2004 UEFA Champions League Final
Match programme cover
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| Event | 2003–04 UEFA Champions League | ||||||
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| Date | 26 May 2004 | ||||||
| Venue | Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Deco (Porto) | ||||||
| Referee | Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark) | ||||||
| Attendance | 53,053 | ||||||
The 2004 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match played at the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on 26 May 2004, to decide the winner of the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League. AS Monaco, a Monaco-based club representing the French Football Federation, faced Portugal's Porto, who won the match 3–0, with Carlos Alberto, man of the match Deco and Dmitri Alenichev scoring the goals.
Before 2004, Porto's last triumph in the competition had been in 1987 – although they had won the UEFA Cup the previous season – while Monaco were playing in their first ever Champions League final. Both teams started their UEFA Champions League campaigns in the group stage and defeated former European champions on their way to the final. Porto beat 1968 and 1999 winners Manchester United while Monaco defeated nine-time champions Real Madrid.
Both teams were considered underdogs in the competition before the final stages and were led by young managers: Monaco had former France national football team star Didier Deschamps and Porto were led by rising star José Mourinho, who left the team for Chelsea after the final.
AS Monaco became the second French team to reach the Champions League Final. Marseille lost the 1991 final but triumphed two years later, beating AC Milan.
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