The Champions League is the most prestigious club football tournament on the planet. Held since the 1991/1992 season, it is the successor to the European Cup. Initially (since 1955) the rally was held according to the Olympic system, when teams play for elimination. That is, football clubs played two matches with each other - at home and away, after which the total was calculated, 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 among themselves in a circle at home and away, after which the best went to the playoff stage. 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 got the right to participate in the tournament for the first time (in accordance with the UEFA coefficient table). Over time, this trend has developed, and today the countries with the highest odds are represented in the tournament by four football teams.
Winners and record holders
During the existence of the tournament, 22 clubs have become its winners, 12 of which have won the tournament more than once. The record result for the number of victories belongs to the Spanish club "Real" (Madrid), which became the winner 10 times. The reigning Champions League winners are Barcelona. He won the Milan trophy seven times, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Barcelona five times, Ajax won four times, Manchester United won three times, Juventus and Benfica won twice the Champions Cup , Nottingham Forrest and Porto.
Modern format
Now the Champions League football is held in a multi-stage scheme and lasts from July to May. The first teams start the fight with the preliminary stage, which consists of four qualifying rounds and a playoff round. The preliminary stage takes place according to the Olympic system and consists of the path of champions (champions of their countries take part) and the path of representatives of countries (not the champions of their countries who have won the right to play in the Champions League), which do not overlap. According to the results of the preliminary stage, the top 10 teams advance to the group stage, where they join the 22 teams that got there directly. According to the results of the group tournament, the 16 best teams advance to the playoffs, where they compete according to the Olympic system, starting with the 1/8 finals. In the Champions League final, the two strongest teams compete for the championship title and the cup. The winner of the Champions League receives temporary storage for 10 months. European Cup, and forever a smaller copy of the trophy. A club that has won the Champions League (including the European Champions Cup) five times in total, or three times in a row, retains the original trophy for eternal storage. So far, there are only six such clubs: Real (Madrid, Spain), Ajax (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Bayern (Munich, Germany), Milan (Italy), Barcelona and Liverpool (England ).
Online UEFA Champions League Review at UA-Football
The UA-Football website has been covering the Champions League since 2002. A team of journalists creates 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 the rivals of the Ukrainian clubs of this tournament and an overview of the foreign press after the matches with the participation of Ukrainian teams, as well as the final match and the results of the Champions League are presented. The statistics system contains the standings of all the Champions League groups and the table of the top scorers, as well as the online match schedule. Also, in the statistics system of the section, the results of the Champions League matches of the previous seasons of the Champions League, starting from the 2011/2012 season, are saved.