The Champions League is the most prestigious club football tournament in the world. It has been held since the 1991/1992 season and is the successor to the European Cup. Initially (since 1955), the draw was held according to the Olympic system, when teams play for elimination. I.e football clubs played two matches between each other - at home and away, after which the total result was considered, and the losing team left the tournament.
Tournament reform
This lasted until 1992, when the format of the football tournament was changed: a group round was added, in which the clubs played each other in a circle at home and away, after which the best went to the playoffs. At the same time, the modern emblem and anthem of the tournament appeared, and in 1993 the modern name appeared - the UEFA Champions League. In the 1997/1998 season, the vice-champions of the leading European countries (according to the UEFA coefficients table) got the right to participate in the tournament for the first time. Over time, this trend has developed, and today the countries with the highest coefficients are represented in the tournament by four football teams.
Winners and record holders
During the existence of the tournament, 22 clubs became its winners, 12 of which won the tournament more than once. The record result for the number of wins belongs to Spanish club"Real" (Madrid), which became the winner 10 times. Barcelona are the reigning champions of the Champions League. Milan won the trophy seven times, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Barcelona won five times, Ajax celebrated the victory four times, Manchester United won three times, Juventus and Benfica won the Champions Cup twice each. "," Nottingham Forrest "and" Porto ".
The modern format of the event
Now football league Champions is held according to a multi-stage scheme and lasts from July to May. The first teams start the fight with a preliminary stage, which consists of four qualifying rounds and a play-off round. The preliminary stage follows the Olympic system and consists of the path of the champions (the champions of their countries take part) and the path of the representatives of the countries (not the champions of their countries who have won the right to play in the Champions League), which do not intersect. Based on the results of the preliminary stage 10 the best teams go to the group stage, where they join the 22 teams that got there directly. According to the results group tournament The top 16 teams advance to the playoffs, where they compete according to the Olympic system, starting from the 1/8th final. In the Champions League final two strongest teams play among themselves the championship title and the cup. The winner of the Champions League receives temporary storage for 10 months. European Champions Cup, and a permanently reduced copy of the trophy. A club that has won the Champions League (including the European Cup) five times in total, or three times in a row, keeps the original trophy in perpetuity. So far, there are only six such clubs: Real Madrid (Madrid, Spain), Ajax (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Bayern Munich (Germany), Milan (Italy), Barcelona and Liverpool (England). ).
Overview of the UEFA Champions League online at UA-Football
The UA-Football website has been covering the Champions League since 2002. The team of journalists creates high-quality content, starting with the calendar and announcements of all tours or rounds, ending with the definition of a symbolic team. In addition, a presentation of all rivals of Ukrainian clubs in this tournament and an overview of foreign press after the matches with the participation of Ukrainian teams, as well as the final match and the results of the Champions League. The statistics system contains tournament tables all Champions League groups and table top scorers, as well as the schedule of matches online. Also, the statistics system of the section contains the results of the Champions League matches of previous seasons of the Champions League, starting from the 2011/2012 season.