STADIUM COACH OWNERLiverpool
Lyon
Napoli
Paris
Saint-Germain
Lokomotiv
Moscow
Manchester
City
Olympiakos
RB Leipzig
The expansion of the main stand
that increased capacity to 54,000
with more corporate seating has
not dulled the atmosphere on
European nights. Plans were
recently announced for an
expansion of the Anfield Road end
to take capacity above 60,000.Jurgen Klopp recently hinted
he could retire when his current
Liverpool contract expires in 2022
and he will be 55. But the former
Dortmund boss has often been
linked with a return to Germany
to coach either Bayern Munich
or the national side.Fenway Sports Group, headed
by John Henry and Tom Werner,
is arguably the most successful
American owner of a European
club, having successfully used
complex analytics to highlight
transfer targets. Also owners of
baseball side Boston Red Sox.Parc Olympique Lyonnais is
known as Groupama Stadium
for sponsorship purposes. The
58,000-seat arena in an eastern
suburb of Lyon was opened in
January 2016 in time for Euro- It replaced the Stade de
Gerland, which still hosts rugby.
Former Arsenal, Celta Vigo and
Barcelona midfielder Sylvinho
was a surprise choice to replace
Bruno Genesio this summer. The
45-year-old Brazilian previously
held assistant roles at Cruzeiro,
Internazionale and with Brazil’s
national side.President Jean-Michel Aulas has
owned the club since 1987. A
notoriously tough negotiator in
transfer dealings, he has helped
the side to turnover €164m in
2018, making them the second
wealthiest club in France, after
Paris Saint-Germain.Recent renovations to repair
the dilapidated Stadio San Paolo
in preparation for the Summer
Universiade student games reduced
capacity to 55,000. The stadium
remains the third largest in Serie A
ground although the club would like
to move to a new, modern arena.Carlo Ancelotti replaced Chelsea-
bound Mauricio Sarri in 2018. A
serial title winner – in Italy, France,
Germany and England – the 60-
year-old has won the European Cup
twice as a player (Milan) and the
Champions League three times as a
coach (Milan and Real Madrid).Film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis
has been club president since
2004, when bankruptcy forced the
relegation of the club to Italy’s third
tier. Often outspoken, the 70-year-
old has since overseen the rise of
the club back to the higher
echelons of Serie A.Parc des Princes lost its position
as Paris’ premier venue when the
Stade de France was built for the
1998 World Cup. But the stadium
in the south-west of the city has
been improved by the club’s
Qatari owners and currently
holds 47,000 spectators.Thomas Tuchel succeeded Jurgen
Klopp at both Mainz and Borussia
Dortmund but the 46-year-old
German’s position at PSG remains
precarious after a first season in
which Ligue 1 dominance was not
converted into success on the wider
European stage.Nasser Al Khelaifi is the front man
for the government-backed Qatari
Sports Investments. Despite being
indicted over bribery allegations
regarding Qatar’s hosting of the
world athletics championships,
Al Khelaifi was elected to UEFA’s
executive committee in 2019.Lokomotiv Stadium was rebuilt
in 2002, though there has been
a stadium on the same site in
north-eastern Moscow since- Known as the RZD Arena
for sponsorship purposes following
a controversial deal with owner
Russian Railways.
Yuri Semin is in his fourth spell in
charge, assisted by former player
Dmitri Loskov. The 72-year-old has
also coached Dynamo Kiev, Dinamo
Moscow and, briefly in 2005, the
Russian national side. A former
player, he has also had a spell
as club president.Lokomotiv have a long association
with the railway industry. In the
Soviet era, the club came under the
control of the railways ministry. Now
Russian Railways, a government-
owned company, has a 90 per cent
stake and has been accused of
“financial doping” via sponsorship.City of Manchester Stadium, known
as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship
purposes, holds 55,000 spectators,
many of whom boo UEFA’s
Champions League anthem on
European nights in protest at
perceived sleights towards City
and their wealthy Emirati owners.A Champions League winner twice
with Barcelona, in 2008 and 2011,
Pep Guardiola has failed to make it
past the quarter-finals with Bayern
Munich or City. Despite interest from
Juventus, the 48-year-old insists he
will honour the last two years of his
City contract.The Abu Dhabi United Group, an
investment company owned by the
Emirati state’s royal family, bought
City in 2008 and have been
criticised for using their investment
to “sport-wash” the reputation of
UAE, a country criticised for its
appalling human rights record.The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium,
which holds 32,000 spectators, is
named after a Greek independence
war hero. The stadium is located
in Pireus, the port that lies 12km
from the centre of Athens. Olympic
cycling took place on the site of the
stadium at the 1896 Olympics.Pedro Martins worked wonders
at small-town clubs in his native
Portugal, guiding Maritimo, Rio
Ave and Guimares into the Europa
League. His appointment in 2018
continued the trend of Portuguese
managers at the club, after Marco
Silva and Vitor Pereira.Evangelos Marinakis and is a multi-
millionaire shipowner and Pireus
politician who has been club
president since 2010. In 2017, he
also became owner of Nottingham
Forest. A controversial figure who
has been criticised for his hiring
and firing of coaches.The 42,000-capacity RB Arena in
Leipzig was formerly known as the
Zentralstadion and was redeveloped
as a venue for the 2006 World
Cup finals. When drinks firm Red
Bull took over the licence of then
fifth-tier side SSV Markranstadt in
2009, the renamed club moved in.Julian Nagelsmann became
the Bundesliga’s youngest-ever
boss when he took charge of
Hoffenheim in 2016 at the age
of 28, earning the nickname “Baby
Mourinho”. Now 32, he signed a
four-year contract to coach Leipzig
this summer.Highly controversial energy-
drinks manufacturer Red Bull
runs the club as a marketing
exercise and with its own
employees in all key management
roles – in contrast to the 50+1
ownership rule that applies to all
other Bundesliga clubs.CHAMPIONS LEAGUE