Trophy tour a smash hit in central Europe

Five countries, 26 cities, 33 days: the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour 2011, presented by UniCredit, not only put in the hard yards during its journey through central Europe; it also reached out to almost 140,000 people to make an unprecedented success of the travelling exhibition.

The premise was to transport the UEFA Champions League Trophy, and with it the magic of European club football's stellar competition, to fans across this part of Europe. The fact the total number of visitors – 139,250 – surpassed emphatically last year's tally of 92,000 made a triumph of the trip through Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Austria.

Beginning on 15 September with a five-day stay in Munich, the sole German venue, the autumn 2010 edition of the Trophy Tour took in:

• six Czech destinations (Pilsen, Ceske Budejovice, Brno, Pardovice, Liberec and Prague; 20-26 September)
• four locations in Poland (Wroclaw, Krakow, Poznan and Warsaw; 28 September-1 October)
• seven cities in Slovakia (Zilina, Banska Bystrica, Poprad, Presov, Kosice, Trnava and Bratislava; 4-10 October)
• six Austrian venues (Graz, Klagenfurt, Salzburg, Linz, St Polten and Vienna; 11-17 October)

After the big kick-off in Munich, one week was dedicated to each country hosting a leg of the tour; every leg came to a climax as the UEFA Champions League road show landed at the respective capital city for a long weekend packed with football fun and activities.

At all of the handsomely situated main venues – Munich's Marienhof Square, Prague's Staromestske Namesti, Constitution Square in Warsaw, Eurovea Square in Bratislava and Vienna's Rathausplatz – the trophy was presented by high-profile former players acting as UEFA Trophy Tour ambassadors, who were joined by UniCredit's official ambassador for the UEFA Champions League, Luís Figo.

A UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour village was erected on site, and it was inside these exhibition rooms that a total of 26,841 visitors had an official picture taken with the club game's most coveted prize.

The village also housed a treasure trove of football memorabilia – including video screens recalling famous moments and an archive of photographs – which brought to life the history and great players of the UEFA Champions League and its predecessor, the European Champion Clubs' Cup, dating back to 1955.

A mini-pitch set up alongside the village also allowed fans to play football themselves, often as part of a competition and sometimes involving the trophy tour ambassadors.

The ambassadors, who were happy to take part in autograph sessions, featured star names from this continent's footballing firmament: Giovane Elber and Cafu (Munich), Vladimír Šmicer (Prague), Peter Schmeichel (Warsaw), Pauleta (Bratislava) and Karl-Heinz Riedle (Bratislava and Vienna). After presenting the trophy they participated in official press conferences where many of them described the moment of lifting the illustrious silverware.

Vladimír Šmicer, a winner with Liverpool FC in 2005, said: "I'm delighted to say that I'm lucky enough to have won this trophy, and when I was asked by UEFA to become the ambassador in the Czech Republic I was extremely proud. Having this trophy here is very special."

Luís Figo, crowned with Real Madrid CF in 2002 and an invaluable presence throughout the tour, said it had been "a fantastic event for all the fans that love this competition. It's a great way to promote the UEFA Champions League throughout Europe, especially for those who might not have had the opportunity to go to a match. It's the most important competition at club level. It's the most exclusive competition, the one with the most prestige."

UniCredit's local ambassadors such as European Cup winner Józef Młynarczyk in Poland, and former national-team goalkeeper Michael Konsel in Austria, and even players from top local clubs, joined the tour along the route for the provincial stopovers, signing autographs and chatting with supporters. As at the main destinations, so visitors to these smaller venues were also entertained with table football, football-skills competitions, music and refreshments.

The bright-red UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour truck, upon which the trophy is transported in a glass vault, finally headed into the Vienna sunset on 17 October. It had delivered European club football's holy grail to thousands of fans.