2011 UEFA Champions League Final
Both teams entered the competition having won it three times previously, Manchester United in 1968, 1999 and 2008; Barcelona in 1992, 2006 and 2009. To reach the final, in the knockout phase Barcelona beat Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk and lastly Real Madrid in the 212th El Clásico derby, while Manchester United beat Marseille, Chelsea and Schalke 04. Manchester United and Barcelona entered the final as champions of their domestic leagues (the Premier League and La Liga, respectively), but neither team had won a domestic cup that season.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final
Barcelona dominated the match, winning 3–1 with goals from Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa, securing their fourth Champions League title. Wayne Rooney scored for Manchester United to level the score going into half-time.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final
Barcelona thus qualified to play Porto, the winners of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco on 26 August 2011, and they also earned a place in the semi-finals of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup in December 2011 as the UEFA representative.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
The original Wembley Stadium hosted five European Cup finals prior to 2011. The 1968 and 1978 finals were both won by English sides: Manchester United beat Benfica 4–1 in 1968 and Liverpool defeated Club Brugge 1–0 in 1978. Benfica also lost in the 1963 final, beaten 2–1 by A.C. Milan, while Ajax won the first of three consecutive European Cups at Wembley in 1971, beating Panathinaikos 2–0. In the 1992 final, Spanish club Barcelona defeated Italian side Sampdoria 1–0 in the final match played as the European Cup prior to the following season's introduction of the current Champions League format.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
First opened for the British Empire Exhibition in 1923, the stadium was originally known as the Empire Stadium. That year, it hosted its first FA Cup Final, when almost 200,000 spectators attempted to watch the match between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. Wembley played host to all of England's matches at the 1966 FIFA World Cup, including the 4–2 victory over West Germany in the final, and at UEFA Euro 1996. The original stadium was closed in 2000 and demolished three years later, to be replaced by a 90,000-capacity arena, which opened in 2007.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Background
The match was a rematch of the final two years earlier, which Barcelona had won 2–0 in Rome. United and Barcelona had both won three European titles prior to the match. United had won three years earlier against Chelsea, Bayern Munich in 1999, and Benfica in 1968. Barcelona had won their first title 19 years earlier, against Sampdoria at the Wembley Stadium. They then won their second title in 2006, beating Arsenal 2–1 in Paris. The most recent title win for Barcelona was against United in 2009 and it was the most recent final for both of these teams. However, in 2008, United defeated Barcelona 1–0 on aggregate, at the semi-final stage, en route to claiming their third trophy. Barcelona were appearing in the final for the third time in six years while United were for the third time in four years.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Road to the final
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
Wembley Stadium was selected as the venue for the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee in Nyon, Switzerland, on 29 January 2009. Other stadia in contention to host the final included the Allianz Arena in Munich and Berlin's Olympiastadion. The Allianz Arena instead hosted the 2012 final.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
The weekend set aside by UEFA for the 2011 Champions League Final was originally scheduled by The Football League as the date for the Football League play-off finals, which are traditionally held on the British May bank holiday weekend; however, due to UEFA's requirement that they be given exclusive use of the venue in the lead-up to the final, the play-off finals had to be relocated. Due to this breach of their contract with The Football Association, The Football League demanded compensation.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
On 21 January 2011, as part of a settlement agreement with the FA, the League One and League Two play-off finals were moved to Old Trafford, Manchester, to be played respectively on 29 May and 28 May 2011; the Championship play-off final was not rescheduled. The Conference National play-off final was also moved to Manchester, to be played at the City of Manchester Stadium on 21 May 2011.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
UEFA's ambassador for the 2011 Champions League Final was the former Tottenham Hotspur forward Gary Lineker. In his first duty as ambassador, on 26 August 2010, Lineker helped to conduct the draw for the group stage of the competition. Lineker was later involved in the unveiling of the branding design for the 2011 final at an event at Wembley Stadium on 25 November 2010.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
Hosted by Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys, the event was also attended by UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti, former British Minister for Sport and representative of the City of London Kate Hoey, General Secretary of The Football Association Alex Horne, and England Women's international Faye White. The logo for the final is in the style of a heraldic crest and features the European Champion Clubs' Cup in the centre, flanked by two lions.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Venue
According to the designers of the logo, London-based Radiant Studios, the lions are intended to represent the two teams that would contest the final, battling over the trophy. The use of traditional elements in a contemporary style in the design is said to have been inspired by modern British designers such as Vivienne Westwood and tailors on Savile Row.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Officials
In May 2011, Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai was chosen to referee the final. He was joined by fellow Hungarians Gabor Erös and György Ring as assistant referees, fourth official István Vad, additional assistant referees Tamás Bognár and Mihaly Fabian, and reserve assistant referee Róbert Kispál.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Although Wembley Stadium can usually hold up to 90,000 spectators, the capacity for the 2011 Champions League final was approximately 86,000. The two teams that reached the final were allocated 25,000 tickets each, while a further 11,000 tickets were put on general sale. The application period for the latter opened on 24 February 2011 and closed at 17:00 GMT on 18 March, with recipients to be determined by a random ballot before 6 April.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
A ticket launch event was held at London's City Hall on 17 February 2011, at which the above ticketing process was explained. The event was also used to promote the start of ticket sales, and was attended by final ambassador Gary Lineker, his women's final counterpart Hope Powell, UEFA Champions Festival ambassador Graeme Le Saux, UEFA fourth vice-president Marios N. Lefkaritis, and vice-chairman of The Football Association Barry Bright. Le Saux and Powell were presented with the first symbolic tickets for the final by four local schoolchildren.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Match ball
As with the previous ten UEFA Champions League finals, beginning with the 2001 final, the match ball was provided by German sports equipment company Adidas. Revealed on 3 March 2011 at Wembley Stadium, the Adidas Finale London features the "Starball" design synonymous with the UEFA Champions League. In reflection of the St George's Cross seen on the flag of England, the ball itself is white with red stars, connecting to a central, bright orange star. Technically, the ball shares its structure with the Adidas Finale Madrid, which was used for the 2010 final.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Opening ceremony
The 2011 Champions League final was officially opened on 21 May 2011 with the opening of the 2011 UEFA Champions Festival at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London. The festival ran for the entire week leading up to the show-piece match at Wembley, closing a few hours before kick-off. Among the attractions at the festival were displays detailing the history of the European Cup, miniature football pitches for use by the public, and the trophy itself.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Pre-match, Opening ceremony
The UEFA Champions League Anthem was performed by British classical crossover group All Angels.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Broadcasting
The match was shown on ITV and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Fox aired the final for the second consecutive year. UK-based outside broadcast facilities provider NEP Visions provided host coverage of the event. In South America, Rede Globo and Rede Bandeirantes broadcast the match for Brazil. Sky Deutschland (Pay TV) and Sat. 1 were broadcasting the match for Germany, public broadcaster SF 2 showed the final in Switzerland, as well as, the public broadcaster ORF 1 in Austria.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Broadcasting
The match was broadcast live in 3D in the Trädgår'n club hall in Gothenburg, Sweden on the Guinness Book of World Records' largest television.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
Barcelona outplayed Manchester United, controlling 68% of possession and having 22 attempts on goal compared to United's four. United's game plan was to get bodies in front of Barcelona's attack and hope to keep the ball away from their end whenever they received possession. United would therefore often try long balls as their method of attack. Manchester United started the better of the sides, with more possession and brief sights of goal in the opening minutes. Javier Hernández had a shot towards goal blocked, and another fly over the bar (he had been offside anyway in the approach play).


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
Barcelona came into the game after their slow start and created a few chances. David Villa had a shot from range go just wide in the 19th minute, and another in the 21st minute was saved well by Van der Sar. Barcelona then took the lead in the 27th minute when Xavi played in Pedro, who struck from inside the penalty area. It looked as if Barcelona could keep possession to win the game with just that goal. However, United equalised seven minutes later against the run of play.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, First half
After some pressuring by United on Barcelona who were taking a throw-in deep in their own half, Wayne Rooney received the ball, played a one-two with Ryan Giggs, and curled the ball into the corner from 15 yards. Replays showed that Giggs may have been just offside in the approach play. On the stroke of half-time, Messi almost latched onto a cross from Villa but could not turn it into the net from a few yards out. The whistle blew soon afterwards for half-time.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
Barcelona's dominance continued in the second half. Messi almost gave Barcelona the lead in the 52nd minute when he latched onto a rebound from a Van der Sar save from Dani Alves, but Patrice Evra cleared off the line with his head. Barcelona regained the lead in the 54th minute when Messi received the ball and fired home from 20 yards out. Barcelona dominated for the next 15 minutes or so. Messi turned Rio Ferdinand and got a shot away from about eight yards out, forcing a save from Van der Sar.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Summary, Second half
In the 66th minute, Xavi had a long shot saved by Van der Sar, and Iniesta had another long shot saved by the United keeper a few minutes later. A third goal came in the 69th minute. David Villa got the ball about 20 yards out and curled a shot into the top corner to seal the result. United tried to hit back immediately with an attack, with Rooney having a curling shot go just over the bar. Nani then made a run across Barcelona's 18-yard box in the 85th minute and got a shot away which went just wide. But there was no way back for United and Barcelona held on comfortably to win their fourth European title and the third in six years.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Details
UEFA Man of the Match: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)Fans' Man of the Match: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Gábor Erős (Hungary)György Ring (Hungary)Additional assistant referees:Mihály Fábián (Hungary)Tamás Bognár (Hungary)Fourth official:István Vad (Hungary)Reserve official:Robert Kispál (Hungary)


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match, Trophy presentation and celebrations
In a gesture by his teammates, Eric Abidal, who had undergone surgery only two months earlier to remove a tumour in his liver, was given the honour of wearing the captain's armband during the trophy presentation ceremony. He was the first player to lift the trophy. Speaking afterwards, Abidal, who was in tears, appreciated the gesture, and spoke of how "special" his club was.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match, Trophy presentation and celebrations
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola singled out Messi after the game, stating the Argentine was "the best player [he'd] ever seen" and that Messi "made the difference" in the game. Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged that the Barcelona side was the best team he had ever faced. His sentiments were echoed by United captain Nemanja Vidić and defender Rio Ferdinand.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match, Trophy presentation and celebrations
Gerard Piqué cut the mesh from the net in front of the Barcelona fans where Barcelona had scored the two winning goals, and took it back to the club museum at the Camp Nou. The Barcelona players, coaches, and their families then formed a circle at centre field and danced. The sprinklers at Wembley came on at this time and the players and coaches celebrated under them.


2011 UEFA Champions League Final, Post-match, Trophy presentation and celebrations
The match was the last for Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who had announced his retirement from football to follow the 2011 season.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final
The 2011 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League, the 40th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the second season since it was renamed from UEFA Cup to UEFA Europa League. The match was played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 18 May 2011, between two Portuguese teams – Porto and Braga – for the first time in UEFA competition finals.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final
Porto won 1–0 and secured their second title in the competition, following a successful appearance in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final. The man of the match was Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, who scored the winning goal and further cemented his 2010–11 UEFA Europa League top scorer tally with a tournament record of 17 goals.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final
As the winners, Porto earned the right to play against the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League winners, Barcelona, in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Background
The qualification of Porto and Braga for the 2011 UEFA Europa League Final ensured it would be the first all-Portuguese final in UEFA competitions, and only the second European tie between Portuguese teams, after the semi-final meeting between Braga and Benfica. Overall, it was the eighth UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League final featuring two clubs from the same national association. A distance of 47.4 km (29.5 mi) separated the cities of Porto and Braga, the smallest between opponents in a UEFA competition final. The previous record was 83.8 km (52.1 mi), set at the 1988 UEFA Super Cup between PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands and KV Mechelen of Belgium.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Background
Porto secured its presence in a major UEFA competition final for the fifth time, after victorious campaigns at the 1986–87 European Cup (2–1 against Bayern Munich), 2002–03 UEFA Cup (3–2 against Celtic) and 2003–04 UEFA Champions League (3–0 against Monaco), and a runner-up place in the 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup Final (lost 2–1 against Juventus).


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Background
The club also competed three times in the UEFA Super Cup – won in 1987 (2–0 in aggregate, against Ajax) and lost in 2003 (1–0 against Milan) and 2004 (2–1 against Valencia) – and grabbed two Intercontinental Cup titles in 1987 (1–0 against Peñarol of Uruguay) and 2004 (0–0, 8–7 on penalties, against Once Caldas of Colombia).


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Background
Braga qualified for a UEFA competition final for the first time. Before reaching the Dublin final, the club's best European result was a place in the last 16 of the 2006–07 and 2008–09 UEFA Cup seasons. Participation in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup was achieved via the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, where Braga was one of the eleven third-round winners. Having reached the furthest in the UEFA Cup, among the Intertoto Cup teams, Braga were considered the outright winners of the final season of this competition. In contrast to the extended national and international curriculum of Porto, Braga had just one major title in their history: the 1966 Portuguese Cup.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Background
A UEFA Champions League regular, Porto finished third in the 2009–10 Primeira Liga and thus missed a place in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League, entering instead in the UEFA Europa League play-off round. This was the first time Porto competed in UEFA's second competition since winning the 2002–03 tournament. Braga, on the other hand, finished the Portuguese league in a historic second place, which granted them participation in the UEFA Champions League for the first time. Braga reached the group stage by successively knocking out high-profile opponents, such as Celtic and Sevilla, in the second and third qualifying rounds, respectively. The club concluded the group stage in third place, behind Shakhtar Donetsk and Arsenal, and was relegated into the UEFA Europa League round of 32.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Venue
The Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, was selected to host the final match of the 2011 UEFA Europa League, at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee, on 29 January 2009. A bid from the then under-construction Irish venue was put forward by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and the Dublin City Council.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Venue
It had competition from Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, but as Wembley Stadium was picked to host the Champions League final, Arsenal's bid was ruled out on the grounds that UEFA does not allow the same country to host its two major competition finals in the same season. This selection confirmed that Ireland would host its first-ever European football club competition final.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Venue
The new 50,000 all-seater stadium was built on the site of the old Lansdowne Road ground, with the intention of continuing the location as the home of the Irish national rugby and football teams. Demolition work began in late May 2007 and lasted two months. Erection of the infrastructure initiated in January 2009, and by October, the roof was fully installed; in the following month, construction of the pitch took place. The stadium was completed and handed over in April 2010 to the FAI and Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). It was officially opened on 14 May 2010, and on 11 August 2010 hosted its first international football match, between the Republic of Ireland and Argentina.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Venue
On 12 February 2009, the naming rights for the new stadium were bought by the British multi-national insurance company Aviva, for a ten-year period. However, because UEFA sponsorship regulations forbid advertising of brands outside of the organisation during competition matches, the venue would be referred as "Dublin Arena" during the final. Venue preparations for the final included the removal of every advertising and stadium branding elements unrelated with UEFA and its official sponsor partners.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Venue
Stadium director Martin Murphy explained that the whole process was a "big operation", through which they had to "cover the signs on the stadium facade itself" and that "the three tiers [would] have Uefa  [sic] branding across them, covering any existing sponsors." It also involved an increase in the number of media facilities and seats.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Visual identity
UEFA unveiled the visual identity of the 2011 UEFA Europa League final in a ceremony held on 30 November 2010 at Dublin's Convention Centre. Attending this event were delegates of the local civic authorities, the Irish government and the FAI. London-based brand agency Desigwerk was again awarded the task of conceiving the visual identity for a UEFA competition event, after the 2005 and 2007 UEFA Champions League finals and the UEFA Euro 2008.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Visual identity
The Dublin Arena was depicted as the focal element of the logo design, as the stadium is "the ultimate destination for the fans on their journey", according to UEFA's head of club competitions, Michael Heselschwerdt. He further explained that the visual identity contained "very clear and specific mentions and visual references to Dublin, to the Celtic setting and history, and to the local visual iconography".


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Due to security reasons, the 50,000-seat Dublin Arena had its capacity reduced to 47,000 for the UEFA Europa League final. Ticket sales for the general public were carried out in two phases. The first phase was open exclusively for Irish residents from 16 December 2010 to 13 January 2011. Applications were submitted online to UEFA and the FAI for a maximum of two tickets from one of the four available price categories.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Validated requests were entered into a ballot to determine which applications would be allocated tickets; successful applicants were notified by 26 January and received the tickets by 25 April. FAI chief executive John Delaney revealed that 7,000 tickets were sold during this phase, from a total of 21,000 applications, and that an additional 3,000 tickets were already allocated to the FAI grassroots. On 21 February, a second phase was opened for the international public, and lasted until 21 March. First-phase procedures were also applied to the international ticket sales. Ticket ballot notifications were concluded by 31 March and tickets were delivered by 18 April.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Ticketing
Each finalist club was assigned 12,000 tickets, most of which from the lowest priced category. Porto requested their full share, which they sold to annual seat-owner club members, during an initial phase, and then to the remaining club membership. Braga did not make complete use of their portion, returning a part of their allotted tickets.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Ambassador
Former Republic of Ireland and Liverpool midfielder Ronnie Whelan was presented by UEFA as the ambassador for the Dublin 2011 UEFA Europa League final, during the draw for the competition's group stage, held on 27 August 2010 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Arriving at the Merseyside club in 1979, Whelan became an important piece of the 1980s Liverpool team, winning six English titles, two FA Cups and three League Cups, as well as the 1984 European Cup. He helped the Republic of Ireland reach the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship, its first major international tournament; he was also in the squads that qualified Ireland to the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Trophy handover and tour
The UEFA Europa League trophy was handed over by UEFA to the city of Dublin, in a ceremony held on 19 April 2011, at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. During the event that marked the one-month countdown to the 2011 UEFA Europa League final, UEFA president Michel Platini entrusted the cup to Gerry Breen, Lord Mayor of Dublin, so that it would go into public display throughout the Irish capital until the day of the final. Representatives from Atlético Madrid, the first Europa League winners – namely president Enrique Cerezo, managing director Clemente Villaverde, and defender Álvaro Dominguez.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Trophy handover and tour
FAI chief executive John Delaney, and the final ambassador Ronnie Whelan were also in attendance. Upon accepting the trophy, Breen stated that "Irish football fans have travelled the world supporting the Republic of Ireland but this is the first time that an event like this has come to our shores and this will be a major occasion for the city".


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Trophy handover and tour
A trophy tour was set up so that the general public could see closely the award in various sites of Dublin, such as the General Post Office, the Dublin City Hall, and the recently built airport terminal 2.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Officials
The refereeing team for the 2011 UEFA Europa League final was provided by the Royal Spanish Football Federation and led by referee Carlos Velasco Carballo. Velasco Carballo began refereeing in the Spanish Primera División in 2004, and in April 2005 he was selected as the fourth official for three matches in the elite round of the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In 2008, he was promoted to the FIFA list of international referees and refereed his first international matches in the elite qualification round of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Officials
He took charge of his first UEFA Champions League qualifying match later that year, followed by another in the 2009–10 season, as well as six UEFA Europa League matches. In 2010–11, he refereed his first matches in the UEFA Champions League proper, including three group stage games and the first leg of the semi-final between Schalke 04 and Manchester United.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Pre-match, Officials
Velasco Carballo's refereeing team was all-Spanish: he was supported by assistant referees Roberto Alonso Fernández and Jesús Calvo Guadamuro on the touchlines, and Carlos Clos Gómez and Antonio Rubinos Pérez in the penalty areas, as well as fourth official David Fernández Borbolán and reserve assistant referee Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Match, Team selection
Porto midfielder João Moutinho missed his team's final league match against Marítimo, following an injury in the previous game against Paços de Ferreira, but recovered in time to be included in André Villas-Boas's picks for the Europa League final. Brazilian players Hulk, Fernando, and goalkeeper Helton were also called by Villas-Boas after resting against Marítimo, in exchange for Polish keeper Paweł Kieszek and Argentine winger Mariano González, who were not inscribed in the Europa League. Among the players unfit to play in Dublin due to more serious injuries or physical restraints were the Uruguayans Jorge Fucile (broken collarbone) and Cristian Rodríguez, as well as Portuguese leftback Emídio Rafael (broken fibula).


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Match, Team selection
Braga's manager Domingos Paciência had no major physical impediments among his players. Despite pre-selected for the league match against Sporting, defenders Miguel Garcia and Alberto Rodríguez, and striker Paulo César were deemed unfit to play and were left out by caution. They were reintegrated in the group that was to play in Dublin.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Match, Summary
Coming into this final once again as underdogs, Braga quickly showed signs of their intent as Custódio missed an early chance to goal with a wide shot from the right side of the penalty area. In response, in the 7th minute, Hulk jinked three Braga defenders and sent the ball inches away from the top-left corner. Soon after, Braga transitioned into a more defensive strategy, holding much of Porto's attacks. The rest of the first half was characterised by few opportunities and excessive tackling, until the 44th minute, when Porto broke the deadlock.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Match, Summary
A loose pass from Alberto Rodriguez allowed Fredy Guarín to recover the ball on the midfield and execute a perfect deep cross for unmarked Radamel Falcao to conclude with a header into the top left corner, out of reach for Braga's keeper Artur Moraes. This was Falcao's 17th goal in the competition, which further cemented his already confirmed 2010–11 UEFA Europa League top scorer status, and contributed for his pick as man of the match.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Match, Summary
Paciência introduced Kaká and Márcio Mossoró into the game, right after half-time, and it took no time for the latter to create Braga's best opportunity to level the score. Stealing the ball from an unaware Rolando, he raced towards Helton only to see his shot defended by the keeper's legs. Braga began pressing Porto and substitute Meyong had a chance for goal on the 77th minute, but his shot at the edge of the box ended in Helton's hands. Porto continued holding off Braga's attempts and created more danger in counter-attacks, but the score would not change until the final whistle.


2011 UEFA Europa League Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Roberto Alonso Fernández (Spain)Jesús Calvo Guadamuro (Spain)Fourth official:David Fernández Borbalán (Spain)Additional assistant referees:Carlos Clos Gómez (Spain)Antonio Rubinos Pérez (Spain)Reserve official:Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez (Spain)


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship
The 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the tenth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship. Serbia hosted the tournament between the 3 and 15 May. 6 Teams also qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Players born after 1 January 1994 were eligible to participate in this competition.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship
England was the defending champion, but lost in the semi-final. The Netherlandsdefeated Germany 5–2 in the final to win the championship for the first time.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, Qualification
The final tournament of the 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was preceded by two qualification stages: a qualifying round and an Elite round. During these rounds, 52 national teams competed to determine the seven teams.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, Match officials
A total of 6 referees, 8 assistant referees and 2 fourth officials were appointed for the final tournament.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round
2011 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship (Elite Round) was the second round of qualifications for the final tournament of UEFA U-17 Championship 2011. The 28 teams advancing from the qualifying round were distributed into seven groups of four teams each, with each group contesting in a round-robin format, with one of the four teams hosting all six group games. The seven group-winning teams automatically qualified for the final tournament in Serbia. Each team was placed in one of four drawing pots, according to their qualifying round results.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round
The seven sides with the best records were placed in Pot A, and so forth until Pot D, which contained the seven teams with the weakest records. During the draw, each group were filled with one team from every pot, with the only restriction being that teams that played each other in the first qualifying round can not be drawn into the same group again. The draw was held at 30 November, 2010 at 11:15 (CET) at Nyon, Switzerland.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship elite round
The hosts of the seven one-venue mini-tournament groups are indicated below in italics.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round
2011 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship (qualifying round) will be the first round of qualifications for the Final Tournament of UEFA U-17 Championship 2011.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round
The qualifying round will be played between September 17 and November 1, 2010. The 52 teams were divided into 13 groups of four teams, with each group being contested as a mini-tournament, hosted by one of the group's teams. After all matches have been played, the 13 group winners and 13 group runners-up will advance to the Elite round.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round
Alongside the 26 winner and runner-up teams, the two best third-placed teams also qualify. These are determined after considering only their results against their group's top two teams, and applying the following criteria in this order:


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round
The host team of each group's mini-tournament are indicated in italics in the tables below.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifying round, Ranking of 3rd placed teams
Counting results against group winners and runners-up. Top 2 advanced to the Elite Round.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
The 2011 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship is an international Under-17 age group football tournament to be held in Serbia from 3 May until 15 May 2011. The 8 national teams involved in the tournament are required to register a squad of 18 players; only players in these squads are eligible to take part in the tournament.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
Before the start of the tournament, the UEFA administration provides all participating teams with an official form which must be completed with the 18 players participating in the tournament. Two of these 18 players must be goalkeepers.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
The form must be accompanied by the 18 selected players' passports to prove they are eligible for the tournament.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
Any injured or sick goalkeepers and a maximum of two injured or sick players may be replaced upon submission of written medical evidence and approved by the UEFA doctor on duty at the tournament. Replaced players can take no further part in the tournament.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
The 18 players must wear set numbers between 1 and 99. No number may be used by more than one player in the course of the tournament.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
For all matches played in the tournament, players must wear the number indicated on the official list of 18 players.


2011 UEFA European Under-17 Championship squads
Players name marked in bold went on to earn full international caps.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship
The 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the tenth edition of UEFA's European Under-19 Championship since it was renamed from the original under-18 event, in 2001. The tournament took place in Romania from 20 July to 1 August 2011. France were the title holders, but failed to qualify for the finals. Spain won the tournament.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Qualification
Qualification for the final tournament was played over two stages:


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Qualification
The final tournament of the Championship was preceded by two qualification stages: a qualifying round and an Elite round. During these rounds, 52 national teams competed to determine the seven teams that would join the already qualified host nation Romania.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Qualification
The qualifying round was played between 28 September and 30 October 2010. The 52 teams were divided into 13 groups of four teams, with each group being contested as a mini-tournament hosted by one of the group's teams. After all matches were played, the 13 group winners and 13 group runners-up advanced to the Elite round. Alongside the 26 winner and runner-up teams, the two best third-placed teams also qualified.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Venues
The tournament venues will all be located in Ilfov County, near the capital Bucharest, at already existing stadiums in four locations (one town and three communes).


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Group stage
The draw was held in Bucharest on 8 June 2011, when hosts Romania and the seven elite-round qualifiers divided into two groups of four.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Group stage, Group B
The match was scheduled to be played on 20 July, but was abandoned after 15 minutes due to adverse weather conditions while Spain was leading 1–0 after a goal from Álvaro Morata. It was replayed on 21 July at 18:00 local time.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Team of the Tournament
After the final, the UEFA technical team selected 23 players to integrate the "team of the tournament".


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite qualification
2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship (Elite Round) was the second round of qualifications for the final tournament of 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. The 28 teams that advanced from the qualifying round were distributed into seven groups of four teams each, with each group contested in a round-robin format, with one of the four teams hosting all six group games. The seven group-winning teams qualified automatically for the final tournament in Romania. The draw was held at 30 November 2010 at 12:15 (CET) at Nyon, Switzerland.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite qualification, Seeding
The hosts of the seven one-venue mini-tournament groups are indicated below in italics.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship elite qualification, Tiebreaker rules for qualification groups
Per uefa.com the criteria used to rank two or more teams even on points are:


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification
The qualifying round of the 2011 UEFA U-19 Championship was the first of two qualifying rounds for the finals tournament of the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. During these rounds, 52 national teams competed to determine the seven teams that will join the already qualified host nation Romania.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification
The first qualifying round was played between 28 September and 30 October 2010. The 52 teams were divided into 13 groups of four teams, with each group being contested as a mini-tournament, hosted by one of the group's teams. After all matches have been played, the 13 group winners and 13 group runners-up advanced to the Elite round. Alongside the 26 qualifying teams, the two best third-placed teams also qualified.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification, Groups, Ranking of third-placed teams
Ranking includes only matches against group winners and runners-up. The top two, Moldova and the Czech Republic, advanced to the Elite Round.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squads
This article will display the squads for the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Only players born on or after 1 January 1992 were eligible to play.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squads
Every team had to submit a list of 18 players. Two of them must be goalkeepers.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squads
Age, caps and goals are as of the start of the tournament, July 20, 2011.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squads
Players in bold have later been capped at full international level.


2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship squads, Group A, Czech Republic
The following players were named in the squad on 15 July 2011.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2011 was the 18th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Denmark between 11 and 25 June 2011.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
The Danish bid was chosen by UEFA's Executive Committee on 10 December 2008 in Nyon, Switzerland. This bid defeated the other bid from Israel.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Qualification for the final tournament took place between March 2009 and October 2010.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
This competition also acted as a qualifier for the 2012 Summer Olympics, as 3 teams qualified.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Spain won their third title after defeating Switzerland 2–0 in the final.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Host selection
The organisation of the event was initially contested by only two bids: Denmark and Israel. The bids were submitted on 15 June 2008.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Host selection
The bids were inspected between June and September 2008, and a report was given to the National Team Competition Committee in October. The committee discussed the bids on 27 November 2008 and issued a recommendation to the UEFA Executive Committee, who decided on 10 December 2008 that Denmark would host the finals.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Qualification
The draw for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying round took place in Århus on 4 February 2009. The qualifying draw determined the makeup of ten groups. Ten groups were formed in the qualifying draw including two sections of six sides and eight of five, as teams chase 7 finals places alongside host Denmark. The seeding pots are formed on the basis of former performance in the tournament. All groups contained one nation from the first five pots and two sections also included a team from Pot 6. The six European federations that have qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup (Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain and England) were each drawn in one of the six groups of five teams.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Qualification, 2012 Summer Olympics and Great Britain team
The tournament was used as the European qualifying tournament for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with the top teams qualifying for London 2012. The four British federations entered the qualification process as single entities, but are not eligible to qualify for the Olympics. If one or more British teams had qualified for the Championship, and to pass the first round, play-off games would be played (like in 2007 when Italy and Portugal faced for the last place in the Olympics).


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Qualification, 2012 Summer Olympics and Great Britain team
As Great Britain is the host nation for the 2012 Olympics, it is entitled to an automatic place in the competition. This caused controversy as in the Olympics, Great Britain competes as a single unified country, as opposed to the four individual nations in football. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all logged public objections to the idea of a GB team at the Olympics, fearing that it would jeopardise their independent status in UEFA and FIFA. A compromise was reached in 2009 whereby England would field a team for the tournament, while the other three would not participate, but not object to England's involvement.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Qualification, List of qualified teams
The following 8 teams qualified for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Venues
The tournament venues were all located in Jutland, at already existing stadiums in Aarhus, Aalborg, Herning and Viborg.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Venues
On 20 September 2010 it was announced that Aarhus Stadion would host the final. Further Aalborg Stadion was confirmed as the venue for the opening match and the eventual Olympic qualifying play-off. The semifinals were played at Herning Stadium and Viborg Stadion. It was also published that Denmark would play all of its matches in Aalborg and Aarhus.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Format
The final tournament consisted of two groups of four, with the top two from each progressing to the semifinals where it becomes a knockout competition. In the finals held a year before a summer Olympic Games the championship also serves as qualification for the Olympic Football Tournament.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Format
Players were eligible for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship if they were born on or later than 1 January 1988.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Seeding
The draw for the final tournament took place on 9 November 2010 at Aalborg Congress & Culture Centre in Aalborg.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Seeding
Similar to former tournaments, the games in each group are to be held at just two stadia. For the draw, the finalists were divided into three seeding pots, based on average points per game in the qualifying phase, with each group having one team from pot 1 and 2, and two teams from pot 3. Denmark, as hosts, were seeded first automatically.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Squads
Squads for the 2011 Euro U-21 Championship consisted of 23 players, as in the previous tournament in 2009. Only players born on or after 1 January 1988 were eligible to play.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Referees
In April 2011 UEFA published a list of referees, assistant referees and fourth officials to officiate at the tournament. All of the referees are either Premier Category 1-referees or Category 2-referees, respectively the second highest and third highest tier of international referees. All referees are appointed because they are deemed to be future elite referees, thus they are all between 31 and 38 years old and therefore adhere to the U21 philosophy of being the tournament of the stars of tomorrow.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Tiebreakers
As in Under-21 Euro 2009: If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Group stage
The draw took place on 9 November 2010 in Aalborg, Denmark. The first round saw the eight teams divided into two groups of four teams. Each group was a round-robin, where each teams plays one game against every other team in their group. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a defeat. The teams finishing first and second in each group qualified for the semifinals.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Group stage, Group A
In group A tie-breakers were needed to break down the three-point tie with Belarus, Denmark and Iceland. Belarus advanced due to a better goal difference in the matches between those three.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Team of the Tournament
The UEFA Technical Team was charged with naming a squad composed of the 23 best players over the course of the tournament. The group of nine analysts watched every game at the tournament before making their decision after the final. Spain, with seven, had most players in the team.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final
The 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final was a football match that took place on 25 June 2011 at the Aarhus Stadion in Aarhus, Denmark, to determine the winner of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Spain defeated Switzerland with 2–0, after goals from Ander Herrera and Thiago.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Venue
After a decision made by UEFA in October 2009, the Aarhus Stadion in Aarhus, Denmark, the largest stadium of the four 2011 European Under-21 Championship venues, was selected as the official venue for the final.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Officials
Paolo Tagliavento of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) was named by UEFA as the official referee of the final. Having worked as a fourth official in November 2004, he was included in the international referees' list in 2007. The same year, in May, Tagliavento officiated his first match, the 2007 European Under-19 Championship Group 1 elite qualifier match between Germany and Republic of Ireland. He was also a referee at the 2007 UEFA Regions' Cup, where he was in charge of three matches, including the final between South-East Region and Lower Silesia.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Officials
In July 2007, Tagliavento took charge of his first Champions League match, the 2007–08 Champions League first qualifying round match between Linfield and Elfsborg. He was given his first professional Champions League match in December 2010, the 2010–11 Champions League Group H match between Arsenal and Partizan.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Officials
Ahead of the final, Tagliavento had officiated two 2011 European Under-21 Championship matches, one from Group A between Denmark and Belarus and the other from Group B, between Spain and Czech Republic, as well as a total of 17 UEFA Cup and Europa League matches, including a role as an assistant referee in the 2010 Europa League Final between Atlético Madrid and Fulham.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Officials
Tagliavento was joined by assistant referees Damien MacGraith from the Football Association of Ireland and Vytautas Šimkus from the Lithuanian Football Federation, with fourth official Robert Schörgenhofer representing the Austrian Football Association.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Officials
MacGrath had earlier been given the role as an assistant referee in two Group A matches, Switzerland and Iceland, and Iceland and hosts Denmark and one Group B match, between Czech Republic and Ukraine, and also the second semi-final match between Switzerland and Czech Republic, while Šimkus was tasked with two Group A matches, Denmark and Switzerland and Switzerland and Belarus and one Group B match, between Ukraine and England, as well as the first semi-final match between Spain and Belarus.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Officials
Prior to the final, Schörgenhofer was also the fourth official of the Group B match between Ukraine and Spain, as well as handling the second Group A match between Denmark and Switzerland, the third Group B match between Czech Republic and Spain, and the semi-final match between Switzerland and Czech Republic.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Match ball
Adidas Speedcell was the official match ball selected for the final. The ball was used throughout the tournament, and features a futuristic red and white coloured design, in honour of the Denmark flag. It features eleven lines, which denotes the eleven players on the pitch, with the official competition emblem located between the ball.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Pre-match, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony consisted of volunteers were seen holding balloons, and then releasing them throughout the sky over the stadium, A field march was also performed, as they were seen holding flags, which pictured every participating team in the tournament.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Damien MacGraith (Republic of Ireland)Vytautas Šimkus (Lithuania)Fourth official:Robert Schörgenhofer (Austria)


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
The 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship started with a qualifying competition which began on 27 March 2009 and finished on 13 October 2010. The final tournament was held in Denmark between 11–25 June 2011.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification
The first stage of the qualifying competition was a group stage followed by play-offs. Each of the 10 group winners, as well as the four highest ranked second place teams, advanced to the play-off. The play-offs determined which seven nations joined Denmark in the final tournament. Denmark, as hosts, qualified automatically.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification, Groups, Summary
Teams that secured a place in the play-offs are highlighted in green in their respective qualifying groups. The teams are ordered by final group position.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification, Groups, Summary
In case of equal points, the teams are ranked by their head-to-head record:


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification, Groups, Summary
If some teams have equal head-to-head record, then the following tiebreaks apply:


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification, Groups, Ranking of second-placed teams
Since Groups 1 and 2 were composed of six teams, results against the 6th-ranked team were excluded.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification, Play-offs
The play-off first legs played on 9 October 2010, second legs played on 13 October 2010.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 1
The teams competing in Group 1 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Russia, Romania, Moldova, Latvia, Faroe Islands and Andorra.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 1, Goalscorers
There have been 81 goals scored over 30 games, an average of 2.7 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 10
The teams competing in Group 10 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Scotland.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 10, Goalscorers
As of 4 September, there have been 64 goals scored over 18 games, for an average of 3.56 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 2
The teams competing in Group 2 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland and Turkey.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 2, Goalscorers
As of 4 September, there have been 75 goals scored over 28 games, for an average of 2.68 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 3
The teams competing in Group 3 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Italy, Wales, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Luxembourg.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 3, Goalscorers
As of 4 September, there have been 41 goals scored over 18 games, for an average of 2.28 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 4
The teams competing in Group 4 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Finland, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Poland and Spain.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 4, Goalscorers
As of 7 September, there have been 57 goals scored over 20 matches, for an average of 2.85 goals per match.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 5
The teams competing in Group 5 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Czech Republic, Germany, Iceland, Northern Ireland and San Marino.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 5, Goalscorers
As of 3 September, there have been 85 goals scored over 18 games, for an average of 4.72 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 6
The teams competing in Group 6 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Bulgaria, Israel, Kazakhstan, Montenegro and Sweden.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 6, Goalscorers
As of 3 September, there have been 51 goals scored over 18 games, for an average of 2.83 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 7
The teams competing in Group 7 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Croatia, Cyprus, Norway, Serbia and Slovakia.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 7, Goalscorers
There have been scored 64 goals over 20 games, for an average of 3.2 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8
The teams competing in Group 7 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were Belgium, France, Malta, Slovenia and Ukraine.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 8, Goalscorers
As of 3 September, there have been 37 goals scored over 18 games, for an average of 2.05 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 9
The teams competing in Group 7 of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championships qualifying competition were England, Greece, Lithuania, Macedonia, and Portugal.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 9, Goalscorers
As of 7 September, there have been 52 goals scored over 20 games, for an average of 2.6 goals per game.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs
The play-off first legs were played on 8 October 2010, while the second legs were played on 12 October 2010. Winners of play-off round and host nation Denmark will participate in the championship next year.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs, Matches
The draw took place on 10 September 2010 in Herning, Denmark. Fourteen teams were drawn into seven two-legged ties. The matches between Iceland and Scotland were moved back a day to avoid a fixture clash with full internationals.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads
This article lists the squads for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Only players born on or after 1 January 1988 were eligible to play.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads
Each participating national association had to submit a list of up to forty players to the UEFA administration on or before 12 May 2011. No further changes could be made to this list after this deadline. At least four of these forty players had to be goalkeepers.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads
Only 23 of the forty players listed were authorised to take part in the final tournament. A list of these 23 players had to be in the possession of the UEFA administration on or before 1 June 2011. Three of these 23 players had to be goalkeepers.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads
Players in boldface have been capped at full international level at some point in their career.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads
Age, caps, goals and club as of 11 June 2011.


2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship squads, Player statistics
The Ukrainian squad were made up entirely of players from the respective countries' domestic leagues. Altogether, there were eighteen national leagues that had players in the tournament.


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup
The 2011 UEFA Regions' Cup was the seventh edition of the UEFA Regions' Cup. The final tournament phase was held in Portugal, in the city of Braga. The cup was won by the hosts of the tournament, Braga, who beat Leinster & Munster from the Republic of Ireland in the final by 2 – 1.


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Preliminary round
The twelve teams in the preliminary round have been drawn into three group of four, with the following countries hosting each group's matches:


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Preliminary round
Matches in the preliminary round were played between 1 August and 30 September 2010. The three group winners and the two best runners-up advance to the intermediary round (only the results of the runners-up against the winners and third-ranked team in each group are taken into account).


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Preliminary round, Best runners-up
1 The competition rules state that the two best runners-up qualify to the intermediary round, with only the results of the runners-up against the winners and third-ranked team in each group being taken into account. However, due to the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Football Federation being suspended by UEFA and FIFA as of 1 April 2011, Dalmatia, the worst runner-up, was allowed to progress to the intermediary round, replacing Bosnia-Herzegovina's representative team, Kanton Sarajevo, in Group 6.


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary round
The 26 teams which went straight through to the intermediary round (after the exclusion of Kanton Sarajevo from Bosnia-Herzegovina, due to their suspension) were joined by the three group winners and three runners-up from the preliminary round. The 32 teams have been drawn into eight groups of four, with the following countries hosting each group's matches:


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary round
Matches in the intermediary round were played between 1 August 2010 and 30 April 2011. The winners of each group will qualify for the final tournament.


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary round, Group 5
2 The group winner was decided by drawing of lots between Belgrade and South West Bulgaria.


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediary round, Group 6
Result changed from 3–1 to 0–3, after fielding of an ineligible player by Dalmatia.


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Final tournament
The final tournament was held in Braga District, Portugal from 21 to 28 June 2011.


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup, Final tournament, Group Stage
The group stage draw took place on 11 May 2011, producing two groups of four teams each. The two group winners advance to the final, while the runners-up of each group receive bronze medals.


2011 UEFA Regions' Cup qualification squads (Spain)
The following is a list of squads for each region competing in the 2011 UEFA Regions' Cup qualifiers.


2011 UEFA Super Cup
The 2011 UEFA Super Cup was the 36th UEFA Super Cup, between the reigning champions of the two club competitions organised by the European football governing body UEFA: the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League. It took place at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on 26 August 2011. It was contested by the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League winners Barcelona of Spain and the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League winners Porto of Portugal. Barcelona won the title defeating Porto 2–0.


2011 UEFA Super Cup, Venue
The Stade Louis II in Monaco has been the venue for the UEFA Super Cup every year since 1998. Built in 1985, the stadium is also the home of AS Monaco, who play in the French league system.


2011 UEFA Super Cup, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)Berry Simons (Netherlands)Fourth official:Bas Nijhuis (Netherlands)Additional assistant referees:Richard Liesveld (Netherlands)Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)


2011 UEFA Women's Champions League Final
The 2011 UEFA Women's Champions League Final was the final of the second season of the UEFA Women's Champions League and was held at Fulham's Craven Cottage in London, England, on 26 May 2011.


2011 UEFA Women's Champions League Final
For the second year in a row, Lyon met Turbine Potsdam in the final. Unlike last year, Lyon came up with the victory as they defeated Potsdam 2–0 after goals from Wendie Renard and Lara Dickenmann. This was Lyon's first Champions League title. Television audience: 1,8 Million viewers on Direct 8, French Channel.


2011 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Adriana Šecová (Czech Republic)Lucie Ratajová (Czech Republic)Fourth official:Jana Adámková (Czech Republic)


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship
The 2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship was the fourth edition of the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship. Spain was the title holder. Like the previous tournaments, there were two qualifying rounds.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification
10 groups of 4 teams, hosted by one club, seeded into four pots by UEFA coefficient


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification
4 groups of 4 teams, hosted by one club, seeded into four pots by UEFA coefficient


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification, First qualifying round
Forty teams entered in this round. There were ten groups of four teams each. The ten champions and the five best runners-up advanced to the second qualifying round. Germany had a bye to the second round.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification, First qualifying round
Teams in italics hosted the mini-tournament. All match times listed are CET.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification, Ranking of group runners-up
To determine the five best runners-up from the first qualifying round, only the results against the winners and third-placed teams in each group were taken into account and the following criteria apply:


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification, Ranking of group runners-up
The best runners-up were confirmed by UEFA on 22 October 2010.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Qualification, Second qualifying round
The ten group winners and the five best runners-up joined Germany in the second round. There were four groups of four teams each. The four group winners advanced to the final round. The draw was held on 16 November 2010.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship, Final round
The four group champions played the knockout stage in the Centre sportif de Colovray Nyon, Nyon, Switzerland from 28 to 31 July 2011. There were two semifinals, a third place match and the final. The pairings were determined by the regulations, there was no draw held for the finals.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
The UEFA Women's U-19 Championship 2011 Final Tournament was held in Italy between 30 May and 11 June 2011. Players born after 1 January 1992 were eligible to participate in this competition.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
As the final tournament took place in an odd year this tournament serves as the European qualifying tournament for the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
Germany defeated Norway in the final 8–1 to win their sixth title.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Tournament structure
11 groups of 4 teams, hosted by one club, seeded into four pots by UEFA coefficient


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Tournament structure
6 groups of 4 teams, hosted by one club, seeded into four pots by UEFA coefficient


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Qualifications
There were two separate rounds of qualifications held before the Final Tournament.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Qualifications, First qualifying round
In the first qualifying round 44 teams were drawn into 11 groups. The top two of each group and the best third-place finisher, counting only matches against the top two in the group, advanced.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Qualifications, Second qualifying round
In the second round the 23 teams from the first qualifying round were joined by top seeds Germany. The 24 teams of this round were drawn into six groups of four teams. The group winners and the runners-up team with the best record against the sides first and third in their group advance to the final tournament.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Final tournament
The 7 teams advancing from the second qualifying round were joined by host nation Italy. The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four with the top two teams of each group advancing to the semi-finals. The draw was made on 14 April 2011.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Final tournament, Qualified teams
Italy were qualified as hosts. Belgium was best group runner-up in the second qualifying round. The other six teams won their groups.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, Final tournament, Group Stage
The draw was held on 14 April 2011 at Cervia, Italy.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship first qualifying round
2011 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship First Qualifying Round will be the first round of qualifications for the Final Tournament of 2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. They will be played in September 2010. 44 teams are split into 11 groups of 4 and teams in each group play each other once. Italy received byes to the final as host. The top two teams in each group and the best third-placed team entered the 2011 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship Second qualifying round to join Germany.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship first qualifying round, Ranking of third-placed teams
In the ranking of the third-place finishers, only the results against the top two teams count. Serbia advanced as the best third-place finisher having been the only team to draw a match against the top two.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship second qualifying round
2011 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship Second Qualifying Round is the second round of qualifications for the Final Tournament of 2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship. The matches will be played in March and April 2011. 24 teams are split into 6 groups of 4 and teams in each group play each other once. 23 of those advanced from the 2011 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship First qualifying round, Germany had a bye to this round due to being the top ranked nation. Italy received byes to the final as host. The top team in each group and the best second-placed team with the best record against the sides first and third in their group will enter the 2011 UEFA Women's U-19 Championship.


2011 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship second qualifying round, Ranking of second-placed teams
In the ranking of the second-place finishers, only the results against the sides finishing first and third count.


2011 UEFS Futsal Women's Championship
The 2011 UEFS Futsal Women's Championship was the 5th women's UEFS futsal championship, held in Prague, (Czech Republic) from 5 December to 10 December.


2011 UEFS Futsal Women's Championship
There were 5 teams in the competition: Czech Republic, Russia, Catalonia, France and Italy. The championship was played in a league system and the Czech Republic won their second women's title in four years.


2011 UEFS Futsal Women's Championship, Championship
Pts = Total pointsP = Games playedW = Games won(w) = Games won at penalties/OT(l) = Games lost at penalties/OTL = Games lost


2011 UEFS Futsal Women's Championship, Championship
+ = Goals scored- = Goals againstdif = Difference of goals


2011 UEMOA Tournament
The 2011 UEMOA Tournament was the fifth edition of the competition.


2011 UFL Championship Game
The 2011 UFL Championship Game was the third championship game of the United Football League and took place on October 21, 2011, the concluding weekend of the league's truncated third season. The game was won by the Virginia Destroyers, who, in front of a standing-room-only home crowd at Virginia Beach Sportsplex, defeated the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Locomotives 17–3, spurred by the performance of strong safety and game MVP Aaron Rouse.


2011 UFL Championship Game
The win gave Destroyers coach Marty Schottenheimer, notorious for his failure to reach the Super Bowl in his NFL coaching career despite strong regular season statistics, his first and only championship as a professional head coach and his first professional championship since the 1965 American Football League Championship Game, Schottenheimer's rookie season as a player.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Background
The date of the 2011 championship game was the subject of ongoing upheaval in the UFL both before and during its 2011 season. At the start of the offseason, the UFL had six teams: the Las Vegas Locomotives, Sacramento Mountain Lions, Omaha Nighthawks, Florida Tuskers, Hartford Colonials, and expansion Virginia Destroyers.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Background
The leagued had hoped for a ten-game season involving those six teams that would begin in August with the title game in late October or early November, on the premise that the National Football League's ongoing player lockout would extend into its preseason and early regular season, which takes place in August and September. Plans would start to shift in January 2011, when the Tuskers folded and its players and staff shifted to Virginia to form the Destroyers. The UFL's new plans for a five-team season, starting in August and ending with the title game the weekend of October 21–23, would be delayed in July and changed in August, when the Colonials were folded, the NFL's lockout was resolved, and the UFL couldn't reach a national TV partnership.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Background
The UFL's 2011 season would finally begin on September 15, with the Championship Game set for the weekend of November 4–5. By mid-October, when five of the season's seven weeks were played, the UFL announced the cancellation of the last two weeks of the season and moved up the title game to the night of October 21—ironically the weekend originally slated for the title game in the previous five-team plan. Virginia and Las Vegas, who shared first place at the time of cancellation (with identical 3-1 records) were awarded berths in the Championship Game.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Background
Using similar criteria employed to determine the 2010 Championship Game's host venue (an inexact formula based on team success and fan support), Virginia Beach Sportsplex was announced as the 2011 title game's venue; the Destroyers attracted crowds in the 12,000 for their two home games, while only 6,500 came to Las Vegas' lone home game on October 8 (the Locos' final two home games were among the games cancelled by the league).


2011 UFL Championship Game, Background
On the field, the play of the Locomotives and Destroyers (the former Florida Tuskers) were on par with their performances in 2009 and 2010. Coached by Jim Fassel, the Locos were led by quarterback Chase Clement, the 2010 title game MVP, and the top-ranked passing defense in the UFL. The Destroyers, under the guidance of 2011 Coach of the Year Marty Schottenheimer, were led by running back Dominic Rhodes, the league's leading rusher, top scorer, and Offensive Player of the Year.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Game summary
The Championship Game was dominated by defense, specifically that of the Destroyers. On the 3rd offensive drive of the game (Las Vegas' 2nd), Virginia strong safety Aaron Rouse put the first points on the board with a return of a Chase Clement interception 46 yards for a touchdown with 8:32 remaining in the 1st quarter; it was Rouse's 2nd of 3 interceptions in the game. Indeed, Virginia's defense would hound Clement all night; the Locos' quarterback "just couldn't make it happen" (his post-game comment) was held to 93 yards passing, sacked 6 times, threw the 3 INT's to Rouse, and failed to get a 1st down until 7:45 remained in the 3rd quarter.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Game summary
The Destroyers’ offense fared a little better than the Locos'. On the 3rd play of the 2nd quarter, Virginia's Clifton Smith returned a Danny Baugher punt 60 yards to the Las Vegas 7; 3 plays later, Dominic Rhodes would score on a 2-yard run for a 14-0 Destroyers lead. After a 32-yard Clint Stitser field goal (the Locos' only points of the night) made it 14-3, Virginia would respond on the next drive with a Delbert Alvarado field goal (from 21 yards out) to cement the final score. The Destroyers defense would stand down in the 2nd half and secure the team the UFL title and deny the Locos a championship three-peat.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Most Valuable Player
Virginia Destroyers strong safety Aaron Rouse was awarded the UFL Championship Game's most valuable player award after the game. Rouse, a Virginia Beach native and former Virginia Tech star, spearheaded the Destroyers' defensive performance in the game, with 3 interceptions (the 2nd of which he returned for the first touchdown of the game), 4 tackles, and 2 pass break-ups. Rouse's performance came during a difficult personal week, when he suffered the loss of his 19-year-old cousin in a shooting incident.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Broadcasting
Unlike the league's first two championship games, which were broadcast by former TV partner Versus, which had fairly wide national cable and satellite availability, TV coverage of the 2011 UFL Championship Game was limited to regional coverage by Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, with Brent Harris and Jerry Glanville calling the game. The broadcast was simulcast online through the UFL's partnership with Veetle. Radio coverage was provided by the Locos' and Destroyers' respective radio outlets, KBAD and WVSP-FM.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Consolation game
As part of the UFL's cancellation announcement of its 2011 regular season, a "consolation game" involving the league's third- and fourth-place teams, the Omaha Nighthawks and Sacramento Mountain Lions, was also set for October 21 and played concurrently with the championship game. The game, played at Omaha's TD Ameritrade Park, was one of the games cancelled by the UFL (it had been scheduled for October 28) and had a high demand (15,000 tickets were sold); rather than distributing a mass refund, the UFL moved the game to October 21 while honoring tickets for the October 28 game.


2011 UFL Championship Game, Consolation game
In front of a crowd of 10,123, the Mountain Lions won in overtime, 25-19, thanks to a 23-yard touchdown run by running back Cory Ross with 1:36 left in the extra period. This game was the first third-place outdoor professional American football game played since the NFL had discontinued the Playoff Bowl effective after the one held at the end of the 1969 season.


2011 UFL Cup
The 2011 United Football Cup was the third edition of the United Football Cup that ran from mid-October to mid-December 2011. This edition consisted of 28 teams which were separated into seven groups with the top two teams of the group advancing to the round of 16. The two best third placed teams claimed the remaining two slots in the round of 16.


2011 UFL Cup
In the previous year the clubs were initially separated into four equal groups, with a single round-robin played in each to divide the groups into top-two and bottom-two clusters. The top two of every group qualified for the knock-out stage while the bottom-two clubs of each set battled for the Plate. The eight teams who made it to the knock-out stages were given the right of playing in the league first division while teams who played for the Plate proceeded to the league second division.


2011 UFL Cup, Group stage, Ranking of group third placed teams
The two best third place teams among all groups qualify for the knockout stage. They are determined by the parameters in this order:


2011 UFL Cup, Knockout stage, Round of 16
Matches were rescheduled since some players playing for the clubs were on national duty as members of the U23 National Team competing in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia. Games originally scheduled on November 6 at the Nomads Sports Club were postponed due to pitch conditions. Games scheduled on that day were Team Socceroo vs Kaya and Green Archers United vs Manila Lions.


2011 UFL Cup, Knockout stage, Round of 16
On November 10, the UFL Executive Committee released the official schedule of the remaining matches on their official Facebook account. However, on November 16 the Rizal Memorial Stadium officials advised the UFL not to use the pitch in preparation for the Philippines–LA Galaxy match on December 3.


2011 UFL Cup, Knockout stage, Round of 16
On November 22, the UFL Executive Committee has announced via their official Facebook page that the match between Loyola Meralco Sparks and Sunken Garden United FC at Nomads Sports Club is postponed due to pitch condition.


2011 UFL Draft
The 2011 UFL Draft was the third and final draft of the United Football League. The draft took place on Monday, May 2, 2011. The draft was held over a period of 10 rounds during which each of the five UFL teams was allowed one pick per round, in reverse order of 2010 finish, with the last-place Hartford Colonials picking first and the champion Las Vegas Locomotives picking last in each round.


2011 UFL Draft
The expansion Virginia Destroyers took the place of the defunct Florida Tuskers, from whom the Destroyers inherited their staff, in the draft order; the Destroyers also received a "bonus selection" at both the end of the fourth round and the end of the draft, respectively. During rounds one and two, each team had five minutes to make their selection of a player. During rounds three through ten, each team had three minutes to make their selection of a player. The round by round results were announced via the Twitter feeds of each individual coach, as well as through commissioner Michael Huyghue's Twitter feed.


2011 UFL Draft
The UFL moved its draft up to May 2, two days after the end of the 2011 NFL Draft, in part to accommodate the UFL's proposed earlier start in August (since abandoned) for the 2011 season, and also to take advantage of the lockout in the National Football League. Players who went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft could not sign with NFL teams because of the lockout. As a result, the UFL made efforts to draft and sign those players before the lockout was lifted.


2011 UFL Draft
Pat Devlin, the former Delaware quarterback and one of the higher rated undrafted prospects, was given an offer to be the first overall draft pick, but because the Hartford Colonials also requested he sign a UFL contract as a condition of being picked, Devlin declined. As in previous UFL drafts, players with professional experience were also eligible to be drafted. Overall, 24 undrafted rookies and 28 professional veterans were selected in the draft.


2011 UFL Draft
First overall draft pick Jerrod Johnson defected from the UFL to the Philadelphia Eagles in late July 2011, amid rumors that the Colonials were to be contracted. He returned to the UFL for the 2012 season, this time with the Sacramento Mountain Lions.


2011 UFL Draft
Players selected in the draft remain on each team's Reserve/Unsigned list until the player signs the league's standard form contract and is added to the roster.


2011 UFL Draft, Draft Results, Notes
(* indicates signed for 2011 season)(** indicates signed, but defected to the NFL)


2011 UFL season
The 2011 UFL season was the third season of the United Football League (UFL). The season, which was affected by franchise shifts and schedule delays due in part to the UFL's lingering financial issues (as well as a failure to capitalize on the National Football League's player lockout), began on September 15, 2011 and would have run through October 28, with a championship game set for the following weekend. The regular season was abandoned after the games of October 15 (with two weeks remaining), and the Championship Game moved up to October 21, when the Virginia Destroyers claimed their first UFL title by defeating the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Locomotives 17-3 at Virginia Beach Sportsplex.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes
Though it hoped for as many as six teams in place for the 2010 season, the UFL entered the 2011 season with only four, including having a presence in a new market, the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which was granted an expansion franchise in August 2010, the Virginia Destroyers. The Destroyers' first off-season was marked with front office and coaching upheaval: Jim Speros had been named owner of the Destroyers before relinquishing control back to the league, who would assign control to former Hartford Colonials owner Bill Mayer in August 2011. The Destroyers off-season would see two coaches leave (see "Coaching Changes" below) as well as a general manager, Doug Williams, who resigned in February 2011 to accept the head football coaching position at his alma mater, Grambling State University.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes
The UFL went back from six to five teams on January 12, 2011, when the league announced it was "ceasing operations" of its Florida Tuskers franchise and moving the Tuskers' coaching staff and list of protected players to Virginia to serve in the same roles with the Destroyers in lieu of an expansion draft. The relocated coaching staff included Tuskers head coach Jay Gruden, who replaced original Destroyers coach Joe Moglia (who was reassigned to the open head coaching position in Omaha) but later accepted a coordinator position with Cincinnati in the NFL.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes
Prior to shuttering the Tuskers franchise (a move the UFL made citing decreased attendance and stadium issues in the Orlando area), the league had been aiming for as many as eight franchises for 2011; the league was "pretty committed" to a team in the Los Angeles area (a market it has explored in the past to various degrees), and plans were almost in place for a team in Portland, Oregon.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes
Though "encouraging conversations" with franchise investors for a sixth team did take place, the UFL announced in February 2011 that new expansion plans would not be made in time for the start of the 2011 season, and that the league would remain at five teams. In March 2011, however, a report surfaced that a group in Chattanooga, Tennessee, led by Jim Bates and Jeremy Bates, was interested in pursuing a UFL team for that city. League officials acknowledged that Chattanooga was in the mix, but only for a 2012 expansion and that the 2011 season was fixed at five teams.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes
The UFL's franchise lineup would encounter further instability when, in late July 2011, it was revealed that the UFL was considering further contraction, with the Hartford Colonials a rumored victim. The league would confirm on August 10 that the Colonials would indeed be shuttered, with Colonials owner Bill Mayer given controlling ownership of the Virginia Destroyers. The UFL, realizing it could not afford to operate five teams at the moment, chose to contract the Colonials due to a high cost to operate out of Rentschler Field, where the team played its 2010 home schedule.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes
The 2011 UFL Draft was held May 2, 2011, with an additional dispersal draft of Hartford Colonials players conducted on August 15 after the Colonials were shuttered. The UFL had also indicated that it would aggressively pursue the undrafted free agents that, because of the NFL's ongoing labor stoppage, could not be signed to NFL teams until said stoppage was lifted; the May 2 draft was in part designed to gain access to the undrafted free agent market.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes, Financial Difficulties
The UFL's financial difficulties came to glaring light during the 2011 offseason, with the league delinquent on bills acquired during the previous season, having lost approximately $50 million in the 2010 season and facing about $6 million in debts to creditors. A few players and team personnel also claimed they have not received paychecks for the 2010 season.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes, Financial Difficulties
Legal action against the UFL was also set into motion during the 2011 offseason, including:


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes, Financial Difficulties
Most of these debts were paid in March 2011, according to reports. The Mayo Clinic's lawsuit, however, was still reported as open and pending in October 2011.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes, Financial Difficulties
In an effort to avoid future problems, the league shifted most operation costs from the league to its teams for 2011, with each team president taking a greater role of its finances. League founder and majority owner William Hambrecht stated that this was because he was no longer interested in subsidizing an entire league and instead desired to focus his efforts on the Las Vegas Locomotives, of which he owns a greater share than the other teams.


2011 UFL season, Pre-season planning and changes, Financial Difficulties
Further news of the league's financial problems surfaced in mid-October, at the time of the season's truncation (see below). A source revealed to the UFLAccess website on October 12 that the league hadn't yet made full payments to Florida Tuskers staff who participated in the 2010 UFL Championship Game, which UFL VP/Communications Michael Preston confirmed was "among debts the UFL is working to clear." Additionally, UFL COO Bill Peterson filed a suit in Duval County, Florida (where the UFL is headquartered) claiming that the league owes him over $110,000 in back salary.


2011 UFL season, Stadium changes
Two UFL teams played in new stadiums in 2011. The Omaha Nighthawks, who played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in 2010, moved to the brand new TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha. The Virginia Destroyers, who as the Florida Tuskers played in Orlando's Citrus Bowl, called Virginia Beach Sportsplex in Virginia Beach their new home in 2010; the currently undersized Sportsplex underwent a temporary expansion to accommodate the Destroyers.


2011 UFL season, Stadium changes
The Las Vegas Locomotives sought a lower-cost alternative to the high rate of rent for Sam Boyd Stadium and considered moving to the smaller Cashman Field for 2011, but instead opted to return to Sam Boyd Stadium, where they wound up playing one home game (October 8) before the league's regular season was cancelled (the Locos' two remaining home games were dropped due to the cancellation); low attendance at the stadium despite a renewed public relations push was a factor in the abbreviation of the 2011 season, as the Locos drew only 6,500 fans to their lone home game, significantly less than 2009 or 2010.


2011 UFL season, Stadium changes
The Hartford Colonials, in part because of a change of management at Rentschler Field, experienced significant delays in renewing their lease with the stadium and had backup plans to relocate to another lower-cost stadium such as Dillon Stadium or one of the two stadiums at Willow Brook Park (New Britain Stadium or Veterans Stadium) if an agreement could not be reached, although both of these stadiums are believed to be less than ideal for the UFL. The UFL reached an agreement with the operators of Rentschler Field in late June 2011 before deciding to suspend the franchise outright.


2011 UFL season, Season recap
With the tumult and delays of the offseason seemingly behind it, the UFL began its 2011 season on September 15, with the Virginia Destroyers winning 23-13 over the Omaha Nighthawks. The Destroyers were led by quarterback Chris Greisen, who directed 2nd quarter scoring drives of 81 and 62 yards; Delbert Alvarado added three field goals. The game was a debut in three ways: It was the start of the season, the first game for the Destroyers, and the first game for the Nighthawks in their new home, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. The game attracted an announced crowd of 15,836, the first Nighthawks home game that didn't sell out.


2011 UFL season, Season recap
Much in the same way as the league's first two seasons, the Destroyers and Las Vegas Locomotives were the on-field class of the league, with both teams sporting 3-1 records at the regular season's cancellation. The 2011 Destroyers roster included 21 former Florida Tuskers, who were league runners-up in each of the first two seasons. Chris Greisen led the team at quarterback, with a backfield that included the league's leading rusher and offensive player of the year, running back Dominic Rhodes, who set a league record 217 yards rushing in an October 7 game against Sacramento. The Locos, coached by Jim Fassel, were led by 2nd-year starting quarterback Chase Clement and running back Marcel Shipp.


2011 UFL season, Season recap
The Locos and Destroyers would meet in the rescheduled (to October 21) UFL Championship Game at Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The Destroyers would prevail in the game 17-3, exacting a bit of revenge on the Locos' the league's 2-time defending champs (at the expense of the Florida Tuskers). The Destroyers were keyed by a stifling defense that overwhelmed the Locos offense, who managed only 154 total yards. The game MVP was Destroyers safety and Virginia Beach native Aaron Rouse, who had three pass interceptions on the evening and returned one for a touchdown. The win gave Destroyers head coach Marty Schottenheimer his first league title as a professional head coach.


2011 UFL season, Season recap
The Sacramento Mountain Lions and Omaha Nighthawks struggled on the field during the 2011 season. The MoLos, coached by third-year coach Dennis Green, lost their first three games of the 2011 season, falling to the bottom of the standings; after a change of quarterback, they later rebounded to win what would be their last regular season game as well as their consolation game against Omaha. Sacramento was among the best-supported teams in the UFL, with all three games at Hornet Stadium being at or near sellouts.


2011 UFL season, Season recap
The Nighthawks were marked by Joe Moglia's return to coaching football after 27 years out of the game, and many of his unusual efforts (multiple quarterbacks and the implementation of a spread offense) were ineffective against the rest of the league. Only a narrow 33-30 win over Sacramento in Week 2 prevented the Nighthawks from achieving a perfectly bad season and was the only game in which the Nighthawks scored more than one touchdown.


2011 UFL season, Schedule
The UFL initially planned to start its 2011 regular season the second weekend of August—a date that, while considerably earlier than the start dates for previous seasons, would have allowed the UFL to gain attention while the National Football League would normally be in its preseason (and had the potential to provide even more attention had the NFL's labor problems affected its preseason); the move was also intended to provide the UFL the opportunity to stage games on Sunday for the first time ever.


2011 UFL season, Schedule
The league, when it was planning for six teams, intended for a 10-game regular season over 11 weeks (one bye week for each team). After several delays, the UFL released its original 2011 schedule on June 9, one that featured five teams (including the Hartford Colonials) playing eight games over a 10-week span (double round robin, two bye weeks for each team) that was to have begun the weekend of August 13–14 and culminate with the UFL Championship Game the weekend of October 21–23.


2011 UFL season, Schedule
The UFL announced a delay in training camps and the regular season on July 19, with the season to begin in mid-September, the same month its 2010 season began.


2011 UFL season, Schedule
When the UFL announced the Colonials' contraction on August 10, they also confirmed that the remaining four teams would each play a 6-game schedule mirroring the pattern used in the league's inaugural season in 2009 (double round robin, 1 bye week for each team), and also released the opening week games (Virginia at Omaha on September 15, Las Vegas at Sacramento on September 17), with the balance of the schedule released on August 16. The UFL Championship Game, under this new plan, would have been played weekend of November 4–5 at a site to be determined in a similar manner to the previous season, when the UFL awarded Omaha the title game based on advance ticket sales, team record, and fan reception.


2011 UFL season, Schedule
On October 16, 2011, after the 5th week of the season had concluded, a report appeared on a Virginia Destroyers fan site that the UFL was considering canceling the final two weeks of the regular season (Weeks 6 and 7) and moving up the Championship Game to the weekend of October 21; a person associated with the Omaha Nighthawks would confirm that original report to the Omaha World-Herald later on the 16th. The following day (October 17), the UFL did indeed announce that the final two weeks would be canceled. Halting the season, according to UFL leadership, would save the league $3.5 million, mainly in player wages, and help ensure the possibility for a 2012 season.


2011 UFL season, Schedule
The season wasn't entirely finished, however: The UFL also confirmed that the Destroyers' October 21 home game would change from a regular season game against the Nighthawks to the 2011 UFL Championship Game against Las Vegas (both teams finished tied for the top spot in the league's standings). The Destroyers' home, Virginia Beach Sportsplex was chosen as the title game's venue based in part on the Destroyers' home attendance (both their home games attracted crowds of over 12,000) and the teams' social media following. (Ironically, the newly rescheduled Championship Game would take place on the same weekend as when it was scheduled in the original 5-team schedule.)


2011 UFL season, Schedule
Additionally, the 3rd and 4th place teams, Sacramento and Omaha, would play what the UFL termed a "consolation game" at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, in effect moving the October 28 game between those teams up one week; that consolation game would also take place on October 21, concurrent with the Locos/Destroyers title game. Part of the reasoning for scheduling the consolation game in Omaha was to avoid a mass refund on the 15,000 tickets sold the Nighthawks' October 28 home game, which was one of the cancelled games.


2011 UFL season, Schedule
Had the regular season not been cut short, the following games would have been played:


2011 UFL season, Broadcasting
The UFL entered the 2011 season without any national television partner. The league's previous 2-year television contracts with Versus and HDNet expired on December 31, 2010, as did a 1-year local deal with regional cable network NESN, which carried two Hartford Colonials games in 2010. The UFL would spend its 2011 off-season seeking new TV deals that would generate revenue for the league, something the previous contracts did not do (the league had to reimburse the networks for production costs in the previous deal).


2011 UFL season, Broadcasting
Seeking a possible opportunity with the NFL players lockout, the UFL considered partnerships with networks other than Versus and HDNet, including those in partnership with the NFL; the UFL's rationale was that if the NFL lockout endangered its 2011 preseason and regular season, the NFL's TV partners would seek alternative programming such as the UFL as program filler. By the spring, CBS Sports (an NFL partner) and Turner Sports (whose TNT carried the NFL in the 1990s) were mentioned as possible UFL partners. (Fox Sports was also mentioned; ESPN was on record as not being interested.)