STADIUM COACH OWNERReal Madrid
Red Star
Belgrade
Slavia Prague
Valencia
Red Bull
Salzburg
Shakhtar
Donetsk
Tottenham
Hotspur
Zenit
Earlier this year, the club
announced ambitious plans to
construct a retractable roof on the
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The
development will also involve the
construction of a hotel, restaurants
and shops, although the 81,000
capacity will not be increased.Zinedine Zidane returned to the
club in March this year, eight-and-
a-half months after the 47-year-
old Frenchman quit following
Madrid’s May 2018 Champions
League triumph, the club’s third
successive European crown, and
their 13th in total.In 2017 Florentino Perez was
re-elected as club president
until 2021. The 72-year-old
businessman is in his second spell
as president (the first ran from
2000 to 2006) and has overseen
club revenues rise to record levels
of €750.9million in 2017-18.The 55,000-capacity Rajko Mitic
Stadium is nicknamed Marakana
because of the resemblance –
with a round roof – to the famous
venue in Rio. A Serbian army tank
was recently placed outside the
stadium, providing a controversial
backdrop for fan photos.Vladan Milojevic has been in charge
since 2017, guiding them to two
successive Serbian league titles
over the past two seasons. The
49-year-old previously coached
Red Star’s youth team, Serbian club
Cukaricki, Omonia in Cyprus and
Greece’s Panionios.The club known as Crvena Zvezda
(Serbian for Red Star) was founded
in 1945 and owned for many years
by the Yugoslav state. Recent
funding from sponsor Gazprom has
helped kickstart a revival,
culminating in last season’s return
to the Champions League.The 21,000-capacity Eden Arena
is known as the Sinobo Stadium
for sponsorship purposes, having
previously been the Synod Tip
Arena. The new, modern stadium
in Prague’s Vrsovice district was
opened in 2008 on the site of
the club’s old Eden ground.Jindrich Trpisovsky delivered the
Czech league and cup double in
his first full season at Slavia, having
previously coached Slovan Liberec
and Viktoria Zizkov. The 43-year-
old favours casual dress on the
touchline, including a trademark
baseball cap.Chinese property development
company Sinobo bought a majority
stake in the club in 2018 and
announced a plan to redevelop
the club stadium, renaming it
Sinobo Arena. Sinobo also own
Chinese Super League club
Beijing Sinobo Guoan.The 49,500-capacity Mestella
has been Valencia’s home since- Construction on a new
80,000-capacity home began in
2007 but was mothballed after the
club ran into financial problems. In
April 2019 the club announced
plans to resurrect the build.
Marcelino was close to the sack last
season, with the club four points
above La Liga’s relegation zone at
the halfway point. But the players
rallied behind the 54-year-old
former Villarreal boss and claimed
the final Champions League spot,
also winning the Copa del Rey.Singapore billionaire Peter Lim
completed his €100m takeover
of the club in October 2014,
becoming the first foreign owner
in the club’s history. Lim has since
also purchased a 40 per cent
stake in English League Two
club Salford City.Stadion Wals-Siezenheim, known
as Red Bull Arena for sponsorship
purposes, was re-developed for
the 2008 European Championship,
with the capacity increased to
30,000. Wals-Siezenheim is a
suburb of Salzburg.Jesse Marsch is the first American
to take charge of a team in the
Champions League, following his
appointment this summer. The
45-year-old former USA midfielder
has come through the Red Bull
ranks, as assistant coach at New
York Red Bulls and RB Leipzig.The Red Bull energy drinks
company controversially bought
the Austria Salzburg club in 2005,
re-naming it Red Bull Salzburg.
There are close ties with the firm’s
Bundesliga club in Leipzig, though
fans have been angered by Leipzig’s
signing of Salzburg players.The war in eastern Ukraine has
forced Shahktar to abandon
the Donbass Arena, their futuristic
50,000-capacity arena in Donetsk.
Initially they played games in
Lviv but have since moved to the
40,000-seater Metalist Stadium in
Kharkiv, 300km north of Donetsk.Shakhtar gambled on Portuguese
coach Luis Castro to replace Roma-
bound Paolo Fonseca this summer.
The 57-year-old, who has signed
a two-year contract, has never
coached outside of his native
Portugal, or a team in the
Champions League.Oligarch Rinat Akhmetov is one
of Ukraine’s richest men and has
single-handedly funded Shakhtar’s
rise in recent years. He made his
fortune as a speculator in a number
of industries, notably metals and
mining, in the years following the
collapse of the USSR.Worries that Spurs might struggle
to adapt to their fantastic new
62,000-capacity stadium were
dispelled by the invigorating run
to last season’s Champions League
Final. The new home has cost in the
region of £1billion and is bound to
impact on their future spending.Former Argentina defender
Mauricio Pochettino has probably
not got the credit he deserves for
his achievements on a relative
shoestring budget since he joined
Spurs from Southampton in 2014.
The 47-year-old signed a new
five-year contract in summer 2018.Daniel Levy has been chairman
since 2001 when the English
National Investment Company
(ENIC), in which Levy and his
family own a 29.4 per cent stake,
bought the club. Bahamas-based
businessman Joe Lewis owns the
remaining 70 per cent.Saint Petersburg Arena, known for
sponsorship purposes as Gazprom
Arena, was built on the site of the
club’s former Kirov stadium, opening
in 2017 for the Confederations Cup.
Dubbed the “Spaceship”, the venue
on Krestovsky island in north-west
Saint Petersburg, holds 67,000.Zenit turned to former midfielder
Sergei Semak to replace Roberto
Mancini last summer. The 43-
year-old returned to the club
after earning his coaching spurs
with Ufa, who he guided to
promotion and then sixth
place in Russia’s top flight.Energy company Gazprom took
a controlling stake in the club
in December 2005. In addition
to investing heavily in players,
Gazprom has also spent large
sums of money on sponsoring
Bundesliga club Schalke and
the World Cup.CHAMPIONS LEAGUE