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More about UEFA Champions League
What is the UEFA Champions League?
The UEFA Champions League is a football tournament played annually by 32 European football clubs in five rounds. The winner of the knockout round gets to call himself the best club in Europe for a year.
When did the UEFA Champions League start?
The first edition of the UEFA Champions League was played in the 1955-1956 season and was won by Real Madrid.
How is the tournament today compared to 1955?
When it started in 1955, the Champions League was called Europacup 1 (until 1992). The club tournament was then still played with 16 clubs and had only four rounds (the first round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final). This first cup was won by Real Madrid by winning 4-3 at home against Reims.
From 1960, the tournament was played with 32 teams including an extra round. Otherwise, the course remained the same.
In 1992, UEFA then changed the name from European Cup 1 to the UEFA Champions League and the first rounds were replaced by group stages.
The 32 football teams were split into eight groups of four with each football club playing against the three teams in their group via a back-and-forth system. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the final stage (round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final).