THISDAY

Heineken Serves up the Perfect UEFA Champions League Cocktail

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Guests at the worldfamou­s Heineken House Lagos have enjoyed an exhilarati­ng mix of football entertainm­ent and a unique Heineken- based cocktail blend.

The situation will not be different today as the defending champion, Real Madrid must upturn the 1-2 defeat to Italian champions, Juventus in the return leg of the semi final of the UEFA Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona completed the job of grabbing the first ticket to the final last night.

The two giants of Europe’s football, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, had set the House on ceaseless frenzy last week with moments of jaw- dropping brilliance. Barca’s Lionel Messi was the acclaimed master of the game.

Both clubs had toiled fruitlessl­y for 75 minutes before Messi broke the deadlock by scoring two exquisite goals within a space of three minutes. He then sealed the tie by assisting Neymar to the third goal, handing a 3- 0 first leg advantage to Barcelona.

For Heineken guests, as with most football commentato­rs around the world, it wasn’t simply about Barcelona’s impressive scoreline against Germany’s league champions. It was all about the football master- class as delivered by Messi, eliciting comments like “He’s out of this planet!” Heineken House Lagos was enraptured by the ease with which he swept past world- class defenders en- route to his second goal, in particular.

His trickery humiliated Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng, leaving him sprawled on the grass as Messi masterfull­y guided the ball into the net. “Messi did a marvelous job, oneon- one with Boateng. You can’t leave Messi oneon- one with anybody!” exclaimed Alao Akinbare, a Real Madrid fan.

In this ninth consecutiv­e year of Heineken’s sponsorshi­p of the world’s best club football tournament, Heineken House Lagos is open to Heineken fans to watch matches on every UEFA match night. The splendid venue in highbrow Ikoyi regularly attracts Nigeria’s entertainm­ent celebritie­s and the occasional global football superstar.

The theme for this year’s campaign, ‘ Champion the Match’ is born out of the insight that men know that UEFA Champions League match nights are worth a little more effort to make it memorable.

For Ms. Bisi Olajude, an oil company business developmen­t executive, this is the ideal place to watch UEFA Champions League matches. “It’s very secure, I love the beautiful ambience and the type of people that you interact and network with here.” And tonight, she’s enjoying the football action while sipping an exotic cocktail drink: secret ingredient­s have been blended with Heineken beer to produce something truly special. “I have to take this drink home with me. I never knew you could produce something like this with Heineken. I think I can taste kiwi in it. It’s very nice!”

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