| European Cup And Champions League History |
Article Index for European Cup |
Website Links For European |
Information AboutEuropean Cup And Champions League History |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT EUROPEAN CUP AND CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HISTORY | |
| uefa champions league | |
| history | |
| history of football soccer | |
|
Tracing the history of the Champions League back to its beginning, it is possible to pick out periods when specific teams or countries dominated the competition, only to find themselves rapidly superseded by another dominant team or teams. With that in mind, it is easy to view the European Cup and Champions League by era: GENESIS In the early 1950s, football played under Floodlight s was still a novelty. The summer of 1953 saw the first set of lights installed at the Molineux Stadium of Wolverhampton Wanderers , which were first tested in a friendly game against a South Africa n XI. Over the next months, Wolves played a series of "floodlit friendlies" against foreign opposition. Beginning with Racing Club of Argentina , they also played Spartak Moscow of the USSR , before meeting Honved of Hungary in a game televised live on the BBC . The Honved team included many of the "Magical Magyars" Hungary team who had humbled England twice. Wolves won the game 3-2, which led their manager Stan Cullis to proclaim them as "Champions of the World", in spite of Honved's defeat to Red Star Belgrade (then lying seventh in their domestic league) days earlier. This was the final spur for Gabriel Hanot , the editor of '' L'Équipe '', who had long campaigned for a Europe wide club tournament to be played under floodlights. ''"Before we declare that and Real Madrid to name but two. A club world championship, or at least a European one - larger, more meaningful and more prestigious than the Mitropa Cup and more original than a competition for national teams - should be launched."'' - Gabriel Hanot The UEFA congress of March 1955 saw the proposal raised, with approval given in April of that year, and the kick-off of the first European Cup the following season. 1955 TO 1960 - FIRST REAL MADRID ERA Real Madrid dominated the first five competitions, with the team led by Di Stefano , Puskás , Gento , Del Sol and Santamaria winning each of the first five finals comfortably. While this was most definitely the case, Manchester United and several Italian clubs did offer some resistance during the late 1950s . However, the combined factors of the 1958 Munich Air Crash and the unorthodox and cavalier playing style of Real meant that little real competition could be found. This era culminated in the famous 1960 European Cup Final, at Hampden Park , Glasgow , Scotland , where Real Madrid obliterated Eintracht Frankfurt of the then West Germany 7-3 in front of BBC and other Eurovision television cameras and a crowd of over 135,000 - still the largest attendance for a European Cup or Champions League final. 1961 TO 1966 - BENFICA, AC MILAN, INTERNAZIONALE... AND REAL MADRID Real Madrid 's domination was ended by their biggest domestic rivals, Barcelona , in the first round of the 1961 competition. Barça went all the way to the final that year at the Wankdorf Stadion in Berne , Switzerland , where they were defeated in a close game by Benfica of Lisbon . This team, captained by the impressive Mario Coluna from Mozambique , were joined by the legendary Eusébio the following season, where they defended the trophy beating Real Madrid 5-3 in the final at the Olympisch Stadion , Amsterdam , Netherlands . Benfica would then go on to reach a third successive final in 1963 , but lost to Milan , whose city rivals Internazionale would win the trophy in both 1964 and 1965 beating Real Madrid and Benfica in the process. The 1965 competition is memorable more for the infamous and controversial semi-final between Internazionale and Liverpool , with widespread allegations of bribery and Match Fixing being levelled at the Italian side following a 3-0 home win In Milan . This era was ended by Real Madrid, who defeated Internazionale in the 1966 semi-final, before going on to win a sixth European Cup with against Partizan Belgrade in the King Baudouin Stadium , Brussels (then Heysel Stadium). Of the great 1950's side, only Paco Gento played in all six winning teams. This Real Madrid was completely made of spanish players, and given the youth of most of them (with the exception of Gento) it was nick-named the "ye-yé". 1967 AND 1968 - TWO BRITISH VICTORIES In 1967 , Celtic became the first British and Northern European team to win the competition, beating Internazionale 2-1 in the Estádio Nacional , in Lisbon , Portugal against the odds. The team, which became known as the Lisbon Lions , managed by Jock Stein , were all born within 25 miles (40 km) of Celtic Park in Glasgow , and as such remain unusual by the event's longstanding nature of attracting the best and most cosmopolitan players from all over the planet. Celtic are the only club to have won the competition with a team comprised entirely of home-grown talent. By way of contrast, while Real Madrid fielded many Spaniards in the 1950s, their major stars were from elsewhere — Alfredo Di Stefano had arrived from Argentina , while Ferenc Puskás had Defected from Hungary in 1956 . One year later, in 1968 , Manchester United became the first English team to win the competition, beating Benfica 4-1 after extra time at Wembley Stadium , London . This game was incredibly close, and though United scored three times in extra time, Benfica should have won the game in normal time when the famous Eusébio missed what should have been an easy chance (for him) in the last seconds. 1969 TO 1973 - DUTCH DOMINATION The European Cup was now to spend almost the whole of the next decade and a half as the property of just three clubs - each winning at least three finals, and appearing regularly in the latter stages of the competition. The first club to dominate was AFC Ajax , who first lost the 1969 final to Milan and then had to watch deadly rivals Feyenoord win the same title in 1970 . After that though, the Total Football of Johan Cruijff , Barry Hulshoff , Ruud Krol , Johan Neeskens , Arie Haan , Gerrie Mühren and Piet Keizer dominated for three comfortable years, despatching Panathinaikos of Athens , Internazionale and Juventus of Turin in swift succession. Each player was able to adapt to play in many positions and roles, strikers switching with defenders at will, Krol creating nearly as many chances as Mühren, Cruijff stopping as many as Hulshoff. Created by Rinus Michels and refined by Stefan Kovacs , Ajax seemed unbeatable until Cruijff opted to join former coach Michels at Barcelona later in 1973 . With that, aging and the loss of Neeskens later, Ajax struggled in the premier European competition for over 20 years. 1974 TO 1976 - THE RISE OF BAYERN Bayern Munich became the next club to dominate the competition, winning it three times consecutively in the mid 1970s . Led by Franz Beckenbauer , and starring Sepp Maier , Gerd Müller , Uli Hoeness and Paul Breitner , Bayern continued on from Total Football, adding their own version of rigidity and organisation to the mix to make an equally as imposing mixture. Defeating first Atlético Madrid after a replay in 1974 , Bayern then beat Leeds United 2-0 in a bad-tempered final at the Parc Des Princes , Paris , France in 1975 , and finally St. Étienne at Hampden Park , Glasgow , in 1976 . Thereafter the side declined, and Bayern would win no more victories in the European Cup era. 1977 TO 1984 - ENGLISH CLUBS, JUVENTUS FC & HEYSEL In 1977 , Liverpool started a domination of the competition by English clubs which would see six consecutive victories, and a total of seven in eight years. Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in Rome , then in 1978 became the first British club to win the trophy twice by beating the Belgian champions, Club Brugge at Wembley. Liverpool lost in the first round of the 1979 competition to fellow English side Nottingham Forest who went on to win the tournament in arguably the most impressive rise to the top of continental football in the European game's history. Forest defeated Swedish side Malmö 1-0 in the Munich Final; then disposed of Hamburg SV in Madrid by the same scoreline to defend the trophy successfully in 1980 and remain the only side to win the trophy more times (twice) than their own domestic league (once). Liverpool returned to the final in 1981 where they picked up their third trophy with a 1-0 win over Real Madrid in Paris . To show the English game's strength in depth, Aston Villa won the competition in 1982 with a 1-0 win over Bayern In Rotterdam . Hamburg SV won it in 1983 , beating Juventus FC 1-0 in the final, in which no English side were playing for the first time in seven years. However, Liverpool were back in 1984 to defeat AS Roma on their Home Turf after a penalty shootout. Liverpool returned to defend the trophy in Brussels a year later, but the 1-0 defeat by Juventus was rendered meaningless due to the Death Of 39 Juventus Fans In The Heysel Stadium . The consequence was a 5-year ban from European competition for English clubs, with a 6-year ban on Liverpool. 1986 TO 1988 - STEAUA, PORTO AND PSV scores the equalizer with his back-heel for FC Porto in the 1987 final]]With English clubs banned from participating in European football, the spell of dominance was well and truly over. In the few years that followed the Heysel Disaster, the European Cup was contested between other clubs. 1986 , 1987 and 1988 saw the trophy lifted by Steaua Bucharest of Romania , FC Porto of Portugal and PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands respectively. Only the final, lost by Bayern Munich to FC Porto was really eventful, and regarded among the greatest European Cup finals of all time, with the special back-heel goal by Madjer. 1989 TO 1991 - AC MILAN AND RED STAR BELGRADE A.C. Milan won the European Cup in 1989 and retained it the following year. The Dutch trio of Marco Van Basten , Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard played an important part in their success. Milan missed out on a third successive European crown in 1991 , when the trophy went to Yugoslav league champions Red Star Belgrade who beat Marseille on Penalties after a goalless draw. The 1991 final was also the only final in the 1989- 1998 period that failed to feature an Italian team. The ban on English clubs in European football was lifted for the 1990-91 season, but English champions Liverpool were unable to compete in the European Cup because they had to serve an extra year. 1992 TO 1996 - CONTINENTAL DOMINANCE English clubs made their return to the European Cup in the early 1990s , but none reached even the last eight let alone the final. Arsenal (1991-92), Leeds United ( 1992-93 ), Manchester United (1993-94 and 1994-95) and Blackburn Rovers (1995-96) struggled to make an impact in Europe. This was not helped by the strict " Three Foreigner " rule which hurt British sides more than most because football considers England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland as separate countries rather than as part of the United Kingdom . As such Welsh players such as Ryan Giggs -- despite being British by nationality -- were counted as foreign. Instead, the trophy stayed with continental clubs. The 1992 final, played at Wembley Stadium , was won by Barcelona . Marseille won the 1993 final, but were later banned from defending their crown in what was only the beginning of a collapse which arose from domestic match fixing committed by chairman Bernard Tapie . The club eventually lost their French First Division status after it was revealed that Tapie had cooked the club's financial books. In 1994 , A.C. Milan reclaimed the trophy by comprehensively beating a star-studded Barcelona side, 4-0, in what many have hailed as one of the finest European Cup Final performances of the modern age. Milan also went on to reach the final in 1995 but lost 1-0 to an exciting young Ajax side powered by the brilliant 19 year-old striker Patrick Kluivert . Ajax, in turn, reached the next final in 1996 , but fell to Juventus after a penalty shoot-out. By this time world football had just begun to adapt to the radical changes brought on by the Bosman Ruling . Best known for allowing out-of-contract players to move to other clubs without a transfer fee, of greater impact to the European Cup was the elimination of quotas against European Union nationals. Players from EU member states were not considered foreigners for clubs in EU member states any more. 1997 AND 1998 - GERMAN AND SPANISH SUCCESS Borussia Dortmund joined the list of European Cup winners in 1997 when they upset holders Juventus in the final, having already disposed of English champions, Manchester United , in the semi-final. But 1996-97 was a season of progress for English clubs in the European Cup, because United had become the first team to progress to the last four of the European Cup in the post-Heysel era. In and seventh overall when they beat Juventus 1-0 in the Italian club's third straight final (and second straight defeat). 1999 TO 2003 - VARIED SUCCESS 1998-99 will be forever remembered for Manchester United's superlative and unparalleled treble success. United had forged an impressive path to the Final by emerging from a group containing Barcelona and Bayern Munich unbeaten, then beating Italian giants Inter Milan and Juventus (in both legs coming from behind). They had also forged a reputation for late comebacks in England as they picked up the League and FA Cup en-route to a treble, unprecedented in English football. Their opponents, Bayern Munich , were also chasing a treble, and took the lead after just six minutes through a clever Mario Basler free-kick. It appeared to be enough for Bayern as United failed to find a way through, with goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel , (playing his last game for the club and captaining the club in the absence of skipper Roy Keane ) in inspirational form to keep his team in the game. With referee Pierluigi Collina signalling three minutes of stoppage time, everyone thought the game was up, to the extent that the trophy was brought out bearing Bayern's colours. United threw everyone forward for a David Beckham corner, and were rewarded when substitute Teddy Sheringham turned home the equaliser after Ryan Giggs mishit a shot at goal. Bayern hearts were broken, but the worst was yet to come no more than a minute later. Another Beckham corner again provided the danger as Sheringham headed it on to fellow substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjær . The Norwegian striker flicked out his boot to send the ball into the roof of the net and win the European Cup for Manchester United. It was the club's first success since 1968 and marked the first English winner since Liverpool in 1984.This is regarded by the majority of football fans as being the greatest three minutes in the Champions league history. The 1999-2000 season saw UEFA again ease the entry requirements for the so-called Champions League. Now the top three leagues (according to UEFA 's Rankings ) could enter four teams, while the next three could enter three. 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. This was the first final to feature two teams from the same country. On the way to the final they also achieved the remarkable feat of successively eliminating last year's runners-up ( Bayern Munich , semi-finals), and champions ( Manchester United , quarter-finals). The tie against Manchester United has obtained legendary status among Madrid fans after a memorable away victory at Old Trafford (2-3) which included a fine goal created by midfielder Fernando Redondo , dubbed 'el taconazo (backheel) de Old Trafford'. Valencia returned to the Final again in the 2001 only to lose again, this time to Bayern Munich , who finally erased the memory of their 1999 final defeat. That win also gave coach Ottmar Hitzfeld the distinction of winning the European Cup with two different teams, having lifted it in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund . There were echoes of Real Madrid's legendary 1960 final victory when they faced another German team ( Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 final at Glasgow 's Hampden Park . Bayer became the first finalist never to have won their domestic league. Furthering the comparisons with the classic team of Di Stefano and Puskás was the much-hyped "Galactico" policy Real Madrid were pursuing at the time, where they intended to sign one world-class player a year. That season they added multiple FIFA World Player Of The Year winner, Zinedine Zidane , to their ranks for a world record fee of €71 million. Zidane and Madrid lived up to the hype; the Frenchman displayed textbook skill to acrobatically volley home the winner in their 2-1 victory that gave the club its ninth European Cup. As a footnote, that defeat capped off a thoroughly unfortuitous season for Bayer Leverkusen. They first lost the German League title in the last game of the season, then lost the European Cup final, then the German Cup final. And to add insult to injury, some of that side (including midfield star Michael Ballack ) then went on to lose the Final with Germany that summer. The next season saw Italian clubs return to the top of the European table. Despite dominating the competition through the 1990s, Italian clubs fell so far so fast in the intervening years that Italy didn't boast a single quarter-finalist in 2002 . The following season, however, saw three Italian semi-finalists—and a final between A.C. Milan and Juventus . Milan won their sixth European Cup when they beat their old rivals 3-2 on penalties following a dull 0-0 draw. The victory was especially sweet for captain, Paolo Maldini , who lifted the trophy in Manchester exactly forty years after his father Cesare had done so for Milan in London .In the group stage of that year there was also an interesting feature. Three teams had the same result in all their matches. Fancy Barcelona managed to win all 6 group matches in style, while a mediocre Spartak Moscow side lost them all. AEK Athens drew 6 times and became the first team that failed to qualify from the group stage undefeated, finishing third. 2004 - AN UNEXPECTED RESULT There was a major upset in , AEK Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus . 2005 - LIVERPOOL'S TRIUMPHANT COMEBACK There was a similar surprise in 2005 . This time it involved two of Europe's most successful clubs. Six-time European Champions A.C. Milan faced four-time winners Liverpool in what could be considered one of the most dramatic finals in the competition's history. Milan were the overwhelming favourites, having claimed the crown two years previously and boasting a star-studded lineup that included the ageless Paolo Maldini and Ukraine 's Andriy Shevchenko . Liverpool, on the other hand, had struggled through a domestic league campaign that saw them only finish fifth, but produced an incredible series of performances in Europe. Milan broke through after just 52 seconds, Maldini striking the fastest goal in European Cup Final history. The Italians, buoyed by a sensational showing from Brazilian star Kaká , took control of the game. Shevchenko fed Hernan Crespo five minutes before half-time to make it 2-0, only for Crespo to add another two minutes later after a defence-splitting pass from Kaká. At 3-0 down at half-time, Liverpool looked dead and buried. Liverpool's Spanish manager Rafael Benítez changed the course of the game when he introduced German midfielder Dietmar Hamann . After Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek made a fine save from a Shevchenko Free-kick , the European Cup Final's greatest ever comeback began. Gerrard scored with a header before Vladimir Smicer 's long-range drive made it 3-2 just two minutes later. And on the hour mark Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso completed the comeback by converting the rebound from his saved penalty kick to make it 3-3. Milan almost won it at the end of extra time when Shevchenko was twice denied in quick succession by Dudek. That proved crucial as they moved on to a penalty shoot-out where Liverpool triumphed 3-2 when Dudek again saved from Shevchenko. Liverpool had captured their most unlikely European Cup victory, and as five-time winners earned the honour of keeping the trophy. Liverpool almost failed to qualify from the group stage. Participating in Group A, along with Monaco (FRA), Deportivo La Coruña (ESP) and Olympiacos (GRE), Liverpool were placed third on matchday 5 and had to manage a victory of a 3+ goal margin or to win by 3-1, 4-2 etc in their last match against Olympiacos at home. Final scoreline 3-1, but only after an Olympiacos first half 1-0 advantage. 2005-2006 Qualification confusion There was further controversy as Liverpool had finished fifth in their domestic league and thus were not automatically entitled to enter the 2005-06 Competition . The Football Association had entered Everton F.C. as the final entrant after their fourth place finish in the league, and did not wish to replace the team with Liverpool to allow the defence of the Champions' League (despite having made provision for such an eventuality the previous season when Arsenal faced Chelsea in the quarter-final). If Everton were to be replaced with Liverpool, it would be the second time in which Liverpool had caused Everton not to qualify for the cup although they had gained a spot (English clubs were banned after the Heysel Stadium Disaster , a season in which Everton had finished first in). This was in contrast to the Spanish Football Authorities who in an earlier season had replaced their final entrant with Real Madrid . Liverpool and the FA lobbied hard for a special fifth Champions League place for the team, claiming it was UEFA rules rather than the FA's previous decisions that were keeping Liverpool from the competition. After some debate, UEFA decided to grant special dispensation and allow Liverpool to defend their title, but they had to enter the tournament at the First Qualifying Round. The ruling also stated that if the team made it into the Champions League proper the other English teams would have to split the prize money that was due to them. The rules of the competition were also changed to prevent any further dispute if the same situation happened again; future winners not qualifying through their domestic league will take the place of the team claiming the last Champions League spot in the domestic League. If the same situation were to happen again, where Everton claimed the fourth and final Champions League place in the English Premiership with Liverpool finishing fifth, Liverpool would take Everton's place in the Champions League and Everton would have to settle for a UEFA Cup spot. This changes the previous rules where the winners of the competition had to qualify in order to defend their title, just like the winners of World Cup , as it was assumed they would finish in the qualification places in their domestic league. All winners are now however, as described, allowed to defend their title. Tournament progress The semi-finalists were Villareal , Arsenal, AC Milan and Barcelona. Barcelona overcame Chelsea and Benfica in the knockout stages. Villareal beat Rangers of Glasgow and Internazionale of Milan. AC Milan beat Bayern Munich and Olympique Lyonnais. Arsenal beat Juventus and Real Madrid. Making use of their 1-0 victory at Highbury , Arsenal succeeded in holding off Villareal (including through a late penalty by Juan Riquelme saved by Jens Lehmann ) to a 0-0 draw which puts them through to the the Champions League final at the Stade De France . Barcelona played Milan in the other semi-final, and held on to the 1-0 advantage of the first leg to qualify for the final. EVOLUTION OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP 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 summarizes the evolution of the championship format of the through the years:
Prior to 1970, aggregate draws were settled by a Play-off and (if necessary) Coin-toss . Since then, it has been via the Away Goals Rule and (if necessary) a Penalty Shootout . The final retained the potential for a Replay until the late 1970s. REFERENCES |
|
|