UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is an annual international inter-club football competition for Europe's most successful clubs. It is one of the most prestigious club trophies in the sport along with South America's Copa Libertadores. The current holders are Liverpool F.C. The UEFA Champions League is not to be confused with the UEFA Cup, the second most important championship for European club teams.

History

The history of the European Cup and Champions League is long and remarkable, with fifty years of competition finding winners and losers from all parts of the continent.

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Tracing the history of the Champions League back to its beginning, it is possible to easily pick out periods when specific teams or countries dominated the competition, only to find themselves rapidly superseded by another dominant team or teams. With that in mind, it is easy to view the European Cup and Champions League by era:

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Genesis

In the early 1950s, football played under floodlights was still a novelty. The summer of 1953 saw the first set of lights installed at the Molineux stadium of Wolverhampton Wanderers, which were first tested in a friendly game against a South African XI. Over the next months, Wolves played a series of "floodlit friendlies" against foreign opposition. Beginning with Racing Club of Argentina, they also played Spartak Moscow of the USSR, before meeting Honved of Hungary in a game televised live on the BBC. The Honved team included many of the "Magical Magyars" Hungary national team who had humbled England twice. Wolves won the game 3-2, which led their manager Stan Cullis to proclaim them as "Champions of the World", in spite of Honved's defeat to Red Star Belgrade (then lying seventh in their domestic league) days earlier. This was the final spur for Gabriel Hanot, the editor of L'Équipe, who had long campaigned for a Europe wide club tournament to be played under floodlights.

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"Before we declare that Wolverhampton are invincible, let them go to Moscow and Budapest. And there are other internationally renowned clubs: A.C. Milan and Real Madrid to name but two. A club world championship, or at least a European one - larger, more meaningful and more prestigious than the Mitropa Cup and more original than a competition for national teams - should be launched." - Gabriel Hanot

Related Topics:
Wolverhampton - Moscow - Budapest - A.C. Milan - Real Madrid - Mitropa Cup

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The UEFA congress of March 1955 saw the proposal raised, with approval given in April of that year, and the kick-off of the first European Cup the following season.

Related Topics:
UEFA - 1955

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1955 to 1960 - First Real Madrid Era

Real Madrid dominated the first five competitions, with the team led by Di Stefano, Puskás, Gento, Del Sol and Santamaria winning each of the first five finals comfortably. While this was most definitely the case, Manchester United and several Italian clubs did offer some resistance during the late 1950s. However, the combined factors of the 1958 Munich Air Crash and the unorthodox and cavalier playing style of Real meant that little real competition could be found.

Related Topics:
Real Madrid - Di Stefano - Puskás - Gento - Manchester United - Italian - 1958 - Munich Air Crash

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This era culminated in the famous 1960 European Cup Final, at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, where Real Madrid obliterated Eintracht Frankfurt of the then West Germany 7-3 in front of BBC and other Eurovision television cameras and a crowd of over 135,000 - still the largest attendance for a European Cup or Champions League final.

Related Topics:
1960 - Hampden Park - Glasgow - Scotland - Real Madrid - Eintracht Frankfurt - West Germany - BBC - Eurovision

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1961 to 1966 - Benfica, AC Milan, Internazionale... and Real Madrid

Real Madrid's domination was ended by their biggest domestic rivals, Barcelona, in the first round of the 1961 competition. Barça went all the way to the final that year at the Wankdorf Stadion in Berne, Switzerland, where they were defeated in a close game by Benfica of Lisbon. This team, captained by the impressive Mario Coluna from Mozambique, were joined by the legendary Eusébio the following season, where they defended the trophy beating Real Madrid 5-3 in the final at the Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Related Topics:
Real Madrid - Barcelona - 1961 - Wankdorf Stadion - Berne - Switzerland - Benfica - Lisbon - Mario Coluna - Mozambique - Eusébio - Olympisch Stadion - Amsterdam - Netherlands

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Benfica would then go on to reach a third successive final in 1963, but lost to Milan, whose city rivals Internazionale would win the trophy in both 1964 and 1965 beating Real Madrid and Benfica in the process. The 1965 competition is memorable more for the infamous and controversial semi-final between Internazionale and Liverpool, with widespread allegations of bribery and match fixing being levelled at the Italian side following a 3-0 home win in Milan.

Related Topics:
1963 - Milan - Internazionale - 1964 - 1965 - Liverpool - Match fixing - Italian - In Milan

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This era was ended by Real Madrid, who defeated Internazionale in the 1966 semi-final, before going on to win a sixth European Cup with against Partizan Belgrade in the King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels (then Heysel Stadium). Of the great 1950's side, only Paco Gento played in all six winning teams. This Real Madrid was completely made of spanish players, and given the youth of most of them (with the exception of Gento) it was nick-named the "ye-yé".

Related Topics:
1966 - Partizan Belgrade - King Baudouin Stadium - Brussels - Paco Gento

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1967 and 1968 - Two British Victories

In 1967, Celtic became the first British and northern European team to win the competition, beating Internazionale 2-1 in the Estádio Nacional, in Lisbon, Portugal against the odds. The team, which became known as the Lisbon Lions, managed by Jock Stein, were all born within 25 miles (40 km) of Celtic Park in Glasgow, and as such remain unusual by the event's longstanding nature of attracting the best and most cosmopolitan players from all over the planet. Celtic are the only club to have won the competition with a team comprised entirely of home-grown talent. By way of contrast, while Real Madrid fielded many Spaniards in the 1950s, their major stars were from elsewhere — Alfredo Di Stefano had arrived from Argentina, while Ferenc Puskás had defected from Hungary in 1956.

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One year later, Manchester United became the first English team to win the competition, beating Benfica 4-1 after extra time at Wembley Stadium, London, UK. This game was incredibly close, and though United scored three times in extra time, Benfica should have won the game in normal time when the famous Eusébio contrived to miss an easy chance (for him) in the last seconds.

Related Topics:
Manchester United - English - Benfica - Wembley Stadium - London - UK - Eusébio

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Coming 10 years after the Munich Air Crash though, many fans all across the continent were happy for Matt Busby (the longtime Manchester United manager), who was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to football.

Related Topics:
Munich Air Crash - Matt Busby - Queen Elizabeth II

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1969 to 1973 - Dutch Domination

The European Cup was now to spend almost the whole of the next decade and a half as the property of just three clubs - each winning at least three finals, and appearing regularly in the latter stages of the competition.

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The first club to dominate was AFC Ajax, who first lost the 1969 final to Milan and then had to watch deadly rivals Feyenoord win the same title in 1970. After that though, the Total Football of Johan Cruijff, Barry Hulshoff, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens, Arie Haan, Gerrie Mühren and Piet Keizer dominated for three comfortable years, despatching Panathinaikos of Athens, Internazionale and Juventus of Turin in swift succession.

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Each player was able to adapt to play in any number of positions and roles, strikers switching with defenders at will, Krol creating nearly as many chances as Mühren, Cruijff stopping as many as Hulshoff. Created by Rinus Michels and refined by Stefan Kovacs, Ajax seemed unbeatable until Cruijff opted to join former coach Michels at Barcelona later in 1973. With that, aging and the loss of Neeskens later, Ajax struggled in the premier European competition for over 20 years.

Related Topics:
Rinus Michels - Stefan Kovacs - Barcelona

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1974 to 1976 - The Rise of Bayern

Bayern Munich became the next club to dominate the competition, winning it three times consecutively in the mid 1970s.

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Led by Franz Beckenbauer, and starring Sepp Maier, Gerd Müller, Uli Hoeness and Paul Breitner, Bayern continued on from Total Football, adding their own version of rigidity and organisation to the mix to make an equally as imposing mixture.

Related Topics:
Franz Beckenbauer - Sepp Maier - Gerd Müller - Uli Hoeness - Paul Breitner

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Defeating first Atlético Madrid after a replay in 1974, Bayern then beat Leeds United 2-0 in a bad tempered and crowd trouble affected final at the Parc des Princes, Paris, France in 1975, and finally St. Étienne at Hampden Park, Glasgow, in 1976. Thereafter the side declined, and Bayern would win no more victories in the European Cup era.

Related Topics:
Atlético Madrid - 1974 - Leeds United - Parc des Princes - Paris - France - 1975 - St. Étienne - Hampden Park - Glasgow - 1976

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1977 to 1984 - Made In England

In 1977, Liverpool started a domination of the competition by English clubs which would see six consecutive victories, and a total of seven in eight years. Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in Rome, then in 1978 became the first British club to win the trophy twice by beating the Belgian champions, Club Brugge at Wembley.

Related Topics:
1977 - Liverpool - Borussia Mönchengladbach - Rome - 1978 - Club Brugge

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Liverpool lost in the first round of the 1979 competition to fellow English side Nottingham Forest who went on to win the tournament in arguably the most impressive rise to the top of continental football in the European game's history. Forest defeated Swedish side Malmö 1-0 in the Munich Final; then disposed of Hamburg SV in Madrid by the same scoreline to defend the trophy successfully in 1980 and became the only side to win the trophy more times than their own league. Liverpool returned to the final in 1981 where they picked up their third trophy with a 1-0 win over Real Madrid in Paris.

Related Topics:
1979 - Nottingham Forest - Malmö - Munich - Hamburg SV - Madrid - 1980 - 1981 - Real Madrid - Paris

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To show the English game's strength in depth, Aston Villa won the competition in 1982 with a 1-0 win over Bayern in Rotterdam. Hamburg SV won it in 1983, beating Juventus 1-0 in the final, in which no English side were partaking for the first time in seven years. However, Liverpool were back in 1984 to defeat AS Roma on their home turf after a penalty shoot out. Liverpool returned to defend the trophy in Brussels a year later, but the 1-0 defeat by Juventus was rendered meaningless due to the death of 39 Juventus fans in the Heysel Stadium. The consequence was a 5-year ban from European competition for English clubs, with a 6-year ban on Liverpool.

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1986 to 1988 - Bucharest, Porto and PSV

With English clubs banned from participating in European football, the spell of dominance was well and truly over. In the few years that followed the Heysel Disaster, the European Cup was contested between other clubs. 1986, 1987 and 1988 saw the trophy lifted by Steaua Bucharest of Romania, FC Porto of Portugal and PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands respectively. Only the final lost by Bayern Munich to FC Porto was really eventful, and regarded among the greatest European Cup finals of all time.

Related Topics:
Steaua Bucharest - FC Porto - PSV Eindhoven - Bayern Munich

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1989 to 1991 - AC Milan and Red Star Belgrade

A.C. Milan won the European Cup in 1989 and retained it the following year. They missed out on a third successive European crown in 1991, when the trophy went to Yugoslav league champions Red Star Belgrade who beat Marseille on penalties after a goalless draw. The 1991 final was also the only final in the 1989-1998 period that failed to feature an Italian team. The ban on English clubs in European football was lifted for the 1990-91 season, but English champions Liverpool were unable to compete in the European Cup because they had to serve an extra year.

Related Topics:
A.C. Milan - Red Star Belgrade - Marseille

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1992 to 1996 - Continental dominance

English clubs made their return to the European Cup in the early 1990s, but none reached even the last eight let alone the final. Arsenal (1991-92), Leeds United (1992-93), Manchester United (1993-94 and 1994-95) and Blackburn Rovers (1995-96) struggled to make an impact in Europe and were often blown out of the way by far weaker sides. This was mainly down to the strict "three foreigner" rule which prevented teams from fielding some of their top players. The rule hurt British sides more than most because football considers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as separate countries rather than as part of the United Kingdom. As such Welsh players such as Ryan Giggs -- despite being British by nationality -- were counted as foreign.

Related Topics:
Arsenal - Leeds United - Manchester United - Blackburn Rovers - Ryan Giggs

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Instead, the European crown remained on the heads of continental clubs. The 1992 final, played at Wembley Stadium, was won by Barcelona. Marseille won the 1993 final, but were later banned from defending their crown in what was only the beginning of a collapse which arose from domestic match fixing committed by chairman Bernard Tapie. The club eventually lost their French First Division status after it was revealed that Tapie had cooked the club's financial books.

Related Topics:
1992 - Wembley Stadium - Barcelona - Marseille - 1993 - Bernard Tapie - French First Division

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In 1994, A.C. Milan reclaimed the trophy by comprehensively beating a star-studded Barcelona side, 4-0, in what many have hailed as one of the finest European Cup Final performances of the modern age. Milan also went on to reach the following year's final but lost 1-0 to an exciting young Ajax side powered by the brilliant 19 year-old striker Patrick Kluivert. Ajax, in turn, reached the next final in 1996, but fell to Juventus after a penalty shoot-out.

Related Topics:
1994 - A.C. Milan - Barcelona - Ajax - Patrick Kluivert - 1996 - Juventus

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By this time world football had just begun to adapt to the radical changes brought on by the Bosman ruling. While it's best known for allowing out-of-contract players to move to other clubs without a transfer fee, of greater impact to the European Cup was the elimination of quotas against European Union nationals. Players from EU member states were not considered foreigners for clubs in EU member states anymore (so in theory an English club could now field 11 French players, because EU players were not counted as foreigners).

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1997 and 1998 - German and Spanish success

Borussia Dortmund joined the list of European Cup winners in 1997 when they upset holders Juventus in the final, having already disposed of English champions, Manchester United, in the semi-final. But 1996-97 was a season of progress for English clubs in the European Cup, because United had become the first team to progress to the last four of the European Cup in the post-Heysel era.

Related Topics:
Borussia Dortmund - 1997 - Juventus - Manchester United - 1996 - 97 - English

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In 1997-98, UEFA allowed the runners-up of top European leagues to compete in the European Cup (now officially the UEFA Champions League). UEFA's rationale was that the quality of its premier tournament increased by including more top teams from big leagues rather than minnows from the likes of Wales and Andorra. Despite the new changes, an old face claimed the crown in 1998: Real Madrid won their first European Cup since 1966 and seventh overall when they beat Juventus 1-0 in the Italian club's third straight final (and second straight defeat).

Related Topics:
1997 - 98 - UEFA - Wales - Andorra - 1966 - Juventus

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1999 to 2003 - Varied success

1998-99 will be forever remembered for Manchester United's dramatic treble success. United had forged an impressive path to the Final by emerging from a group containing Barcelona and Bayern Munich unbeaten, then beating Italian giants Inter Milan and Juventus (in both legs coming from behind). They had also forged a reputation for late comebacks in England as they picked up the League and FA Cup en-route to an unprecedented treble.

Related Topics:
1998 - 99 - Manchester United's - Barcelona - Bayern Munich - Italian - Inter Milan - Juventus - England - League - FA Cup

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Their opponents, Bayern Munich, were also chasing a treble, and took the lead after just six minutes through a clever Mario Basler free-kick. It appeared to be enough for Bayern as United failed to find a way through, with goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel, (playing his last game for the club and captaining the club in the absence of skipper Roy Keane) in inspirational form to keep his team in the game. With referee Pierluigi Collina signalling three minutes of stoppage time, everyone thought the game was up, to the extent that the trophy was brought out bearing Bayern's colours. United threw everyone forward for a David Beckham corner, and were rewarded when substitute Teddy Sheringham turned home the equaliser. Bayern hearts were broken, but the worst was yet to come no more than a minute later. Another Beckham corner again provided the danger as Sheringham headed it on to fellow substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjær. The Norwegian striker flicked out his boot to send the ball into the roof of the net and win the European Cup for Manchester United. It was the club's first success since 1968 and marked the first English winner since Liverpool in 1984.

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The 1999-2000 season saw UEFA again ease the entry requirements for the so-called Champions League. Now the top three leagues (according to UEFA's rankings) could enter four teams, while the next three could enter three.

Related Topics:
1999 - 2000 - UEFA - Rankings

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Real Madrid started the 21st Century in similar fashion to their 20th Century exploits by defeating Valencia 3-0 to lift the European Cup again. Valencia returned to the Final in the following year only to lose again, this time to Bayern Munich, who finally erased the memory of their 1999 final defeat. That win also gave coach Ottmar Hitzfeld the distinction of winning the European Cup with two different teams, having lifted it in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund.

Related Topics:
Real Madrid - 21st Century - 20th Century - Valencia - Bayern Munich - 1999 - Ottmar Hitzfeld - 1997 - Borussia Dortmund

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There were echoes of Real Madrid's legendary 1960 Final victory when they faced another German team (Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 final at Glasgow's Hampden Park. Bayer became the first finalist never to have won their domestic league. Furthering the comparisons with the classic team of Di Stefano and Puskás was the much-hyped "Galactico" policy Real Madrid were pursuing at the time, where they intended to sign one world-class player a year. That season they added multiple FIFA World Player of the Year winner, Zinedine Zidane, to their ranks for a world record fee of €71 million. Zidane and Madrid lived up to the hype; the Frenchman displayed textbook skill to acrobatically volley home the winner in their 2-1 victory that gave the club its ninth European Cup.

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As a footnote, that defeat capped off a thoroughly unfortuitous season for Bayer Leverkusen. They first lost the German league title in the last game, then lost the European Cup final, then the German Cup final. And to add insult to injury, some of that side (including midfield star Michael Ballack) then went on to lose the {{Wc|2002}} Final with Germany that summer.

Related Topics:
German league - German Cup - Michael Ballack - Germany

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The next season saw Italian clubs return to the top of the European table. Despite dominating the competition through the 1990s, Italian clubs fell so far so fast in the intervening years that Italy didn't boast a single quarter-finalist in 2002. The following season, however, saw three Italian semi-finalists—and a final between A.C. Milan and Juventus. Milan won their sixth European Cup when they beat their old rivals 3-2 on penalties following a 0-0 draw. The victory was especially sweet for captain, Paolo Maldini, who lifted the trophy in Manchester exactly forty years after his father Cesare had done so for Milan in London.

Related Topics:
1990s - Italy - 2002 - A.C. Milan - Juventus - Paolo Maldini - Manchester - Cesare - London

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2004 - An Unexpected Result

There was a major upset in 2004 when FC Porto defeated Monaco 3-0 to win the European Cup. Neither team had been tipped for any success in the competition, but between them they managed to claim the scalps of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Chelsea as European football's big names tumbled out. FC Porto and their charismatic manager, José Mourinho, achieved the rare feat of following up a UEFA Cup victory by winning the European Cup the next season.

Related Topics:
2004 - FC Porto - Monaco - Manchester United - Real Madrid - Chelsea - José Mourinho - UEFA Cup

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2005 - Liverpool's Triumphant Comeback

There was a similar surprise in 2005 though this time it did not involve two of Europe's lesser lights -- it involved two of Europe's most successful clubs. Six-time European Champions A.C. Milan faced four-time winners Liverpool in what could be considered the most exciting final in the competition's history. Milan were the overwhelming favourites, having claimed the crown two years previously and boasting a star-studded lineup that included the ageless Paolo Maldini and Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko. Liverpool on the other hand had struggled through a domestic league campaign that saw them only finish fifth after selling star striker Michael Owen, but somehow produced an incredible series of performances in Europe. Down 1-0 in their final group game to Olympiakos and needing three to qualify for the knockout rounds, Liverpool scored three second-half goals including a late thunderbolt from captain, Steven Gerrard, to progress. After dispatching Bayer Leverkusen with more ease than many predicted, Liverpool defeated Juventus 2-1 on aggregate 20 years after the Heysel Stadium disaster before beating English Champions Chelsea in the semi-finals.

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All this seemed certain to count for nothing as Milan broke through after just 52 seconds, Maldini striking the fastest goal in European Cup Final history. The Italians, buoyed by a sensational showing from Brazilian star Kaká, took control of the game from there. After several close calls, Shevchenko fed Hernan Crespo five minutes before half-time to make it 2-0, only for Crespo to add another two minutes later after a defence-splitting pass from Kaká. At 3-0 down at half-time to a superb Milan side, Liverpool looked dead and buried. Indeed, the only previous club to hold a 3-0 half-time lead in the Final was Milan ? and they went on to win that game 4-0.

Related Topics:
Kaká - Hernan Crespo

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Liverpool's Spanish manager Rafael Benítez had gained a reputation for his clever tactics during the run to the final, and he changed the course of the game when he introduced German midfielder Dietmar Hamann. Many would argue that had his dubious decision to select Harry Kewell rather than Hamman resulted in heavy defeat in this game that tactical reputation would have disappeared. After Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek made a fine stop from a Shevchenko free-kick, the European Cup Final's greatest ever comeback began. Gerrard kick-started his side by scoring a header before Vladimir Smicer's long-range drive made it 3-2 just two minutes later. And on the hour mark Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso completed the comeback by converting the rebound from his saved penalty kick to make it 3-3.

Related Topics:
Rafael Benítez - Dietmar Hamann - Harry Kewell - Jerzy Dudek - Vladimir Smicer - Xabi Alonso

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A stunned Milan regained the initiative as both teams hung on for extra-time. Milan almost won it at the end of the extra period when Shevchenko was somehow twice denied by Dudek. That proved crucial as they moved on to a penalty shoot-out where Liverpool triumphed 3-2 when Dudek again saved from Shevchenko. Liverpool had somehow captured their most unlikely European Cup victory, and as five-time winners earned the honour of keeping the trophy.

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There was further controversy as Liverpool had finished fifth in their domestic league and thus were not automatically entitled to enter the 2005-06 competition. The Football Association had entered Liverpool's rival Everton F.C. as the final entrant after their fourth place finish in the league, and did not wish to replace the team with Liverpool to allow the defence of the Champions' League. This was in contrast to the Spanish football authorities who in an earlier season had replaced their final entrant with Real Madrid. Liverpool and the FA lobbied hard for a special fifth Champions League place for the team, claiming it was UEFA rules rather than the FA's previous decisions that were keeping Liverpool from the competition. After some debate, UEFA decided to grant special dispensation and allow Liverpool to defend their title, but they had to enter the tournament at the First Qualifying Round. The ruling also stated that if the team made it into the Champions League proper the other English teams would have to split the prize money that was due to them. The rules of the competition were also changed to prevent any further dispute where if the same situation happened again; the winners finishing out of the positions where a UEFA Champions League place is awarded in their domestic league, they will take the place of the team claiming the last Champions League spot in the domestic League. I.e. if the same situation were to happen again, whereby Everton claimed the fourth and final Champions League place in the English Premiership with Liverpool finishing outside the Champions League qualification place, Liverpool would take Everton's place in the Champions League and Everton would have to settle for a UEFA Cup spot.

Related Topics:
The Football Association - Everton F.C. - Real Madrid - UEFA

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This changes the previous rules where the winners of the competition had to qualify in order to defend their title, just like the winners of World Cup, as it was assumed they would finish in the qualification places in their domestic league. All winners are now however, as described, allowed to defend their title

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◄ UEFA Champions League: Qualification

UEFA Champions League: European Cup and Champions League finals ►

~ Table of Content ~

►	Introduction
►	Structure
►	Qualification
►	History
►	European Cup and Champions League finals
►	Overall Statistics
►	Trivia
►	See also
►	External links

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