UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League is Europe’s most prestigious club competition played among the continent’s elite clubs. Clubs who have won this tournament have embedded their names into the “cup with the big ears” and the history pages. The competition was founded in 1955 and has had 22 different winners so far. The tournament’s most successful team is Real Madrid which has won the Champions League 13 times, followed by Italy’s AC Milan which has 7 wins.
In 1992 the "European Cup" changed its format to become the "Champions League". The competition features 32 qualified teams from across Europe, including the winners of Europe’s ‘big 5’ leagues (Spanish, Italian, English, German and French).
The tournament’s final match is hosted in a different European city, which changes from year to year. Three wins in a row or five wins of the trophy along the years entitle the winning club to hold the trophy permanently. Only six clubs belong in this exclusive list: Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Ajax Amsterdam, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Liverpool FC.
Collectively, Spanish clubs have won the tournament 18 times, while Italian and English Clubs have collectively won it on 26 occasions.
Spanish teams lead the way with a total of 29 appearances in the final match, followed by Italy teams with 28 appearances and English teams, with a total of 24 appearances in the final match.
There are 20 teams who have played in the finals at least once but have so far failed to win the Champions League.
The tournament’s all-time top scorer is Manchester United’s Christiano Ronaldo, who have scored 135 goals (and counting) for United (in his first stint), Reals Madrid and Juventus. Second is Lional Messi with 120 goals and third stands Robert Lewandowaki with 73 goals. Francisco Gento has won the title a record six times, all with Real Madrid, Ronaldo has won it five time (Manchester United, Real Madrid), while Messi has won the tournament four times, all with Barcelona.
Former Real Madrid and FC Porto legend goalkeeper Iker Casillas is the all-time appearance leader, with 181 matches played in the Champions League, He is about to be over-taken by Ronaldo, currently in second place with 180 matches during the 2021/22 season. Third is former Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez, with 157 appearances.
Real Madrid’s 1958 8-0 win over Sevilla and Liverpool’s 8-0 win against Besiktas in 2007 are the highest winning margin in the tournament’s history.
Some of the most memorable finals include Benfica’s 1962 5-3 victory over Real Madrid in Amsterdam. Celtic Glasgow’s 1967 2-1 win over Inter Milan in Lisbon. Manchester United's win in 1999. a 2-1 come from behind win over Bayen Munich with an imaginary turnover in the very last minutes of the match, and Liverpool’s dramatic win over AC Milan in 2005. Down 0-3 at half time, Liverpool went on to score 3 goals in 2nd half in Istanbul and eventually won the final on a penalty shootout.
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