Glasgow puts on the glitz

As he jets off to watch the Champions League Cup Final between Real Madrid (Spain) and Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), MaltaToday sports editor RAY ABDILLA finds that the Scots have done themselves proud in organising a world class football match

The UEFA Champions League Cup Final will be played next Wednesday. One of the finalists, Real Madrid, were tipped as firm favourites to win the trophy, but the other team, Bayer Leverkusen were certainly deemed outsiders.

In fact many predicted they would suffer elimination early on. After receiving a 4-0 drubbing against Juventus at the Delle Alpi and a 4-1 massacre at Highbury against Arsenal, who would have thought for a moment that they would eventually eliminate the same Juventus, Arsenal and later on Liverpool and Manchester United?

But critics are still of the opinion that Real Madrid will win the final hands down. With the likes of Zidane, Figo, Raul, Morientes, Hierro, McManaman, Makelele and Hierro, the Spanish giants are awesome opponents.

That said, and even with millions of dollars paid for new stars, Real have already lost the Spanish Cup and the League Championship to Valencia this season. So now it's win or bust for the magic Spaniards who are currently celebrating their centenary celebrations.

Bayer Leverkusen have also lost the league championship. Three weeks ago they looked to be firm favourites to win their first Bundesliga since coming on the scene. They have still got the German Cup to worry about as well, but next Wednesday, their concentration will be on trying to defy the odds here in Glasgow. Placente, Neuville, Berbatov, Ballack and goalkeeper Butt have shown that they can play good football when it matters.

With all the emphasis on the football, few people, including journalists, give any attention to the organisation by the city hosting the final. A Champions League final is no ordinary football match and needs the best amenities for a large number of supporters and journalists.

This year the Champions League Cup Final will be played at Glasgow. Many journalists especially those from Italy, England, Germany and Spain have had many UEFA Champions League finals experiences. But none of them at UEFA's Press Department can remember anything to match the initiative taken by the Glasgow City Council to make the media feel so at home when they arrive in the Scottish city to cover this important final.

While the traditional facilities have been installed at Hampden Park, the organisers have also opened a Media Centre in Mitchell Lane, right in the heart of Glasgow. "The Lighthouse" hopes to take on the role of being the ideal place for reporters to 'hang their hats' during their stay in Glasgow.

Checking into "The Lighthouse", journalists will not only find the routine information and facilities, but even a sports historian to help with background information and access to food of the Glasgow "pub grub" culture.

The Lighthouse Media Centre is located in the building which used to house the offices of the Glasgow Herald newspaper. It has now been remodelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and transformed into Scotland's Centre for Architecture and Design.