pool share. The market pool share had a total value of €277 million, shared between the 32 clubs that qualified for the group stage. The pool was split in proportion to each national association's strength in the television market, with the Premier League clubs receiving around €60 million in total from the pool.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Rewards
The money was then split between the four teams who qualified for the Champions League from the 2006–07 FA Premier League based on their position in the league and the number of matches played in the 2007–08 Champions League. This meant that Manchester United, having won the 2006–07 Premier League, received around €19.5 million, and Chelsea, as runners-up, received around €16.5 million.


2008 UEFA Champions League Final, Rewards
As winners of the Champions League, Manchester United earned places in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup. In the Super Cup, United faced 2008 UEFA Cup Final winners Zenit Saint Petersburg at Stade Louis II in Monaco on 29 August 2008; Zenit won the match 2–1. As UEFA's representative at the Club World Cup, Manchester United entered the tournament at the semi-final stage, where they beat 2008 AFC Champions League winners Gamba Osaka 5–3. They then beat 2008 Copa Libertadores winners LDU Quito 1–0 in the final to become the first English club to win the competition.


2008 UEFA Cup Final
The 2008 UEFA Cup Final was a football match that took place on 14 May 2008 at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England. It was the 37th annual final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament.


2008 UEFA Cup Final
The match, which was contested by Zenit Saint Petersburg of Russia and Rangers of Scotland, was billed as a battle between former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat, then the manager of Zenit, and incumbent Rangers boss Walter Smith, both of whom had completed the Scottish domestic treble; Smith in 1993, Advocaat in 1999.


2008 UEFA Cup Final
Zenit won the match 2–0 with goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov, to claim their first UEFA Cup title, making them only the second Russian side to win the competition, after CSKA Moscow in 2004–05.


2008 UEFA Cup Final
The fixture is notable for having the largest travelling support in football history, with close to 200,000 Rangers fans travelling to Manchester for the occasion.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Background
Zenit and Rangers had never previously met in European competition, although Rangers had played Russian opposition on 10 prior occasions, winning seven – including a 3–2 win over Dynamo Moscow in the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup Final – drawing two and losing one. Zenit had never played against Scottish opposition, although they had played in England three times, winning once against Bradford City in the 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup and losing to Bolton Wanderers in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup and Everton earlier in 2007–08.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Background
Rangers' European record was significantly better than Zenit's going into this match, having reached the final of the Cup Winners' Cup three times – in 1961, 1967 and 1972, winning the last one. By winning the 1972 Cup Winners' Cup, Rangers also played in the 1972 European Super Cup, losing to Ajax of the Netherlands, although this is not considered official by UEFA.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Background
Rangers went into the final four points behind Glasgow rivals Celtic in the Scottish Premier League, albeit with three games left to play, compared to Celtic's one. However, they had already won the League Cup against Dundee United two months earlier and were due to play in the Scottish Cup Final against Queen of the South 10 days after the UEFA Cup final.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Background
Because of the difference between the Russian and Scottish football calendars at the time – Russia operated a March–November calendar until 2011 – Zenit had only played six games of their 2008 league season by the time of the UEFA Cup final; however, they had finished the previous season in November 2007 as league winners, as well as reaching the quarter-finals of the 2007–08 Russian Cup and beating Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Super Cup in March 2008.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Route to the final
Throughout the season in Europe, Rangers had developed a reputation for being involved in tight games, principally due to their disciplined, defensive tactics which nullified opponents – scoring 16 goals and only conceding 11 in their 18 matches in the two competitions. This approach intensified after dropping into the UEFA Cup, with none of their matches involving more than two goals; there were four 0–0 draws amongst the eight matches. This cautious tactical approach drew both criticism (for the largely unexciting and unattractive football which resulted from the tactics) and praise (for successfully limiting the opportunities created by their opponents, all of whom were considered to have more skillful, dangerous players than Rangers).


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Route to the final
Zenit were considered by the clubs of Western Europe to be a more unpredictable opponent (although not an unknown quantity, as they had reached the quarterfinals of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup and had won the 2007 Russian Premier League). In contrast to their opponents in the final, they scored 28 and conceded 15 in their 16 UEFA Cup games, which included impressive wins over Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich by large margins, but also defeats by Everton, Villarreal and Marseille which had seen them close to elimination.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Pre-match, Venue
The City of Manchester Stadium was selected as the venue for the 2008 UEFA Cup Final at the October 2006 meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Other candidates to host the match included the HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg, Germany; the Stadionul Național in Bucharest, Romania; the Ramat Gan Stadium in Ramat Gan, Israel; and the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, which was awarded the 2009 UEFA Cup Final.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Pre-match, Venue
The stadium was initially built as the primary venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, hosted in Manchester, but the athletics track was removed when Manchester City moved from their old Maine Road stadium in 2003. The conversion increased the capacity of the stadium from 41,000 for the Commonwealth Games to almost 48,000. In 2005, the stadium was selected as one of the venues for UEFA Women's Euro 2005, played in five towns across north-west England. The only previous major European final held in Manchester was the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final at Old Trafford between Juventus and Milan.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Pre-match, Venue
For the past few years, like the Champions League final, each UEFA Cup final was branded with a unique visual identity. The identity of the 2008 final, unveiled at a ceremony at the City of Manchester Stadium on 6 December 2007, was created by Manchester artist Liam Spencer, who is known for his paintings of the Manchester area; the series of paintings produced for the 2008 UEFA Cup Final combines inspiration taken from both the UEFA Cup branding and the City of Manchester Stadium itself.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Pre-match, Ambassador
European Cup winner and Manchester United legend Denis Law, who also played for Manchester City was appointed as ambassador of the final.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Zenit and Michel Platini asked the British government to ease visa procedures for Russian fans, despite Russia having cancelled visas for British fans travelling to 2008 UEFA Champions League Final in Moscow. However, the Director for British Visa Services for the CIS, Mandy Ivemy, said that "for the U.K. government, visas and biometric checks are a vital part of immigration policy, and we are not prepared to waive them".


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Meanwhile, there was a mass flow of Rangers fans into Manchester. An estimated 150,000 Rangers supporters descended upon the city, despite the club's official ticket allocation being just 13,000 and police requests for fans to stay at home. The influx of people resulted in there being no vacant hotel rooms in a twenty-mile radius of the city and the total amount of money that was ploughed into the local economy was estimated to be around £25 million.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Rangers' home ground, Ibrox, was opened to show a live beamback of the match to approximately 40,000 spectators. Fans queued overnight for a seat in the stadium, and the capacity was reached more than two hours before kick-off.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Match, Team selection
Zenit were without the competition's top scorer, Pavel Pogrebnyak, who had picked up two bookings in the knockout stages of the tournament and was therefore suspended. However, they were able to call upon their other star names such as attacking midfielders Andrey Arshavin and Konstantin Zyryanov, as well as holding midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Match, Team selection
Rangers manager Walter Smith started with Jean-Claude Darcheville on his own up-front, with a five-man midfield supporting him comprising Steven Davis, Kevin Thomson, Steven Whittaker, Barry Ferguson and Brahim Hemdani. Neil Alexander was making his tenth start in goal for Rangers following his arrival in January 2008, with first choice keeper Allan McGregor injured. Other notable absentees included right-back Alan Hutton who had transferred to Tottenham Hotspur, and forward Steven Naismith who had sustained a serious injury.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees: Stefan Wittberg (Sweden) Henrik Andrén (Sweden)Fourth official: Martin Ingvarsson (Sweden)


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Fan violence
The event was marred by Rangers supporters rioting in Manchester city centre; these riots started after a big screen that was due to show the match had failed. BBC News 24 interrupted normal programming to broadcast the riots live on television and ITN's flagship News at Ten programme gave extensive coverage to the riots.


2008 UEFA Cup Final, Fan violence
A Zenit fan was also attacked and stabbed, although it was later established that Rangers supporters were not responsible. Eleven people were convicted of rioting and given prison sentences varying from six months to three-and-a-half years in September 2010.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots
The 2008 UEFA Cup Final riots were a series of public disorder incidents that took place in Manchester, England, on the day of the 2008 UEFA Cup Final. Serious disorder was allegedly sparked by the failure of a big screen erected in Piccadilly Gardens to transmit the match to thousands of Rangers fans who had travelled to the city without tickets.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots
Greater Manchester Police reported that only "a minority of thugs" among the 150,000 visiting Rangers fans were involved in the violence; while Detective Superintendent Geoff Wessell, of Greater Manchester Police, stressed that a "very, very low proportion" of the travelling Rangers fans had been involved in disorder. In addition to property damage, fifteen policemen were injured and ambulance crews attended 52 cases of assault.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots
A Manchester City Council inquiry into the events estimated that over 150,000 Rangers fans visited Manchester for the match, with 39 fans were arrested for a range of offences across the city, while 38 complaints were received about the conduct of Greater Manchester Police officers. The report concluded that the 37,000 Rangers fans inside the City of Manchester Stadium were well behaved.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Early scuffles
One early incident occurred when fighting between rival fans broke out in a pub, resulting in its closure. The evening before the match, someone had set off fire alarms in the city, a criminal offence. An official report found that missile-throwing and fighting by Rangers fans occurred as long as eight hours before the match began. Around late afternoon the Piccadilly fans zone's gates were forced. Large numbers of fans were jumping upon the roofs of sales units and urinating. The sales units were "overrun" and frightened staff had to flee. Police were called but were powerless in the face of the large number of supporters.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Screen failure
Serious civil disorder began when a large screen, erected to broadcast the game at the Zenit fanzone in Piccadilly Gardens, failed. Chris Burrows, chair of the Manchester Police Federation, claimed the screen was deliberately switched off. The technicians who were brought in to try to rectify the fault were attacked with bottles and had to withdraw. Rangers fans then tore down railings, fighting amongst themselves, as the riot police arrived en masse. Several hundred people became directly involved in disorder and "considerable violence" was directed at the police.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Screen failure
Thirty-nine police officers were injured, including one incident in which hundreds of fans isolated and attacked a riot officer. PC Paul Ritchie received a High Commendation for saving a police officer knocked to the ground by a bottle thrown by a rioter. A police dog was injured when it stood on some broken glass.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Screen failure
BBC News reported that groups of Rangers supporters had clashed with police in the city centre after attacking a bank, bus stops and a sports car which was bounced over the road. Greater Manchester Police reported that "a minority of thugs" among the 150,000 visiting Rangers fans were involved in the violence.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Screen failure
There were reports that a Zenit Saint Petersburg fan was stabbed before the game outside the stadium. However, people detained in connection with the alleged incident were released without charge.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Screen failure
Authorities had to draft in hundreds of extra riot police to deal with the rioting. As the riots continued, by 2100 BST, ambulances were no longer being sent into the city centre unless accompanied by a police escort due to concerns about the "safety of the crew".


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Screen failure
British Transport Police reported sporadic outbursts of rioting at Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Deansgate railway stations.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Reaction
BBC News interrupted normal programming to broadcast the riots live on television, with ITN's flagship News at Ten programme giving extensive coverage to the riots. Judge Andrew Blake of Manchester Crown Court, when later sentencing twelve people in connection to the disorder, described the riots as "the worst night of violence and destruction suffered by Manchester city centre since the Blitz".


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Reaction
Rangers' chief executive Martin Bain described the scenes as "dreadful" but claimed that the violent scenes "were caused by supporters that don't normally attach themselves to our support". He also stated that the club was "in general, absolutely delighted with the behaviour of our supporters." The following day the Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the rioting as "a disgrace". Scottish Conservative leader, Annabel Goldie, said she was "absolutely appalled" by the footage, condemning the behaviour as "horrific and inexcusable". Steven Purcell, leader of Glasgow City Council, offered an apology in a Manchester newspaper for 200 hardcore thugs.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Reaction
PC Mick Regan, attacked by a gang of twenty men whilst lying on the ground, described the violence. "It was unbelievable when we got there, it was already in motion. It was frightening, on a different scale from any other match I have worked in my 23-year career. It seemed the vast majority were drunk and they just wanted to cause trouble. A lot of the fans were OK and just asking for directions but there was a large hard core ... .I know they will say it's a minority but a few thousand is a big minority."


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Reaction
A UEFA spokesman indicated that Rangers were unlikely to face sanctions because the violence did not occur at the City of Manchester Stadium where the match was held.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Reaction
Many Rangers fans criticised the tactics employed by Greater Manchester Police. In particular, the deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives' Murdo Fraser suggested the problem might have been caused by heavy-handed policing. He later retracted this after police released footage showing the scale of the problems.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Reaction
There were 63 complaints about police conduct, mainly on the grounds of excessive force. They included one from a 60-year-old man who spent four weeks in hospital after suffering a broken hip and perforated bowel. One fan, James Clark, was charged with rioting, but later cleared of all charges by a court in Manchester. He told STV, "I have been through utter hell because of the police. They picked me out of crowd of fans at random, beat me black and blue with their batons and set their dogs on me. Yet they charged me with being violent. You couldn't make it up." The police, however, defended their actions.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Reaction
There was also criticism from supporters regarding the organisation of the event. In response the Leader of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese, said "If we are going to put a finger of blame anywhere it has to be with those fans having to take responsibility for their own behaviour."


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Reaction
Upon the advice of Greater Manchester Police following the unrest, Manchester United cancelled plans for a public parade to celebrate their 2007–08 Premier League and UEFA Champions League Double.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Arrests and convictions
Manchester City Council announced that 39 fans were arrested for various offences. These included Section 18 wounding at the stadium in relation to the Russian man who was allegedly stabbed, public order offences, touting, affray, possession of an offensive weapon, Section 47 assault, common assault, possession of Class A drugs, theft, possession of forged tickets, and a Zenit fan for pitch incursion. The force's Assistant Chief Constable referred to the behaviour of the fans who were involved in trouble as "unnecessary and unacceptable".


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Arrests and convictions
An appeal was issued on Crimewatch in January 2009, and published in Rangers' match programme, attempting to trace 49 men in connection with the riots.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Arrests and convictions
In August 2009, thirteen suspected football hooligans appeared in Manchester magistrates court charged with violent disorder following the final. In particular, Scott McSeveny was charged with knocking PC John Goodwin unconscious; another fan, Mark Stoddart, was alleged to have assaulted PC Mick Regan. Twelve people were convicted of rioting and eleven given prison sentences varying from six months to three and a half years in September 2010.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Arrests and convictions
An arrested rioter was found to be a serving Essex police officer who was off duty at the time of the incident. He was charged with violent disorder and was released on bail.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Return to Manchester
Plans by Manchester United to invite Rangers to be the opponents for Gary Neville's testimonial match were reportedly abandoned in April 2010 due to objections from police and the local council over fears of trouble due to remaining bad feeling over the damage caused to Manchester city centre by the riots.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Return to Manchester
Rangers were drawn alongside Manchester United in the same group for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage, with the opening game in Manchester on 14 September 2010, with a reverse fixture in Glasgow on 24 November. The draw raised security concerns, in particular regarding the potential for possible reprisals, and the prospect of a large number of ticketless fans arriving in Manchester. United's chief executive David Gill played down the potential for trouble, emphasising instead the connection the two clubs had in both the current club managers in Alex Ferguson of United and Walter Smith of Rangers. The Rangers chief executive Martin Bain also dismissed concerns, highlighting the club's good relations, and prior Champions League meeting in 2003.


2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, Return to Manchester
Prior to kick-off, away supporters were held at Wigan Athletic's DW Stadium, to prevent congregation within Manchester city centre. The match passed with 10 arrests for minor offences, involving five Rangers supporters and five Manchester United fans. The behaviour of Rangers fans was praised by Greater Manchester Police. Wigan Athletic's safety officer also commended supporters' behaviour, commenting "Rangers fans are welcome here any time in the future, because we had a superb reaction from those who travelled".


2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship
The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 26th UEFA European Under-17 Championship, UEFA's premier football tournament for players under the age of 17. The tournament was held in Turkey from 4 to 16 May 2008. Players born after 1 January 1991 were eligible to participate in this competition.


2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, Qualification
Two rounds of qualifying were held in order to determine the seven teams to join the hosts, Turkey, at the final tournament. The qualifying round, held from 14 September to 28 October 2007, divided the 52 remaining UEFA nations into 13 groups of four. At the end of the qualifying round, the top two teams in each group and the two best third-placed teams qualified for the elite round. The elite round, held from 13 to 31 March 2008, divided the remaining 28 teams into seven groups of four. At the end of the round, the top team in each group advanced to the final tournament.


2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round
UEFA U-17 Championship 2008 elite round is the second round of qualifications for the final tournament of UEFA U-17 Championship 2008. The winners of each group join hosts Turkey at the final tournament.


2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round
The 2008 UEFA U-17 Championship qualifying round was the first round of qualification for the main tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. The top two teams from each group and the best two third-placed teams entered the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round.


2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round, Third-placed teams
Slovenia and Sweden advanced for the elite round as the two best third-placed teams.


2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
Below are the rosters for the UEFA U-17 Championship 2008 tournament in Turkey. Players name marked in bold went on to earn full international caps.


2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
Players' ages as of the tournament's opening day (4 May 2008).


2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 24th UEFA European Under-19 Championship, UEFA's premier competition for players under the age of 19. The tournament was held in the Czech Republic with matches played from 14 July to 26 July 2008. Players born after 1 January 1989 were eligible to participate in this competition. The top three teams in each group qualified for the 2009 U-20 World Cup.


2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Qualification
Qualification for the final tournament was played over two stages. The first qualifying stage divided the remaining 52 UEFA nations (minus the hosts, the Czech Republic) into 13 groups of four teams. Matches in the first stage were played from 24 September 2007 to 15 November 2007. The top two teams in each group and the two best third-placed teams then qualified for the elite qualifying stage, where the 28 teams were divided into seven groups of four. Matches in the elite qualifying stage were played from 1 March 2008 to 31 May 2008, when the top team from each group advanced to the final tournament.


2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Final group stage
The groups were drawn on 1 June 2008 in Prague by the first vice-chairman of the UEFA Youth and Amateur Football Committee, Jim Boyce, and senior Czech internationals Petr Čech and Martin Fenin.


2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Final group stage
Key:Pld Matches played, W Won, D Drawn, L Lost, GF Goals for, GA Goals against, GD Goal Difference, Pts Points


2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Team of the tournament
After the final, the UEFA technical team selected 22 players to integrate the "team of the tournament".


2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite qualification
UEFA U-19 Championship 2008 (Elite Round) is the second round of qualifications for the Final Tournament of UEFA U-19 Championship 2008. The winners of each group join hosts Czech Republic at the Final Tournament.


2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification
UEFA U-19 Championship 2008 (Qualifying Round) was the first round of qualifications for the Final Tournament of 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. 52 teams are split into 13 groups of 4 and teams in each group play each other once. The top two teams in each group and the two best third-placed teams will enter UEFA U-19 Championship 2008 (Elite Round).


2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squads
Players born on or after 1 January 1989 were eligible to participate in the tournament. Players' age as of 14 July 2008 – the tournament's opening day. Players in bold have later been capped at full international level.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup
The 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the last UEFA Intertoto Cup football tournament, the 14th to be organised by UEFA and the third since the competition's format was given a major overhaul. Fifty teams were invited, with the eleven winners after the third round then advancing to the second qualifying round of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. The draw took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on 21 April 2008. Based on the subsequent progress of the eleven co-winners in their UEFA Cup efforts, Braga is declared the outright winner of the Intertoto Cup.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Association team allocation
50 teams participated in the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup from 50 UEFA associations. Below is the scheme for the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup. The rankings throughout are based on the 2007 UEFA coefficients.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, First round
First leg matches were played on 21 and 22 June 2008 and second leg matches were played on 28 and 29 June 2008.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, First round, Second leg
Ethnikos Achnas 1–1 Besa on aggregate. Besa won on away goals rule.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, First round, Second leg
Grbalj 4–4 Čelik on aggregate. Grbalj won on away goals rule.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, First round, Second leg
Tiraspol 2–2 Mika on aggregate. Tiraspol won on away goals rule.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, First round, Second leg
Nitra 3–3 Neftchi Baku on aggregate. Neftchi Baku won on away goals rule.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, First round, Second leg
Locomotive Tbilisi 2–2 Etzella Ettelbruck on aggregate. Etzella Ettelbruck won on away goals rule.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Second round
The first leg was held on 5 and 6 July 2008, while the second leg was held on 12 and 13 July 2008.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Second round, Second leg
Budapest Honvéd 3–3 Teplice on aggregate. Budapest Honvéd advanced on away goals rule.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Second round, Second leg
Bohemians 2–2 Riga on aggregate. Riga advanced on the away goals rule.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Third round
The first leg was held on 19 and 20 July 2008, while the second leg was held on 26 and 27 July 2008. The 11 winners entered the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Third round, Second leg
Tavriya Simferopol 1–1 Rennes on aggregate. Rennes won in a penalty shootout.


2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Winners
Eight of the eleven Intertoto Cup co-winners entered the UEFA Cup by winning their qualifying ties and progressed to the First Round. Five of those eight sides survived the First Round and entered the Group stage. Four of those five qualified for the Round of 32. Only Braga progressed to the Round of 16, making them the overall winners.


2008 UEFA Super Cup
The 2008 UEFA Super Cup was the 33rd UEFA Super Cup, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. The 2008 competition was contested by Manchester United of England, who won the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, and Zenit Saint Petersburg of Russia, the winners of the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. The match was played on 29 August 2008 at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.