The Champions League final is never just the Champions League final.
Especially when Leeds United plays the Champions League final at home this season, it has even more extraordinary significance.
In the history of the Champions League finals, there have been a total of three times where the home team participated in the finals at the final venue. The most recent one was Bayern Munich in 2012. However, Bayern failed to win the championship this time and missed an excellent opportunity to win the championship on home soil.
The loser was still the sophisticated Manchester City.
Going back further, it was the second Champions League final in the 1956/57 season, when Real Madrid defeated Fiorentina 2-0 at home.
The UEFA Champions League final of the 1964/65 season was held at San Siro. Inter Milan defeated Benfica 1-0.
This English derby between Leeds United and Manchester City is the fourth in the history of the Champions League.
Being able to participate in the Champions League final held at their home stadium is a great honor for Leeds United. The team also attaches great importance to this and invites guests and famous players to gather in Leeds to witness this historic moment of the club.
The club also has a full schedule of activities, such as arranging in advance for guests and celebrities, as well as media reporters from all over the world, to visit the Amazon Stadium, the commercial streets and shopping malls of Elland Road, and the club's AXA Center.
wait.
This is a rare opportunity to showcase Leeds United to the world.
Let me ask, what could attract the attention of the world more than the Champions League final?
Because of this, Leeds United's publicity and marketing is also going all out, with full power output, and a publicity war all over the world.
This is not hypocritical by Leeds United, but a routine method used by wealthy teams.
So far, since the new century, which Champions League final has had the least impact? Which team has benefited the least from the championship?
There is only one answer, and that is Porto in the 2003/04 season.
Many fans will talk about the dark horse showdown between Porto and Monaco, but from a business perspective, it is a complete failure, because the direct and indirect income of champion Porto and the attention of the Champions League final have all created
reached a record low.
why?
In addition to the fact that neither team is a traditional giant and lacks global influence, it is also because they lack publicity and marketing means and they just played a Champions League final.
It's like Porto, who played in the finals, won the championship, and got the bonus, but it was gone.
But generally speaking, the bonuses received by the champion after winning the Champions League are direct benefits, but there will be a steady stream of follow-up benefits and indirect benefits in the next three years.
This definitely cannot fall directly from the sky and needs to be managed and operated by the club itself.
And this is actually the biggest difference between wealthy teams and ordinary teams.
Just like now, after Leeds United reached the Champions League final, for nearly a month, it joined forces with a series of world-class sponsors such as Nike, Amazon, Ecobank, AXA Insurance, etc. to promote and build momentum around the world.
For example, Eike has specially launched Leeds United's Champions League final service to facilitate Leeds United fans from all over the world to watch the game in the UK. AXA Insurance has also launched Leeds United's Champions League final package.
Not to mention Nike.
In the last round of the Premier League, the defending Premier League champions' commemorative jersey worn by Leeds United when they took the stage to receive the championship trophy sold more than one million pieces worldwide in the following two weeks.
What is the concept?
Manchester City sold less than a million shirts last season.
Many people will wonder, how to do it?
In addition to being sold globally by the American sports e-commerce giant Fanatics, Leeds United's jerseys are also distributed through Nike's channels. They have been prepared long before the team wins the championship. Once they win, they will be put on the shelves immediately and will be distributed around the world with the help of sports news.
Marketing, it sold out immediately.
What everyone doesn’t know is that Leeds United has actually been actively preparing the Champions League championship commemorative jersey as early as last year. This will be the first Champions League championship in the history of Leeds United. It is full of special significance, so it is carefully designed.
design.
But unfortunately, Leeds United failed to win the championship last season, and this commemorative jersey was eventually sold as a special edition.
This season, Leeds United redesigned a set of championship uniforms.
As soon as they win the championship, they will be sold tonight at the Amazon Arena fan store and the Fanatics website, and will be distributed through Nike channels as quickly as possible.
Nowadays, Leeds United has accumulated considerable experience in this area and has a dedicated team operating these things.
According to Leeds United's internal statistics, if Leeds United can win the Premier League and Champions League this season, the club's jersey sales share next year will exceed 100 million pounds, which will create a record high in the club's history and successfully pursue the goal of jersey sales.
Join a top club.
More importantly, from jersey design, processing to sales, the entire industrial chain is completely in the hands of Leeds United.
This is Leeds United’s greatest confidence.
…
When Gao Shen returned to Leeds from Paris, the Champions League final and Leeds United had already set off a huge wave around the world.
After coming to the UK, the atmosphere of the Champions League final has been quite strong.
Arriving in Leeds, you can feel the strong football atmosphere throughout the city.
The Leeds City Government has also carried out many municipal renovations specifically to cooperate with the Champions League final, launched various measures to facilitate fans, and also organized various activities.
The biggest beneficiary is the Westfield Shopping Center, which is connected to Amazon Stadium.
Accompanying Gao Shen back from Paris this time were Wenger and Ferguson.
The two old seniors are now consultants of Gaoshen Company. This is not a mascot, but a real re-employment.
To put it in profound terms, they have to show substantial value.
Of course, Wenger didn't think so. He just felt that Gao Shen was squeezing the remaining remaining value of the two poor old people.
At this time, they were sitting in a high-end restaurant on the top floor of the shopping mall, looking at the bustling crowds and various street performers. The commercial street also invited foodies from all over the world to gather to bring fans and tourists
Delicious food from all over the world.
Both Ferguson and Wenger praised him profusely.
When it comes to running a club, Leeds United is really successful now!
Looking at the Premier League, no, in the entire European football world, is there any club whose home stadium can be run as well as Leeds United?
"A few days ago, the British Minister of Sports visited the site and said that he supports our bid to host the event again. The Leeds City Government is also very, very interested." Lucas is also very proud.
Gao Shen is like the captain of this giant ship, and he is the helmsman. He is in charge of all matters, big and small. Therefore, his sense of satisfaction and achievement will not be inferior to Gao Shen's at all.
"I think it's a bit too frequent. It's best to have a few years' interval." Lucas said with a smile.
Everyone nodded.
In fact, it is good to organize such intensive activities, but the effect will become worse and worse, and the gain will not be worth the loss.
Rather than doing this, it would be better to do it after a few years.
"With the current economic situation in Europe, fewer and fewer people are willing to host the Champions League final."
Whether it is possible to make money by hosting such a major event really depends on the individual, but many of the requirements are rigid.
For example, a five-star stadium must first be a candidate to host the stadium. To meet this standard, it must have more than 50,000 seats, the best locker rooms, and a series of other supporting facilities.
Some golf courses have never been held before, and they need to be renovated when they are held for the first time. This is an investment.
In addition, it is the city where the stadium is located and the transportation convenience.
To give an inappropriate example, if Hoffenheim applied to host the Champions League final, it would definitely not succeed.
Let me ask, where will so many fans come to watch the game?
Therefore, if you look at the history of the Champions League finals, it is not difficult to find that London's Wembley Stadium, Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Milan's Meazza/San Siro Stadium and Rome's Olimpico Stadium are all very popular.
In fact, these courses are held again and again.
Judging from the current situation, the next ones should be the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid and the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. In 2022, the 30th anniversary of the Champions League renaming and restructuring, it should return to the Stade de France.
Many things are actually predictable.
In addition, the Dragon Stadium in Porto will also be held, but the stadium has just 50,000 people. It is really a bit reluctant to host such a large-scale event. After all, after dividing the tickets into three points, neither club can get many votes.
UEFA also has very few votes.
It's best to go for 80,000 to 90,000 like the Santiago Bernabeu, or else 60 to 70,000 to Leeds United's Amazon Stadium. That's enough.
Of course, it’s hard to say whether you can make money by hosting this kind of event, but it’s certain that the city where it is located will benefit.
…
"What do you think of this final?" Ferguson looked at Gao Shen with interest and asked.
Everyone immediately diverted their attention, because they all discovered that Gao Shen's vision had been really accurate all along.
"Who knows?" Gao Shen smiled bitterly and shook his head.
But everyone is used to his style and know that he must have more to come, so they are not in a hurry.
Sure enough, Gao Shen continued after a pause.
"Both Guardiola and Barcelona are actually afraid of two things: efficient pressing and efficient quick counterattacks."
In fact, what Gao Shen said is really a bit of a panacea.
Because if you want to dig deeper, basically all teams are afraid of these two things.
But I have to say that Barcelona and Guardiola's tactics are even more scary.
Because they like to control the ball.
The prerequisite for pressing and quick counterattacks is that the ball is at the opponent's feet.
The theory is such a theory, but whether it can be implemented is another matter.
The same set of tactics, used by different coaches and different teams, will have completely different effects.
how to say?
This is a bit like the difference between the seller's show in the product details and the buyer's show in the comments when shopping on Taobao.
It is obviously the same piece of clothing, but the effect is really different when worn on different people.
The same goes for football tactics.
"If I had to give an expectation for this final, then I would say that I hope Guardiola won't be conservative, don't get entangled, and just do it!"
When Gao Shen said it at the end, he couldn't help laughing.
Ferguson, Wenger, Lucas and others also quickly came to their senses and started laughing.
The hooligans are not to be feared, but the hooligans are literate.
