CBS Sports has transformed the Champions League into must-watch television in the United Sates – and now it is set to deliver its biggest soccer spectacular yet. 

The loveable gang of host Kate Abdo, and analysts Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards, will once again take to the spotlight for the season’s showstopper.

The crew will swap the studio for Wembley Stadium as they bring the excitement of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund to American fans on their sofas.

Meanwhile, a wealth of talent including Peter Schmeichel, Guillem Balague, Anita Jones, Nico Cantor and Geoff Shreeves will be on hand to provide reports live from London as CBS gears up to present seven and half hours of Champions League coverage across its platforms.

It’s a finale worthy of a season that has seen CBS Sports’ Champions League coverage reach new heights. It’s become must-watch TV as well as hitting a massive 3.5 billion — that’s billion with a B — video views across social platforms.

It also heralds the new six-year, $1.5billion deal, which CBS will enter for the rights to UEFA’s top European competitions later this year.

But all that success hasn’t come overnight. CBS has perfected the recipe to bring soccer Stateside and the special sauce is a blend of European traditionalism and American entertainment.

During a press conference to promote the network’s coverage of this weekend’s UEFA Champions League final, CBS Sports vice president of production Pete Radovich admits that the show had initially intended to stick to the traditional European model.

But over time, it has undergone an ‘evolution’ with producers overcoming the ‘culture clash’ to balance European soccer with American showmanship.

It’s a balance that’s assembled a cast of entertaining personalities, provided viral moments of hilarity and single handedly raised the profile of Champions League soccer in the US.

It’s also one that Abdo and co ensure will be on full display at Wembley Stadium for the showdown between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. And part of this weekend’s American flair? Dora the Explorer.

That’s right. Everyone’s favorite explorer will be making a guest appearance on the broadcast, switching one football for another.

The much-loved cartoon character appeared as an honorary ‘rules expert’ during coverage of the Super Bowl earlier this year but Radovich insisted Dora will have a much smaller role during the Champions League final in keeping with the US-Euro balance.

Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid will meet in the Champions League final at Wembley

CBC Sports announced Dora the Explorer as a special guest for the Champions League final

Dora the Explorer had previously been used as a rules analyst during the SuperBowl

‘The Dora thing is fun, obviously on brand for what we’ve done with our NFL coverage,’ he said. ‘It won’t be nearly anywhere near what we do with our NFL Nick. Broadcast. It’s just one segment in the pregame. Just have a little bit of fun.’

Bridging sport and entertainment is the addition of NBA star and Real Madrid fan Joel Embiid. The 2022-23 NBA MVP will be joining Dora and Alessandro Del Piero as special guests but will likely offer more of a sporting insight than the cartoon character.

‘When his people reached out that was a quick yes, because he’s authentic. I know he’s a big fan. He’s also a big fan of these guys. of the show. He obviously plays in the states and watches our coverage. He’s a huge fan of what we’ve been doing and a huge fan of Real, so that’ll be fun.’

Meanwhile. Carragher is set for a repeat of his favorite moment of the season. In one night, the Liverpool legend contributed his fair share of those three billion social media views with his antics in Dortmund.

CBS’s unique coverage shone through once again when the former defender had the time of his life inside Borussia Dortmund’s Yellow Wall, sinking pints and singing along with the local fans before later emerging to hilariously interview Jadon Sancho.

And Radovich revealed Carragher will enjoy a reunion with his beloved Yellow Wall at Wembley.

‘Jamie is going to be welcoming the yellow wall fans into London, and he’s going to be spending some time with them. I’m not even sure what’s gonna happen there. But I’m sure it’ll be fun.’

‘The atmosphere that both sets of supporters but certainly the Dortmund fans are going to bring will add hugely,’ he later added.

Philadelphia 76s star Joel Embiid is another special guest joining the CBS team on Saturday

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher is set for a reunion with Dortmund’s Yellow Wall 

‘We’ll have to get a couple of bodyguards around to make sure Jamie doesn’t jump in there again, but fingers crossed.’

Carragher’s boozy hijinks will be just one snippet of an action-packed, seven-and-a-half-hour multiplatform programming that CBS has in store, beginning with Morning Footy – UCL Final Special on the Golazo Network at 11am ET.

But the team are confident they’ll have no trouble filling it – not when soccer’s greatest stars are clamoring for screen time.

‘It’s a reflection on the success we’ve had, but we find that players want to come and talk to us,’ producer Matt Curtis says.

‘I think part of that is our tone because they know they can come and have a bit of fun with us as well as being asked questions about the game.’

And Curtis insists viewers should expect to tune in and see the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos – with the Real Madrid duo likely playing their last game for Los Blancos. And those ‘gold interviews’ are the reason the CBS crew will be on the ground in London, Curtis says.

The network is prepared to provide an endless stream of content with Henry even floating a new idea during the media call.

When asked by Daily Mail about the difference between working for British and American broadcasts, the Frenchman joked that his colleague Carragher, who works for Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football Premier League coverage, is like the 1963 film, ‘Nutty Professor.’

The crew will deliver the season finale to American audiences from the ground  

Producer Matt Curtis teased the possibility of Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos being interviewed 

Carragher was quick to quip that it should make for a new segment, debuting during the season finale this weekend. ‘Dora the Explorer is out, the Nutty Professor is in,’ he joked.

On a serious note, Carragher adds that while the light-hearted hilarity is the secret to their success, it’s something that could never be replicated on British TV.

Henry agrees that US television possesses an element of uniqueness that differentiates it from its European counterpart, something which has inspired his own transition to CBS.

‘I grew up watching her grow up with TNT’s Inside the NBA,’ he says. ‘I grew up with being able to make people off, educate people, and make them relate. Educate and entertain, that’s the double E.

‘In Europe, we can be rigid when we talk about the game. We all know that American football and the NBA is also very important, but you guys can laugh about it. In Europe, you kind of don’t. When you talk about football, you talk about football.

‘That’s the power of the show. It can be borderline, a bit close to the line. Wherever the line is, you play with it.

‘We’re allowed to express ourselves.So the true character of someone will come out naturally. But the capacity and the ability to be able to talk about anything at any moment, in any style, in any way is second to none.’

The Champions League show has become a hit on social media, particularly for its banter

Henry and Carragher both admitted it is something that couldn’t work on British TV 

The crew all admit that CBS provides them the freedom to be themselves. But while Henry, Carragher and Richards, play the roles of Jekyll and Hyde between their British and US on-screen personalities to make CBS’s coverage the loveable hit, the show wouldn’t happen without Abdo.

‘Without Kate. None of this works full stop – all of this stuff about like the billions of views and all of that the secret sauce. I’m going to use Modric as the example – the midfielder that we can’t have any success without. That’s Kate.

‘It’s just a matter of time before Kate is dominating the host category at the Emmys. It’s just a matter of time’

While Modric will be orchestrating Real Madrid’s midfield on the field, Abdo will be orchestrating CBS’s from the gallery as she and the gang look to translate the Champions League final across the Atlantic with their tried-and-tested combination of historic European soccer and American flair.