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European
Cup & UEFA Champions League
THE FINAL |
| Note : |
- The 1956-1959 matches are not available.
- For more detail of each match, please click the
picture of each year to go to the detail page.
- You can add item to cart on the detail page. |
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The
50's & 60's — "Real Madrid domination &
The Old Empire strikes back"
Real Madrid dominated the first five competitions,
with the team led by Ferenc Puskás, Alfredo Di Stéfano,
Gento and José Santamaría winning each of
the first five competitions relatively comfortably.
Real Madrid's domination was ended by their biggest
domestic rivals, Barcelona, in the first round of the 1961
competition, starting an era of changing champions. Barcelona
continued on to the final at the Wankdorf Stadion in Berne,
Switzerland, where they were defeated in a close game by
Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal.
This team, captained by the impressive Mário Coluna
from Mozambique, were joined by the legendary Eusébio
during the following 1962 season, where they defended
the trophy beating Real Madrid 5–3 in the final.
Benfica would then go on to reach a third successive
final in 1963, but lost to AC Milan, whose city rivals
Inter would win the trophy in both 1964 and 1965 beating
Real Madrid and Benfica in the process.
This era was ended by Real Madrid, who defeated Inter
in the 1966 semi-final, before going on to win a sixth
European Cup with against Partizan Belgrade.
In 1967, Celtic became the first Scottish, British and
northern European team to win the competition, beating
Inter 2–1 in the Estádio Nacional, in Lisbon,
Portugal. The team, which became known as the Lisbon Lions,
managed by Jock Stein, were all born within 30 miles (48
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 composed entirely of players born in the region
of the club they represent.
Ten years after the Munich air disaster, Manchester United
became the first English team to win the competition,
in the 1968, after beating Benfica in the finals 4–1
after extra time at Wembley Stadium, London, England.
The game was close, and though United scored three times
in extra time to win with a flourish, Benfica could have
won the game in normal time when Eusébio missed
what should have been (for him) an easy chance in the
last seconds.
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1956
| Real Madrid |
4 |
| Stade de Reims |
3 |
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1957
| Real Madrid |
2 |
| Fiorentina |
0 |
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1958
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1959
| Real Madrid |
2 |
| Stade de Reims |
0 |
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1960
| Real Madrid |
7 |
Einracht Frankfurt
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3 |
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1964
| Inter Milan |
3 |
| Real Madrid |
1 |
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1968
| Manchester
Utd. |
4 |
| Benfica |
1 |
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The
70's — Total Football,
The rise of Bayern & English dominance
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 Ajax. The Total Football
of Johan Cruijff, Barry Hulshoff, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens,
Arie Haan, Gerrie Mühren and Piet Keizer dominated
for three years, despatching Panathinaikos, Inter and
Juventus 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.
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 in 1975, and finally
St. Étienne in 1976.
In 1977, Liverpool started a domination of 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, guided by their uniquely gifted manager Brian
Clough, as they defeated Swedish side Malmö 1–0
in the Munich Final. The next year, Forest beat Hamburg
SV at the Santiago Bernabéu 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).
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1974
| Bayern Munich |
4 |
| Atletico Madrid |
0 |
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1975
| Bayern Munich |
2 |
| Leeds United |
0 |
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1976
| Bayern Munich |
1 |
| Saint-Etienne |
0 |
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1977
| Liverpool |
3 |
| Monchengladbach |
1 |
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1978
| Liverpool |
1 |
| Club Brugge |
0 |
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1979
| Nottingham
Forest |
1 |
| Malmo |
0 |
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1980
| Nottingham
Forest |
1 |
| Hamburg |
0 |
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1981
to 1985 — English dominance, then disaster
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 Munich
in Rotterdam. Hamburg SV then won the final in 1983, beating
Juventus 1–0 in a final which for the first time in
seven years featured no English side.
However, Liverpool were back in 1984 to defeat AS Roma
in their own stadium in a penalty shootout 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 keeper
Bruce Grobbelaar, famously wobbling his legs in mock terror
before Francesco Graziani took the last penalty kick.
Graziani duly missed and Liverpool went on to win the
shootout 4–2, making Grobbelaar the first African
to win the competition.
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 1990— Unexpected endings
& The return of Milan
With English clubs banned from participating in European
football, 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. The final lost by Bayern
Munich to Porto was regarded as an especially exciting
final, with an audacious back-heel goal by Algeria's Rabah
Madjer giving FC Porto their first title while Steaua
Bucharest shocked Barcelona in Seville.
AC 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 were the brilliant heart
of the Italian side.
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1981
| Liverpool |
1 |
| Real Madrid |
0 |
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1982
| Aston Villa |
1 |
| Bayern Munich |
0 |
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1986
| Steaua Bucuresti |
0 |
| Barcelona |
0 |
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1989
| AC Milan |
4 |
| Steaua Bucuresti |
0 |
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The
90's — Italian consistency vs Spanish & German
Prominence
Italian clubs reached
the final in seven consecutive seasons, winning twice. 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 1992
final, played at Wembley Stadium, was won by Barcelona against
Sampdoria. Barça, coached by Johan Cruyff, was known
as the "Dream Team" at the time of its win.
The competition was named to UEFA
Champions League for the 1992–1993 season. Marseille
won the 1993 final, defeating A.C. Milan. Marseille remains
the only French club to have won the European Cup. 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 Ajax side powered by the
brilliant 19 year-old striker Patrick Kluivert. It was the
club's first triumph since 1973, when they had won three
titles consecutively, and much of the squad in the 1995
victory also dominated the Dutch national team. Ajax, in
turn, reached the next final in 1996, but fell to Juventus
after a penalty shoot-out.
Borussia Dortmund achieved a significant upset by winning
the Champions League in 1997 when they beat holders Juventus
in the final having gone into the game as significant underdogs
by a score 3-1. BVB coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was able to lift
the cup for the first time. In 1998, Real Madrid 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).
The 1999 will be remembered for the upset of Ottmar Hitzfeld's
Bayern by Manchester United's 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, winner
over the latter in both legs coming from behind. They had
also forged a reputation for late comebacks in England as
they picked up the Premiership and FA Cup en-route to the
Champions League final. Having succeeded in both the league
and FA Cup, the omens appeared to be with Manchester United
for the Champions League - with Roy Keane suspended, goalkeeper
Peter Schmeichel, playing his last game for the club, would
captain the team on the unforgettable night, which was the
90th anniversary of the birth of Sir Matt Busby.
The 1999–2000 season saw UEFA ease the entry requirements
for the Champions League. Now the top three leagues (Spain,
Italy and Germany, according to UEFA's rankings) could enter
four teams, while the next three (England, France and Holland)
could enter three.
This season saw Spanish clubs return to the top of the European
table. La Liga had three semi-finalists in the 2000 Champions
League (Real Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona) and the first
all-country European Cup final between Real Madrid and Valencia
and 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.
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1991
| Red Star
Belgrade |
0 |
| Marseille |
0 |
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1999
| Manchester
Utd. |
2 |
| Bayern Munich |
1 |
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The
2000's — Europe against the English dominance
Three teams
in the Semi-final happen again in 2003 with three Italian
teams and in 2005 with three English teams. Valencia lost
their second consecutive final in Milan, in 2001, on penalties
against Bayern. Madrid won their ninth Champions League,
in a final remembered for the incredible Zidane goal against
Leverkusen.
The 2005 Final between AC Milan and Liverpool could be considered
one of the most dramatic finals in the competition's history.
3-0 down at half time, Liverpool fought back in the second
half and won the Cup on penalty shootouts.
In 2006, FC Barcelona comeback win over Arsenal and in 2007,
AC Milan had their revenge over Liverpool 2-1 in a Mediterranean
city, Athens, where the Italians had already won thirtheen
years ago. Filippo Inzaghi scored two goals.
The 2008 was dominated by English teams. Liverpool, Manchester
United and Chelsea defeated tough opponents and advanced
into semi-finals of the competition. The final in Moscow
saw the two greatest English rivals, Manchester United and
Chelsea facing each other in order to compete for greatest
title in football. 1-1 draw in the normal time, Manchester
United won the dramatic penalty kicks and claimed the European
crown.
On 27th May 2009, one of the most anticipated
final existed. FC Barcelona finally overcame Manchester United
at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, 2-0 with goals from Samuel
Eto'o and Lionel Messi. This made Barça the first team
from La Liga to win a domestic cup, domestic league, and European
Cup treble, and only the 5th team ever to do so (it has happened
once per decade, following Celtic in 1967, Ajax in 1972, PSV
Eindhoven in 1988, and Manchester United in 1999). This was
made all the remarkable by the fact that it was coach Josep
Guardiola's first season in charge, with just one year as
coach of the B team as previous experience. At 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.
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2001
| Bayern Munich |
1 |
| Valencia |
1 |
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2002
| Real Madrid |
2 |
| Leverkusen |
1 |
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2008
| Manchester
Utd. |
1 |
| Chelsea |
1 |
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2009
| Barcelona |
2 |
| Manchester Utd. |
0 |
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