2009 UCF Knights football team, Game summaries, Marshall
UCF and Marshall last met on November 15, 2008 in Huntington. UCF won the game 30–14. UCF is 5–3 all time versus Marshall. Marshall was leading 20-7 with less than 8 minutes to go in the game, but UCF staged a comeback to win the game 21-20.


2009 UCF Knights football team, Game summaries, Texas
UCF and Texas last met on September 15, 2007 for the inaugural game at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando. #8 Texas won the game 35–32.


2009 UCF Knights football team, Game summaries, Houston
UCF and Houston last met on October 28, 2006 in Houston. The Cougars won the game 51–31. This was the first time in the program's history that the Knights proved victorious over a ranked opponent. UCF is now 20–10 all time on Homecoming weekend.


2009 UCF Knights football team, Game summaries, Tulane
UCF and Tulane last met in 2006 in New Orleans. The Green Wave won the game.


2009 UCF Knights football team, Game summaries, UAB
UCF and UAB last met on November 29, 2008 in Orlando. The Blazers won the game 15–0.


2009 UCF Knights football team, Game summaries, St. Petersburg Bowl
UCF had been bowl eligible for three of the past five seasons. UCF was 0–3 in bowl games until this point. This game marked the first meeting between the two teams.


2009 UCI BMX World Championships
The 2009 UCI BMX World Championships took place at the Adelaide Showgrounds in Adelaide in Australia and crowned world champions in the cycling discipline of BMX.


2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships
The 2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships took place in Hoogerheide, Netherlands on the weekend of January 31 and February 1, 2009. As in 2008, four events were scheduled.


2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's elite race
This event was held on Sunday February 1, 2009 as part of the 2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands. It was Niels Albert's first appearance in the Men's Elite World Championship and he immediately managed to get the most out of it.


2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's junior race
This event was held on Saturday 31 January 2009 as part of the 2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.


2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's under-23 race
This event was held on Saturday January 31, 2009 as part of the 2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.


2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Women's elite race
This event is a part of the 2009 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands and was held on Sunday February 1, 2009. It was Marianne Vos' second victory in the Women's Elite.


2009 UCI Juniors Track World Championships
The 2009 UCI Juniors Track World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Moscow, Russia from 11 to 15 August 2009. Nineteen events were scheduled.


2009 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships
The 2009 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships were held in Canberra, Australia from 1 to 6 September 2009. The disciplines included were cross-country, downhill, four-cross, and trials. The event was the 20th edition of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and the 24th edition of the UCI Trials World Championships.


2009 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships
The event was the second UCI Mountain Bike World Championships to be held in Australia, following the 1996 World Championships in Cairns.


2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup
The 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup includes three disciplines: cross-country, downhill and four-cross. It is sponsored by Nissan.


2009 UCI ProTour
The 2009 UCI ProTour was the fifth series of the UCI ProTour. Two new teams, the American Garmin–Slipstream and the Russian Team Katusha, joined the ProTour, effectively taking over the licenses of Crédit Agricole and Gerolsteiner. Two existing teams changed title sponsors: Team CSC from Denmark became Team Saxo Bank, and Saunier Duval–Scott changed name to Fuji–Servetto. As in 2008, the races organized by the three Grand Tour organizers were not part of the ProTour. Rather than a ranking based only on the ProTour, the UCI designed a World Calendar, on which the Monument events and Grand Tours were included, with a corresponding 2009 UCI World Ranking.


2009 UCI ProTour
The first race was the 2009 Tour Down Under in January, and the series ended with the 2009 GP Ouest-France in August.


2009 UCI Road World Championships
The 2009 UCI Road World Championships were held in Mendrisio, Switzerland, between September 23 and September 27, 2009. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23.


2009 UCI Road World Championships, Participating nations
Cyclists from 60 national federations participated. The number of cyclists per nation that competed is shown in parentheses.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race
The Men's Individual Road Race of the 2009 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 27 September in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The course of 262 km consisted of nineteen laps around an undulating circuit. The pre-race favourites came from the strong Italian and Spanish national squads, with Damiano Cunego and Alejandro Valverde both considered possible contenders.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race
The race was won by Australian Cadel Evans, the first Australian victory in the World road race. Evans, who took his third victory of the season, moved clear from a group of nine riders on the final lap to win the race.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Men's time trial
The Men's time trial of the 2009 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 24 September in Mendrisio, Switzerland.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Qualification
This page is an overview of the qualification criteria for the 2009 UCI Road World Championships.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Qualification, Elite events, Elite men's road race
Qualification was based on performances on the UCI run tours during 2009. Results from January to the middle of August would count towards the qualification criteria on both the 2009 UCI ProTour and the UCI Continental Circuits across the world, with the rankings being determined upon the release of the numerous tour rankings on 15 August 2009.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Qualification, Elite events, Elite women's road race
Qualification will be based mainly on the 2009 UCI Nation Ranking as of 15 August 2009. The first five nations in this classification qualified 7 riders to start, the next ten nations qualified 6 riders to start and the next 5 nations qualified 5 riders to start. Other nations and non ranked nations had the possibility to send 3 riders to start. Moreover, the outgoing World Champion and continental champions are qualified to take part in the race on top of the nation numbers.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Qualification, Elite events, Elite men's time trial
All National Federations were allowed to register four riders for the race, with a maximum of two riders to start. In addition to this number, the outgoing World Champion and the current continental champions may take part.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Qualification, Elite events, Elite women's time trial
All National Federations were allowed to register four riders for the race, with a maximum of two riders to start. In addition to this number, the outgoing World Champion and the current continental champions were also able to take part.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Qualification, Under-23 events, Men's under-23 time trial
All National Federations were allowed to register four riders for the race, with a maximum of two riders to start. In addition to this number, the outgoing World Champion and the current continental champions may take part


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Women's road race
The women's road race of the 2009 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 26 September in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The race was won by Italy's Tatiana Guderzo, followed by Marianne Vos (Netherlands) and Noemi Cantele (Italy).


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Women's time trial
The Women's time trial of the 2009 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 23 September 2011 in Mendrisio, Switzerland.


2009 UCI Road World Championships – Women's time trial, Qualification
All National Federations were allowed to register four riders for the race, with a maximum of two riders to start. In addition to this number, the outgoing World Champion and the current continental champions were also able to take part.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
The 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the BGŻ Arena in Pruszków, Poland from 25 to 29 March 2009. Nineteen events were on the programme, with the women's omnium being added to the eighteen events contested at the 2008 championships.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Australia topped the medal table with four gold medals, with France on second and Great Britain on third place.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
In the Men's events, Michael Mørkøv and Alex Rasmussen, both of Denmark, and Grégory Baugé of France took home two gold medals while Australian Cameron Meyer took home a gold and two silver medals. For the women, Simona Krupeckaitė of Lithuania won three medals; a gold and two bronzes. Victoria Pendleton and Elizabeth Armitstead of Great Britain won three medals each; a gold, a silver, and a bronze with.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's 1 km time trial
The Men's 1 km time trial event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 27 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's individual pursuit
The Men's individual pursuit event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 26 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's keirin
The Men's keirin event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 26 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's madison
The Men's madison event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 28 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's omnium
The Men's omnium event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 29–30 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's points race
The Men's points race event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 25 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's scratch
The Men's scratch event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 26 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's sprint
The Men's sprint event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 28 and 29 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's team pursuit
The Men's team pursuit event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 27 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Men's team sprint
The Men's team sprint event of the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was held on 25 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's 500 m time trial
The Women's 500m Time Trial is one of the 9 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's 500 m time trial
23 Cyclists from 20 countries participated in the contest. The Final was held on 25 March.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's individual pursuit
The Women's Individual Pursuit was one of the 9 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland on 25 March 2009.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's individual pursuit
21 Cyclists from 19 countries participated in the contest. After the qualification, the fastest 2 riders advanced to the Final and the 3rd and 4th best riders raced for the bronze medal.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's individual pursuit
The qualification took place on 25 March and the Finals later the same day.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's keirin
The Women's Keirin is one of the 9 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's keirin
20 Cyclists from 16 countries participated in the contest, which was held on 29 March.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's omnium
The Women's Omnium was one of the 9 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's omnium
This was the first time a women's omnium event had ever been included in the World Championships. 16 cyclists from 16 countries participated in the contest. The omnium consisted of five events, which were all contested on 28 March: a sprint 200 m time trial with a flying start, scratch race, 2 km individual pursuit, points race and a 500 m time trial.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's points race
The Women's Points Race was one of the 9 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's points race
22 Cyclists from 22 countries participated in the contest. Because of the number of entries, there were no qualification rounds for this discipline. Consequently, the event was run direct to the final.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's points race, Final
The Final and only race was run on 29 March. The competition consisted on 100 laps, making a total of 25 km with 10 sprints.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's points race, Final
Four riders crashed when Belinda Goss of Australia moved up the banking, Aksana Papko of Belarus veered to avoid hitting her rear wheel but high-sided her bicycle, bringing down two other riders in the process, Pascale Jeuland of France and Olga Slyusareva of Russia who had three points and was placed fifth at the time.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's points race, Final
The American rider Shelley Olds was lucky not to come down also as she was struck by one of the falling riders but managed to keep her balance, although she later crashed when she was moving down the track at speed, clipping the rear wheel of the British rider Elizabeth Armitstead, Armitstead luckily stayed upright to take the bronze medal behind Yumari González of Cuba. Giorgia Bronzini of Italy won the gold medal, having ridden consistently and featured in all but two of the sprints.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by DannyS712 (talk | contribs) at 15:54, 20 June 2020 (Disambiguating links to Lauren Ellis). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch
The Women's Scratch was one of the 8 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's scratch
20 Cyclists from 20 different countries participated in the race. Because of the number of entries, there were no qualification rounds for this discipline. The competition consisted on 40 laps, making a total of 10 km and was run on 27 March 2009. Ellen van Dijk could not cement her reputation as the 2008 World champion and it was the 2007 World champion and 2008 silver medalist Yumari González from Cuba who won the scratch race with Elizabeth Armitstead and Belinda Goss finishing in second and third position.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
The Women's Sprint was one of the 9 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
26 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.


2009 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.


2009 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 the quarterfinals.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
The first rider in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals and the 4 losing athletes faced a race for 5th-8th place.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's sprint
The qualifying, first round, second round, second round repechages and quarterfinals took place on 27 March. The Semifinals and Finals took place on 28 March.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team pursuit
The Women's Team Pursuit was one of the 9 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland on 26 March.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team pursuit
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.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team pursuit
The qualification took place on 26 March and the finals were held later the same day.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team sprint
The Women's Team Sprint is one of the 7 women's events at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, held in Pruszków, Poland.


2009 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.


2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships – Women's team sprint
The Qualifying and the Finals were held on the evening session on 26 March.


2009 UCI Women's Road World Cup
The 2009 UCI Women's Road World Cup was the 12th edition of the UCI Women's Road World Cup. The calendar contained the same races as the 2008 event with the exception of the Geelong World Cup, meaning that the campaign began instead in Italy.


2009 UCI Women's Road World Rankings
The 2009 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 2009 women's road cycling season.


2009 UCI Women's Road World Rankings, UCI Teams Ranking
This is the ranking of the UCI women's teams from 2009.Final result.


2009 UCI World Ranking
The 2009 UCI World Ranking was the first edition of the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), replacing the rankings previously part of the UCI ProTour, with which it would be merged in 2011 to form the UCI World Tour. The series started with the Tour Down Under's opening stage on 20 January, and consists of 13 stage races and 11 one-day races, culminating in the Giro di Lombardia on 17 October. All events except the Tour Down Under took place in Europe.


2009 UCI World Ranking
The individual ranking was topped by Alberto Contador, who took the lead after his win in the Tour de France and was assured of winning the classification when second-placed Alejandro Valverde was absent from the final race of the series. Contador's Astana team took the team title, with Valverde again second as leader of Caisse d'Epargne, and with a third Spaniard, Samuel Sánchez, completing the top three in the individual classification, Spain won the national rankings by a wide margin over second placed Italy.


2009 UCI World Ranking, Events
All 24 events of the 2009 UCI ProTour were included in the series calendar, along with the three Grand Tours, two early season stage races, and five one-day classics.


2009 UCI World Ranking, Final standings, Team
Team rankings are calculated by adding the ranking points of the top five riders of a team in the table.


2009 UCI World Ranking, Final standings, Nation
Final standing. National rankings are calculated by adding the ranking points of the top five riders registered in a nation in the table. The top 10 nations after the 2009 Tour de Pologne became eligible to enter 9 riders to the 2009 UCI Road World Championships, and any nation with at least one rider in the top 100 eligible to enter a team of three.


2009 UCI World Ranking, Final standings, Nation
† The names of six riders under suspension for drug test failures, including Astarloza, Colom and Rebellin, were removed from the individual rankings, but the points earned before suspension are still credited to their teams and nations.


2009 UCLA Bruins baseball team
The 2009 UCLA Bruins baseball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 2009 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bruins played their home games in Jackie Robinson Stadium, and finished the season with a 27–29 overall record. With a 15–12 record in conference play, UCLA tied Oregon State as the #3 team in the Pacific-10 Conference, behind #1 Arizona State and #2 Washington State. Even though UCLA won the three-game season series 2–1, Oregon State was invited to the 2009 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament instead of UCLA due to their better overall record (37–19).


2009 UCLA Bruins baseball team, Previous season
The Bruins completed the 2008 season with a 33–27 overall record, and finished third in the Pac-10 Conference behind #1 Arizona State and #2 Stanford. The 2008 season ended at the Fullerton Regionals when the Bruins lost two games in a row to Cal State Fullerton.


2009 UCLA Bruins baseball team, UCLA Bruins in the 2009 MLB Draft
The following members of the UCLA Bruins baseball program were drafted in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team
The 2009 UCLA Bruins football team represented the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Under second-year head coach Rick Neuheisel, they opened the season at the Rose Bowl on September 5 against San Diego State. The last game of the season, against USC was moved from the "Championship Saturday" weekend of December. Instead, the UCLA–USC rivalry game was played on Saturday, November 28 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team
Following the regular season, which they finished with six wins and six losses, the Bruins were invited to play in the 2009 EagleBank Bowl, thanks to the normal tie-in Army not being bowl eligible at 5–7. UCLA defeated Temple 30–21 to finish the season with a winning record.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team
All regular season UCLA football games were broadcast on the UCLA ISP Sports Network (AM 570 KLAC in Southern California) and SIRIUS Satellite Radio nationally.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Recruitment
On Wednesday, February 4, 2009, UCLA announced 22 letter-of-intent signings from high school football players, including Richard Brehaut, Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Randall Carroll, Los Angeles, CA; Todd Golper, Arcadia, CA; Stanley Hasiak, Kapolei, HI; Dalton Hilliard, Honolulu, HI; Jared Koster, Norco, CA;  Taniela Maka, Long Beach, CA; Stan McKay, Long Beach, CA; Marlon Pollard, San Bernardino, CA; Morrell Presley, Carson, CA; Sheldon Price, La Puente, CA; Xavier Su'a-Filo, Provo, UT; Iuta Tepa, Long Beach, CA; Damien Thigpen, Manassas, VA. Two junior college signees, Ryan Taylor of Denison, TX and Eddie Williams of Walnut, CA picked the Bruins. With these signings, Scout.com's national recruiting rankings has placed the Bruins at No. 4 (tie), surpassing USC, which is rated #7.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Spring practice
At spring practice, quarterback Kevin Craft battled with Kevin Prince and freshman Richard Brehaut for quarterback in 2009. Prince was selected by Coach Neuheisel as the starter.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, San Diego State
This was the season-opening game for both teams. Both San Diego State Offensive Coordinator Al Borges and Defensive Coordinator Rocky Long are former UCLA coaches, and Tony White, Aztecs cornerbacks coach, played and coached at UCLA. Free game tickets were given to firefighters and their families for fighting the "Station wildfire" at nearby Angeles National Forest.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, San Diego State
Behind Rahim Moore’s three record-tying interceptions, UCLA Bruins defeated San Diego State 33–14. The Aztecs scored first on a 4-yard pass from Ryan Lindley to Matthe Kawulok. The Bruins’ Kai Forbath kicked a 49-yard field goal, but Lindley threw a 78-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Brown to give San Diego State a 14–3 lead in the first quarter.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, San Diego State
Those were the final points for the Aztecs. Then the Bruins scored 30 unanswered points on Johnathan Franklin's 12-yard run in the first quarter, Derrick Coleman's 29-yard run and a 6-yard pass from Kevin Prince to Terrence Austin in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Kai Forbath kicked a 50-yard field goal and Alterraun Verner returned a blocked field goal for a 70-yard touchtown.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Lane Kiffin replaced Phillip Fulmer as the head coach of the Vols on December 1, 2008. The 33-year-old Kiffin was an assistant coach at USC with Coach Norm Chow for number of years.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Kai Forbath kicked four field goals to help the Bruins bring home a 19–15 victory at Tennessee. Rahim Moore again played an outstanding game with two interceptions. Chane Moline caught a 12-yard pass from Kevin Prince for the only UCLA touchdown. The Bruin defense kept the Tennessee team from the end zone for much of the game, allowing the Vols 208 total yards. Prince completed 11 of 23 passes for 101 yards.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Tennessee
Scoring for the Vols was Montario Hardesty (11-yard run), Daniel Lincoln (31, 28-yard field goals) and Dennis Rogan (safety), which was aided by two UCLA third-and-long penalties and a UCLA fumble. During the final minutes of the game, Prince had his right jaw broken. He was projected to be out for three to four weeks.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
This was the first meeting between the two teams. Kansas State had a 1–1 record going into the game, having lost to the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 17–15 the previous week. Bill Snyder came out of retirement to coach the Wildcats. Former wide receiver Mike Sherrard, who played for 10 years with the NFL, was the honorary game captain. Kevin Craft, last year's starter, took over at quarterback in relief of Kevin Prince, who fractured his jaw the previous week against Tennessee.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
Craft passed for 186 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bruins to a 23–9 victory over the Wildcats. Freshman Johnathan Franklin rushed for a career-best 119 yards on 23 carries and Kai Forbath kicked three field goals in the victory. Craft completed 13 of 24 passes with one interception including a game-clinching 51-yard scoring pass to Terrence Austin with 6:18 remaining.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
Josh Cherry kicked a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter and Daniel Thomas had a 7-yard run in the third quarter for the Wildcats (Ryan Doerr's PAT pass failed). UCLA's one lost fumble and eight penalties for 80 yards were the ugly part of the victory. The Wildcats had two fumbles and four penalties for 50 yards. Alterraun Verner had two interceptions and returned them for 47 yards for the Bruins.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Entering the game, the Bruins were the only undefeated team in the Pac-10 Conference. Toby Gerhart, the Cardinal's 237-pound tailback who had 138 yards against UCLA last year, was averaging 129 yards a game.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Kai Forbath kicked a 29-yard field goal after a fumble recovery to give the Bruins the early lead. Then Gerhart rushed for 5 yards for a touchdown for Stanford in the first quarter. Aided by a UCLA personal foul in the second quarter, Gerhart scored his second touchdown. A partially blocked punt allowed the Bruins to kick a field goal just before halftime.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Stanford
Using a 46-yard trick play in the third quarter to put Stanford in the red zone, Gerhart scored his third touchdown from the five-yard line. Unable to contain Gerhart, UCLA allowed Nate Whitaker to kick a 29-yard field goal for a 24-6 Stanford lead. The Bruins began the fourth quarter with a Johnathan Franklin 1-yard touchdown run. Forbath's 35-yard field goal reduced the Cardinal lead to 8 with about four minutes left. With Stanford failing to move the ball, UCLA took over with 3 minutes left but were unable to make a comeback win.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon
After losing their first game to then #14 Boise State, the Ducks had won four straight games, over Purdue, Utah, California and Washington State. At game time, UCLA was leading the series, 39–23, since 1928.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon
With a solid performance in the first half and taking a field goal lead into the locker room, the Bruins gave up three quick touchdowns within few minutes of the third quarter to give the Ducks their fifth win of the season. The Ducks scored on Kenjon Barner's 100-yard kickoff return, on Talmadge Jackson's 31-yard interception, and on Nate Costa's 20-yard pass to Jeff Maehl that was aided by a UCLA fumble.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon
The Bruins scored their only touchdown when Akeem Ayers intercepted a Costa pass in the back of the Rose Bowl north end zone by keeping his feet in bounds. Kai Forbath kicked a 52-yard field goal to give UCLA the early lead. Oregon's Rob Beard attempted a 51-yard field goal, which was blocked by Jerzy Siewierski. Mogan Flint kicked a 33-yard field goal for the Ducks in the fourth quarter.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
Both teams were looking for their first conference win, after losing the first two. Cal head coach Jeff Tedford was looking for his first road victory in Southern California, having lost all seven games to the Los Angeles schools as Cal's coach.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
The Bears took advantage of the Bruins' mistakes and poor defensive performance to beat UCLA 45-26 for Tedford's first win in the Rose Bowl. Shane Vereen's 42 yard run and Marvin Jones' 43 yard pass from Kevin Riley were all the touchdowns the Bears needed in the first quarter. The scoring continued in the second quarter with Jahvid Best catching a 51-yard touchdown pass from Riley and running for a 93-yard touchdown.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
Shane Vereen finished with 154 yards in 17 carries and Marvin Jones caught two TD passes from Kevin Riley in his four receptions for a total of 89 yards. Giorgio Tavecchio kicked a 24-yard field goal in the third quarter and Mychal Kendricks returned a 68-yard touchdown interception for Cal in the fourth quarter with 5 minutes remaining in the game.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
Johnathan Franklin scored for UCLA with a 7-yard touchdown and a 74-yard touchdown, UCLA's longest scoring run in six years. As one of the best in the nation, Kai Forbath kicked four field goals, 24, 39, 46, and 35 yards. Quarterback Kevin Prince finished the game with 311 passing yards and that one interception in the fourth quarter. The Bruins had now lost three games in a row after starting the season with three victories, making it very difficult to have a winning season for Coach Rick Neuheisel.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
To save $100,000 in transportation cost, Cal took a bus from Berkeley on Thursday for the Southland. The long bus ride didn't have any ill effect on the Golden Bears during the hot 3-hour 24-minute game.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, California
Entertainment was provided by both schools' bands and high school bands from Southern California and one from Las Vegas.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona
In the first quarter, Arizona's first drive ended when Rahim Moore intercepted a Nick Foles pass. But in their second drive, Nick Foles passed to Juron Criner for a 41-yard touchdown to give the Wildcats a lead. After Arizona recovered a Bruin fumble, Grigsby rushed into the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown, extra point blocked.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona
Both Moore and Jerzy Siewierski intercepted a Wildcats pass in the second quarter. Kai Forbath kicked a 53-yard field goal to put UCLA on the board before the half. UCLA's Datone Jones recovered a Foles fumble and Forbath kicked a field goal to begin the third quarter. Kevin Craft came in to replace Kevin Prince in UCLA's second possession, but Christian Ramirez fumbled the ball to Arizona, which led to the Wildcats' third touchdown, a Nick Foles 25-yard pass to Juron Criner. Tony Dye recovered a Wildcats fumble and ran in for a 28-yard UCLA touchdown. Late in the third quarter, Nick Booth rushed for 6 yards for a score to give Arizona a 27–13 lead.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona
In the fourth quarter, the Bruins were unable to do anything and lost their fourth game in a row.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
Justin Kahut kicked two field goals, 48 yards and 42 yards, to give the Beavers a 6-point lead. Oregon State increased its lead to 13 when Jacquizz Rodgers passed to Brady Camp for a 14-yard touchdown. Kahut kicked another field goal to give the Beavers a 16–0 lead at the half.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
UCLA got on the board on Kai Forbath's 24-yard field goal in the third quarter. Kahut's fourth field goal attempt was short. Kahut kicked his fourth field goal (31 yards) in the fourth quarter to give the Beavers a 19–3 lead. A 58-yard pass to Nelson Rosario from Kevin Prince, combined with a 2-point conversion to Rosario, put UCLA back in the game, behind by only 8 points. Then Taylor Embree caught a touchdown pass from Prince and Johnathan Franklin caught a conversion pass to tie the game for the Bruins with 2 minutes left.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Oregon State
But James Rodgers ran into the end zone for an Oregon State touchdown on a drive of 7 plays and 70 yards. UCLA took over the ball with 44 seconds remaining in the game and failed to make a complete comeback. The Bruins lost their fifth game in a row after winning their first three.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington
For this Homecoming game, the Bruins donned throwback jerseys, the 1967-style jerseys worn by honorary captain Gary Beban's team. The game was also the UCLA Veterans and Armed Forces Appreciation Day.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington
Though they had five turnovers in the game, the Bruins did not lose their sixth conference game in a row. Kai Forbath kicked a 27-yard field goal early in the final period to win the game for the Bruins. Kevin Prince completed 13 of 17 passes for 212 yards and Kevin Craft had 10 of 14 completions for 159 yards. Both threw an interception. Wide receiver Nelson Rosario had seven receptions for 111 yards.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington
With the Huskies down by a point, Erik Folk missed a 38-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Folk kicked three field goals, two in the second quarter, and Jermaine Kearse scored two pass-touchdowns in the game. Jake Locker completed 23 of 40 passes for 235 yards for Washington. Coach Rick Neuheisel still has not lost to his former teams, Colorado and Washington.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Washington State
After an interception, the Bruins scored on a pass touchdown from Kevin Prince to Taylor Embree on their first offensive play.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, Arizona State
Andy Meyers, former offensive guard on UCLA's Pac-10 championship teams of 1997 and 1998, was the honorary captain for this Senior Day game. Eighteen seniors were playing in their last home game: DL Chinonso Anyanwu, WR Terrence Austin, DL Korey Bosworth, LB Kyle Bosworth, LB Reggie Carter, QB Kevin Craft, OL Nick Ekbatani, WR Gavin Ketchum, RB Chane Moline, TE Ryan Moya, TE Logan Paulsen, QB Osaar Rasshan, RB Craig Sheppard, DL Jerzy Siewierski, FB Trevor Theriot, CB Alterraun Verner, DL Jess Ward, DB Aaron Ware.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, USC
This was the UCLA–USC rivalry game for the Victory Bell. Both teams wore home jerseys, in a tradition that had been restarted the previous year. The Bruins wore their 1966 throwback powder blue jerseys. The Trojans defeated the Bruins 28-7. With the Trojans leading 21-7 after a touchdown with 1:30 in the fourth quarter, and having possession of the ball after UCLA turned it over on downs, Coach Neuheisel called a timeout to stop the clock. The Trojans immediately connected on a 48-yard pass play for the fourth touchdown.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, EagleBank Bowl
UCLA played Temple at the 2009 EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The bowl game was scheduled to start at 4:30 PM US EST on Tuesday, December 29, 2009. Navy defeated Army, allowing UCLA to play in its first bowl game since the 2007 Las Vegas Bowl.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, EagleBank Bowl
The Temple Owls were making their first bowl game in 30 years, but it was ruined by the UCLA Bruins. The game time temperature started at freezing, with significant windchill, and only decreased from there. This led notable Temple alum Bill Cosby to flaunt his Owls' distinct weather advantage.


2009 UCLA Bruins football team, Game summaries, EagleBank Bowl
The teams traded touchdowns early, but Temple built a big lead early, thanks to the play of the running back tandem of Bernard Price and Matt Brown. After trailing 21–10 at the half, UCLA converted a 4th and 1 pass to Terrence Austin into a touchdown to pull within 4. The game was won in the 4th quarter with a field goal by Kai Forbath, a 2-yard interception touchdown by Akeem Ayers, a two-point PAT catch by Nelson Rosario from Kevin Prince, and a safety from a bad snap on a Temple punt. Akeem Ayers was the MVP with several key tackles and the game-winning score, in which he fell attempting a pass rush, and was able to get up just in time to intercept the pass at the line of scrimmage and score easily.


2009 UEC European Track Championships
The 2009 European Track Championships were the European Championship for track cycling, for junior and under 23 riders. They took place in Minsk, Belarus from 15 July to 19 July 2009.


2009 UEC European Track Championships
2009 was the final year this event was held for junior and under-23 riders. Following a widescale redesign of European track cycling by the UEC, an event under the same name, but for elite cyclists, was held from 2010. In addition, a new competition, explicitly named the European Track Championships for under-23 and Juniors, was held from 2010 in a separate event.


2009 UEC European Track Championships, 2009 European Track Championships in Belgium
The men's and women's omnium took place at 17 and 18 October in Belgium.


2009 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 points race
The U23 Women's points race was one of the 8 women's under-23 events at the 2009 European Track Championships, held in Minsk, Belarus. It took place on 18 July 2009. 22 participated in the race.


2009 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 points race
Ellen van Dijk, who won the European title in 2008 and was still under-23, did not defend her title.


2009 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 2009 European Track Championships, held in Minsk, Belarus. It took place on 19 July 2009. 22 participated in the race.


2009 UEC European Track Championships – Women's under-23 scratch
Ellen van Dijk, who won the European title in 2008 and was still under-23, did not defend her title.


2009 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.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was played on 27 May 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match determined the winners of the 2008–09 season of the UEFA Champions League, a tournament for the top football clubs in Europe. The match was won by Barcelona of Spain, who beat England's Manchester United 2–0.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final
Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring in the 10th minute, and Lionel Messi added another goal 20 minutes from the end to earn Barcelona a historic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, a feat never before achieved by a Spanish club. The match was refereed by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final
This was Barcelona's third victory in the competition, 17 years after they first won the European Cup in 1992. Manchester United went into the match as the competition's defending champions, the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997. Manchester United also sought to be the first team to retain the European Cup since A.C. Milan in 1990. It was the fifth year in a row in which the final involved at least one English team. The Stadio Olimpico had hosted three previous Champions League finals, in 1977, 1984 and 1996.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final
As winners of the 2008–09 Champions League, Barcelona later played against 2008–09 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, and they represented UEFA at the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup. For winning the final, Barcelona won €7 million in prize money, and Manchester United received €4 million as runners-up.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Barcelona and Manchester United had previously faced each other nine times in European competitions: three times in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and six times in the UEFA Champions League. Of those nine matches, Manchester United had recorded three wins to Barcelona's two, with the remaining four matches finishing in draws. The only time that the two teams met in a final came in 1991, when they contested the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup final.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
The first meeting between the two sides came in the third round of the 1983–84 Cup Winners' Cup; Barcelona won the first leg at the Camp Nou 2–0, but Manchester United won the return leg 3–0 at Old Trafford to reach the semi-finals. That result marked Manchester United's biggest win over Barcelona; Barcelona's biggest win was a 4–0 home victory in the group stage of the 1994–95 Champions League.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
The most recent meeting between the teams came in the semi-finals of the 2007–08 Champions League, when United held Barcelona to a 0–0 draw at the Camp Nou before beating them 1–0 at Old Trafford. Despite their record against Manchester United, Barcelona had an overall winning record against English clubs, having won 20 and lost 15 of their 52 matches against English opposition. Manchester United, on the other hand, had a losing record against Spanish teams; they had lost 11 and won 10 of their 37 matches.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Both teams had won the UEFA Champions League before; Manchester United had three titles, while Barcelona had two. The most recent of these had come only the season before, when Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. They won the first of their European Cups in 1968, beating Benfica 4–1 at Wembley Stadium, while their second was achieved in 1999 via a last-gasp 2–1 win over Bayern Munich at Barcelona's home ground, the Camp Nou.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Barcelona's first European Cup was won as recently as 1992, when they beat Sampdoria 1–0 after extra time at Wembley; their only other title came in 2006 with a 2–1 win over another English side, Arsenal. Prior to 2009, unlike Barcelona, Manchester United had never lost a European Cup final; Barcelona had lost three – in 1961, 1986 and 1994, to Benfica, Steaua București and A.C. Milan respectively.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Both teams went into the match as the champions of their respective countries – the first time that the final had been contested by domestic champions since 1999, when Manchester United beat Bayern Munich 2–1 at Barcelona's home, the Camp Nou – both winning with games to spare. Manchester United won their 11th Premier League title with a 0–0 draw at home to Arsenal on 16 May, while Barcelona were confirmed as La Liga champions for the first time in three years when Real Madrid lost to Villarreal on the same day.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
Both Manchester United and Barcelona were also looking for another Champions League title to cap a season in which they had won multiple trophies: Manchester United had already won four out of a possible seven trophies in 2008–09 and were playing for the possibility of becoming the third team to retain the European double (the domestic league and the European Cup), while Barcelona were aiming to become the first Spanish club to win a treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
By virtue of their third-place finish in the 2007–08 La Liga, Barcelona entered the 2008–09 Champions League at the third qualifying round. Based on their UEFA coefficient, Barcelona were seeded for the third qualifying round draw, and drawn against Polish champions Wisła Kraków. A 4–0 win in the first leg at the Camp Nou made defeat in the second leg immaterial and Barcelona were entered into the group stage draw.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
Barcelona's UEFA coefficient placed them in the top eight seeds for the draw, meaning that they would avoid having to play against Inter Milan, Liverpool, Chelsea or holders and their semi-final opponents from 2007–08, Manchester United. However, they could still draw Bayern Munich, Roma or Juventus. In the end, Barcelona were drawn into Group C against Sporting CP, Basel and Shakhtar Donetsk.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
Four wins and a draw at home to Basel placed Barcelona on top of their group with a game to spare, and despite defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk on Matchday 6, they still had the third-best record amongst the qualifiers for the first knockout round. As group winners, Barcelona would avoid being drawn with other group winners, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus and Bayern Munich, but they could still be drawn against runners-up such as Chelsea, Inter and Arsenal. The draw eventually paired them with Lyon and, as group winners, they would play the second leg at home.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
In the first leg in Lyon, Barcelona fell behind to a seventh-minute free kick from Juninho, only for Thierry Henry to equalise halfway through the second half, giving Barcelona an away goal to take back to the Camp Nou. They needed a win or a no-score draw to guarantee passage, but a 4–1 half-time lead set the stage for a convincing 5–2 win. Two first-half goals from Henry and one each from Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o were followed by goals from Jean Makoun and Juninho either side of the interval to reduce Lyon's deficit. However, a goal from Seydou Keita in the fifth minute of injury time secured a 6–3 aggregate win and passage to the next round.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
In the quarter-finals, Barcelona were drawn against their fellow leading-scorers in the competition, Bayern Munich, who had beaten Barcelona's group stage opposition, Sporting CP, 12–1 on aggregate in the previous round. However, despite Bayern's impressive scoring record, goals from Messi and Eto'o gave Barcelona a 2–0 lead within the first 12 minutes. Messi and Henry also scored to seal a 4–0 home victory before half-time. The lack of an away goal meant Bayern Munich would have to win by five clear goals to qualify for the semi-finals. After a goalless first half, they took the lead through Franck Ribéry in the 47th minute, but it was not enough for Bayern as Keita equalised in the 73rd minute to clinch a 5–1 aggregate win for the Spanish side.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
The quarter-final draw also determined the teams' routes to the final, with Barcelona facing the prospect of meeting either Chelsea or Liverpool in the semi-finals. After a 3–1 win at Anfield, Chelsea qualified for the semi-finals with a 4–4 draw at Stamford Bridge. The semi-final first leg was played at the Camp Nou; although Barcelona enjoyed the majority of the possession, Chelsea's defence was resolute and they became the first side to keep a clean sheet in Barcelona in this season's competition, coming away with a goalless draw.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
Barcelona needed to avoid defeat to reach the final, but they found themselves a goal down within 10 minutes; after they failed to clear Frank Lampard's pass into the penalty area, Michael Essien fired a left-footed volley past Víctor Valdés into the roof of the net. The rest of the match continued much the same as the first leg, with Barcelona retaining most of the possession. Despite this, they found themselves guilty of several fouls, while Chelsea made four unsuccessful penalty appeals during the match.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
Meanwhile, Dani Alves received his third yellow card of the knockout phase, ruling him out of Barcelona's next match, and Eric Abidal was given a straight red card for a foul on Nicolas Anelka as the French forward was through on goal. However, television replays after the incident showed that there was little contact between Abidal and Anelka.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Barcelona
Norwegian referee Tom Henning Øvrebø allowed a minimum of four minutes of injury time at the end of the second half; in the third of those four minutes – just when it looked like Chelsea were about to secure a repeat of the 2008 final – Messi played the ball across the edge of the penalty area to Andrés Iniesta, who shot just past Petr Čech's outstretched hand for the away goal that would send Barcelona to the final.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
As the reigning champions of the UEFA Champions League, Manchester United began their title defence at the group stage, for which they were given the top seed. This position amongst the top eight European clubs meant that they would avoid drawing former European champions Barcelona, Inter and Real Madrid until at least the first knockout round, although they were faced with the prospect of drawing Bayern Munich or Roma. Nevertheless, United ended up being drawn into Group E with two teams they had played against before: Villarreal (whom they had drawn in 2005–06) and Celtic (2006–07); and one they had not: Aalborg BK.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
Two victories – away to Aalborg and at home to Celtic – and four draws were enough to secure passage to the knockout phase of the competition. Following a Celtic victory over Villarreal in the final group match, United went through as group winners. This meant that they would avoid Roma, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Porto and Juventus in the first knockout round; however, their potential opposition still included Inter, Lyon and Real Madrid. The draw paired Manchester United with José Mourinho's Inter, but since United had won their group, they were rewarded by having the second leg at home.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
United started the first leg the better of the two sides, and although Inter improved in the second half, neither side was able to find the net during the match, and United took a 0–0 draw back to Old Trafford. The draw was also United's 20th match since their last defeat in the UEFA Champions League, breaking Ajax's 19-match record that had stood for 13 years. The lack of an away goal at the San Siro meant that United could not afford to concede a goal in the event of a draw.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
A fourth-minute headed goal from Nemanja Vidić, however, got the home side off to a good start, and Cristiano Ronaldo doubled United's lead four minutes into the second half. Shots from both Zlatan Ibrahimović and Adriano hit the frame of the Manchester United goal in either half of the match, but they were unable to find the back of the net, and the 2–0 result sent the English champions through to the next stage of the competition.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
The draw for the quarter-finals paired United with Porto, against whom they had played in the first knockout round of the 2003–04 competition. The draw also determined the semi-final pairings, with United or Porto drawn to play against Arsenal or Villarreal. The first leg of the quarter-final was played at Old Trafford, giving Porto the chance to put the pressure on Manchester United with an away goal. That away goal came in the fourth minute of the game, but Wayne Rooney equalised 10 minutes later and Carlos Tevez gave United the lead in the 85th minute.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
However, with only one minute left in the game, United suffered a defensive lapse, allowing Mariano González to score Porto's second away goal. Those away goals meant that United travelled to the Estádio do Dragão in Porto needing a win or a score-draw of 2–2 or higher to remain in the competition. A 40-yard goal from Ronaldo in the sixth minute put United into the lead, and although both sides pressed for another goal, it proved to be the only one of the game, making Manchester United the first English side to win in Porto.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
Meanwhile, a 1–1 draw in Villarreal and a 3–0 win at the Emirates Stadium secured Arsenal's status as United's semi-final opponents. The draw had determined that United would play the first leg at home, and after Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo had early chances, John O'Shea opened the scoring, firing home a Michael Carrick cross after Arsenal had failed to clear a corner.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
United continued to make chances throughout the game, but despite Arsenal making a couple of chances themselves, the match finished at 1–0 and United travelled to the Emirates Stadium a week later needing only to avoid defeat to become the first defending champions to reach the final since Juventus in 1997.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
Although Arsenal only needed to overturn a one-goal deficit, their chances of victory were drastically reduced within the first 11 minutes of the match; Park Ji-sung took advantage of a slip by Kieran Gibbs to double United's aggregate lead in the eighth minute, before Ronaldo fired home a 41-yard free kick in the 11th minute. With two away goals on the United scoreboard, Arsenal now had to score four goals to reach the final.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to Rome, Manchester United
However, it was United who scored the next goal, as they hit Arsenal on the break and Ronaldo scored within 15 seconds of Arsenal losing the ball at the other end of the pitch. 15 minutes from time, Arsenal were awarded a penalty kick after Darren Fletcher brought Cesc Fàbregas down in the penalty area, a foul for which Fletcher was sent off – although replays showed that Fletcher knocked the ball away from Fàbregas immediately before bringing him down, resulting in some controversy as to whether Fletcher deserved a red card for the foul. Robin van Persie scored the penalty to make the score 3–1, but it was not enough to prevent United from reaching the final unbeaten for the third time in their history.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome was selected as the venue for the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 4 October 2006. The committee – who decided the venue for the 2008 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.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
The Stadio Olimpico had hosted three European Cup finals before 2009: the 1977 and 1984 finals, both of which were won by Liverpool – Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 in 1977 before beating home side Roma 4–2 on penalties after the match finished 1–1 after extra time; the most recent final to be held at the Stadio Olimpico was the 1996 final, which Juventus also won 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw with Ajax.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
The construction of the stadium was commissioned by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in the mid-1930s as the centrepiece of a new sports complex in the city, to be named Foro Mussolini. After World War II, the complex was renamed Foro Italico and the stadium was radically redesigned as a 54,000-capacity arena for the 1960 Summer Olympics. After hosting the 1987 World Athletics Championships, the stadium was redeveloped in time for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, at which West Germany's 1–0 win over Argentina in the final was played there. The stadium's most recent renovation, in 2008, brought the capacity to 72,689.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
Since 1999, the UEFA Champions League final has been given a unique visual identity in order to increase the marketing appeal of the event. Designed by London-based design and branding agency Radiant, the theme for the 2009 final was revealed on 25 October 2008, and it incorporated several typically Roman images; the logo was centred around an outline of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, upon which was written "MMIX" – "2009" in Roman numerals; around the base of the trophy was a stylised laurel wreath, and in the background was a simplified image of the interior of the Colosseum. An alternative logo consisting of the UEFA Champions League logo surrounded by a laurel wreath was also released. The entire theme was based on a colour scheme of deep red and silver-white.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
A trophy handover ceremony was held in Rome on 21 April 2009, at which Ole Gunnar Solskjær, representing Manchester United as the previous season's champions, returned the trophy to UEFA president Michel Platini. Platini then presented the trophy to Gianni Alemanno, the Mayor of Rome, that it might be put on display in and around the city until the day of the final. Also present at the ceremony were the president and vice-president of the Italian Football Federation, Giancarlo Abete and Demetrio Albertini, the ambassador for the final, Bruno Conti, and Emilio Di Toro on behalf of the Italian National Olympic Committee.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Although the usual capacity of the Stadio Olimpico is over 72,000, this was reduced to approximately 67,000 for the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. Approximately 10,000 tickets were made available to the general public, with recipients determined by a random ballot following an application period that ran from 2 to 16 March 2009. Each club was also allocated approximately 20,000 tickets for distribution to fans. Manchester United chose to limit ticket applications to season ticket holders, with preference given to those who had attended more of the club's Champions League away fixtures that season.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Barcelona, meanwhile, allotted 80% of their ticket allocation to fans, with the remaining 20% going to the club's corporate sponsors. Unlike United, however, Barcelona opened ticket applications to all 150,000 of their members. The remaining 17,000 tickets were retained by UEFA for the "European football family", which comprises UEFA itself, the local organising committee, UEFA's member associations and its commercial partners.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Tickets for the 2009 final were similar to ATM cards, with an integrated chip storing the ticket holder's personal information in order to ensure that the ticket is being presented by its legitimate owner. As further security, tickets also had to be presented with an adequate form of photographic identification. However, despite these security measures, counterfeit tickets were still produced, forcing UEFA to issue a statement warning people against buying tickets from touts.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Despite only receiving 20,000 tickets for fans, it was expected that around 30,000 Manchester United fans would be travelling to Rome for the final, leading to police warning ticketless fans not to travel amidst fears of potential hooligans making the trip. Fans were also warned to avoid certain areas of the city that are known to be frequented by members of Rome's Ultra fan groups.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Despite Rome's reputation as a hotbed for knife-related crime, dubbed "Stab City" by some, UEFA was confident that the 2009 final would pass without incident, but on the morning of the final, there were reports that a Manchester United fan had been stabbed in the leg the previous evening. It was also expected that a similar number of Barcelona fans would be arriving in Rome in the lead-up to the match. After the match, UEFA president Michel Platini praised the Rome police for their arrangement of security for the final.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
More than 3,000 Manchester United fans congregated just outside the city in a field that came to be known as "Fergie's Field". The venue provided ticketless fans with the opportunity to watch the match on a giant screen, and kept them away from the streets of Rome's city centre, although the alcohol ban that came into effect in the city at 17:00 (Central European Summer Time) on 26 May was still in force.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Match ball
The official match ball for the 2009 Champions League final was the adidas Finale Rome. Based on the "Starball" design that has been used for the Champions League final since 2001 and become synonymous with the UEFA Champions League, the Finale Rome was unveiled on 16 March 2009. The colour scheme was a traditional Roman burgundy with a gold border around the stars.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Match ball
The ball used the same panel configuration as the Adidas Europass and the Adidas Teamgeist before it, and the same thermal bonding process was used to adhere the panels to each other, while the surface of the ball featured the same "PSC-Texture" as was debuted with the Europass; the surface of the ball was covered with thousands of tiny pimples, which was designed to improve the grip between boot and ball.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Officials
The referee for the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was Massimo Busacca, representing the Swiss Football Association. Having been on FIFA's list of internationally accredited referees since 1999, Busacca had experience of officiating 32 UEFA Champions League matches, six of them during the 2008–09 season, and most recently the second leg of Manchester United's quarter-final against Porto on 15 April 2009. He also took charge of the first leg of the semi-final between Manchester United and Barcelona in the 2007–08 competition. Busacca also refereed at both the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2008, and took charge of the 2007 UEFA Cup Final between Espanyol and Sevilla at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on 16 May 2007.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Officials
As usual, the referee was supported by assistant referees and a fourth official from the same country; in the 2009 final, Massimo Busacca was assisted by Matthias Arnet and Francesco Buragina, with Claudio Circhetta as the fourth official.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Kits
Having been designated as the official "home" team, Barcelona were given the first choice of kits for the final and opted to wear their traditional red and blue shirts in a halved design. Since the Barcelona home kit clashed with both Manchester United's home and European away kits, the Red Devils wore their white domestic away kit for the first time in a European Cup final. They wore blue for their first European Cup final against Benfica in 1968, but wore red for both of their most recent finals in 1999 and 2008.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Kits
Manchester United had previously worn white against Barcelona in five matches, losing just one of them – a 2–0 defeat in 1984 – while the only win in white came in the 1991 Cup Winners' Cup Final. The other three matches finished in draws: two 3–3 and one 0–0. Barcelona, on the other hand, had won two of their five European Cup finals – they wore orange for their win over Sampdoria in 1992 but wore their usual blue and red stripes for their most recent win in 2006 against Arsenal. However, two of their European Cup final defeats came against teams wearing white – against Steaua București in 1986 and against A.C. Milan in 1994.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Opening ceremony
The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final officially opened with the opening of the UEFA Champions Festival at Rome's Arco di Constantino and the Parco di Colle Oppio above the Colosseum. The Champions Festival was opened by former Italy international goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani on 23 May 2009 and ran until the afternoon on the day of the final, culminating with a football match between a European side coached by former Netherlands international Ruud Gullit and an all-Italian team featuring Milan one-club man Alessandro Costacurta and final ambassador Bruno Conti. Other attractions at the Champions Festival included appearances by representatives from both clubs (Bryan Robson and Ole Gunnar Solskjær for Manchester United and Hristo Stoichkov for Barcelona), exhibitions featuring memorabilia from past UEFA Champions League tournaments and the European Champion Clubs' Cup on display.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Opening ceremony
Immediately prior to the match itself came the opening ceremony for the final. The ceremony began with 64 members of the Rustavi Ensemble dance group performing a choreographed routine to a variation of the UEFA Champions League Anthem. At the culmination of the routine, the players emerged from the tunnel, accompanied by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli singing Il Gladiatore – a song based on Earth from the soundtrack to the film Gladiator – before Bocelli sang supporting vocals to the UEFA Champions League Anthem.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Opening ceremony
Before they emerged from their dressing room, manager Pep Guardiola played the Barcelona team a specially commissioned seven-minute film showing their best moments from the season interspersed with clips from the film Gladiator. The film culminated with the late Luciano Pavarotti's version of Nessun Dorma, and it left several of the players in tears. With his players motivated for the game, Guardiola said nothing as they emerged into the tunnel.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
Two Barcelona players missed the final through suspension: right back Dani Alves, who picked up his third yellow card of the tournament in Barcelona's semi-final second leg against Chelsea on 6 May 2009; and left back Eric Abidal, who was sent off in the same game for a professional foul on Nicolas Anelka. Defender Rafael Márquez also missed the match after he picked up a knee injury in the first leg of the semi-final, ruling him out for the rest of the season.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
Forward Thierry Henry and semi-final-winning midfielder Andrés Iniesta were also doubts for the final; Henry damaged his right posterior cruciate ligament in Barcelona's 6–2 league win over Real Madrid on 2 May 2009, while Iniesta was discovered to have suffered a tear in his right thigh following Barça's 3–3 draw with Villarreal on 10 May. Both Henry and Iniesta returned to light training on 22 May, but they had not yet resumed training with the main squad and remained doubts for the final. Carles Puyol, however, was available for selection after he served a one-match suspension in the semi-final second leg.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
Manchester United's starting right-winger from the 2008 final, Owen Hargreaves, missed the match as he was still in rehabilitation after a double knee operation to cure his tendinitis problems that had seen him play little part in the 2008–09 Champions League campaign. It had been expected that defender Wes Brown would also miss the match after suffering a recurrence of a foot injury, but he returned to training quicker than expected and was involved in United's match against Hull City on 24 May, although he picked up a slight knock during the game.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
Rio Ferdinand was also a doubt following a calf injury that has kept him out of the United side since the semi-final second leg against Arsenal; Alex Ferguson had said that Ferdinand might not start in Rome if he was not fit to play against Hull, but he later admitted that Ferdinand was on course to recover in time to play in the match. Second-choice goalkeeper Ben Foster also missed the match after requiring surgery to repair a ruptured ligament in his right thumb in May 2009.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
On the other hand, following John O'Shea's winning goal in Manchester United's semi-final first leg victory over Arsenal, United manager Alex Ferguson suggested that the Irish utility player would be guaranteed a place in the starting line-up were United to reach the final. O'Shea's place in the team was confirmed at Manchester United's media day the week before the final. South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung was also promised a place in the team after he missed the 2008 final, finally making him the first Asian to appear in a European Cup final. Cristiano Ronaldo suffered a slight injury scare in training the night before the final, requiring a bandage on his lower right leg, but he was eventually fit enough to play in the match.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
Meanwhile, midfielder Darren Fletcher was forced to miss the final after picking up a red card in the second leg of the semi-final. While replays showed that Fletcher played the ball before felling Cesc Fàbregas in the penalty area, the UEFA appeals process only allows for cards to be rescinded in the case of mistaken identity. Despite this, an appeal was submitted by Manchester United on "compassionate" grounds. Barcelona decided to appeal against the suspensions of Abidal and Alves after United lodged an appeal against Fletcher's red card.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Team selection
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola came out in support of overturning all three players' suspensions. The appeals were declared unsuccessful on 11 May, with UEFA saying in a statement that the appeals were not submitted within the required 24-hour deadline of the matches and that even if they had been submitted on time then "they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referees' original decisions." By upholding the suspensions, UEFA made Abidal, Alves and Fletcher the first players to miss a Champions League final through suspension since Juventus' Pavel Nedvěd sat out the 2003 final at Old Trafford.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
Barcelona kicked the match off, but Manchester United showed their intent from the outset, forcing goalkeeper Víctor Valdés to concede a throw-in after just 10 seconds. Further pressure on the attack resulted in Yaya Touré fouling Anderson within Cristiano Ronaldo's shooting range. Ronaldo fired the free kick directly at Valdés, but the Spanish goalkeeper could only parry the ball and Gerard Piqué did well to divert Park Ji-sung's follow-up effort over the bar. The resulting corner was cleared, but only as far as Wayne Rooney, whose snap-shot was wayward and went out for a goal kick.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
Both teams struggled to put a flowing move together in the opening exchanges, but it was United who had the better chances, both falling to Ronaldo. The first came in the seventh minute: having been played the ball by Michael Carrick, Ronaldo turned away from Piqué on the edge of the centre circle, before hitting a shot just wide from almost 40 yards; the second saw the ball break to Ronaldo after Anderson and Patrice Evra had linked up well down the left flank. The Portuguese winger controlled the ball on the chest before hitting the ball just past the far post.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
Despite United's early pressure, it was Barcelona who scored the first goal of the match. Edwin van der Sar cleared the ball downfield for Manchester United, but it was headed away by Barcelona's midfield anchor Sergio Busquets. Carrick was first to the ball for Manchester United, but he could only head it as far as Xavi, who passed to Andrés Iniesta. The Manchester United defence backed away from the Spaniard, who – after exchanging passes with Lionel Messi – played the ball into the path of Samuel Eto'o in the Manchester United penalty area. Nemanja Vidić attempted to shepherd the Cameroonian striker towards the goal line, but Eto'o easily stepped inside him and toe-poked the ball past Van der Sar to make it 1–0 to Barcelona inside 10 minutes.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
The goal shifted the balance of the game in Barcelona's favour, as United had been on top in terms of shots and possession up to that point. Almost immediately after the restart, Vidić gave away an unnecessary corner. In a rehearsed corner move, Xavi played the ball back to the edge of the penalty area towards Messi, but the tournament's top scorer was unable to make a proper connection. Nevertheless, Barça retained possession through some sharp inter-passing involving Xavi and Iniesta. When United did manage to regain the ball, however, it was quickly given away by a poor pass from Carrick, while Anderson mis-timed a kick and completely missed the ball. It was now Barcelona's turn to pressurise the United players, forcing them into backward passes or long, hopeful balls forward.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
The quality of the teams' passing remained the main difference between them; however, in the 16th minute, Barcelona lost the ball and Ryan Giggs sent a long ball forward to Ronaldo. Ronaldo's first touch took him inside Piqué before going back outside the former Manchester United defender, who cynically blocked Ronaldo's run, earning himself the first yellow card of the match. Ronaldo shaped to take the free kick himself, but it was Giggs who shot for goal, only to curl the ball just over the bar.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
Barcelona responded quickly, as Carles Puyol found Eto'o with a long throw-in down the right wing. The Cameroonian then found Messi, who cut inside and hit a curling 25-yard shot that just shaved the top of the crossbar. A quick-passing move from United followed, culminating with a through-ball to Park in the inside right channel, only for Valdés to cut out the pass, taking out the South Korean in the process. The resulting throw-in eventually broke to Ronaldo, whose 30-yard shot went just wide. Valdés' clash with Park, however, left him requiring treatment, and although the injury was not sufficient to necessitate a substitution, Valdés chose to leave his next few goal kicks to Piqué.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
In the 22nd minute, a lofted through-pass from Carrick found Rooney on the left wing, but the Liverpudlian's cross was blocked by Touré and went out for a corner kick. The corner, taken by Giggs, found Ronaldo, but the Portuguese got too far under the ball and headed over. Precise passing from the Barcelona midfield got the Catalans moving upfield until a shoulder charge from Anderson sent Iniesta stumbling to the ground in the inside-left channel 30 yards from goal. The consequent free kick was taken by Xavi, who sent the ball just wide of the near post. Another free kick followed, as Messi was bundled over by a double-challenge from Vidić and Carrick, but it came to nothing.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
With ten minutes left until half-time, the Manchester United defence effectively switched off and allowed Touré to dribble unopposed to within 15 yards of their penalty area before slipping the ball out wide to Puyol, whose low cross was diverted behind by Vidić. The corner kick was taken short and the eventual cross was headed behind for another corner on the opposite side by Evra. The second corner was crossed in towards Piqué, but he was unable to make contact with the ball.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
With half-time fast approaching, Barcelona's confidence began to show: first, Messi attempted to flick a pass over the top of the United defence to Thierry Henry, which Rio Ferdinand intercepted; Iniesta then tried an ambitious back-heel that Van der Sar collected; and finally Messi sped through three Manchester United defenders towards the by-line, only for his cut-back cross to be pounced upon by Van der Sar and then cleared by Vidić. On the stroke of half-time, Iniesta himself then attempted to flick the ball through to Henry, but it was just too high for the French striker, and referee Massimo Busacca took that cue to blow the whistle for the interval.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
After bringing on Carlos Tevez in place of Anderson at half time, Manchester United kicked off the second half in a different formation, with Tevez joining Ronaldo up front in a familiar 4–4–2. Both teams attempted to settle into their customary passing rhythms, but – unlike the first half – it was Barcelona who settled first; Manchester United's passes in their attacking third of the field failed to find their targets, and Iniesta eventually came away with the ball before flicking a pass through to Xavi, who played a through-ball to Henry on the left wing.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
The French forward turned Ferdinand inside-out, but his shot from a narrow angle was straight at Van der Sar and ended up going out for a throw-in. Xavi then again passed the ball out to the left flank, where Henry nonchalantly left it for the on-rushing Sylvinho; the Brazilian full-back whipped in a cross for Eto'o, but it was caught on the edge of the six-yard box by Van der Sar.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
Pressure high up the pitch from Barcelona kept Manchester United in their own half, forcing them into attempting long balls downfield. A scrappy few moments in and around the centre circle followed, but Manchester United eventually came away with the ball. However, a lapse in communication between Giggs and Evra on the left wing allowed Eto'o to steal in and advance on the Manchester United goal. He cut in from the right wing and played a through-ball just out of reach of Messi, who went to ground after O'Shea had put his hand on Messi's shoulder.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
A period of sustained pressure from Barcelona followed, culminating with a run from Iniesta, who could only be stopped by a foul from Tevez on the edge of the Manchester United penalty area. The consequent free kick was taken by Xavi, who curled the ball around the defensive wall and onto the post with Van der Sar beaten.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
United responded with their first extended period of possession of the half, working the ball into wide areas to be crossed into the middle, but Rooney's first couple of attempted centres were well cleared by Piqué. At the third attempt, though, Rooney's cross evaded the Barcelona defence as Touré kicked at thin air; however, it also failed to find a Manchester United player in the penalty area, both Ronaldo and Park going close.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
After Ronaldo was called offside in the 59th minute – despite appearing to be level with the last defender – Giggs stole the ball mid-way inside the Barcelona half before playing the ball to Ronaldo on the left wing. The Portuguese forward stepped over the ball several times in an attempt to wrong-foot Puyol, before cutting inside and playing the ball across the edge of the area towards Carrick. A sliding challenge from Busquets prevented a shot, only for the English midfielder to slide the ball out for a Barcelona goal kick while attempting to play Rooney through.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
Rooney was again played down the right wing a few moments later, but his low cross was diverted behind by Piqué, and the resulting corner came to nothing. A left-wing attack from Ronaldo followed, but after cutting inside, he gave the ball away cheaply. Barcelona immediately went on the attack down the other end, but Henry was unable to get past O'Shea and his shot was well saved by Van der Sar low at the near post.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
In the 66th minute, Alex Ferguson completed his attacking quartet by bringing Dimitar Berbatov on in place of Park. Ronaldo was penalised for a high elbow when challenging for a header with Puyol a minute later, before Rooney forced another corner off Piqué in the 69th minute. However, United's numbers up front in search of another goal left them wanting in defence; a weak clearance from Van der Sar was cut out by Puyol who played the ball to Eto'o on the right side of the penalty area.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
The ball broke to Xavi on the edge of the area, who crossed for Messi to send a looping header over the United goalkeeper and into the far side of the goal for a two-goal lead. Immediately after the goal, Henry was replaced by Seydou Keita, allowing Barcelona to adopt a more defensive stance.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
United responded to the goal immediately, as Giggs made a surging run through the Barcelona defence before playing the ball to Berbatov in the inside-right channel. The Bulgarian forward's low cross found Giggs in the centre, and the United captain's shot was deflected to Ronaldo on the far side of the goal, only for the Portuguese's shot to be blocked by Valdés. The resulting corner reached Berbatov on the far side of the goal, but it was deemed to have crossed the goal line first and Barcelona were awarded a goal kick, from which they launched another attack.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
Messi played a through-ball to Puyol on the right flank, but as the Barcelona captain reached the goal line, he was fouled by Ronaldo, who – despite going in two-footed – escaped the referee's book. Puyol himself rose to head Xavi's free kick towards goal, but it was directly at Van der Sar, who claimed the ball easily.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
Manchester United used their third and final substitute in the 75th minute, replacing Giggs with Paul Scholes, who took over as team captain. Ronaldo and Scholes each received yellow cards in the 78th and 80th minutes, respectively; Ronaldo's yellow card was awarded for a robust shoulder-charge on Puyol as the Barcelona right back shepherded the ball out for a goal kick, while Scholes was booked for a late challenge on Busquets. While the referee played advantage after Scholes' foul, Iniesta cut inside from the left wing and hit a shot that was saved above the head of Van der Sar.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
An extended spell of Barcelona possession followed, as they strung a series of around 20 passes together, culminating with Puyol attempting to clip the ball over the onrushing Van der Sar, who blocked the shot. Both players went for the follow-up, but the Dutch goalkeeper was first to the ball and sent Puyol sprawling.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
In the 85th minute, Scholes clipped the ball over the top of the Barcelona defensive line to Rooney, who chested the ball down for Tevez, only to be given offside. Scholes then found Rooney again on the left wing with a raking ball from deep inside his own half, but Rooney's first touch was heavy, allowing Puyol to get back and put the ball out for a corner. Rooney took the corner short to Tevez, whose cross was just beyond the reach of Berbatov and diverted behind again by Puyol. Rooney also took the second corner, which was met by Berbatov, but he put the ball high over the crossbar.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
As the match entered its closing stages, the referee allotted a minimum of three minutes of injury time. The first of these saw Van der Sar make a poor pass after the ball was played back to him by Ferdinand, allowing Iniesta to steal in and play the ball towards Messi in the United penalty area, only for Vidić to get there ahead of the Argentine and knock the ball out for a corner.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola brought Pedro on for Iniesta in the second minute of added time, before Vidić was immediately shown a yellow card for a clash of heads with Messi when going for a header. That was to be the final act of the match, as referee Massimo Busacca blew for full-time as soon as Xavi took the free kick.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Trophy presentation
At the final whistle, Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola offered his commiserations to each of Manchester United's players, while former Manchester United defender Gerard Piqué talked with his erstwhile teammates. Both teams then retreated to either end of the stadium to applaud their fans.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Trophy presentation
While match referee Massimo Busacca and his assistants collected their mementoes of the final, the Barcelona team formed a guard of honour for the Manchester United players, just as the English side had done for Chelsea in 2008. Led by their manager, Alex Ferguson, and team captain, Ryan Giggs, the Manchester United team then ascended the specially constructed rostrum to collect their runners-up medals from UEFA president Michel Platini and secretary David Taylor.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Trophy presentation
Other dignitaries present included Manchester United chief executive David Gill; The Football Association's president Prince William, and chairman Lord Triesman; Barcelona president Joan Laporta; Juan Carlos I of Spain; Royal Spanish Football Federation president Ángel María Villar; and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Ferguson also collected a commemorative plaque from Platini, but immediately handed it to Giggs.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Trophy presentation
After offering his commiserations to Manchester United's players, Joan Laporta then joined the Barcelona team to lead them up the podium, closely followed by manager Guardiola. Laporta himself collected Barcelona's commemorative plaque before accepting a medal from Platini. Once the entire Barcelona team had collected their medals, Platini made his way to the front of the podium to present Carles Puyol with the European Champion Clubs' Cup. The Barcelona captain promptly held the trophy aloft with accompaniment from the UEFA Champions League Anthem and explosions of golden confetti, before leading his team on a lap of honour.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Details
UEFA Man of the Match: XaviFans' Man of the Match: Lionel Messi


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
We're not the best team in Barça history but we've had the best season.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
During the match, UEFA.com users were able to vote for their man of the match; the public vote went to the scorer of Barcelona's second goal, Lionel Messi. The UEFA Technical Study Group, however, chose the man who provided the cross for Messi's goal, Xavi, as their man of the match, citing his control of the tempo of the match as the reason for their decision.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola took the time to give special praise to Messi, whom he said he moved back into the midfield in order to increase the team's effectiveness when in possession of the ball. Messi had been withdrawn from his usual right-wing role into a more central position, while Samuel Eto'o, who had started the match as Barcelona's lone centre-forward, was moved out to the right.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
Guardiola also lauded the bravery of his entire team, stating that he believed that his team's victory hinged on their hard work and propensity for taking risks in attack, but he admitted that although his side had had the best season in the history of the club, they were not yet the best Barcelona team.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
In the Manchester United camp, manager Alex Ferguson admitted that his team had been beaten by the better side and that the game was all but lost after the first goal. United forward Cristiano Ronaldo, however, criticised his team's tactics, saying that "everything went wrong". Ferguson paid tribute to Messi and the midfield partnership of Xavi and Iniesta, while Wayne Rooney lauded Iniesta as "the best player in the world". Ferguson also expressed his regret at the unavailability of midfielder Darren Fletcher, who was suspended for the match, and lamented at his side's "shoddy" defending and ineffectiveness when in possession.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
Nevertheless, Ferguson paid tribute to Guardiola's achievement of winning the treble in his first season of management. Barcelona's victory also made Guardiola only the sixth man to win the competition as both a player and a manager, following in the footsteps of Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti and, most recently, Frank Rijkaard, who also won the Champions League as Barcelona manager.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
You have to give credit to a very good Barcelona team – the better team won.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
The match turned out to be the last for Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez as Manchester United players, as Ronaldo completed a world record £80 million transfer to Real Madrid on 1 July, while Tevez chose not to make his loan spell with the club permanent and joined their local rivals, Manchester City.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
After announcing his intention to leave Manchester United, Tevez criticised Ferguson's team selection for the 2009 Champions League final, saying that Ferguson should have included him in the starting line-up, with the rationale that the match was the only final that Manchester United had lost in his time at the club. Ronaldo later returned to Manchester United in August 2021, following a three-year spell at Juventus.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
Television audiences for the final reached more than 10 million in both Spain and the United Kingdom. 11.3 million people watched the match on Spain's Antena 3 network – the largest viewing figures for that station in the past year – while another 600,000 watched on Canal+ Spain. In the United Kingdom, however, although the match received the highest ratings of any programme that evening, viewing figures were down by 1.5 million on the previous year's final, with just 9.6 million watching on ITV1, although an additional 1.79 million watched on Sky Sports 1.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
Despite there being no Italian or French representative in the final, the figures were much the same in those two countries as they were in Spain and the United Kingdom, with Italy's Rai Uno garnering an average viewership of 9.63 million and France's TF1 receiving 8.25 million. Only 6.55 million people watched the match on Germany's Sat.1 channel. According to a survey, global viewing figures for the match averaged 109 million; this put the UEFA Champions League final above the Super Bowl (106 million viewers in 2009) as the most-watched annual sporting event in the world. Total figures, which included viewers who watched only part of the match, put the Champions League final even further ahead of the Super Bowl, with 206 million viewers compared to 162 million.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Reaction
In the United Kingdom, bookmakers made a profit from bets on a Manchester United victory. William Hill reported two bets of around £20,000 placed on Manchester United, while Paddy Power received one of £5,500 and Ladbrokes one of £3,000. Ladbrokes also took a bet of £10,000 on a Barcelona win, but bookmakers reported that most of the money was put on Manchester United. Extrabet.com paid out £12,000 to a £3,000 bet on Samuel Eto'o to score the first goal at odds of 4–1.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Rewards
Both teams received significant financial rewards; for winning the final, Barcelona won €7 million in prize money, and Manchester United received €4 million as runners-up. Despite losing the match, Manchester United earned the most money overall from their 2008–09 Champions League campaign, receiving €38.281 million compared to Barcelona's €30.968 million, due to their share of the market pool, based on the value of the television market in their home countries.


2009 UEFA Champions League Final, Rewards
As winners of the UEFA Champions League, Barcelona competed in the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, in which they beat 2008–09 UEFA Cup winners Shakhtar Donetsk 1–0 at Stade Louis II in Monaco on 28 August 2009, and in the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, where they beat Estudiantes of Argentina in the final.


2009 UEFA Cup Final
The 2009 UEFA Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, the 38th season of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. It was also the last final to be held under the UEFA Cup name, as the competition was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League from the 2009–10 season. The final was contested by Shakhtar Donetsk and Werder Bremen, with Shakhtar winning the match 2–1 after extra time.


2009 UEFA Cup Final
All three goalscorers in the game were Brazilians; lone striker Luiz Adriano opened the scoring for Shakhtar midway through the first half, before Naldo equalised from a free kick ten minutes later. The second half was goalless and the match went to extra time; after only seven minutes, Jádson scored for Shakhtar to secure the club's first major European trophy.


2009 UEFA Cup Final
The match was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium – home ground of Fenerbahçe – in Istanbul, Turkey, on 20 May 2009. It was the second European football final to be held in Turkey, after the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, which was held in another Istanbul venue, the Atatürk Olympic Stadium. It was also the first European football final to be held outside the geographical Europe, as Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium lies across the Bosphorus from the city centre, and hence, in geographical Asia.


2009 UEFA Cup Final
Former Fenerbahçe player Can Bartu was appointed as ambassador of the final.


2009 UEFA Cup Final, Background
The 2009 UEFA Cup final marked the first meeting between Shakhtar Donetsk and Werder Bremen, although Shakhtar had previously played nine matches against German sides (won 4, lost 3), while Werder had played just four matches against Ukrainian teams (won 2, lost 1). Both teams were playing in their first UEFA Cup final, and Shakhtar were playing in their first final in any of the three major UEFA competitions; Werder Bremen beat Monaco 2–0 in the 1992 European Cup Winners' Cup Final.


2009 UEFA Cup Final, Background
In another first, the 2009 UEFA Cup final also marked the first time that the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium had hosted a major European final, as well as being the first time that the UEFA Cup final had been held in Turkey; the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final was held at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium across the Bosporus from the Şükrü Saracoğlu.


2009 UEFA Cup Final, Route to the final, Shakhtar Donetsk
As champions of the 2007–08 Vyshcha Liha, Shakhtar were awarded a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League. Here they were drawn against Croatian league winners Dinamo Zagreb. Shakhtar easily progressed over the two-legged tie with two victories and an aggregate score of 5–1. Shakhtar thus qualified for the Champions League group stage for the third season in a row.


2009 UEFA Cup Final, Route to the final, Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar were drawn in Group C with Barcelona, Sporting CP, and Basel. The group stage campaign started brightly for the Ukrainians, with a 2–1 over Basel in the Swiss city. In the second game, Shakhtar hosted Barcelona and the two sides were set to share the points at 1–1 until Lionel Messi scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time in the second half and the Catalan giants won 2–1. Two successive 1–0 defeats to Sporting CP, home and away, saw Shakhtar's hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds of the Champions League dashed.