Thus was Born the European Champions Cup: The UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, originally known as the European Cup, is the most prestigious and important European club competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Something that may characterize this competition is the magic that is seen during the matches. Throughout the history of this tournament we have been able to see the best European clubs and the best players in the world competing. historical moments, teams that break all forecasts and records, the most significant experiences within the world of sport.

 

So, let's see how this championship has become what we know today.

 

How was this tournament created?

Organized annually by UEFA, for the first time the Champions League was played in the 1955-1956 season under the name of the European Champions Club Cup, known also as the European Cup, where the teams from different leagues of the Old Continent competed to win the Champions League title.

 

Surprisingly, the one who made this proposal was not UEFA, but the idea came from an organizing committee made up of a private group and led by Ernest Bredignans.

 

It turns out that when the format was loaned to FIFA, this competition didn't have much support from the managers. So everything took off until an editor of the sports newspaper L’Equipe, Gabriel Hanot, his colleague Jacques Ferrán and the president of Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabéu took it up again.

 

Jacques wrote an article in which he suggested the organization of a tournament between champions and invited the clubs to put it up for debate and Bernabéu was one of those who strongly pushed for this tournament to become a reality.

 

Hanot put the idea in the UEFA Congress, as his Federation, the French, did not welcome a tournament that would interfere with his idea of organizing a European Championship designed for national teams.

 

How has the name become UEFA Champions League?

The name change from the European Cup to the Champions League was purely for Marketing reasons. As of 1992, it took the name by which we know it today because TEAM Marketing AG became its main partner, and the objective they had was to give it another image and innovate in commercial concepts and thereby optimize the value of its rights.

 

There are 22 teams that have won the Champions League so far. Spanish Real Madrid is the first in the list of the Champions League Winners. The club, whose former President Santiago Bernabéu was one of the members to create the actual competition, have won the UCL for 13 times, taking the first 5 titles of the competition. The second top winner is Italian AC Milan with 7 UCL titles. Bayern Munich and Liverpool share the third position with 6 UCL titles each.

 

If you want to get into the most significant moments of the championship, you can find exclusive material and endless videos, curious facts and additional information on the official UEFA website.