Fox Sports to Provide Full Coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final

With Fox obtaining the rights for the UEFA Champions League this year, not only did it provide full coverage on Fox Soccer Channel, it announced in February that the Final would be on the main Fox network on May 22. It comes as Fox announced it would air MLB games in primetime that night so the network had a hole in the afternoon.

We now have the announcers who will be assigned to the event. And for those who haven’t heard him, it will be their first opportunity to hear Martin Tyler at the microphone as he will call the Champions League Final along with Andy Gray who did work two years ago for ESPN on the Euro Cup. Tyler will call World Cup matches for ESPN in June. Here’s the press release from Fox.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL ON FOX SPORTS FEATURES BATTLE OF PERENNIAL EUROPEAN HEAVYWEIGHTS

FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano to Clash May 22 in Network’s First-Ever Soccer Broadcast; All-Star Announcing Team Finalized

New York & Los Angeles – FC Bayern München of Germany and Italy’s FC Internazionale Milano battle for supremacy on Saturday, May 22 in Madrid when FOX Sports airs exclusive live HD coverage of the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, the culmination of Europe’s most prestigious annual club soccer competition.

This season’s UEFA Champions League Final is being held on a Saturday for the first time in its history, with a 2:30 PM ET FOX on-air time. The event is FOX Sports’ first-ever soccer broadcast and joins a select few major international soccer championships ever to receive broadcast television exposure in the U.S.

The internationally-respected announcing duo of Martin Tyler (play-by-play) and Andy Gray (expert analyst) call the action from Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.  In addition to their work on UEFA Champions League telecasts, Tyler and Gray team for Sky Sports’ coverage of the Barclays Premier League in the United Kingdom.

Curt Menefee, a long-time aficionado of international soccer who since 2006 has co-hosted FOX NFL SUNDAY, anchors the network’s coverage from Madrid beginning with a live 15-minute pregame show. He is joined by analysts Bruce Arena – head coach of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy and former head coach of the United States Men’s National Team – and Eric Wynalda, a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the second-leading goal scorer in U.S. history. Wynalda retired in 2001 following a lengthy professional career that included time with clubs in Germany, Mexico and the U.S., and currently works as a commentator on several Fox Soccer Channel programs. The trio also provides halftime and postgame coverage. 

Menefee, Arena and Wynalda set the stage for a battle between two iconic European clubs who have combined to win 38 titles in their respective domestic leagues. FC Bayern München (known worldwide as Bayern Munich) is making its first appearance in the UEFA Champions League Final since 2001, but is no stranger to Europe’s biggest stage with four continental crowns and three runner-up finishes in its illustrious history. The Bavarians feature electrifying midfielder Arjen Robben, who also stars for the Dutch National Team.

FC Internazionale Milano (commonly known as Inter Milan) is the four-time defending Italian Serie A champion, and is on track to capture the title again with a world-class lineup including prolific goal scorers Diego Milito of Argentina and Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o. The Nerazzurri took home consecutive European championships in 1964 and 1965, and find themselves in the title match for the first time since 1972. Meanwhile, Inter’s colorful coach José Mourinho won the 2004 UEFA Champions League while in charge of Portuguese club FC Porto.

Fox Soccer Channel bookends FOX Sports’ coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final on May 22 with a live, one-hour preview sh
ow from Madrid beginning at 1 PM ET and a half-hour postgame show, both available in HD. Beginning Monday, May 17, America’s premier television destination for the “beautiful game” showcases expanded UEFA Champions League coverage during Champions Week on FSC. Fox Soccer Channel viewers are set to enjoy top matches and highlights from each round of the 2009/10 tournament, as well as feature programs tracing Munich and Inter’s road to European soccer’s biggest event.

Interesting to see Fox produce an actual pre and postgame show for the event and nice to have Fox NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee as host.