Last Saturday, FIFA Museum Ambassador Prisca Steinegger had her first official appearance as ambassador when she hosted her first Football Live Analysis with our two established FIFA football experts Pascal "Zubi" Zuberbühler and Chris Loxston. The trio analysed the UEFA Women's Champions League final. Special guest of the evening was German World Cup winner Anja Mittag.
After Barcelona's perfect league performance, the anticipation for the final was high. Especially with an opponent like Olympique Lyon, an experienced side who had dominated European women's football in the recent years. Ahead of the kick-off, everyone got together on our terrace to enjoy the sunny weather, catchy tunes, cold drinks and appetizers. The reception was organized by the FIFA Women's Network and offered our guests the ideal opportunity to network at a great footballing event.
Before the game started, everybody went back to the Sportsbar for the pre-match analysis. Supported by match scenes from the semi-finals and data-driven visualizations, Steinegger and Zuberbühler broke down the tactics and discussed players from the opposing teams. . Our analysts were particularly interested in how FC Barcelona's masterfully executed gegenpressing. For Zuberbühler, it was Lyon's star players, Ada Hegerberg on offense and Wendie Renard on defense, who could possibly make a difference. Over and over, former goalkeeper Zuberbühler and former defender Steinegger had a heat debate during their analysis, showing their expertise in the positions they used to play. Anja Mittag joined in the analysis and completed the trio with her experience as a striker. "It's definitely a 50/50 game and it will show which team has prepared better for the game," the 2007 world champion concluded.
After only half an hour, it was already clear which team was better prepared. Goals from Henry, a superb long-range strike into the top right-hand corner, Hegerberg and Macario made it 3-0 to Olympique Lyon. FIFA’s The Best award winner Alexis Putellas pulled one back for Barcelona just before half-time, but it wasn’t enough to change the course of the game. After five Champions League wins in a row between 2015 and 2020, Lyon was back on the European throne. DAZN commentator Jan Platte aptly summed it up: “The football empire strikes back.”
After the match, a bit of disappointment spread through the audience, as most of our visitors turned out to be Barcelona fans. "The more experienced team has won today. Barcelona lacked creativity in the second half to really put the opposing defence under pressure and get back into the game," was our ambassador's final analysis. The game was over, but the festivities continued at the Sportsbar as we celebrated an excellent football match and Prisca Steinegger's first public appearance as FIFA Museum Ambassador. Until next time!
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