STADIUM COACH OWNERAjax
Atletico
Madrid
Bayer
Leverkusen
Benfica
Atalanta
Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Borussia
Dortmund
Ajax’s 54,000-capacity home
was recently renamed the Johan
Cruyff Arena in honour of the club’s
greatest player. The retractable roof
caused initial problems for the pitch
when the stadium opened in 1996,
but Ajax now co-exist with regular
rock concerts.Erik Ten Hag was a relatively low-
key appointment when he replaced
Marcel Keizer. The 49-year-old
had no previous connection with
Ajax but his success with Utrecht,
leading them to fifth and fourth
in the Dutch league, earned him
the call.Ajax are the only Dutch club to
be listed on the stock exchange,
with 90 per cent of shares owned
by fans and the general public.
An advisory board appoints the
directors, who are led by chief
executive Edwin Van der Sar,
the club’s former goalkeeper.The 67,000-capacity Metropolitano,
which hosted the 2019 Champions
League Final, has been open since
September 2017. The move to the
new stadium in eastern Madrid
boosted Atletico’s revenues to
€313m in 2018. Named Wanda
after their Chinese sponsors.The 49-year-old Argentinian Diego
Simeone has been the central
figure in the making of modern
Atletico, but he is now facing a
major rebuilding job following the
sale of Antoine Griezmann. Entering
his ninth season in Madrid, he is
currently contracted until 2022.CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin,
the son of controversial former
chairman Jesus Gil, is the club’s
majority shareholder. Last year
Israeli businessman Idan Ofer
bought 17 per cent from Chinese
company Wanda to increase his
stake to 32 per cent.Sandwiched between Cologne and
Dusseldorf, the BayArena holds
29,400 fans for European matches.
Leverkusen have played there
since its opening in 1958. It was
revamped in 1997 and 2009, and
hosted games at the 2006 World
Cup and 2011 Women’s World Cup.Peter Bosz took over from Heiko
Herrlich in December 2018,
12 months after being sacked by
Dortmund, where despite a strong
start to the season his side went
on a 12-match winless streak. The
55-year-old Dutchman took Ajax
to the 2017 Europa League Final.Leverkusen began life as the works
team of pharmaceutical giant Bayer
AG. The company are based in the
industrial city of Leverkusen and
have funded the club for many
years through sponsorship – a
relationship that leads to rival fans
dismissing the club as “plastic”.The 64,000-capacity Estadio da
Luz was built for Euro 2004 on
the site of the old Stadium of Light.
Luz, which translates as “light”,
is the name of the local Lisbon
neighbourhood. Staged the 2014
Champions League Final between
Real and Atletico Madrid.Former Benfica B team boss Bruno
Lage succeeded Rui Vitoria in
January after club officials failed to
persuade Jose Mourinho to return.
The 43-year-old, former assistant
to Carlos Carvalhal at Sheffield
Wednesday and Swansea City,
agreed a contract until 2023.The club is owned by its members
and president Luis Felipe Vieira
was re-elected for a fifth term in- The club claims to have a
world-record number of paying
members: in 2006 The Guinness
Book of Records confirmed the club
as having 160,000 socios.
The team from Bergamo in northern
Italy will play Champions League
“home” games at Milan’s San Siro
stadium because their own 21,300-
capacity Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia
is being renovated. San Siro’s curva
stands will be closed, reducing the
capacity to 43,000.Former Genoa boss Gian Piero
Gasperini has worked wonders
since taking charge of Atalanta in- The 61-year-old has more
than restored a reputation that was
tarnished by a disastrous spell at
Internazionale in 2011. Speculation
persists over his Atalanta future.
Antonio Percassi played for Atalanta
in the 1970s before quitting football
to build a fortune in retail. The 66-
year-old returned for a second
spell as club president in 2010.
Under him, turnover rose to €15 5 m
in 2018 and a €27m wage bill is
only the 14th largest in Serie A.The 99,000-capacity Camp Nou
remains Europe’s largest stadium.
It hosted the European Cup Final
in 1989 and Champions League
Final in 1999. There are advanced
plans to expand the capacity to
105,000 and place a roof on
the stadium.Ernesto Valverde is starting his third
season. His functional tactics have
been criticised but his side have
won the last two Liga title with ease.
The 55-year-old former Athletic
Bilbao boss is contracted until the
end of this season, with the option
for one more.One of four Spanish clubs (with
Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and
Osasuna) to be owned by their
members. The 140,000 socios
elect the club president. The club
had record revenues of €990m this
year, with Europe’s biggest wage bill
of over €500m.The Allianz Arena holds 70,000
for European matches. Initially
shared with city rivals 1860, it
is now wholly owned by Bayern
after relegated 1860’s financial
problems forced a sale of their
share and a return to their original
Grunwalder Stadion.Niko Kovac endured a difficult first
season in Munich after arriving from
Eintracht Frankfurt last summer.
The 47-year-old Croat appeared
doomed at one point and was
criticised for a cautious approach,
but his players rallied to win
another Bundesliga title.Majority owned by supporters
and run by former players, while
corporations Audi and Adidas own
small stakes. President Uli Hoeness
is due to step down at the end of
the year. In 2017–18, Bayern had
revenues of €657.4m and an
operating profit of €136.5m.The Westfalenstadion is known as
Signal Iduna Park for sponsorship
purposes. For Bundesliga matches,
the 24,500-capacity Sudtribune- Europe’s largest standing terrace
- boosts capacity to 81,000. But
for all-seater Champions League
matches that drops to 66,000.
Lucien Favre made his name in his
native Switzerland, with Servette
and Zurich, before enjoying success
with Borussia Monchengladbach
and a spell in France with Nice.
The 61-year-old Swiss prefers
a tight pressing game with swift
counter-attacks on the flanks.Dortmund were the first club to
be floated on the German stock
market and like other Bundesliga
sides no individual owns a majority
share. CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke
oversaw a 2018 turnover of €317m,
with a wage bill of €187m, second
only to Bayern Munich in Germany.CHAMPIONS LEAGUE