Big names, a fabulous atmosphere and football matches in which not a single ball was given away: The Audi Cup more than lived up to its reputation as one of the major international preparatory tournaments right on day one: Some 65,000 spectators at the nearly sold-out Allianz Arena first saw a narrow 1-0 opening victory by Tottenham Hotspur over the star ensemble of Real Madrid before in the second semi-final host FC Bayern München scored a dominant 6-1 win against the team of Fenerbahçe Istanbul.
Before the first match kicked off, 220 apprentices of AUDI AG delivered a sophisticated, carefully choreographed performance that made for an emotive opening ceremony. The Audi Cup debuted in 2009 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Audi brand and is held for the sixth time this year. FC Bayern has won the trophy three times to date. The awards for the “most electrifying moment” on the pitch went to Harry Kane for his winning goal against Real Madrid and to Thomas Müller for his dream goal in the 58th minute that scored an intermediate 6-0.
Electric has gone Audi: On the perimeter advertising boards and off the pitch, the Audi Cup this year is fully focused on the Audi e-tron, the brand’s first all-electric model. Four e-tron cars sporting the team’s colors in the streets of the city are eye-catchers and around the arena and on the esplanade featuring an e-tron course and an e-scooter track everything revolves around the brand’s electrification offensive as well. The way in which the stadium will present itself during the closing ceremony after the final on Wednesday night is now eagerly awaited.
On Wednesday at 6 PM, Madrid and Istanbul will initially play for third place before Bayern and Tottenham start battling for victory at 8.30 PM.