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.

Structure

Originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, or simply abbreviated as the European Cup, the competition began in 1955/56 using a two-leg knockout format where the teams would play two matches, one at home and one away, and the team with the highest overall score qualifying for the next round of the competition. Entry was restricted to the teams that won their national league championships, plus the current cup holder. The competition is organised and run annually in a similar manner to the Copa Libertadores in South America.

Related Topics:
1955 - 56 - Copa Libertadores - South America

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The format and name were changed in 1992/93, and while the system has changed and evolved radically over the years, the competition currently consists of three qualifying rounds, one stage of group competition (where teams play each other in the style of "home-and-away" or "regular season" competition), and then four rounds of knock-out finals. All qualifying round and knock-out ties are two-legged except for the final, which is a single match played at a predetermined site.

Related Topics:
1992 - 93

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The draw is currently structured to ensure that clubs representing the same national association cannot play each other until the quarter-finals. An exception has been made for the 2005-06 competition due to the special entry of 2005 winners Liverpool.

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Real Madrid CF has won this competition nine times. The next most successful teams are A.C. Milan (6 titles), Liverpool FC (5 titles), Bayern Munich and AFC Ajax (4 titles).

Related Topics:
Real Madrid CF - A.C. Milan - Liverpool FC - Bayern Munich - AFC Ajax

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The winning club gets possession of the trophy at the awards ceremony, but must return it to UEFA headquarters two months before the following year's final. UEFA gives the winners a scaled-down replica of the trophy to keep permanently. However, the current competition rules also specify that the actual trophy will be permanently awarded to a team that wins three consecutive years or five times in all.

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Five clubs have been awarded the trophy permanently:

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• Real Madrid, who won the first five competitions from 1956 to 1960,
• Ajax, who won consecutively in 1971–73,
• Bayern Munich, winner of the next three competitions in 1974–76,
• Milan, who won for the fifth time in 1994,
• Liverpool, whose 2005 win was their fifth overall.

As Liverpool got to keep their 2005 trophy, a new trophy will be forged for the 2005–06 competition.

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