Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 20 May 2014: Liverpool’s epic comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul to win the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final has been named the most priceless moment in the past twenty years of the tournament in a survey by MasterCard.
To celebrate its 20th anniversary as an Official Sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, MasterCard asked thousands of football-lovers around the world to reveal their favourite moments from European football’s showpiece tournament.
As Club Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid CF prepare to go head-to-head in this year’s Final at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, MasterCard revealed the definitive list of the most priceless moments, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s last-minute winner for Manchester United in the 1999 Final and Zinedine Zidane’s spectacular volley ranking in second and third, just behind Liverpool’s memorable victory.
Following debate and discussion amongst football fans, Barcelona’s victory over Manchester United in the 2011 Final took fourth spot, closely followed by Ronaldinho’s incredible strike against Chelsea in 2005. Fernando Torres’ last-minute strike after a lung-bursting run for Chelsea against Barcelona in 2005 claimed sixth place, and it was another Chelsea man, Didier Drogba, claiming seventh place, with his winning penalty that brought tears of joy to Chelsea fans in the 2012 Final.
Jose Mourinho’s infamous touchline celebration after Porto broke the hearts of Manchester United fans in the 2004 Semi-Final came eighth with Andres Iniesta’s last-gasp goal that broke Chelsea fans hearts in 2009 and Ajax’s memorable victory in the 1995 Final also proving popular with football fans.
Top 20 Priceless Moments
- Liverpool’s comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul in the 2005 Final
- Manchester United’s last minute victory vs Bayern Munich in the 1999 Final
- Zinedine Zidane’s volleyed goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Final
- Barcelona’s victory over Manchester United in the 2011 Final
- Ronaldinho’s goal for Barcelona against Chelsea in March 2005
- Fernando Torres’ last minute goal for Chelsea against Barcelona in 2012
- Dider Drogba scoring the winner for Chelsea in the 2012 Final
- Jose Mourinho celebrating on the touchline after Porto’s victory over Manchester United in the 2004 Semi-Final
- Andres Iniesta’s goal for Barcelona against Chelsea in the 2009 Semi-Final
- Ajax winning the UEFA Champions League in 1995
- Eric Abidal lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2011
- Ronaldo’s hat-trick for Real Madrid against Manchester United in 2003 (April 23rd)
- Steven Gerrard’s last minute long range goal against Olympiakos in 2004 (8th December)
- AC Milan’s crushing 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the 1994 UEFA Champions League Final
- Thierry Henry’s solo goal for Arsenal against Real Madrid in 2006 (21st Feb)
- Robert Lewandowski’s 4 goals for Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid in 2013 (24th April)
- Roy Makaay’s goal after 10 seconds against Real Madrid in 2007 (7th March)
- Monaco’s 8-3 win over Deportivo in the 2004 Semi-Final
- Borussia Dortmund winning the UEFA Champions League in 1997
- FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund facing each other in the all-German final in 2013
Javier Perez, President, MasterCard said:
“We are very proud of our longstanding association with the UEFA Champions League. The tournament has delivered countless priceless moments over the past twenty years and the fans have been there all the way, so it’s fantastic to be able to get their opinion on the greatest moments. As we enjoy our 20th year as an official sponsor, we look forward to witnessing new priceless moments at this year’s UEFA Champions League Final.”
As Lisbon prepares to witness the next priceless moment in the latest chapter of the UEFA Champions League story, MasterCard is giving kids 22 kids their own priceless experience as Official Player Mascots. The lucky kids, who were selected after an extensive European search, will be named by Portugal legend and MasterCard Player Mascot Manager Deco on the 22nd May 2014, and fulfil their dream of running on to the pitch alongside some of the world’s best player’s – moments before the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final kicks-off.
To find out more, visit: http://mstr.cd/1mLjBkS
Survey results were taken from a sample of 1000 global football fans.