Champions League
The European Football Association has been hosting the annual UEFA Champions League, also known simply as the Champions League, since 1955 for the top European football clubs. The tournament final, which many people believe to be the most significant club football competition in the world, is the most watched annual athletic event in the world, with more than 100 million television viewers. The competition was formally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup before 1992, but it was more commonly nicknamed the European Cup or the European Champions Cup. Initially, there was a knockout system in place, and each nation's league champions were the sole participants.
When the home and away group stages were combined and there were more teams, the event started to grow in 1990. The tournament's name was changed to the European Champions League in 1992, and the number of participating teams was raised to 32 at that time.
Historically
French journalists working for the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, led by Gabriel Hanno, are credited with creating the European Champions League. Gabriel Hanno proposed the creation of the European Club Cup in 1954, and his colleague Jacques de Reswick then wrote an article proposing the project, which received responses. Jacques Ferran from L'Equipe then wrote a draft for the tournament system on January 25, 1955, and on February 3rd, 1955, the French daily released the list of clubs invited to compete in the first edition of the European Cup. This was a positive development on the old continent. historically
French journalists working for the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, led by Gabriel Hanno, are credited with creating the European Champions League. Gabriel Hanno proposed the creation of the European Club Cup in 1954, and his colleague Jacques de Reswick then wrote an article proposing the project, which received responses. Jacques Ferran from L'Equipe then wrote a draft for the tournament system on January 25, 1955, and on February 3rd, 1955, the French daily released the list of clubs invited to compete in the first edition of the European Cup. This was a positive development on the old continent.
The new tournament System
The European Football Association made the decision to alter the competition in 1992, giving it its new and present name (the Champions League), and increasing the number of participating clubs until it reached its current size of 32.
Knowing that these 32 teams are the result of qualifying that were contested by 76 teams from 52 different European countries, they are no longer playing in a knockout system and are instead grouped into groups (noting that some clubs qualify directly without qualifiers, especially the clubs that achieve advanced positions in the major European championships )
Currently, for instance, Spain, England, and Germany each have four clubs, with three of those clubs directly qualifying and one club taking part in the qualifiers.
Spain first thanks to the Real and Italy runner-up
Real Madrid, which has historically made 17 appearances in Champions League final matches, has made it difficult for Spain to not be at the top of the list of nations with the most final appearances, followed by Barcelona (8 finals), Atletico Madrid (3 finals), and Valencia (1 final).
The second-placed Italian league clubs, on the other hand, are led by Milan with 11 finals, Juventus with nine, Inter Milan with five, Fiorentina, Roma, and Sampdoria with one, and Fiorentina with five.
England is the closest, Germany and France need a lot
The English Premier League teams are third on the list of teams with the most final appearances in the Champions League, behind Liverpool with 10 finals, Manchester United with 5, Chelsea with 3, Nottingham Forest with 2, and Arsenal, Aston Villa, Leeds, Manchester Clubs City, and Tottenham with one final appearance each.
There are 18 final meetings between Bundesliga teams, with Bayern Munich hosting the most with 11 finals, followed by Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg with two finals, Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, and Eintracht Frankfurt with one final. Marseille, Stade Reims twice, Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, and Saint-Etienne once 1 other final have all occurred in France.
26 finals involving 12 teams and 8 nations
The role shifts to the medium and small clubs that compete in different European competitions and have historically played the final match after the big clubs that consistently occupy advanced positions on the list of finalists and European champions.
The Netherlands come in second with 8 finals (Ajax 6 times, Eindhoven once, and Feyenoord twice), followed by Portugal with 9 finals (Benfica 7 times and Porto twice), Scotland with 2 finals (Celtic twice), Romania with 2 finals (Steaua Bucharest), Serbia with 2 finals (Red Star once and Partizan once), Belgium with 1 final (Club Brugge), Greece with 1 final (Panathinaiko (Malmo).
Champions League standings 2022-23