Famous names on final trail

Some of Europe's most famous stadiums are in the running to stage the 2008 and 2009 UEFA Champions League finals, with a decision to be taken in early October when the UEFA Executive Committee meets in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

World Cup final
The venue for the recent FIFA World Cup final, the Olympiastadion in Berlin, is on the short list for both finals along with the revamped Wembley in London, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. The Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, which held the 2003 UEFA Cup final between FC Porto and Celtic FC, is also in contention for both showpieces.

Wembley rebuilt
Made famous when American sprinter Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics, the Olympiastadion has never hosted a European final but profited from a €242m overhaul for the World Cup. Wembley, scene of the 1966 World Cup final and five European Champion Clubs' Cup showpieces, is in the process of completion after being rebuilt with a 90,000-seat capacity at a cost of €1.2bn.

Criteria
Rome's Olimpico provided the setting for the 1960 Games as well as for European Cup finals in 1977, 1984 and – following a revamp for Italia '90 whose final it staged – 1996, while the Luzhniki held the 1999 UEFA Cup final. UEFA limited the number of candidates to one national association per final, with the bidding dossiers evaluated according to the capacity and infrastructure of the stadium, the city and airport agreements, accommodation and promotional plans, and the principle of geographical rotation.