Uefa Champions League History

Uefa Champions Lague Cup

The UEFA Champions League, was previously called the Champion's Cup after the first place trophy. In 1954, English team Wolverhampton made an European tour, playng with almost all the most important clubs in the continent. They got amazing results, beating also the Hungarian Giants of Honved, with Puskas, Hidegkuti, Kocsis. The English press celebrated the Wolves' success writing they were “the best team in the World”, or “the best in Europe”. French journalist Gabriel Hanot did not like this, he stated there were at least three European teams stronger than the English: Real Madrid, Honved and AC Milan. And, just as a French, also Saint Etienne. So, Hanot proposed through the columns of “L'Equipe” a European Championship for clubs.

And competition began in 1955–56 using a two-leg knockout format where the teams would play two matches, one at home and one away, and the team with the highest overall score qualifying for the next round of the competition. Until 1997, entry was restricted to the teams that won their national league championships, plus the current European Cup holder. In the 1992–93 season, the format was changed to include a group stage and the tournament was renamed the UEFA Champions League. There have since been numerous changes to eligibility for the competition, the number of qualifying rounds and the group structure. In 1997–98, eligibility was expanded to include the runners-up from some countries according to UEFA's coefficient ranking list. The qualification system has been restructured so that national champions from lower ranked countries have to take part in one or more qualifying rounds before the group stages, while runners-up from higher ranked countries enter in later rounds. Up to four clubs from the top-ranked countries are currently given entry to the competition.

Between 1960 and 2004, the winner of the tournament qualified for the now defunct Intercontinental Cup against the winner of the Copa Libertadores of South America. Since then, the winner automatically qualifies for the FIFA-organised Club World Cup with other winners of continental club championships.