UEFA Champions League History
French Founders, Real Madrid All-Time Winners, 8 Repeats
The UEFA Champions League began in 1995 under the title European Champions Clubs' Cup. It was started by two Frenchmen and changed its name to the Champions League in 1992. Real Madrid have won a record nine titles and eight teams have defended the trophy. The three most successful countries are England, Italy and Spain.
French Pioneers
The Champions League was born in 1955 on the initiative of the French sports daily L'Equipe. The publication's editor Gabriel Hanot and his colleague Jacques Ferran came up with a plan to invite the most appealing clubs from throughout the continent, with the rules not requiring the teams participating had to be the champions from their country. And the new league was formed officially on April 3, 1955.
Real Madrid Early Domination
Spanish club Real Madrid CF dominated the tournament in the early going, winning the first five titles from 1956-60 - the longest title run in the competition's history. The first team other than Real to win the trophy was Portuguese side SL Benfica, which won the 1961 and 1962 crowns. And FC Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan for short) was the next club to win two straight titles as the Italians took the 1964 and 1965 championships.
Back-To-Back Three-Peats, English Run
The 1970s saw two teams win three straight European Cup crowns as Dutch side AFC Ajax reached the climax from 1971 to 1973. And German powers FC Bayern München claimed the 1974-76 trophies. The next six seasons saw English clubs winning the cup as Liverpool FC (1977, 1978) and Nottingham Forest FC (1979, 1980) each won back-to-back and then Liverpool won again and Aston Villa grabbed the 1982 crown. The six-year streak is the longest for one nation.
Last Defense Of Title By AC Milan
The last team to defend its championship was Italian giants AC Milan, which captured titles three and four in 1989 and 1990, becoming the eighth club to retain the crown.
European Champions Clubs' Cup To Champions League
For the 1992-93 season, the competition's name was changed to the Champions League and included a group stage. The number of teams has increased from eight to 32. And the qualification criteria have changed over the years as well, including as many as three qualifying rounds.
Real Madrid All-Time Winners
Real Madrid hold the mark for the most trophies with nine crowns (1956-60, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002). Real also reached three more finals (1962, 1964, 1981) for a record 12 finals appearances. AC Milan are second in championships with seven (1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007). Third place is held by Liverpool with five (1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005). While Bayern Munich (1974-76, 2001) and Ajax (1971-73, 1995) rank tied for fourth with four titles. Manchester United (1968, 1999, 2008) is the only other team with three crowns.
England, Italy, Spain Even On 11 Victories
Going into the 2008-09 season, England, Italy and Spain were all knotted for first place in the national ranking with 11 titles each. Italy had an additional 14 runners-up while Spain had nine and England five. But with the semi-finalists being English clubs Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spain's Barcelona, either Spain or England will pull ahead in the national rankings. Germany and the Netherlands both have six titles and Portugal has four. France, Romania, Scotland and Yugoslavia all have one title to their credit.
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