User:Quidster4040/sandbox/2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final

The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final will be the final match of the 2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League, the 53rd season of North America's premier club football tournament organized by CONCACAF, and the 10th season since it was renamed from the CONCACAF Champions' Cup to the CONCACAF Champions League. It was played at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States on 16 May 2018, between American clubs, New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls.

New York Red Bulls won the match 2-0, off of two goals from Daniel Royer. Royer scored in the 53rd minute in open play, and coverted a penalty kick in stoppage time of the second half. It was the Red Bulls' first CCL title. This final was the third time ever that the Champions League final was contested between two clubs from the United States. It was the first time since 2012, when the LA Galaxy defeated the Seattle Sounders. This was the first time in CONCACAF history that two clubs from the same city are playing in the final, and the first time since 1984 a team from the New York metropolitan area is playing in the final.

As winners, the New York Red Bulls earned the right to play against Costa Rican side, Santos de Guápiles, winners of the 2017–18 CONCACAF SuperLiga in the 2018 CONCACAF Super Cup. They will also qualify to enter the quarterfinals of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup as the CONCACAF representative.

This was the first Champions League final since 1987 not to feature a single Mexican player.

Teams
In the following table, finals until 2008 were in the Champions' Cup era, since 2008 were in the CONCACAF Champions League era.

Venue
Nippert Stadium was announced as the final venue on 23 September 2016, following the decision of the CONCACAF Executive Committee meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. This is the 30th Champions League final hosted in the United States, and the second held in the U.S. state of Ohio, with the last one being in 2014 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus.

Nippert Stadium was built in rudimentary form since 1901, with permanent stands being built in 1915. In 1924, its current horseshoe stadium design was complete. Since 1915, the stadium has been home to the Cincinnati Bearcats American football team. Nippert Stadium has been used as a soccer venue since 2016, as the home ground to FC Cincinnati, who play in the second division United Soccer League.

Background
Both clubs are making their CONCACAF Champions League debut. New York City FC reached their first ever final after defeating Costa Rican side Herediano in the semifinals.

Defending champions Real Madrid reached a record 16th final after a 4–3 aggregate win against German side Bayern Munich, knocking them out of the competition for the second consecutive season. This is Real Madrid's third consecutive final, and fourth final in five tournaments with an opportunity to win a record 13th title. Previously they won finals in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016 and 2017; and lost in 1962, 1964 and 1981. This was also their 20th final in all seasonal UEFA competitions, having also played in two Cup Winners' Cup finals (losing in 1971 and 1983) and two UEFA Cup finals (winning in 1985 and 1986). Real Madrid are only the third team since the competition's rebranding as the Champions League to reach three consecutive finals after Milan in 1995 and Juventus in 1998. They are looking to be the first team in the Champions League era, and the fourth overall, to win three straight finals, a feat only achieved by the Real Madrid side of the 1950s, as they went on to win a record five successive finals, as well as the Ajax and Bayern Munich squads of the 1970s in 1973 and 1976, respectively.

Liverpool reached their eighth final, their first since 2007, after a 7–6 aggregate win against Italian side Roma. They have won the final on five occasions (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 2005), and have lost twice (1985 and 2007). This was also their 13th final in UEFA seasonal competitions, having played in one Cup Winners' Cup final (losing in 1966) and four UEFA Cup/Europa League finals (winning in 1973, 1976 and 2001; and losing in 2016). Liverpool were the first team since Bayern Munich in 2011–12 to reach the final having qualified for the competition through the play-off round. This was also the most recent occasion the final featured an English team (Chelsea). Liverpool were the most recent team to defeat Real Madrid in a European Cup Final, winning 1–0 in Paris in 1981.

Besides the 1981 final, the two teams have played each other four times in the Champions League era. Liverpool won both matches in the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League round of 16, while Real Madrid won both matches in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Road to the final

 * Further information: 2017–18 CONCACAF Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Ambassador
The ambassador for the final is former U.S. international and Ohio native, Brad Friedel.

Ticketing
With a stadium capacity of 40,000 for the final, a total amount of 20,000 tickets are available to fans and the general public, with the two finalist teams receiving 8,000 tickets each and with 4,000 tickets being available for sale to fans worldwide via CONCACAF.com from 15 to 22 March 2018 in four price categories: $250, $125, $50, and $20. The remaining tickets are allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA and national associations, commercial partners and broadcasters, and to serve the corporate hospitality programme.

Officials
On 7 May 2018, UEFA announced that Serbian Milorad Mažić would officiate the final. Mažić has been a FIFA referee since 2009, and gained UEFA's elite referee status in 2013. He will be joined by his fellow countrymen, with Milovan Ristić and Dalibor Đurdević as assistant referees, Nenad Đokić and Danilo Grujić as additional assistant referees, and Nemanja Petrović as reserve assistant referee. The fourth official for the final is Frenchman Clément Turpin.

Details
The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the semi-final draw, which was held on 13 April 2018, 13:00 CEST, at the CONCACAF headquarters in New York City, United States.