With his first edition of the season 1955-1956The european cup It quickly became the most important club tournament on the continent, bringing together, as it does now, the world’s leading clubs and players, and the dedication was synonymous with prestige, glory and honor. While the substance has never changed, the format, contention and ranked teams have changed over the years.

Here’s a review of the history of Europe’s premier club competition.

From the European Cup to the Champions League

@Champions League

In mid-1955, Gabriel Hannot -journalist and director of the French newspaper L’Équipe- together with his colleague Jacques Ferranwith the support of the president of Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabeuand his Gustave SebesHungarian Deputy Minister of Sports and Vice-President of UEFA, planned its creation European Club Champions Cup.

As his name indicated, although he was better known as the European Cup, the tournament brought together all the champions of the continent’s leagues in the form of an elimination that remained unchanged until its version 1990-1991in which Red Star Belgradethen Yugoslavia won on penalties Olympiacos Marseille French in Bari, Italy.

For processing 1991-1992 a change was introduced, as quarter-final and semi-final keys abolished due to a 2-group league with 4 clubs each in which they played 6 games each (round trips) and in which the winners of each zone had access to the final. In this way the Barcelona won its first European Cup at Wembley and after defeating it Sampdoria.

For 1992-1993 the competition changed its name, as it was renamed UEFA Champions League (Champions League from its name in English), but it was not the only innovation. With three previous rounds, the teams were grouped into two groups and the two winners advanced to the final (something similar to last year’s edition). The Olympiacos Marseille dedicated in front of Milan with 1 to 0 in Munich.

In the era 1994-1995 there was another modification to the tournament structure. The preliminary phase began to differentiate itself from the final phase. The 24 champions of Europe’s best leagues played in the competition, which was divided into a qualifying round where 16 clubs qualified in 16 groups (with four groups of four teams each). First and second in each zone reached the quarterfinals with a two-legged tie to determine the final: Ajax defeated Milan 1-0 in Vienna and took the fourth, and so far last, cup.

only in the cup In 1997-1998 for the first time it entered the runners-up of the 8 best leagues based on the UEFA coefficient. The main draw consisted of 6 groups of 4 clubs each in which the winners, plus the two best runners-up, advanced to the Round of 16. Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 and claimed his seventh title and first in 32 years.

In the Champions of 1999-2000 presented another innovation: two phases of groups. The tournament consisted of a first round with 8 groups of 4 teams each, where the top two from each zone advanced to a round of 16 groups (4 groups of 4 clubs from which the first and second from each zone qualified. ) . In the first ever final between two clubs from the same country, Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 in Saint-Denis.

The Champions League as we know it today imposed its format for the 2003-2004 season. The second group stage was scrapped and the tie resumed from the round of 16. In the deciding match, played in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, the Porto defeated Monaco 3-0.

The future format of the Champions League

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At the meeting held on May 10, UEFA determined a substantial change in the Champions League for the 2024-2025 season. In what is known as the “Swiss system”, There will no longer be 32 teams in the competition but 36 and the traditional group stage will be replaced by a single stage that will include all participating teams. The top eight teams in the league will automatically advance to the knockout stage, while the teams ranked ninth to twenty-fourth will compete in a tie to secure their place in the last 16 of the competition.