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Champions fiesta Madrid, Valencia prepare for all-Spanish shootout
Posted: Wednesday May 24, 2000 11:00 AM
PARIS (AP) -- More than 50,000 Spanish soccer fans descended on the French capital in the hope of seeing their team win Wednesday's historic all-Spanish Champions League final between Real Madrid and Valencia. For the first time in the 45-year history of Europe's top club trophy, two clubs from the same country will compete in the final. Spanish aviation authorities said that about 150 charter planes are due to bring fans from Spain to France for the match, which will be played at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris. Dozens of buses and trains are also on hand to transport fans to the final. In contrast to the bloody scenes before last week's UEFA Cup final between England's Arsenal and Turkish club Galatasaray in Copenhagen, fans from both teams mingled peacefully on the Champs Elysees on Wednesday morning. Some were looking for black-market tickets with touts saying they expected to sell 350-franc (US$48.51) seats for between 4,000 and 5,000 francs (US$554 and $693). French authorities don't expect any violence among Spanish soccer supporters, who have no record of serious violence in European competition. Some 1,600 police were on duty for the Paris game. Around 73,000 fans will attend the clash at the site of France's 1998 World Cup triumph. The final, to be shown live on television in more than 200 countries, is the biggest club match of the season in Europe and has long been a sellout, with Real Madrid and Valencia each given 24,300 tickets for their fans. In case Valencia fans feel homesick, the club's sponsor is sending a truck to Paris with enough ingredients to make 500 jumbo-sized paellas. Favorite Real Madrid, contesting its 11th final, is bidding for a record eighth success in Europe's top club competition, while Valencia is seeking its first. The legendary Spanish club, which won the first five editions of the cup, is also looking to become the first team to win the trophy twice since the inauguration of the league format in 1993. Trouble, if there is any, could come back home during post-match celebrations as it did in Madrid two years ago. Fifty people, including 30 police officers, were injured when drunken Real fans celebrating their team's 1-0 win over Juventus in the 1998 final in Amsterdam stormed Madrid's Cibeles fountain and police replied by firing rubber bullets. Hundreds of police are on standby in Madrid and Valencia in case of similar trouble. Probable lineups: Real Madrid: Iker Casillas; Michel Salgado, Roberto Carlos, Ivan Campo, Ivan Helguera, Aitor Karanka; Fernando Redondo, Steve McManaman; Raul Gonzalez, Nicolas Anelka, Fernando Morientes. Valencia: Santiago Canizares; Jocelyn Angloma, Mauricio Pellegrino, Miroslav Djukic, Joachim Bjorklund; Gaizka Mendieta, Gerard Lopez, Francisco Farinos, Kily Gonzalez; Miguel Angulo, Claudio Lopez.
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