uefa champions league

The UEFA Champions League is an annual international inter-club football competition between Europe's most successful clubs, regarded as the most prestigious club trophy in the sport.

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

Qualification

Qualification for the competition is decided by competitor teams placing in their domestic league championship, on a quota system, with countries with stronger domestic league competition allocated more teams. Clubs that play in stronger domestic leagues also enter at later stages of the competition. For example, the three strongest domestic leagues, as rated by UEFA, place their champions and runners-up directly into the group phase, and their third-and fourth-place teams enter at the third qualifying round. Domestic league champions from countries with poor UEFA ratings receive no place in the Champions League, and instead receive entry to the secondary UEFA Cup. There is one exception to this rule; the current Champions League titleholder automatically qualifies for the group stage, regardless of where it finished in its domestic league.

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. 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 superceded by another dominant team or teams. With that in mind, it is easy to view the European Cup and Champions League by era:

1955 to 1960 - First Real Madrid Era

Real Madrid dominated the first five competitions, with the team led by di Stefano, Puskas, 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. 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.

1961 to 1966 - Benfica and the Milan clubs dominate, though Madrid win a sixth final

Real Madrid's domination was ended by their biggest domestic rivals, Barcelona, in the first round of the 1961 competition. Barca 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 Eusbio the following season, where they defended the trophy beating Real Madrid 5:3 in the final at the Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Holland. 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. This era was ended by Real Madrid, who defeated Internazionale in the 1966 semi-final, before going on to win a sixth European Cup 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.

1967 and 1968 - Two British Victories

In 1967, Celtic became the first British team to win the competition, beating Internazionale in the Estadio Nacional, in Lisboa, Portugal. The side, managed by Jock Stein, were all born within 25 miles 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. 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 Pusks had defected from Hungary in 1956. 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 usually imperious Eusbio contrived to miss an easy chance (for him) in the last seconds. 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.

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. The first club to dominate was AFC Ajax, who first lost the 1969 final to Milan and then had to watch deadly rivals Feijenoord win the same title in 1970. After that though, the Total Football of Johan Cruijff, Barry Hulshoff, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens, Arie Haan, Gerrie Mhren and Piet Keizer dominated for three comfortable years, despatching Panathinaikos of Athens, Internazionale and Juventus of Turin in swift succession. 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 Mhren, 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, the rapid aging of several players and the loss of Neeskens later, Ajax struggled in the premier European competition for over 20 years.

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. Led by Franz Beckenbauer, and starring Sepp Maier, Gerd Mller, 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. Defeating first Atltico 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.-tienne at Hampden Park, Glasgow, in 1976. Yet again, this side aged rapidly and Bayern would win no more victories in the European Cup era.

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 Mnchengladbach 3-1 in Rome, then in 1978 retained the trophy with victory over Club Brugge at Wembley. 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 Malm 1-0 in the Munich final; then disposed of Hamburg SV in Madrid by the same scoreline to defend the trophy successfully in 1980. Liverpool returned to the final in 1981 where they picked up their third trophy with a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in Paris. 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 won in 1983 as no English side reached the final for the first time in seven years, but 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. English clubs immediately began a six year ban from the competition.

European Cup and Champions League finals

idth=5%\|Season	width=20%\|Winner	width=10%\|Score	width=20%\|Runner-up	width=20%\|Venue
a href="/encyclopedia/2004" title="2004">2004/05	\| \| \|Atatrk Olimpiyat Stadyumu, İstanbul 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/2003" title="2003">2003/04	Porto 20px	3 - 0	Monaco 20px	Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen 20px
owspan=2\|2002/03	AC Milan 20px	0 - 0 aet	Juventus 20px	rowspan=2\|Old Trafford, Manchester 20px
olspan=3\|3-2 in penalty shootout
a href="/encyclopedia/2001" title="2001">2001/02	Real Madrid 20px	2 - 1	Bayer Leverkusen 20px	Hampden Park, Glasgow 20px
owspan=2\|2000/01	Bayern Munich 20px	1 - 1 asdet	Valencia 20px	rowspan=2\|San Siro, Milan 20px
olspan=3\|5-4 in penalty shootout
a href="/encyclopedia/1999" title="1999">1999/00	Real Madrid 20px	3 - 0	Valencia 20px	Stade de France, Saint-Denis 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1998" title="1998">1998/99	Manchester United 20px	2 - 1	Bayern Munich 20px	Camp Nou, Barcelona 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1997" title="1997">1997/98	Real Madrid 20px	1 - 0	Juventus 20px	Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1996" title="1996">1996/97	Borussia Dortmund 20px	3 - 1	Juventus 20px	Olympiastadion, Munich 20px
owspan=2\|1995/96	Juventus 20px	1 - 1 aet	Ajax 20px	rowspan=2\|Stadio Olimpico, Rome 20px
olspan=3\|4-2 in penalty shootout
a href="/encyclopedia/1994" title="1994">1994/95	Ajax 20px	1 - 0	AC Milan 20px	Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1993" title="1993">1993/94	AC Milan 20px	4 - 0	Barcelona 20px	Spiros Louis Stadium, Athens 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1992" title="1992">1992/93	Marseille 20px	1 - 0	AC Milan 20px	Olympiastadion, Munich 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1991" title="1991">1991/92	Barcelona 20px	1 - 0 aet	Sampdoria 20px	Wembley Stadium, London 20px
owspan=2\|1990/91	Red Star Belgrade 20px	0 - 0 aet	Marseille 20px	rowspan=2\|Stadio San Nicola, Bari 20px
olspan=3\|5-3 in penalty shootout
a href="/encyclopedia/1989" title="1989">1989/90	AC Milan 20px	1 - 0	Benfica 20px	Prater Stadium, Vienna 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1988" title="1988">1988/89	AC Milan 20px	4 - 0	Steaua Bucharest 20px	Camp Nou, Barcelona 20px
owspan=2\|1987/88	PSV Eindhoven 20px	0 - 0 aet	Benfica 20px	rowspan=2\|Neckarstadion, Stuttgart 20px
olspan=3\|6-5 in penalty shootout
a href="/encyclopedia/1986" title="1986">1986/87	Porto 20px	2 - 1	Bayern Munich 20px	Prater Stadium, Vienna 20px
owspan=2\|1985/86	Steaua Bucharest 20px	0 - 0 aet	Barcelona 20px	rowspan=2\|Snchez Pizjun, Seville 20px
olspan=3\|2-0 in penalty shootout
owspan=2\|1984/85	Juventus 20px	1 - 0	Liverpool 20px	rowspan=2\|Heysel Stadium, Brussels 20px
olspan=3\|The Heysel tragedy occurred in this final. As a consequence, all English clubs were banned from every UEFA competition for the next five years, and an additional two years for Liverpool.
owspan=2\|1983/84	Liverpool 20px	1 - 1 aet	Roma 20px	rowspan=2\|Stadio Olimpico, Rome 20px
olspan=3\|4-2 in penalty shootout
a href="/encyclopedia/1982" title="1982">1982/83	Hamburg 20px	1 - 0	Juventus 20px	Spiros Louis Stadium, Athens 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1981" title="1981">1981/82	Aston Villa 20px	1 - 0	Bayern Munich 20px	De Kuip, Rotterdam 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1980" title="1980">1980/81	Liverpool 20px	1 - 0	Real Madrid 20px	Parc des Princes, Paris 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1979" title="1979">1979/80	Nottingham Forest 20px	1 - 0	Hamburg 20px	Santiago Bernabu, Madrid 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1978" title="1978">1978/79	Nottingham Forest 20px	1 - 0	Malm 20px	Olympiastadion, Munich 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1977" title="1977">1977/78	Liverpool 20px	1 - 0	Club Brugge 20px	Wembley Stadium, London 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1976" title="1976">1976/77	Liverpool 20px	3 - 1	Borussia Mnchengladbach 20px	Stadio Olimpico, Rome 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1975" title="1975">1975/76	Bayern Munich 20px	1 - 0	Saint-Etienne 20px	Hampden Park, Glasgow 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1974" title="1974">1974/75	Bayern Munich 20px	2 - 0	Leeds United 20px	Parc des Princes, Paris 20px
owspan=2\|1973/74	Bayern Munich 20px	1 - 1 aet	Atltico de Madrid 20px	rowspan=2\|Heysel Stadium, Brussels 20px
olspan=3\|Bayern Munich won the final replay, 4 - 0
a href="/encyclopedia/1972" title="1972">1972/73	Ajax 20px	1 - 0	Juventus 20px	Crvena Zvezda Stadium, Belgrade 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1971" title="1971">1971/72	Ajax 20px	2 - 0	Inter Milan 20px	De Kuip, Rotterdam 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1970" title="1970">1970/71	Ajax 20px	2 - 0	Panathinaikos 20px	Wembley Stadium, London 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1969" title="1969">1969/70	Feyenoord 20px	2 - 1 aet	Celtic 20px	San Siro, Milan 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1968" title="1968">1968/69	AC Milan 20px	4 - 1	Ajax 20px	Santiago Bernabu, Madrid 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1967" title="1967">1967/68	Manchester United 20px	4 - 1 aet	Benfica 20px	Wembley Stadium, London 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1966" title="1966">1966/67	Celtic 20px	2 - 1	Inter Milan 20px	Estdio Nacional, Lisbon 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1965" title="1965">1965/66	Real Madrid 20px	2 - 1	Partizan Belgrade 20px	Heysel Stadium, Brussels 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1964" title="1964">1964/65	Inter Milan 20px	1 - 0	Benfica 20px	San Siro, Milan 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1963" title="1963">1963/64	Inter Milan 20px	3 - 1	Real Madrid 20px	Prater Stadium, Vienna 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1962" title="1962">1962/63	AC Milan 20px	2 - 1	Benfica 20px	Wembley Stadium, London 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1961" title="1961">1961/62	Benfica 20px	5 - 3	Real Madrid 20px	Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1960" title="1960">1960/61	Benfica 20px	3 - 2	Barcelona 20px	Wankdorf Stadium, Berne 16px
a href="/encyclopedia/1959" title="1959">1959/60	Real Madrid 20px	7 - 3	Eintracht Frankfurt 20px	Hampden Park, Glasgow 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1958" title="1958">1958/59	Real Madrid 20px	2 - 0	Stade de Reims 20px	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1957" title="1957">1957/58	Real Madrid 20px	3 - 2 aet	AC Milan 20px	Heysel Stadium, Brussels 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1956" title="1956">1956/57	Real Madrid 20px	2 - 0	Fiorentina 20px	Santiago Bernabu, Madrid 20px
a href="/encyclopedia/1955" title="1955">1955/56	Real Madrid 20px	4 - 3	Stade de Reims 20px	Parc des Princes, Paris 20px

aet = after extra time; asdet = after sudden death extra time

Performance by nation

Nation	Number of Wins	Number of Beaten Finalists
Italy	10	13
Spain	10	9
England	9	2
Netherlands	6	2
Germany	6	7
Portugal	4	5
France	1	5
Romania	1	1
Scotland	1	1
Yugoslavia	1	1
Belgium	0	1
Greece	0	1
Sweden	0	1

Trivia

Francisco Gento is the only man that won 6 Champions Cups.
Clarence Seedorf is the only man that won Champions Cup with 3 different teams:

Ajax Amsterdam 1995
Real Madrid 1998
A.C. Milan 2003

The city of Milan, Italy, is the only one that won the Champions Cup with 2 different teams: Inter & Milan (the two clubs won 8 cups in total)
Many clubs won the Cup unbeaten: Inter Milan (1964) and Ajax Amsterdam (1972) are those with the best record 7 wins and 2 draws.
Real Madrid have the record number of consecutive participations in the Champions' Cup with 15, from 1955/56 to 1969/70.
Only on two occasions has the Final of the Champions Cup/League was played between two teams from the same country: Real Madrid v Valencia (1999/00) & A.C. Milan v Juventus (2002/03)
In the long history of the cup, only three derbies between teams of the same city have been played:

1958/59 Real Madrid vs Atltico de Madrid (semifinal)
2002/03 Internazionale Milano vs A.C. Milan (semifinal)
2003/04 Chelsea vs Arsenal (quarterfinal)
The 2004/05 quarterfinals (to be played in April 2005) will also feature Internazionale Milan vs A.C. Milan

Manchester United, Celtic and PSV Eindhoven are the only teams to complete a "treble" - win their domestic league championship, their domestic cup, and the Champions League/European Cup. Man U did so during the 1998/99 season. Celtic managed this in 1966/67, also winning the Scottish League Cup and Glasgow Cup that year. PSV did this in 1987/88.
Ajax Amsterdam was unbeaten in Champions Cup/League for 20 matches from 1985/86 to March 1996.
The 2002/03 semifinal between bitter city rivals A.C. Milan and Internazionale was the first time both games of a two-legged tie were in the same stadium (San Siro).
Only two individuals have won the Champions League with the same club as a player then later as a coach. Miguel Muoz of Real Madrid did it as a player in 1955/56 and 1956/57, before winning it as a coach in 1966/67. Carlo Ancelotti did it as an A.C. Milan player in 1988/89 and 1989/90 before coaching them to victory in 2002/03.
Cesare Maldini and his son Paolo are the only father and son duo to skipper the same club to victory in the competition. Cesare led A.C. Milan to victory in 1962/63, and Paolo also captained Milan to victory in 2002/03.
The music which introduces television coverage of the competition is by Tony Britten, based on George Frideric Handel's coronation anthem "Zadok the Priest", and is performed by the Chorus of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.