Previous seasons Winners of UEFA Champions league

Europe's premier club competition was launched one month after UEFA's first Congress, held in Vienna on 2 March 1955 yet, curiously, the so-called "European Cup" was not a UEFA initiative.

French founders
Whereas many of UEFA's founder members were more interested in establishing a national team competition, the French sports daily L'Equipe and their then-editor Gabriel Hanot, were championing the cause for a European-wide club competition. Hanot, together with colleague Jacques Ferran, designed a blueprint for a challenge tournament to be played on Wednesdays under floodlights.

Sporting record
The tournament initiated by L'Equipe did not stipulate that the participating teams had to be champions of their country, but they invited clubs who they considered had the most fan appeal. Representatives of 16 clubs were invited to meetings on 2 and 3 April 1955 and the L'Equipe rules were unanimously approved. The first European Champions Clubs' Cup fixture was played in Lisbon and Sporting Clube de Portugal were held to a 3-3 draw by FK Partizan. The Yugoslav side won the return leg in Belgrade 5-2 to advance to the next round.

Madrid dominate
Real Madrid CF immediately made the tournament their own by winning the first five finals. Since then, other clubs have also enjoyed fruitful runs in the competition with AFC Ajax and FC Bayern München both completing three consecutive wins. However, no one club has been able to claim long-term domination. Ajax waited 22 years to add a fourth title to the hat-trick obtained in the early 1970s; Madrid's win in 1998 was their first in 32 years; and Bayern's penalty shoot-out success in Milan in 2001 ended a 26-year wait for their fourth success.

Liverpool success
Liverpool FC's four victories between 1977 and 1984 deserve special mention as the English club won its four trophies with essentially different teams. The Reds' European pedigree shone brightly again in 2005 when they battled back from 3-0 down to defeat AC Milan on penalties in what was perhaps the competition’s most exciting and memorable final.

Honours list
Real Madrid CF and AC Milan have been the most successful sides in the UEFA Champions League, winning the competition three times. Madrid are also the most successful side overall with nine triumphs, followed by seven for Milan, five for Liverpool and four each for Bayern and Ajax. Madrid also hold the record for final appearances, with 12. Milan's 2002/03 success came after a marathon 19 games from the third qualifying round of the competition all the way to their penalty shoot-out success against Juventus in the final.

Competition change
The major turning point in the evolution of the competition came in the 1992/93 season when the UEFA Champions League, involving a group stage in addition to the traditional knockout elements, was officially inaugurated after a pilot round robin during the previous season. The popularity of the group phase has witnessed the competition grow from eight to 32 teams with matches taking place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays across Europe.

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1992 - 1993 Marseille
1991 - 1992 Barcelona
1990 - 1991 Crvena Zvezda
1989 - 1990 Milan
1988 - 1989 Milan
1987 - 1988 PSV
1986 - 1987 Porto
1985 - 1986 Steaua
1984 - 1985 Juventus
1983 - 1984 Liverpool
1982 - 1983 Hamburg
1981 - 1982 Villa
1980 - 1981 Liverpool
1979 - 1980 Notts Forest
1978 - 1979 Notts Forest
1977 - 1978 Liverpool
1976 - 1977 Liverpool
1975 - 1976 Bayern
1974 - 1975 Bayern
1973 - 1974 Bayern
1972 - 1973 Ajax
1971 - 1972 Ajax
1970 - 1971 Ajax
1969 - 1970 Feyenoord
1968 - 1969 Milan
1967 - 1968 Man. United
1966 - 1967 Celtic
1965 - 1966 Real Madrid
1964 - 1965 Internazionale
1963 - 1964 Internazionale
1962 - 1963 Milan
1961 - 1962 Benfica
1960 - 1961 Benfica
1959 - 1960 Real Madrid
1958 - 1959 Real Madrid
1957 - 1958 Real Madrid
1956 - 1957 Real Madrid
1955 - 1956 Real Madrid