UEFA Champions League

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UEFA Champions League
Founded 1955 (1992 in its current format)
Region Europe (UEFA)
Number of teams 32 (group stage)
76 or 77 (total)
Current champions Flag of England Manchester United (3)
Most successful club Flag of Spain Real Madrid (9)
Television broadcasters List of broadcasters
2008–09 Champions League

The UEFA Champions League (usually referred to as simply the Champions League or less frequently as the European Cup) is an annual football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It is the most prestigious club trophy in European football.

Prior to 1992 the tournament was officially called the European Champion Clubs' Cup but was usually referred to as simply the European Cup or European Champions' Cup. The competition was initially a straight knockout competition open only to the champion club of each country. During the 1990s the tournament began to be expanded, incorporating a round-robin group phase and more teams. Europe's strongest national leagues now provide up to four teams each for the competition. The UEFA Champions League is not to be confused with the UEFA Cup.

The tournament consists of several stages. In the present format it begins in mid-July with three knockout qualifying rounds. The 16 surviving teams join 16 seeded teams in the group stage, in which there are eight groups consisting of four teams each. The eight group winners and eight runners-up enter the final knockout phase, which ends with the final match in May.

The title has been won by 21 different clubs, 12 of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holder is Real Madrid, who have won the competition nine times, including the first five seasons it was contested. Since AC Milan successfully retained the trophy in 1990, no club has managed consecutive wins.

Contents

[edit] History

The tournament was inaugurated in 1955, at the suggestion of the French sports journalist and editor of L'Équipe Gabriel Hanot,[1] as a reaction to a declaration on the part of Wolverhampton Wanderers as being "Champions of the World" by the British press, after a successful run of European friendlies in the 1950s. The tournament was conceived as a continental competition for winners of the European national football leagues, as the European Champion Clubs' Cup, abbreviated to European Cup.

The competition began as the 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 1992, 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.

[edit] Qualification

Map of UEFA countries, teams from which have reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League      UEFA member country that has been represented in the group stage      UEFA member country that has not been represented in the group stage      Not a UEFA member

Teams that finish 1st to 4th in the strongest leagues go to the qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.

The number of places in the competition depends on the association's rank in the UEFA coefficients table:

  • associations ranked 1 to 3 have four positions,
  • associations ranked 4 to 6 have three positions,
  • associations ranked 7 to 15 have two positions,
  • associations ranked 16 or lower have one position.

An association's rank also determines the stage at which the clubs enter the competition. For example, the three highest-ranked associations have two places in the group stage (for champions and runners-up) and two in the third qualifying round (for third and fourth-placed teams), whereas the lowest-ranked associations have only one place in the first qualifying round for their champions. Nine highest-ranked associations have at least one automatic place in the group stage. The situation with the European Cup holders has not been clearly defined. There was controversy when Liverpool won the competition in 2004–05 but finished outside the top four in the FA Premier League. The Football Association ruled that Everton, who finished fourth in the Premier League, should get the final English place in the 2005–06 European Cup. UEFA came to an agreement that both Merseyside rivals would be allowed to enter the competition with Liverpool starting from the first qualifying round and Everton starting from the third qualifying round. UEFA's current rule is that if the European Cup winners fail to finish in one of its national league's qualifying positions, it will take the place of the lowest placed team in its league. The superseded team will go to the UEFA Cup.

In 2005-06, Liverpool and Artmedia Bratislava of Slovakia became the first teams to reach the Champions League group phase after playing in all three qualifying rounds. In 2008-09, both BATE and Anorthosis Famagusta FC achieved the same feat.

In addition to sporting criteria, any club must be licensed by its national association to participate in the Champions league. To obtain a license, club must meet certain stadium, infrastructure and finance requirements.

FC Barcelona, Manchester United, and FC Porto are the teams that have appeared most often in the group stages: fifteen each. FC Porto and Barcelona have only won the tournament once each since the establishment of the Group stages (2004 and 2006 respectively), whilst Manchester United have won it twice, in 1999 and 2008.

[edit] The stages

The tournament consists of several stages and begins with three preliminary knockout qualifying rounds. Different teams start in different rounds, according to their position in domestic league and the UEFA coefficients of their league, while the sixteen top ranked teams spread across the biggest domestic leagues qualify directly. The current system was adopted in 2003.

A change of the format will be carried out from session 2009-10 onwards. The main focus of the changes was to enable champions coming from associations ranked 13 to 53 access to the main tournament more easily through a separate qualifying route, rather than going head-to-head with non-champions from associations ranked 1 to 12. Five teams will enter into the group stage from each new route.

22 teams will then directly qualify for the group stage, compared to only 16 teams in the old system. The additional 6 directly qualified teams are the champions of associations ranked 10 to 12, and the 3rd placed teams in associations ranked 1 to 3. It was also decided that the final would be played on the Saturday evening in calendar week 20 (20:45 CET) from 2009–10 onwards, instead of the Wednesday evening.[2]

[edit] Prize money

UEFA awards €3 million to each team that qualifies for the UEFA Champions League, plus €2.4 million for participating in the Group stage. A Group stage win is worth €600,000 and a draw is worth €300,000.

In addition, UEFA pays each quarter finalist €2.5 million, €3 million for each semi-finalist, €4 million for the runners-up and €7 million for the winners. [3]

[edit] Sponsorship

The Champions League logo is shown on the centre of the pitch before every game in the competition

Like the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to the single main sponsor of either the Barclays Premier League, the Ligue 1 Orange or Serie A TIM. When the Champions League was created in 1992, it was decided that a maximum of eight companies should be allowed to sponsor the event, with each corporation being allocated four advertising boards around the perimeter of the pitch, as well as logo placement at pre- and post-match interviews and a certain number of tickets to each match. This, combined with a deal to ensure tournament sponsors were given priority on television advertisements during matches, ensured that each of the tournament's main sponsors was given maximum exposure.[4]

The advertising boards are a source of criticism, due to their larger size compared to those in other leagues such as the Premier League. Their larger size means thats at some grounds such as Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge, the front rows of seating can't be used as their views of the pitch are blocked by the extreme size of the boards, meaning some season ticket holders aren't guaranteed tickets for games and have to sit elsewhere to their usual seats for games. Also some stadia use the flat area in front of the front rows of seating for wheelchairs and disabled seating, the boards, drastically reducing the grounds' disabled supporter capacity.

The tournament's current main sponsors are:

  • Ford
  • Heineken (excluding Norway, France and Russia, where alcohol sponsorship is restricted. In France the Heineken adboard is replaced with an adboard with the sentence: "Great Together" and in Russia the Heineken adboard is replaced by a "No To Racism" adboard)
  • MasterCard
  • Sony
  • Vodafone

Adidas is a secondary sponsor and supplies the official match ball, as they do for all other UEFA competitions (excluding the UEFA Cup).

Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer is also a secondary sponsor as the official Champions League video game.

[edit] Media coverage

The competition attracts a huge television audience, not just in Europe, but throughout the world. The matches are broadcast in over 70 countries in more than 40 languages each year, and some important matches can attract over 200 million TV audience, often considered as one of the most watched sports events on TV.[5]

[edit] Records and statistics

[edit] By club

Team Won Runner-up Years won Years runner-up
Flag of Spain Real Madrid 9 3 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002 1962, 1964, 1981
Flag of Italy Milan 7 4 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007 1958, 1993, 1995, 2005
Flag of England Liverpool 5 2 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005 1985, 2007
Flag of Germany Bayern Munich 4 3 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001 1982, 1987, 1999
Flag of the Netherlands Ajax 4 2 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995 1969, 1996
Flag of England Manchester United 3 0 1968, 1999, 2008 -
Flag of Italy Juventus 2 5 1985, 1996 1973, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2003
Flag of Portugal Benfica 2 5 1961, 1962 1963, 1965, 1968, 1988, 1990
Flag of Spain Barcelona 2 3 1992, 2006 1961, 1986, 1994
Flag of Italy Internazionale 2 2 1964, 1965 1967, 1972
Flag of Portugal Porto 2 0 1987, 2004 -
Flag of England Nottingham Forest 2 0 1979, 1980 -
Flag of France Marseille 1 1 1993 1991
Flag of Romania Steaua Bucureşti 1 1 1986 1989
Flag of Germany Hamburg 1 1 1983 1980
Flag of Scotland Celtic 1 1 1967 1970
Flag of Germany Borussia Dortmund 1 0 1997 -
Flag of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade 1 0 1991 -
Flag of the Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 1 0 1988 -
Flag of England Aston Villa 1 0 1982 -
Flag of the Netherlands Feyenoord 1 0 1970 -
Flag of Spain Valencia 0 2 - 2000, 2001
Flag of France Stade Reims 0 2 - 1956, 1959
Flag of England Chelsea 0 1 - 2008
Flag of England Arsenal 0 1 - 2006
Flag of France AS Monaco 0 1 - 2004
Flag of Germany Bayer Leverkusen 0 1 - 2002
Flag of Italy Sampdoria 0 1 - 1992
Flag of Italy Roma 0 1 - 1984
Flag of Sweden Malmö 0 1 - 1979
Flag of Belgium Club Brugge 0 1 - 1978
Flag of Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 0 1 - 1977
Flag of France Saint-Étienne 0 1 - 1976
Flag of England Leeds United 0 1 - 1975
Flag of Spain Atlético Madrid 0 1 - 1974
Flag of Greece Panathinaikos 0 1 - 1971
Flag of Yugoslavia Partizan 0 1 - 1966
Flag of Germany Eintracht Frankfurt 0 1 - 1960
Flag of Italy Fiorentina 0 1 - 1957

(When sorted by years won or lost, the table is sorted by the date of each team's first win)

[edit] By nation

Nation Times won Times runner-up Winning clubs Runners-up
Flag of Italy Italy 11 14 Milan (7), Juventus (2), Internazionale (2) Juventus (5), Milan (4), Internazionale (2), Fiorentina (1), Roma (1), Sampdoria (1)
Flag of Spain Spain 11 9 Real Madrid (9), Barcelona (2) Real Madrid (3), Barcelona (3), Valencia (2), Atlético Madrid (1)
Flag of England England 11 5 Liverpool (5), Manchester United (3), Nottingham Forest (2), Aston Villa (1) Liverpool (2), Leeds United (1), Arsenal (1), Chelsea (1)
Flag of Germany Germany 6 7 Bayern Munich (4), Borussia Dortmund (1), Hamburg (1) Bayern Munich (3), Bayer Leverkusen (1), Borussia Mönchengladbach (1), Eintracht Frankfurt (1), Hamburg (1)
Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands 6 2 Ajax (4), PSV (1), Feyenoord (1) Ajax (2)
Flag of Portugal Portugal 4 5 Benfica (2), Porto (2) Benfica (5)
Flag of France France 1 5 Marseille (1) Stade Reims (2), Saint-Étienne (1), Marseille (1), Monaco (1),
Flag of Romania Romania 1 1 Steaua (1) Steaua (1)
Flag of Yugoslavia SFR Yugoslavia 1 1 Red Star Belgrade (1) Partizan (1)
Flag of Scotland Scotland 1 1 Celtic (1) Celtic (1)
Flag of Sweden Sweden 0 1 Malmö FF (1)
Flag of Greece Greece 0 1 Panathinaikos (1)
Flag of Belgium Belgium 0 1 Club Brugge (1)

[edit] All-time top goalscorers

Including qualifying games
Players in bold are still active.

Rank Nation Player Goals Games Goals/Games Debut in Europe Clubs
1 Flag of Spain Raúl 64[6] 122 0.54 1995 Real Madrid
2 Flag of the Netherlands Ruud van Nistelrooy 60 79 0.76 1997 PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, Real Madrid
3 Flag of Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko 56 103 0.54 1994 Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea
4 Flag of France Thierry Henry 50 116 0.43 1997 Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona
5 Flag of Spain Flag of Argentina Alfredo di Stéfano 49 58 0.84 1955 Real Madrid
6 Flag of Portugal Eusébio 47 64 0.73 1961 Benfica
7 Flag of Italy Filippo Inzaghi 46 75 0.61 1997 Juventus, Milan
8 Flag of Italy Alessandro Del Piero 44 83 0.51 1993 Juventus

[edit] All-time top appearances

Rank Nation Player Games Club(s)
1 Flag of Spain Raúl 127 Real Madrid
2 Flag of Wales Ryan Giggs 123 Manchester United
3 Flag of Brazil Roberto Carlos 120 Real Madrid, Fenerbahçe
4 Flag of France Thierry Henry 115 Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona
5 Flag of England Paul Scholes 112 Manchester United

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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