Encyclopedia > The European Champions League
Champions League
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The UEFA Champions League is an annual international inter-club football competition between Europe's most successful clubs, regarded as the most prestigious club trophy in the sport.
Originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the competition began in 1955/56 using a two-leg knockout format where the teams would play two matches, one at home and and one away, and the team with the highest overall score qualifying for the next round of the competition. Entry was restricted to the teams that won their national league championships.
The format and name were changed in 1992/93, and now the competition consists of qualifying rounds for some teams, two stages of group competition (where teams play each other in the style of "home-and-away" or "regular season competition), and then three rounds of knock-out finals. Qualification for the competition is decided by teams placing in their domestic league championships on a quota system, with countries with stronger domestic leagues allocated more teams.
Real Madrid CF has won this competition nine times. The next most successful teams are A.C. Milan (6 titles), Bayern Munich, Ajax and Liverpool (4 titles).
Formerly, the Cup Winners' Cup (between winners of the national cup competitions) was played, but national cup winners now play in the UEFA Cup (since 1999).
| Season | Stadium | Winner (total wins) | Finalists | Score | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002/03 | Old Trafford, Manchester | AC Milan (2) | Juventus | 0-0 | 3-2 in penalty shootout |
| 2001/02 | Hampden Park, Glasgow | Real Madrid (3) | Bayer Leverkusen | 2-1 | |
| 2000/01 | San Siro, Milan | Bayern Munich | Valencia, CF | 1-1 | 5-4 in penalty shootout |
| 1999/00 | Saint Dennis, Paris | Real Madrid (2) | Valencia, CF | 3-0 | |
| 1998/99 | Camp Nou, Barcelona | Manchester United F.C. | Bayern Munich | 2-1 | 2 late goals by MUFC |
| 1997/98 | Amsterdam Arena | Real Madrid | Juventus | 1-0 | |
| 1996/97 | Munich | Borussia Dortmund | Juventus | 3-1 | |
| 1995/96 | Rome | Juventus | Ajax Amsterdam | 1-1 | 4-2 in penalty shootout |
| 1994/95 | Vienna | Ajax Amsterdam | A.C. Milan | 1-0 | |
| 1993/94 | Athens | A.C. Milan | FC Barcelona | 4-0 | |
| 1992/93 | Munich | Olympique Marseille | A.C. Milan | 1-0 |
- UEFA Official Site: http://www.uefa.com
- http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/index
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