Soldato
Found this on UEFA.com and thought some of you Arsenal fans might be interested. 
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Europe bids Highbury adieu
John Radford celebrates levelling the aggregate score in the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final at Highbury
Maybe it is appropriate that Arsenal FC's last European game at Highbury will be a UEFA Champions League semi-final, perhaps the biggest match any club could play at home. Reaching this round may be a new experience for Arsenal, but the famous stadium in north London is no stranger to big occasions, and not just those of a footballing nature.
Controversial move
Even the location of the Arsenal Stadium, as Highbury is officially called, made headlines. As their name at the time of their 1913 move - Woolwich Arsenal FC - attests, the club were originally based south of the Thames, but switched to a more populous area. This did not make them popular with new neighbours Tottenham Hotspur FC, especially when Arsenal were given Spurs' place in the first division after the end of World War I.
Art Deco
The stadium, initially designed by football specialist Archibald Leitch, was transformed in the 1930s, an era when the team built by Herbert Chapman were winning a hat-trick of league titles and supplying seven players to an England side that beat world champions Italy 3-2 in 1934 at Highbury. Two Art Deco stands were erected, so magnificent that planning laws state their facades must remain when the stadium is replaced by housing this summer. Even the local tube station was renamed from Gillespie Road to Arsenal, though the original title remains in the brickwork on the platform.
Broadcasting firsts
Before the worldwide televised events that matches like Arsenal against Villarreal CF have become, Highbury was at the forefront of broadcasting. In January 1927 a match between Arsenal and Sheffield United FC was the first league match to be transmitted on BBC radio, and the first team and reserves met ten years later in the earliest televised football game anywhere in the world. In 1939 Highbury broke into the movies with the Arsenal Stadium Mystery, a murder suspense that is still considered one of the few football films of any merit.
European debut
After closing for the war, when the North Bank terrace was destroyed, Highbury was soon a sporting arena once again, and on 22 October 1963 competitive European football came to the stadium for the first time with the visit of Denmark's Staevnet in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The away team won 3-2, but nine years later Norwegian side Stromsgodset IF were defeated 4-0 in Highbury's European Champions Clubs' Cup debut. Meanwhile, 1966 may have seen a famous world title encounter in another London stadium, but Highbury had one of its own - the bout between Mohammed Ali and British hero Henry Cooper for the heavyweight crown, two years after their famed non-title fight at Wembley. A cut to Cooper's eye ended the rematch after six rounds.
Fairs Cup success
International success for Arsenal was achieved at Highbury four years later, as they lifted the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The club had not won any silverware for 17 years, but despite starting the second leg of the final 3-1 down to RSC Anderlecht, Eddie Kelly, John Radford and Ray Kennedy scored the goals that clinched the cup and set the scene for the domestic double - only the fourth in English history - the following year.
'1-0 to the Arsenal'
Arsenal now set about attempting to add to their European honours, and three UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals were played at Highbury, all ending happily for the Gunners. The first was in 1980, when Juventus came to town for the opening leg, and their striker Roberto Bettega scored a retaken penalty but then put through his own goal and Arsenal won the return 1-0. In 1994 Paris Saint-Germain FC visited and, as a popular Highbury song of the time put it, the game ended "1-0 to the Arsenal" - as did the final against Parma AC. Twelve months on a thriller against UC Sampdoria ended 3-2. Arsenal won the second leg in Genoa on penalties, but lost the final as they did in 1980.
European Cup nights
As befits Arsenal's recent lofty status under Arsène Wenger, UEFA Champions League fixtures have been Highbury staples in recent years, at least after a brief experiment in the 1990s when European matches were moved to Wembley. Crowds were bigger, but results disastrous. However, despite winning English doubles in 1998 and 2002, and going through the 2003/04 Premiership season unbeaten, a UEFA Champions League run past the last eight still eluded them.
Farewell
Patrick Vieira was a regular in Wenger's sides, but in the penultimate European tie at Highbury the midfielder was a visitor with Juve. Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry - a Highbury hero to rank with the likes of Cliff Bastin, Charlie George and Tony Adams - ensured a night of raucous celebrations for the home team against nine-man Juventus, and ultimately earned a long-awaited European Cup semi-final. After Villarreal, only two competitive Highbury games remain - against, appropriately, Tottenham, and then Wigan Athletic FC on 7 May. The nearby new stadium will boast 21,500 more seats. It will be many decades before it holds as many memories.
Original Article
Enjoy!
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Europe bids Highbury adieu
John Radford celebrates levelling the aggregate score in the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final at Highbury
Maybe it is appropriate that Arsenal FC's last European game at Highbury will be a UEFA Champions League semi-final, perhaps the biggest match any club could play at home. Reaching this round may be a new experience for Arsenal, but the famous stadium in north London is no stranger to big occasions, and not just those of a footballing nature.
Controversial move
Even the location of the Arsenal Stadium, as Highbury is officially called, made headlines. As their name at the time of their 1913 move - Woolwich Arsenal FC - attests, the club were originally based south of the Thames, but switched to a more populous area. This did not make them popular with new neighbours Tottenham Hotspur FC, especially when Arsenal were given Spurs' place in the first division after the end of World War I.
Art Deco
The stadium, initially designed by football specialist Archibald Leitch, was transformed in the 1930s, an era when the team built by Herbert Chapman were winning a hat-trick of league titles and supplying seven players to an England side that beat world champions Italy 3-2 in 1934 at Highbury. Two Art Deco stands were erected, so magnificent that planning laws state their facades must remain when the stadium is replaced by housing this summer. Even the local tube station was renamed from Gillespie Road to Arsenal, though the original title remains in the brickwork on the platform.
Broadcasting firsts
Before the worldwide televised events that matches like Arsenal against Villarreal CF have become, Highbury was at the forefront of broadcasting. In January 1927 a match between Arsenal and Sheffield United FC was the first league match to be transmitted on BBC radio, and the first team and reserves met ten years later in the earliest televised football game anywhere in the world. In 1939 Highbury broke into the movies with the Arsenal Stadium Mystery, a murder suspense that is still considered one of the few football films of any merit.
European debut
After closing for the war, when the North Bank terrace was destroyed, Highbury was soon a sporting arena once again, and on 22 October 1963 competitive European football came to the stadium for the first time with the visit of Denmark's Staevnet in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The away team won 3-2, but nine years later Norwegian side Stromsgodset IF were defeated 4-0 in Highbury's European Champions Clubs' Cup debut. Meanwhile, 1966 may have seen a famous world title encounter in another London stadium, but Highbury had one of its own - the bout between Mohammed Ali and British hero Henry Cooper for the heavyweight crown, two years after their famed non-title fight at Wembley. A cut to Cooper's eye ended the rematch after six rounds.
Fairs Cup success
International success for Arsenal was achieved at Highbury four years later, as they lifted the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. The club had not won any silverware for 17 years, but despite starting the second leg of the final 3-1 down to RSC Anderlecht, Eddie Kelly, John Radford and Ray Kennedy scored the goals that clinched the cup and set the scene for the domestic double - only the fourth in English history - the following year.
'1-0 to the Arsenal'
Arsenal now set about attempting to add to their European honours, and three UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals were played at Highbury, all ending happily for the Gunners. The first was in 1980, when Juventus came to town for the opening leg, and their striker Roberto Bettega scored a retaken penalty but then put through his own goal and Arsenal won the return 1-0. In 1994 Paris Saint-Germain FC visited and, as a popular Highbury song of the time put it, the game ended "1-0 to the Arsenal" - as did the final against Parma AC. Twelve months on a thriller against UC Sampdoria ended 3-2. Arsenal won the second leg in Genoa on penalties, but lost the final as they did in 1980.
European Cup nights
As befits Arsenal's recent lofty status under Arsène Wenger, UEFA Champions League fixtures have been Highbury staples in recent years, at least after a brief experiment in the 1990s when European matches were moved to Wembley. Crowds were bigger, but results disastrous. However, despite winning English doubles in 1998 and 2002, and going through the 2003/04 Premiership season unbeaten, a UEFA Champions League run past the last eight still eluded them.
Farewell
Patrick Vieira was a regular in Wenger's sides, but in the penultimate European tie at Highbury the midfielder was a visitor with Juve. Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry - a Highbury hero to rank with the likes of Cliff Bastin, Charlie George and Tony Adams - ensured a night of raucous celebrations for the home team against nine-man Juventus, and ultimately earned a long-awaited European Cup semi-final. After Villarreal, only two competitive Highbury games remain - against, appropriately, Tottenham, and then Wigan Athletic FC on 7 May. The nearby new stadium will boast 21,500 more seats. It will be many decades before it holds as many memories.
Original Article
Enjoy!
