For the eleventh time in history, Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid won the Champions League in the all-Madrid final hosted by the San Siro in full force and in the presence of King Felipe.
Real won on penalties after 90 minutes and extra time ended 1-1. Zidane's team (seventh champions to win the Chanpions both as a player and as a coach) took the lead in the first few minutes thanks to a goal, in suspected offside, by the captain Sergio Ramos. But Simeone's Atletico never gave up and, after missing a penalty in the second half, equalized with Carrasco, paving the way for extra time, in which neither team managed to prevail.
So it went to penalties: Atletico failed the penultimate while Cristiano Ronaldo was relentless and gave yet another trophy to Real Madrid. Atletico has nothing left but to curse bad luck.
Finally, a speech on the sponsors and in particular on UniCredit which has been the Official Partner of the UEFA Champions League since 2009 and the Official Bank of the UEFA Club Competitions from 2015 until 2018. The sponsorship has brought extraordinary results: in six seasons as Partner of the UEFA Champions League, UniCredit has generated an average return on comparable sponsorship costs of 255%.
From 2015 until 2018, the Bank extended sponsorship rights to all the most important European club football tournaments, becoming the official bank of UEFA Club Competitions, specifically the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Futsal Cup finals, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Women's Champions League and UEFA Youth League. Federico Ghizzoni, Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit, and the two UniCredit Ambassadors for the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final, Dejan Stankovic and Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, spoke about it yesterday morning at the press conference. "When we decided to enter the world of sports sponsorship in 2009, choosing to become a partner of UEFA - said Federico Ghizzoni - we knew that we would begin a long journey whose purpose was to enhance the visibility of the brand in the markets we have always been in present.
What we didn't know was that this trip would turn into an extraordinary multi-faceted adventure that has landed in Milan today. Aware of the excellent results achieved in the first two sponsorship cycles, it seemed natural to us, by renewing the partnership, to extend our involvement also to the Europa League, becoming the Official Bank of UEFA Club Competitions. Just think that 31 teams from 10 nations in which the UniCredit brand is present, qualified for the group stage between the Champions League and Europa League.
An extraordinary opportunity for visibility for a European Group like ours. This year we have shifted the focus of sponsorship towards activities even more linked to the UniCredit business. In fact, for the first time, our local banks have the opportunity to add clear commercial messages to their brand, including the promotion of a wide range of products and services via pitchside panels and new TV spots, thus giving greater relevance to the markets local business. We are also particularly proud that this year our Milan, where the UniCredit headquarters are located, was the protagonist of the 2016 Finale”. UniCredit, after six seasons of sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, has generated an average return on comparable costs of 255% and achieved a progressive improvement in terms of "brand appeal" and "propensity to buy".
According to the latest market research, the sponsorship continues to deliver positive results for UniCredit. Since 2009, it has generated over 15,5 billion contacts for UniCredit and helped sell 1,5 million products, thanks to over 330 advertising campaigns, launched in almost all UniCredit markets and linked to the UEFA Champions League. With the aim of evolving from brand awareness to commercial development, the Bank has just launched Champions Rewards in Italy, the loyalty program associated with the new UniCreditCard Flexia Uefa Champions League, which allows customers to benefit from exclusive rewards linked to their passion for football.
“The initiative, developed in collaboration with UEFA and its main Sponsors, will be extended – explains Unicredit – to the other main European markets during the next season. Furthermore, from this year, in line with our industrial plan, we have increased digital investments through the social media platform. The Player of the Week contest generated over 300 votes, while using the hashtag #Appassionati we allowed fans to see their own tweets dedicated to the #UCLfinal projected onto the UniCredit Tower".
