European Cup and UEFA Champions League history
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The history of the European Cup and
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
spans over sixty years of competition, finding winners and runners-up from all over the continent.


Beginnings


Early tournaments

The first time when champions of two European leagues met was in what was nicknamed the 1895 World Championship, when English champions Sunderland beat Scottish champions Heart of Midlothian 5–3. Ironically, the Sunderland lineup in the 1895 World Championship consisted entirely of Scottish players – Scottish players who moved to England to play professionally in those days were known as the
Scotch Professors The Scotch Professors were Scottish football players of the late 19th century who moved south to play for clubs participating in the English Football League during the period when football had become professional in England but remained (theoretic ...
. Prior to that, other "
Football World Championship The Football World Championship, also known as the United Kingdom Championship or the International Club Championship, was a exhibition association football match played between the English and Scottish club champions on a regular, but not annual ...
s" took place, although those were between Scottish and English cup winners, as the respective leagues were not yet established. Club competitions between teams from European countries trace their origins back as far as 1897, when the '' Challenge Cup'' was founded as a competition between clubs from
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
that under normal circumstances would not meet in competition. This competition ran until 1911, with its last winners,
Wiener Sportclub The Wiener Sport-Club, sometimes abbreviated as WSC, was established in 1883 in Vienna, Austria and is one of the country's oldest athletics clubs. Their traditional home is in the Dornbach quarter of the city ( 17th district). History At var ...
, retaining the trophy. Simultaneously, English and Scottish clubs competed in the
Football World Championship The Football World Championship, also known as the United Kingdom Championship or the International Club Championship, was a exhibition association football match played between the English and Scottish club champions on a regular, but not annual ...
. The
Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy The Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy was an association football competition that took place twice, in Turin, Italy, in 1909 and 1911. It is regarded as an early European trophy.Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
, Italy, involving clubs from Italy, Germany, Switzerland and England. The Challenge Cup is considered to be the forerunner of the first true pan-European club competition, the
Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
, which came about following the demise of Austria-Hungary after World War I. At that time, the various nations of central Europe were introducing professional leagues. The introduction of an international club tournament was intended to assist the new professional clubs financially. The Mitropa Cup was first played for in 1927. An early attempt to create a cup for national champion clubs of Europe was made by Swiss club
Servette Servette is a district of the city of Geneva, Switzerland. The district's name comes from the Latin word for forest, ''silva'', and means "little forest". Its name alludes to Servette's rural past, before Geneva grew beyond its walls and incorpora ...
in 1930. The tournament called "
Coupe des Nations Coupe des Nations 1930 ( en, Cup of Nations) was a football tournament in the summer of 1930 in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by local club Servette FC. Servette had just won the Swiss championship, and organized this event as a counterpoint to t ...
" was a great success and the champions of the ten major European football nations of the time were invited. The cup was won by Hungarian club
Újpest Újpest (; german: Neu-Pest, en, New Pest) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary i ...
. Despite the great success, the tournament was never organised again, due to financial issues. Following World War II, the reduced standing of the Mitropa Cup led to the foundation of a new competition, the
Latin Cup The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949 the football federations came together and requested FIFA to launch the competition. Europ ...
, for teams from France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. This competition was played as a mini-tournament at the end of each season by the league champions from each country. Another tournament was the
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played in 1952 to 1957.


Creation of the European Cup

The '' Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones'', or "South American Championship of Champions", kicked off in 1948 after years of deliberation and organisation and set into motion the antecedent of the Copa Libertadores. French sports journalist
Jacques Ferran Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
became fascinated with the 1948 South American idea of a continental club champions league. The UEFA document on the history of the European Cup confirms that Jacques Ferran and Gabriel Hanot, journalists for the French sports newspaper ''L'Équipe'', were the founding fathers of the European Cup. In interviews to the Brazilian sports TV programme ''Globo Esporte'' in 2015 and Chilean newspaper ''El Mercúrio'' in 2018, Jacques Ferran said that the
South American Championship of Champions The South American Championship of Champions ( es, Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones, pt, Campeonato Sul-Americano de Campeões) was a football competition played in Santiago, Chile in 1948 and the first continental-wide football tournament in ...
was the inspiration for the European Cup: "How could Europe, which wanted to be ahead of the rest of the world, not be able to accomplish a competition of the same kind of the South American one? We needed to follow that example." The summer of 1953 saw
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
play a friendly match against a South African XI to begin a remarkable run of victories over the next months. Wolves played a series of friendlies against foreign opposition such as Racing Club of Argentina,
Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...
of the Soviet Union, among others, before meeting Honvéd of Hungary in a game televised live on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. The Honvéd team included many of the Hungary national team, which was dominating world football at the time. Wolves won the game 3–2, which led their manager Stan Cullis and the British press to proclaim them as "Champions of the World". This was the final spur for Hanot who had long campaigned for a European-wide club tournament to determine who was the best of the continent. The
UEFA Congress The UEFA Congress (french: Congrès de l'UEFA, german: UEFA-Kongress) is the supreme controlling organ of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). UEFA is the administrative body for association football and futsal in Europe, and is o ...
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. However, the would be no Soviet (until 1967) or English teams in the first tournament.


Timeline


1955 to 1960 – Real Madrid's early dominance

Real Madrid dominated the first five competitions, with the team led by Ferenc Puskás,
Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Fil ...
,
Francisco Gento Francisco "Paco" Gento López (21 October 1933 – 18 January 2022) was a Spanish footballer who played as an outside left. He was voted by IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) as the greatest Spanish footballer ...
and
José Santamaría José Emilio Santamaría Iglesias (born 31 July 1929) is a retired football central defender and manager. He spent his 18-year career with Nacional and Real Madrid, winning a combined 17 titles including four European Cups with the latter ...
winning each of the first five competitions relatively comfortably, while this was the case, several other clubs did offer some resistance during the late 1950s, notably from Stade de Reims of France, who reached two finals and several Italian clubs such as Milan and
Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
. Hibernian were the first British club to play in the European Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the inaugural tournament in 1955. The English league winners,
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, were denied entry by
the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
's secretary
Alan Hardaker Alan Hardaker OBE (29 July 1912Biographical details
such as date of birth, wife's ...
, who believed it was in the best interests of English football and football in general for them not to enter. This era culminated in the famous
1960 European Cup Final The 1960 European Cup Final was the fifth final in the history of the European Cup, and was contested by Real Madrid of Spain and Eintracht Frankfurt of West Germany. Real won 7–3 in front of a crowd of over 127,000 people at Glasgow's Hampden ...
, at Hampden Park in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, where Real Madrid obliterated
Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
of
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
7–3 in front of BBC and other Eurovision television cameras and a crowd of 127,621. (Hampden Park would go on to achieve the highest attendance for a European club competition match when the European Cup semi-final second leg tie between Celtic and Leeds United was played on 15 April 1970 before a crowd of 136,505. The match was played at Hampden rather than Celtic Park as the huge demand to see the game had been anticipated.)


1961 to 1962 – Benfica success

Real Madrid's domination was ended by their biggest domestic rivals,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, in the first round of the 1960–61 competition, Barça continued on to the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
at the Wankdorf Stadion in Bern, where they were defeated (3–2) in a close game by Benfica. This team, captained by the impressive
Mário Coluna Mário Esteves Coluna (; 6 August 1935 – 25 February 2014) was a Portuguese footballer who played mainly as a central midfielder. He spent most of his career with Benfica, appearing in 525 official matches and scoring 127 goals during 16 p ...
, were joined by the legendary
Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the greatest players of ...
during the following 1961–62 season, where they defended the trophy after beating Real Madrid 5–3 in the final at the Olympisch Stadion in Amsterdam.


1963 to 1965 – Milanese Mastery

Benfica after winning two European Cups would then go on to reach a third successive final in
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
, but lost to Milan, whose city rivals
Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
would win the trophy in both
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
and 1965, defeating Real Madrid and Benfica, respectively, in the process. This ''Grande Inter'' period is well remembered in Italy with many at the time expecting the club to match the domination of Real throughout the decade.


1966 – Real Madrid's return

Real Madrid, who defeated Inter in the 1966 semi-final, went to win a sixth European Cup with victory against
FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...
at the
Heysel Stadium The King Baudouin Stadium (french: Stade Roi Baudouin , nl, Koning Boudewijnstadion ) is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. Located in the Heysel district of the City of Brussels, it was built to embellish the Heysel Plateau in ...
in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, of the great 1950s side, only Francisco Gento played in all six winning teams, with this Real Madrid being composed solely of Spanish players – a major contrast to the multicultural teams of five years before.


1967 to 1968 – British successes

In
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
, Celtic became the first British team to win the competition, coming back from 1–0 down after a
Sandro Mazzola Alessandro "Sandro" Mazzola (; born 8 November 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer, who played as a forward or attacking midfielder for Internazionale and the Italy national team. He currently works as a football analyst and co ...
penalty to beat Internazionale 2–1 in the
Estádio Nacional The Estádio Nacional (English: National Stadium), also known as National Stadium Sports Complex ( pt, Complexo Desportivo do Estádio Nacional) and as ''Jamor Sports Complex'' ( pt, Complexo Desportivo do Jamor), is a national football stadium ...
in Lisbon, with goals from
Tommy Gemmell Thomas Gemmell (16 October 1943 – 2 March 2017) was a Scottish football player and manager. Although right-footed, he excelled as a left-sided fullback and had powerful shooting ability. Gemmell is best known as one of the Celtic side who w ...
and Stevie Chalmers. The team, which became known as ''the
Lisbon Lions The Lisbon Lions is the nickname given to the Celtic F.C., Celtic team that won the UEFA Champions League, European Cup at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967 European Cup Final, 1967, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. The name i ...
'', managed by
Jock Stein John "Jock" Stein (5 October 1922 – 10 September 1985) was a Scottish football player and manager. He was the first manager of a British side to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967. Stein also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish ...
, were unique as they were all born within of
Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
in Glasgow. In
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...
, ten years after the Munich air disaster, Manchester United became the first English team to win the competition, defeating Benfica in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
4–1 after extra time at
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in London. Matt Busby, United's manager at the time of the disaster in Munich, survived life-threatening injuries suffered in the crash and was still at the helm for United, and two other Munich survivors played in the game –
Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World ...
, who scored two goals in the game, and
Bill Foulkes William Anthony Foulkes ( or ; 5 January 1932 – 25 November 2013) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United in the Busby Babes teams of the 1950s, and also in the 1960s. His favoured position was centre-half. For Manchester ...
.


1969 – Milan again

Milan brought another Italian victory in
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
knocking out the two previous winners en route to the final. The 1969 final was against
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
, marking the emergence of teams from the Netherlands.


1970 to 1973 – Dutch control

In
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
 
Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club (association football), football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names bef ...
of Rotterdam were the first Dutch outfit to collect the European Cup after defeating Glasgow Celtic the tournaments only coin toss finalists 2–1 after extra time. However, for the next three years, Ajax and its exponents of " Total Football", including
Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...
and
Johan Neeskens RCH may stand for: * Radio Club de Honduras, an amateur radio organization * Railway Clearing House, the British financial clearing house and technical standards bureau for railways * The Royal Canadian Hussars (Montreal), a unit of the Canadian F ...
, among others, together with their pioneering tactician and coach
Rinus Michels Marinus Jacobus Hendricus Michels (; 9 February 1928 – 3 March 2005) was a Dutch football player and coach. He played his entire career for AFC Ajax, which he later managed, and played for and later managed the Netherlands national team ...
, would more profoundly take European centre stage, dispatching Panathinaikos,
Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is t ...
and Juventus in successive finals.


1974 to 1976 – Bayern Munich hat-trick

The mid-1970s belonged to Bayern Munich. Led by Franz Beckenbauer, and also starring
Sepp Maier Sepp may refer to: *Sepp (given name) *Sepp (surname) *Science & Environmental Policy Project * Sepp (publisher) *Substantially equal periodic payments, US tax-law provision *Single Edge Processor Package *State Enterprise for Pesticide Production ...
, Gerd Müller,
Uli Hoeneß Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß (, ; born 5 January 1952) is the former president of German football club Bayern Munich and a former footballer for West Germany who played as a forward for club and country. Hoeneß represented Germany at one World Cup and ...
and
Paul Breitner Paul Breitner (born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best players of his era, Breitner was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, and was named by Pel ...
, the German club not only emulated Ajax's trio of victories but was unmistakably inspired by the beacon of "Total Football". In its first final, Bayern triumphed over Atlético Madrid in a replayed match, the first of the two games ending up in a draw following a late equalizer from Hans Georg Schwarzenbeck, the second one resulting in a 4-0 hammering in Brussels. The following year,
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
were controversially – some say corruptly – vanquished 2–0 in an ill-tempered affair at the Parc des Princes in Paris. Lastly, Saint-Étienne were downed at Hampden Park in Glasgow in
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
. After this golden period, the side slowly declined and would not win the tournament for 25 years. They would however appear in another final in 1982 with three of the mid-seventies title winners in the squad.


1977 to 1984 – The English Reign

In
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
 
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3–1 in Rome, and then in 1978, became the first British club to win the trophy twice by beating the Belgian champions, Club Brugge at Wembley. Liverpool lost in the first round of the
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
competition to fellow English side
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
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, guided by their uniquely gifted manager
Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough ( ; 21 March 1935 – 20 September 2004) was an English football player and manager, primarily known for his successes as a manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. He is one of four managers to have won the Engl ...
, as they defeated Swedish side
Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association ...
1–0 in the Munich final. The next year, Forest beat
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...
by the same scoreline to defend the trophy successfully in 1980 and remain the only side to win the competition more times (twice) than their own domestic league (once). Liverpool returned to the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
in
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
where they picked up their third trophy with a 1–0 win over Real Madrid in Paris. Another club from England, Aston Villa, won the competition in 1982 with a 1–0 win over Bayern Munich at
Feijenoord Stadion Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...
in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
. Hamburg then won the title in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
, beating Juventus 1–0 in a
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
that, for the first time in seven years, featured no English side. Liverpool, however, were back in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
to defeat Roma in their opponent's stadium, the Stadio Olimpico, in a
penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
after the teams were tied 1–1, becoming the first team to win the trophy four times since Real Madrid in the 1950s. The match is best known for the antics of Liverpool goalkeeper
Bruce Grobbelaar Bruce David Grobbelaar (born 6 October 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, most prominently for English team Liverpool between 1981 and 1994, and for the Zimbabwean national team. He is remembered fo ...
. As Roma's
Bruno Conti Bruno Conti (; born 13 March 1955) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently head of A.S. Roma's youth sector. Throughout his playing career, Conti was usually deployed as a winger, and also previously played for Roma, ...
prepared to take his kick, Grobbelaar walked towards the goal smiling confidently at the cameras lined-up behind, then proceeded to bite the back of the net, in imitation of eating spaghetti. Conti sent his spot kick over the bar. Grobbelaar then produced a similar performance before
Francesco Graziani Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward. He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981 ...
took his kick, famously wobbling his legs in mock terror. Graziani duly missed and Liverpool went on to win the shoot-out 4–2, making Grobbelaar the first African to win a medal in the competition.


1985 – Liverpool, Juventus and the Heysel disaster

Liverpool, having won the 1984 tournament, returned to defend the trophy at Brussels a year later. But the 1–0 defeat by Juventus was overshadowed by the death of 39 mostly Juventus fans in the Heysel Stadium. The consequence was a five-year ban from European competition for English clubs, with a six-year ban on Liverpool. The long term consequences for English club football due to the actions of Liverpool F.C. fans at Heysel were severe in terms of top level success, with English clubs initially struggling to make a significant impact in European competition upon their return from the ban in fact it would be 14 years after Heysel before an English side would again triumph in the competition.


1986 to 1988 – Unlikely heroes

The first three seasons after the Heysel Disaster saw the European Cup lifted by Steaua București of Romania,
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
of Portugal and
PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, w ...
of the Netherlands. The
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
between Porto and Bayern Munich was regarded as an especially exciting final, with an audacious back-heel goal by Algeria's
Rabah Madjer Rabah Mustapha Madjer ( ar, رابح مصطفى ماجر; born 15 December 1958) is an Algerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He reached stardom as a Porto player during the 1980s, being widely regarded as one of th ...
giving Porto their first title, while Steaua shocked Barcelona in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
in a penalty shoot-out, when Steaua's goalkeeper
Helmuth Duckadam Helmut Robert Duckadam (; born 1 April 1959) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was dubbed "the Hero of Seville" due to his performance in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his club Steaua București, where he sa ...
saved four consecutive penalties to win 2–0, making the Bucharest team the first one from Eastern Europe to win.


1989 to 1992 – Milan's assertion, and Barcelona's first title

In
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
, under the management of
Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach. He has twice managed AC Milan (1987–1991, 1996–1997), with great success. He won the Serie A title in his 1987–88 debut season and then dominated European ...
, Milan won the European Cup for the first time in 20 years, defeating 1986 champions Steaua București 4–0 in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. In
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
, Milan retained their title, defeating Benfica 1–0 in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. The Dutch trio of Marco van Basten,
Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a Dutch footballer and subsequent manager who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s as a defender, midfielder or forward. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all ...
and
Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard (; born 30 September 1962) is a Dutch former footballer and former manager who played as a defensive midfielder. Rijkaard played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and AC Milan and represented the Netherlands national team side ...
were the brilliant heart of the Italian side, which also featured a defence comprising
Mauro Tassotti Mauro Tassotti (; born in Rome, 19 January 1960) is an Italian manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a right-back. He currently serves as an assistant coach at Genoa. After making his Serie A debut with Lazio, he went on to ...
,
Franco Baresi Franchino Baresi (; born 8 May 1960) is an Italian football youth team coach and a former player and manager. He mainly played as a sweeper or as a central defender, and spent his entire 20-year career with Serie A club AC Milan, captaining t ...
,
Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Costacurta (born 24 April 1966) is an Italian football pundit, manager and a former professional defender, who usually played as a centre back. Throughout his club career, Costacurta spent over twenty years with AC Milan between 19 ...
and
Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played primarily as a left back and centre back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of a ...
, often considered one of the greatest defences in the history of the game. The 1991 trophy went to Yugoslav league champions
Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...
, who beat
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
on penalties after a goalless draw. The 1991 final was also the only final in the period from 1989 to 1998 that failed to feature an Italian team. The ban on English clubs in European football was lifted for the
1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
season, but English champions Liverpool were unable to compete in the European Cup because they had to serve an extra year. The
1991–92 European Cup The 1991–92 European Cup was the 37th season of the European Cup football club tournament. It was the first European Cup to have a group stage, from which the winning clubs progressed to the final. 1991–92 was the tournament's last edition b ...
, which would be the last season under that name, underwent a change, with the quarter-finals being transformed into a group format. The
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, played at Wembley Stadium, was won by Barcelona against
Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
. Barça, at the time nicknamed the "Dream Team", were coached by Johan Cruyff.


1993 – The birth of the Champions League; Marseille attain first title

The competition was renamed to UEFA Champions League for the 1992–93 season, undergoing some diverse changes of marketing and TV rights thanks to the partnership of UEFA and TEAM Marketing AG. The eight teams participating in the league format quarter-finals experienced an approach to match organisation and commercialisation that was very new. Marseille defeated Milan in the 1993 final, and became the first team to win the Champions League and the first European champions from France. They 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 was eventually stripped of their Ligue 1 championship after it was revealed that Tapie had cooked the club's financial books. Marseille remains the only French club to have won the European Cup/Champions League.


1994 to 1997 – Milan title, Ajax and Juventus return and Borussia's first title

Milan reclaimed the trophy in
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
, 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 were the underdogs, with two key defenders forced to sit out, but coach Fabio Capello spurned the traditional Italian caution of '' catenaccio'' and led them to a rout of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team". Milan defender
Marcel Desailly Marcel Desailly (born Odenke Abbey; 7 September 1968) is a French former professional footballer, widely considered to be among the greatest centre-backs and defensive midfielders to ever play football. During a successful career at club level, l ...
had previously played for Marseille when they won the Champions League, being the first player to win the Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs, and also making him the first player to transfer to the finals opposing side. Milan also went on to reach the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
in
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
but lost 1–0 to a youthful Ajax side featuring
Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
,
Frank de Boer Franciscus de Boer (; born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the head coach of the Netherlands national team. A former defender, De Boer spent most of his professional playing career with Ajax, winning five Eredi ...
,
Ronald de Boer Ronaldus de Boer (; born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for the Netherlands national team as well as a host of professional clubs in Europe. He is the twin brother of Frank de Boe ...
, Edgar Davids,
Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is regarded by many to be one of the best midfielders of his generation. Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UE ...
,
Marc Overmars Marc Overmars (; born 29 March 1973) is a Dutch former professional footballer and director of football at Belgian Pro League side Royal Antwerp FC. He was previously director of football at Ajax. During his football career, he played as a win ...
and
Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch former football player, coach and sporting director. He played as a striker, most notably for AFC Ajax, FC Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was part of Ajax's Golden Gen ...
, as well as the veterans Frank Rijkaard and
Danny Blind Dirk Franciscus "Danny" Blind (; born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He played as a defender for Sparta Rotterdam, Ajax and the Netherlands national team. As coach he has managed Ajax and the Netherlands national te ...
. It was the club's first triumph since 1973, when they had won three titles consecutively. Ajax, in turn, reached the next final in 1996, but fell to Juventus of
Ciro Ferrara Ciro Ferrara (; born 11 February 1967) is an Italian former footballer and manager. His most recent position was as manager of Wuhan Zall. He had also previously coached Juventus and the Italy national under-21 team. As an assistant coach to M ...
, the 1993 winner
Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been manager of the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, ...
,
Paulo Sousa Paulo Manuel Carvalho de Sousa, CavIH (; born 30 August 1970) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional player who played as a defensive midfielder. Starting his career at Benfica, he also represented Sporting CP in his countr ...
and the notable offensive trio composed by
Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit ...
,
Fabrizio Ravanelli Fabrizio Ravanelli (; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian football manager and former international player. A former striker, Ravanelli started and ended his playing career at hometown club Perugia Calcio, and also played for Middlesbrough, ...
and the 1992 finalist Gianluca Vialli after a penalty shoot-out. Vialli became the sixth Italian player (after former Juventus players
Sergio Brio Sergio Brio (born 19 August 1956) is an Italian former footballer, in the role of centre back, who played for Juventus from the mid 1970s to the ending 1980s having won, among others, four Serie A titles and becoming one of the only six football ...
,
Antonio Cabrini Antonio Cabrini (; born 8 October 1957) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player. He played left-back, mainly with Juventus. He won the 1982 FIFA World Cup with the Italy national team. Cabrini was nicknamed ''Bell'Antoni ...
,
Gaetano Scirea Gaetano Scirea (; 25 May 1953 – 3 September 1989) was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest defenders of his generation and one of the greatest defenders of all time. He spent most of his career with Juventus ...
,
Marco Tardelli Marco Tardelli (; born 24 September 1954) is an Italian former football player and manager. At club level, he played as a midfielder for several Italian clubs; he began his career with Pisa, and later played for Como, Juventus, and Internaziona ...
and
Stefano Tacconi Stefano Tacconi (; born 13 May 1957) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He is the only goalkeeper to have won UEFA club competition records#List of pl ...
) to have won the three seasonal European club titles, first striker to do so.
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
won the UEFA Champions League in
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
. In the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
in Munich, Dortmund faced Juventus.
Karl-Heinz Riedle Karl-Heinz Riedle (; born 16 September 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Despite not being particularly tall, he was nicknamed "Air" throughout his career, due to his notable heading accuracy, jumping an ...
put Dortmund ahead shooting under the goalkeeper from a cross by
Paul Lambert Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...
. Riedle then made it two with a bullet header from a corner kick. In the second half, Alessandro Del Piero pulled one back for Juventus with a back heel, then 20-year-old substitute and local boy
Lars Ricken Lars Ricken (born 10 July 1976) is a German retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Since 2008, he has been a youth coordinator at Borussia Dortmund. He represented Borussia Dortmund during his entire professional career, which spanned 15 ...
latched on to a through pass by
Andreas Möller Andreas Möller (born 2 September 1967) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the head of the youth department at Eintracht Frankfurt. Club career At club level, Möller played for Eintrach ...
. Only 16 seconds after coming on to the pitch, Ricken chipped
Angelo Peruzzi Angelo Peruzzi (; born 16 February 1970) is an Italian football coach and former goalkeeper, and a three-time winner of the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award. Peruzzi is regarded by pundits as one of the greatest Italian goalkeepers of all ...
in the Juventus goal from over 20 yards with his first touch of the ball. Dortmund lifted the trophy with a 3–1 victory. Dortmund manager
Ottmar Hitzfeld Ottmar Hitzfeld (; born 12 January 1949) is a German former professional football player ( striker) and manager. He accumulated a total of 18 major titles, mostly in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. ...
was able to lift the title for the first time.


Real Madrid's return and dominance (1997–2002)

The following six seasons would see Real Madrid winning the competition three times.


1998 – Real Madrid, back to the top

In 1997–98, UEFA allowed the runners-up of top European leagues to compete in the 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. An old face claimed the crown in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
: Real Madrid. The Spanish club 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).


1999 – Manchester United return

1998–99 is remembered for the upset of Ottmar Hitzfeld's Bayern by Manchester United's treble success. United had already forged a reputation for late comebacks in England as they picked up the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
and
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
en route to the
Champions League final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...
. Having succeeded in both the league and FA Cup, the omens appeared to be with Manchester United for the Champions League. With
Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 ...
and captain Roy Keane suspended, goalkeeper
Peter Schmeichel Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...
– playing his last match for the club – captained the team on the night, which was the 90th anniversary of the birth of Sir Matt Busby. Their opponents, Bayern Munich, were also chasing The Treble, and took the lead after just six minutes through a clever Mario Basler free-kick. It appeared to be enough for Bayern as Manchester United failed to find a way through, although Schmeichel was in inspirational form to keep his team in the game. With referee
Pierluigi Collina Pierluigi Collina (; born 13 February 1960) is an Italian former football referee. He was named "The World's Best Referee" by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics six consecutive times from 1998-2003. Collina is still ...
signalling three minutes of stoppage time, the English club sent everyone forward (including Schmeichel) for a David Beckham corner, and were rewarded when substitute
Teddy Sheringham Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham, MBE (born 2 April 1966) is an English football manager and former player. He played as a forward, mostly as a second striker, in a 24-year professional career. Sheringham began his career at Millwall, where ...
turned home the equaliser after Ryan Giggs mis-hit a shot at goal. Just over a minute later, another Beckham corner again provided the danger as Sheringham headed it on to fellow substitute
Ole Gunnar Solskjær Ole Gunnar Solskjær (; born 26 February 1973) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward who last managed Premier League club Manchester United. As a player, Solskjær spent the majority of his car ...
, who flicked out a boot to send the ball into the roof of the net and win the European Cup for Manchester. United's manager, Alex Ferguson, memorably summed the experience up in a post-match interview when he said: "Football, bloody hell." It was the club's first success since 1968 and marked the first English winner since Liverpool in 1984.


2000 to 2002 – Real Madrid and Bayern Munich: reinvigoration

The 1999–2000 season saw UEFA again ease the entry requirements for the Champions League. Now the top three leagues (Spain, Italy, and Germany, according to UEFA's
rankings A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
) could enter four teams, while the next three (England, France, and the Netherlands) could enter three. This season saw Spanish clubs return to the top of the European table with the first all-country European Cup/Champions League final between Real Madrid and Valencia. 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. On the way to the final, Real also successively eliminated the previous year's runners-up (Bayern Munich, semi-finals), and champions (Manchester United, quarter-finals). The tie against Manchester United saw a 3–2 away victory at Old Trafford, which included a goal created by midfielder
Fernando Redondo Fernando Carlos Redondo Neri (; born 6 June 1969) is an Argentine retired footballer. A defensive midfielder with the ability to contribute offensively and creatively, he turned professional playing for Argentinos Juniors and played one full ...
and dubbed ''el taconazo (backheel) de Old Trafford''.
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...
had another good outing in the 2001 Champions League, with Real Madrid and Valencia again reaching the semi-finals. Valencia returned to the Final again in the 2001 only to lose again. The winner this time was Bayern Munich, who had earlier ousted defending champions Real Madrid in the semi-finals. The final ended 1–1 and Bayern won the shoot-out 5–4. That win also gave coach Ottmar Hitzfeld the distinction of winning the European Cup with two teams, having lifted it in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund. Valencia had now lost two Champions League finals in a row. Real Madrid faced another German team (
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...
) in the 2002 final at Glasgow's Hampden Park. Real Madrid were pursuing a policy at the time of signing one world-class player a year. That season they had added multiple
FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representati ...
winner,
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...
, for a fee of €71 million. Zidane volleyed home the winner in their 2–1 victory that gave the club its ninth European Cup and the third European Cup in five seasons, Bayer became the first finalist never to have won their domestic league; they had earlier lost the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
title in the last match of the season, and subsequently also lost in the
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
final, to achieve a runners-up treble.


Parity amid Italian and English prominence (2003–2008)


2003 and 2004 – All-Italian final and Porto's second title

The next season saw Italian clubs return to the top of the European table. Juventus also made history in the European group stage by defeating
Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
7–0. Although they had dominated the competition through the 1990s, there were no
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
clubs in the quarter-finals in 2002. The following season, however, saw three Italian semi-finalists – and a
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
between Milan and Juventus. Milan won their sixth European Cup when they beat their old rivals 3–2 on penalties following a 0–0 draw. Milan captain Paolo Maldini lifted the trophy in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
exactly 40 years after his father
Cesare Cesare, the Italian language, Italian version of the given name Caesar (title), Caesar, may refer to: Given name * Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (1738–1794), an Italian philosopher and politician * Cesare Airaghi (1840–1896), Italian colonel ...
had done so for Milan in London. Clarence Seedorf won the Champions League for the third time, and with three clubs. He had earlier won the cup with Ajax in 1995 and Real Madrid in 1998. There was a major upset in 2004 when Porto defeated
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
3–0 to win the Champions League. Goals were scored by Carlos Alberto,
Deco Anderson Luís de Souza (born 27 August 1977), known as Deco (), is a retired professional footballer who primarily played as an attacking or central midfielder. Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired Portuguese citizenship and played for P ...
and
Dmitri Alenichev Dmitri Anatolyevich Alenichev (russian: Дмитрий Анатольевич Аленичев; born 20 October 1972) is a Russian football coach, former player and politician. Club career Despite being a Spartak Moscow fan, Alenichev debuted ...
. Neither team had been tipped for any success in the competition, but between them they managed to defeat Manchester United, Real Madrid and Chelsea, among other clubs. Porto and their manager José Mourinho achieved the rare feat of following up a
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
victory by winning the Champions League the next season. Russian international Alenichev became only the third player after
Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...
and Ronaldo to score a goal in two consecutive different European finals and
Vítor Baía Vítor Manuel Martins Baía, OIH (; born 15 October 1969) is a Portuguese retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. One of the most decorated goalkeepers of all time, his career was intimately connected with FC Porto, which he started re ...
became the ninth player to have won the three European club titles.


2005 to 2008 – Liverpool's Miracle in Istanbul, Barcelona, Milan and Manchester United

There was a similar surprise in 2005. This time, it involved two of Europe's most successful clubs, with six-time European champions Milan facing four-time winners Liverpool in one of the most dramatic finals in the competition's history. Milan broke through after just 52 seconds with Maldini striking the fastest goal in European Cup Final history. The Italians took control of the game, Andriy Shevchenko fed
Hernán Crespo Hernán Jorge Crespo (; born 5 July 1975) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player. He is the current manager of Qatari club Al-Duhail. A prolific striker, Crespo scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 19 years. At in ...
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. With just under ten minutes of the second half played, captain Steven Gerrard scored with a header to begin the comeback.
Vladimír Šmicer Vladimír Šmicer (, born 24 May 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his senior career at Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England where he play ...
's long-range drive made it 3–2 just two minutes later and, on the hour mark, Spanish midfielder
Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player who is currently the head coach of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his h ...
completed the comeback by converting the rebound from his saved penalty kick to make it 3–3. Liverpool's three goals came in the space of only six minutes. Milan almost won it at the end of extra time when Shevchenko was twice denied in quick succession by Jerzy Dudek. That proved crucial as they moved on to a penalty shoot-out where Liverpool triumphed 3–2 and captured their fifth European Cup victory and as five-time winners earned the honour of keeping the trophy. After three years of dominance by La Liga from 2000 to 2002, Spain teams were not as successful during 2003–2005 as they only had semi-finalists Real Madrid in 2003 and
Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. They currently play in the Primera División RFEF – ...
in 2004. In 2006, they made a triumphant return with Barcelona and
Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
in the semi-finals. The semi-finalists were Villarreal, Arsenal, Milan, and Barcelona. Arsenal succeeded in holding off Villarreal (including a
Jens Lehmann Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA Ch ...
save of a late penalty from
Juan Román Riquelme Juan Román Riquelme (; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current vice-president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career.final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. In the final, held on 17 May at the Stade de France, Lehmann became the first player ever to be
sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...
in a European Cup/Champions League final after fouling
Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...
just outside the penalty area. Arsenal took the lead from a
Sol Campbell Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Southend United. He previously managed Macclesfield Town from November 2018 to August ...
header in the 37th minute and held it for most of the second half, with substitute keeper
Manuel Almunia Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He competed mainly in the Spanish lower leagues in his early years, only appearing in 26 La Liga games over the course of two seasons with Rec ...
tipping away a shot by Eto'o. Eto'o equalised off a probing feed from substitute Henrik Larsson in the 76th minute. Five minutes later, another Larsson ball found
Juliano Belletti Juliano Haus Belletti (born 20 June 1976) is a Brazilian football coach and former player who mostly played as a right back. He is the current coach of São Paulo U21s. Belletti began his career in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with Cru ...
, who put the second goal through the legs of Almunia to give Barça their final 2–1 margin. In the 2006–07 season, English sides dominated again. In a repeat of the 2005 semi-final, Liverpool knocked out Chelsea this time in a shoot-out. Chelsea won the first leg at Stamford Bridge 1–0 thanks to a goal by
Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger in the Premier League, Ligue 1, League One and United Soccer League. He is regarded as on ...
, but Daniel Agger levelled the aggregate scoreline at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
. Thus, the match went to penalties which Liverpool won 4–1, with keeper
Pepe Reina José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez (; born 31 August 1982) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Villarreal. The son of famed Barcelona and Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Reina, Pepe Reina began his ...
saving twice. This was Chelsea's third semi-final defeat in four years. The first leg of the other semi-final between Milan and Manchester United, at Old Trafford, was an exciting match with
Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...
opening the scoring, only for two Kaká goals to put Milan ahead 2–1 at half time. A
Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...
brace in the second half gave United a 3–2 aggregate lead. The second leg at the
San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums i ...
, however, was a one-sided affair with Milan outclassing Man United from the start and winning 3–0 thanks to goals from Kaká, Clarence Seedorf and
Alberto Gilardino Alberto Gilardino (; born 5 July 1982) is an Italian professional football manager and a former player who played as a striker. He is currently in charge as caretaker of Genoa, a club he was contracted with on July 2022 as a youth coach. A p ...
, and thus setting up a revenge meeting with Liverpool in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. Milan got their revenge as they won the final 2–1, two goals from Filippo Inzaghi proving to be the difference. Liverpool scored late on through Dirk Kuyt, giving ''the Reds'' hope of another amazing comeback but to no avail, and Milan were European champions for a seventh time. The
2008 UEFA Champions League Final The 2008 UEFA Champions League Final was a football match that took place on 21 May 2008 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, to determine the winner of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. It was contested by Manchester United and Chels ...
was the first all English club final in European Cup/Champions League history, and was played out between Manchester United and Chelsea in front of a packed-out
Luzhniki Stadium Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...
in Moscow. United took the lead midway through the first half when Cristiano Ronaldo's header met
Wes Brown Wesley Michael Brown (born 13 October 1979) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. Brown began his career with Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, jo ...
's cross and bounced into the bottom left-hand corner of
Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as ...
's goal. Poor defending, however, enabled
Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielder ...
to equalise in the last minute of the first half. Although both sides created chances, the scoreline remained 1–1 until the end of extra time, and penalties loomed. Didier Drogba became the second player to be sent off in a European Cup/Champions League final in the second period of extra time for a slap on
Nemanja Vidić Nemanja Vidić ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Видић, ; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is best known for his time at Manchester United, was part of the Serbia national team, and ...
. Extra time finished and a penalty shoot-out was to decide it. Both teams scored their first two penalties, but Cristiano Ronaldo's shot was saved by Petr Čech. For Chelsea's last penalty, however, captain
John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the a ...
slipped as he was taking the shot, and the ball hit the outside of the post and flew helplessly wide. In the second round of sudden death, Ryan Giggs successfully converted his penalty before Edwin van der Sar won the Champions' League for United by saving
Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...
's effort.


Spanish dominance (2008–2018)

The following ten competitions would see the Spanish dominance rise to unprecedented levels, with Barcelona and Real Madrid winning seven titles, as well as having Atlético Madrid reach two finals. Real Madrid reached the semi-finals of the competition for eight consecutive seasons, from
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
to 2017–18, winning four titles, including ''La Décima'' and the threepeat.


2009 to 2011 – Guardiola's Barcelona dominate, Mourinho's Internazionale treble, and Manchester United's two UCL finals against Barça

En route to the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, Barcelona overcame Chelsea in a controversial semi-final when
Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of hi ...
scored for Barcelona in London in injury time, advancing them to the final on away goals. The other semi-final saw Arsenal face Manchester United, with United winning the first leg 1–0 then winning the second leg in London 3–1, advancing through on a 4–1 aggregate scoreline. On 27 May 2009, Barcelona overcame Manchester United at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, winning 2–0 with goals from Samuel Eto'o and
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
. This made Barça the first team from La Liga to win a domestic cup, domestic league, and European Cup treble. This was made all the remarkable by the fact that it was coach Pep Guardiola's first season in charge, with just one year as coach of the
B team B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...
as previous experience. At age 38, Guardiola, who also won the title as a player with Barça in 1992, became the youngest coach ever to lead a team to the trophy. In 2010, for the first time in five years, no English teams were featured in the semi-finals (three English teams were in the semi-finals for each of the past three seasons before), with Manchester United and Arsenal both being eliminated in the quarter-finals. Internazionale stunned Barcelona with a 3–1 win in Milan in the semi-final first leg, holding them to 1–0 the second leg, thus advancing through. Bayern Munich defeated
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
4–0 on aggregate to advance to the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. On 22 May 2010, Internazionale, coached by José Mourinho, beat Bayern 2–0 at the Santiago Bernabéu. On 28 May 2011 at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
in London, Barcelona beat Manchester United for a second final in three years. The Catalans dominated the match, winning 3–1 with goals from
Pedro Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, mean ...
, Lionel Messi and
David Villa David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Villa is regarded by pundits as one of the best forwards of his generation, and one of the best Spanish strikers of all time. ...
, securing their fourth Champions League title. Wayne Rooney scored for Manchester United to level the score going into half-time. This marked Barcelona's fourth title overall and third title in six seasons (2005–06 to 2010–11).


2012 to 2013 – Chelsea's first title and Bayern's return

On 19 May 2012, at the
Allianz Arena Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterio ...
in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, Chelsea finally, against the odds, delivered the big prize to London and also back to England. In a come-from-behind victory over Bayern Munich, they won 4–3 on penalties after the game had finished 1–1 after extra time. Bayern enjoyed much possession but failed to capitalise, allowing Didier Drogba to equalise late in the game after
Thomas Müller Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. A versatile player, Müller has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking mi ...
had given Bayern the lead. During the penalty shoot-out, Čech, who saved a penalty by ex-Chelsea player
Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots. Robben is regarded as one of the best players of his gener ...
earlier in extra-time, saved two spot-kicks and set the stage for Drogba to score the winner with the final kick. The 2012–13 competition saw the first all-German final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund after their victories over Spanish clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively, in the semi-finals. Bayern Munich's victory was somewhat impressive, as they defeated a struggling Barcelona side 7–0 on aggregate to set the record of biggest two-leg win in a semi-final replacing Manchester United's 6–1 win over
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
in 2011. In the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, Bayern beat Dortmund 2–1, with Robben scoring the winning goal 89 minutes into the match and won their fifth UEFA Champions League and after winning the titles of the Bundesliga one week before and the DFB-Pokal, Bayern Munich became the first German team to win the treble.


2014 to 2018 – Real Madrid at the center of Spanish dominance: ''Los Blancos'' win four titles in five years, Barcelona win their second treble

Real Madrid won their long-awaited ''La Decima'' (translates into Spanish as "the tenth"), their record-breaking tenth European Cup/UEFA Champions League title, in the 2013–14 season following a 4–1 win after extra time in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
against city rivals and La Liga champions Atlético Madrid. It was the first same-city final and the second all-Spanish final.
Diego Simeone Diego Pablo Simeone González (; ; born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo (), is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atlético Madrid since December 2011. In his cl ...
coached Atlético in an incredible season after clinching the Spanish league title a week before the final and his side lead 1–0 through
Diego Godín Diego Roberto Godín Leal (born 16 February 1986) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sarsfield and captains the Uruguay national team. Regarded as one of the best ...
until a Sergio Ramos header deep into injury time took it to extra time. In 2015, Barcelona won their fifth Champions League trophy, defeating Juventus by three goals to one in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. By winning their fifth title, Barcelona became the first European football club in history to achieve the continental treble twice. Barcelona's attacking trio of Messi, Suárez and Neymar, dubbed "MSN", scored 122 goals in all competitions, the most in a season for an attacking trio in Spanish football history. In
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid both reached the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
again. This game was a rematch of the 2014 final, and became the third all-Spanish final and the second same-city final in the tournament's history. The match went to penalties after the score finished at 1–1 at the end of extra time. Real Madrid went on to win their 11th title after beating Atlético 5–3 on penalties, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the winning penalty for ''Los Blancos''. The victory in the 2017 Champions League Final against Juventus made Real Madrid the first team ever to defend their title in the Champions League era, and the first to win consecutive titles in the competition since
A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...
in 1989 and 1990, when the tournament was known as the European Cup. Real Madrid's title was its 12th, extending its record, and its third in four years. The achievement is also known as ''La Duodécima''. Real Madrid won their third title in a row in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
, beating
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
3–1 in Kyiv. It was a match to forget for Liverpool goalkeeper
Loris Karius Loris Sven Karius (born 22 June 1993) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. Born in Biberach, Karius began his career with Stuttgart before moving to Manchester City in 2009. After two years in Manchester City's youth ...
who made two errors during the match: he performed a wayward throw which rebounded off
Karim Benzema Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid. A creative and prolific forward, Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. ...
for Real Madrid's first goal. Then, following a great overhead bicycle kick by Gareth Bale for the Spaniards' second, he mishandled a long-range shot by Bale for Real Madrid's third. Between 2010 and 2018, Real Madrid reached the semi-finals eight consecutive times, while Bayern and Barcelona achieved the feat five times.


Premier League leads the way (2018–present)

The following years would see two all-English finals, as well as Liverpool losing the 2022 final to Real Madrid.


2019 – English teams contest the final after stunning comebacks

After Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, they struggled to replicate the same form as the previous four years and failed in their title defence. Ajax made the first semi finals since 1997 knocking out Real Madrid and Juventus. Their squad was one of the youngest, with De Ligt the youngest captain. Tottenham won against Manchester City in a controversial turnover of Raheem Sterling's 95th min goal by VAR and knocked out Ajax in the injury time comeback with Lucas Moura scoring on 93 mins breaking the hearts of Ajax players and fans. Liverpool won against FC Barcelona 4-0 after a dramatic turnaround losing 3–0 in the first leg which was again a humiliating knockout of FC Barcelona after AS Roma in 2018 quarter finals. Manchester United also won on away goals against PSG with dramatic comeback turning around 2–0 to 3-1 which resulted in aggregate score of 3-3. Manchester United lost 4–0 on aggregate against FC Barcelona in quarter finals. Liverpool won their sixth European Cup by defeating fellow English side
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
in the 2019 final. An early penalty converted by
Mohamed Salah Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly ( ar, محمد صلاح حامد محروس غالي, ; born 15 June 1992), also known as Mo Salah, is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Liverpool and captains the Egypt ...
and a late
Divock Origi Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club AC Milan and the Belgium national team. Origi began his career at Lille, and scored on his professional debut for them in 2013. A ...
goal ensured a 2–0 victory for
Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world. Klopp spent most of his playing ...
's team. Both finalists had achieved unlikely comebacks in their semi-finals, with Liverpool overcoming a first-leg 3–0 defeat by Barcelona with a second-leg 4–0 win and Tottenham scoring the three second-half goals they required to defeat Ajax in the second leg in Amsterdam and also on away goals.


2020 – COVID-19 pandemic and Bayern superiority

The 2019–20 season was disrupted by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, with round of 16 matches that were still ongoing being suspended until further notice. The host city for the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
would eventually be changed from
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
to Lisbon, as was the majority of the remainder of the competition. The knockout stage resumed in August, with remaining second leg round of 16 games being played behind closed doors at their respective home stadiums as part of the season restart. Quarter-final and semi-final matches were played in only one leg at the Estadio Jose Alvalade and
Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, it ...
over the course of about two weeks, following the teams' completion of their respective domestic seasons. After winning every match post-restart to secure a league and cup double, Bayern Munich continued their dominance in the Champions League, following up their perfect group stage record with an aggregate victory over
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, an 8–2 thrashing of
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and 3–0 win against
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
, reaching the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
with a 100 percent win record still intact in the competition. Their opponents in the final would be
Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
, who had reached the showpiece match for the first time in club history. The match was the first ever final to be played in the month of August and the second final between teams from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, after Bayern's win over Saint-Étienne in
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
. With the match scoreless after half-time, former PSG player
Kingsley Coman Kingsley Junior Coman (; born 13 June 1996) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Bayern Munich and the France national team. Trained at Paris Saint-Germain's academy, Coman moved to Juventus in 2014 on the exp ...
scored a header in the 59th minute against his old club, securing a 1–0 win for Bayern that sealed a second treble in club history, following up from the one they achieved in the 2012–13 season. Bayern lifted the European Cup for the sixth time, equalling
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
on the all-time list, and became only the second European team after Barcelona to secure multiple continental trebles. They also became the first side to win every match of a Champions League campaign.


2021 – Super League threat and Chelsea surprise

The
2020–21 UEFA Champions League The 2020–21 UEFA Champions League was the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea defea ...
continued despite the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit with a condensed schedule. Porto and Chelsea were unlikely heroes when they won against Juventus and Atlético Madrid respectively. Defending champions Bayern Munich were knocked out on away goals by previous finalists PSG after missing
Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is co ...
with injury in a rematch of the 2020 final. Behind closed doors however, The Super League was being planned and was unexpectedly announced on 18 April by Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, the "Big Six" English clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur), Juventus, and the two big Milan clubs (A.C. Milan and Inter Milan), which threatened the existence of the Champions League. UEFA president
Aleksander Čeferin Aleksander Čeferin (, born 13 October 1967) is a Slovenian lawyer and football administrator. Between 2011 and 2016, he was president of the Football Association of Slovenia. Since September 2016, he has been the president of UEFA. Career After ...
and several delegates threatened to expel the clubs joining The Super League when Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid were in the semi-finals. Rumours persisted that PSG were expected to win the Champions League by default after rejecting an offer to join. Borussia Dortmund, Porto and Bayern Munich also refused offers to join The Super League. FIFA and UEFA opposed The Super League and there were widespread protests from fans, governments, players, FAs and much of the football world, forcing the Big Six English clubs to withdraw from the league. The Milan clubs later followed suit with Atlético Madrid also withdrawing;
Andrea Agnelli Andrea Agnelli (; born 6 December 1975) is an Italian businessman. Agnelli served as chairman of Italian football club Juventus F.C. since May 2010 to until his resignation on November 2022 following a Financial Accounts Probe ordered by the Tu ...
, chairman of Juventus and vice-chairman of The Super League, conceded that the project would not proceed.
Florentino Pérez Florentino Pérez Rodríguez (; born 8 March 1947) is a Spanish businessman, civil engineer, former politician, and the current president of Real Madrid as well as Chairman and CEO of Grupo ACS, a civil engineering company. He was also the first ...
, president of Real Madrid and chairman of The Super League, cited lack of profits, lack of interest from younger fans, fewer matches between elite clubs in the Champions League and the pandemic as reasons for the creation of The Super League. Court proceedings by the remaining Super League clubs and UEFA are ongoing in the European Court of Justice. Chelsea made the semi-finals for the first time in seven years facing Real Madrid for the first time. Man City defeated PSG 4–1 on aggregate en route to their first appearance in the final, while Chelsea defeated Real Madrid 3–1 on aggregate to set up the second all-English final in three years. Chelsea won the title for the second time after defeating City 1–0 at the
Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; English: Dragon Stadium) is an All-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the Lis ...
thanks to a goal by
Kai Havertz Kai Lukas Havertz (born 11 June 1999) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for club Chelsea and the Germany national team. Having graduated from Bayer Leverkusen's youth academy in 2016, Havertz ...
.


Evolution of the tournament format

The format of the competition has evolved substantially over the years, notably with the introduction of a Group Phase beginning in 1991, and multiple national representatives in 1998. The following summarises the evolution of the championship format through the years: *1955–1991: Knockout format; one club per country (the league champion) plus the defending champion **1955: Some countries were represented by a team not the domestic champion **1956–59: Domestic runner-up admitted in cases when the domestic champion was also European champion *1991–1993: Three knockout qualifying rounds; group phase with two groups; two group winners meet in final; one club per country (the league champion) plus the defending champion; In 1992–93 season, the European Cup was officially rebranded as UEFA Champions League *1993–1994: Knockout semi-finals added following group phase *1994–1997: One knockout qualifying round; group phase with four groups; group winners and runners-up to eight-team knockout phase; one club per country (the league champion) plus the defending champion *1997–1999: Two knockout qualifying rounds; group phase with six groups; group winners and best two runners-up to eight-team knockout phase; up to two clubs per country *1999–2003: Three knockout qualifying rounds; two group phases with eight first-phase group winners and runners-up moving to four second-phase groups; second-phase group winners and runners-up to eight-team knockout phase; up to four clubs per country *Since 2003: Three knockout qualifying rounds; one group phase with eight groups; group winners and runners-up to 16-club knockout phase; still up to four clubs per country *Since 2009: UEFA introduced a play-off round in qualifying round of the Europa League and Champions League *Since 2018: Automatic group stage berths for the Europa League winners without additional entries required followed with the group stage qualification format reforms (the top 4 clubs from the top 4 national associations automatically began to get into the group stage) *Since 2021: UEFA abolished the away goal rules in all of the club competitions for the two-legged knockout stages and if a match ends in a draw on aggregate after both legs, they will have to go through with extra time after the end of the 90-minute regulation and a penalty shoot-out if the aggregate remains unchanged after extra time to determine the winner of the tie. Prior to 1970, aggregate draws were settled by a
play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
and (if necessary) coin-toss. Thereafter, it was via the away goals rule and (if necessary) a penalty shoot-out. The final retained the potential for a replay until the late 1970s. *Scheduled for 2024: Partly in response to the attempt at the
European Super League The European Super League (ESL), officially The Super League, was a proposed seasonal club football competition that initially would have been contested by twenty European football clubs, twelve of them being the competition's founding members. ...
, UEFA decided on an extended format beginning with the 2024–25 season. The group stage is planned to evolve into a league stage in which the number of teams increases from 32 to 36. Every club will play a minimum of 8 league stage games against 8 different opponents (four home games, four away) instead of the current six matches against three teams, played on a home and away basis. The teams finishing in 1st through 8th places will qualify automatically for the knockout stage, while the teams finishing in 9th to 24th places will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition.


List of participating nations by first entry


Including qualification rounds


Group stage only

Since the addition of a group phase to the European Cup in the 1991–92 season, the earlier stages of the competition have been classified as qualifying rounds and from the 1994–95 season, all rounds prior to the group stage have been considered qualification rounds. The following nations have had representation at the group stage of the competition:


Further reading

* * * * *


See also

*
List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League finals The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of European ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:European Cup And Uefa Champions League History
History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
History of association football