UEFA Champions League 44220 226125143 2008-07-16T22:44:29Z Ronz 7862 /* External Links */ needs cleanup per WP:EL, WP:SPAM, WP:NOT#LINK - removed one spam link {{ infobox football tournament | current = [[UEFA Champions League 2008-09|2008-09 Champions League]] | logo = [[Image:UEFA Champions League logo 2.svg|180px]] | founded = 1992 (1955 in its older format) | region = [[Europe]] ([[UEFA]]) | number of teams = 32 (Group stage)<br>76 or 77 (Total) | current champions = {{flagicon|ENG}} [[Manchester United]] (3) | most successful club = {{flagicon|ESP}} [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] (9) | broadcasters = [[List of UEFA Champions League broadcasters|List of broadcasters]] | song = [[UEFA Champions League Hymn|Champions League Hymn]] }} The '''UEFA Champions League''', which evolved from the European Champion Clubs' Cup, is a seasonal club [[Association football|football]] competition organised by [[UEFA]] since 1992 (or overall in its older format since 1955) for the most successful football clubs in [[Europe]]. The prize, the [[European Champion Clubs' Cup]] (more commonly known as the European Cup), is the most prestigious club trophy in the sport. The UEFA Champions League is separate from the [[UEFA Cup]]. The tournament consists of several stages. In the present format it begins in mid-July with three preliminary knockout qualifying rounds. The 16 surviving teams join 16 seeded teams in a group stage. Eight group winners and eight runners-up enter the final knockout rounds, which end with the final match in May. Previously only the champions of their respective national league could participate in the competition; however, this was changed in 1997 to allow the runners-up of the stronger leagues to compete as well. The title has been held by a number of different clubs, where some have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holder is Real Madrid with their nine wins. AC Milan have won it seven times, Liverpool FC five times, Ajax and Bayern Munich four times, and Manchester United three times. The current holders are [[Manchester United F.C.]] who beat [[Chelsea F.C.]] 6-5 on penalties, 1-1 after extra time, in [[Moscow]] on [[21 May]] [[2008]]. ==History== {{main|European Cup and Champions League history}} The tournament was inaugurated in 1955, at the suggestion of the [[France|French]] sports journalist and editor of ''[[L'Équipe]]'' [[Gabriel Hanot]],<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.uefa.com/magazine/news/Kind=512/newsId=419682.html | title=Hats off to Hanot | accessdate=2006-07-10 | date=2006-05-12 | publisher=UEFA.com | author=Matthew Spiro | language=English}}</ref> as a continental competition for winners of the European [[:Category:National football (soccer) premier leagues|national football leagues]], as the '''European Champion Clubs' Cup''', abbreviated to '''European Cup'''. The competition began as the [[European Cup 1955-56|1955/56]] using a two-leg knockout format where the teams would play two matches, one at home and one away, and the team with the highest overall score qualifying for the next round of the competition. Entry was restricted to the teams that won their national league championships, plus the current European Cup holder. This qualification system continued until 1992. In the [[UEFA Champions League 1992-93|1992&ndash;93 season]], the tournament was renamed ''UEFA Champions League'' and in 1997/98, eligibility was expanded to include not just domestic champions but also the best performing runners up according to [[UEFA coefficients|UEFA's coefficient]] ranking list<ref>[http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/format/index.html uefa.com - UEFA Champions League<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. In UEFA's coefficient system, a team finishing second in the Spanish [[La Liga]] would be more deserving of an automatic place in the Champions League than a team finishing first in, for example, Polish [[Ekstraklasa]]. As a result, the system was restructured to force "weaker" national champions to qualify for the group stages, while other, "stronger" national runners-up would automatically get places. Between 1960 and 2004 the winner of the tournament qualified for the now defunct [[Intercontinental Cup (football)|Intercontinental Cup]] against the winner of the [[Copa Libertadores]] of South America. Since then, with [[FIFA]] taking over, the winner automatically qualifies for the [[FIFA Club World Cup]] with other winners of continental club championships. ==Qualification== {{seealso|UEFA coefficients}} [[Image:Beginning Arsenal Sevilla.jpg|thumb|250px|The Champions League flag is shown on the centre of the pitch before every game in the competition]] The UEFA Champions league is open to the league champions of all UEFA member associations (except [[Liechtenstein]], which has no league competition), as well as to the clubs finishing from second to fourth position in the strongest leagues. Since January 2007 the two lowest-ranked league competitions (currently the [[Andorra]] and [[San Marino]] leagues) can also represent their domestic champions in the Champions League. The number of places in the competition depends on the association's rank in the [[UEFA coefficients#League coefficient|UEFA coefficients]] table: * associations ranked 1 to 3 have four positions, * associations ranked 4 to 6 have three positions, * associations ranked 7 to 15 have two positions, * associations ranked 16 or lower have one position. An association's rank also determines the stage at which the clubs enter the competition. For example, the three highest-ranked associations have two places in the group stage (for champions and runners-up) and two in the third qualifying round (for third and fourth-placed teams), whereas the lowest-ranked associations have only one place in the first qualifying round for their champions. Nine highest-ranked associations have at least one automatic place in the group stage. The situation with the European Cup holders has not been clearly defined. There was [[Liverpool F.C. Champions League qualification 2005-06|controversy when Liverpool won the competition in 2004-05]] but finished outside the top four in the [[FA Premier League]]. [[The Football Association]] ruled that [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] (who finished fourth) should get the final English place in the 2005-06 European Cup. UEFA came to an agreement that both [[Merseyside derby|Merseyside rivals]] would be allowed to enter the competition with Liverpool starting from the first qualifying round and Everton starting from the third qualifying round. UEFA's current rule is that if the European Cup winners fail to finish in one of its national league's qualifying positions, it will take the place of the lowest placed team in its league. The superseded team will go to the [[UEFA Cup]]. In 2005-06, Liverpool and [[FC Artmedia Petržalka|Artmedia Bratislava]] of [[Slovakia]] became the first teams to reach the Champions League group phase after playing in all three qualifying rounds. In addition to sporting criteria, any club must be licensed by its national association to participate in the Champions league. To obtain a license, club must meet certain stadium, infrastructure and finance requirements. [[Image:Ligue des champions NB.JPG|thumb|250px|The [[European Champion Clubs' Cup]].]] [[FC Barcelona]], [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]], and [[F.C. Porto|FC Porto]] are the teams that have appeared most often in the group stages: thirteen each. FC Porto and Barcelona have only won the tournament once each since the establishment of the Group stages (2004 and 2006 respectively), whilst Manchester United have won it twice in 1999 and 2008. ==The stages== The tournament consists of several stages and begins with three preliminary knockout qualifying rounds. Different teams start in different rounds, according to their position in domestic league and the [[UEFA coefficients]] of their league, while the sixteen top ranked teams spread across the biggest domestic leagues qualify directly. The current system was adopted in 2003. ===Changes to the competition format from 2009/10 onwards=== The main focus of the changes was to enable champions coming from associations ranked 13 to 53 much easier access to the main tournament through a separate qualifying route, rather than going head-to-head with non-champions from associations ranked 1 to 12. Five teams will enter into the group stage from each new route. 22 teams will now directly qualify for the group stage, the additional 6 teams being champions of associations ranked 10 to 12, and 3rd placed teams in associations ranked 1 to 3. It was also decided that the final would be played on the Saturday evening in calendar week 20 (20:45 [[CEST]]) from 2009/10 onwards, instead of the Wednesday evening.<ref>{{cite news |title=Champions League changes agreed |url=http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=64/newsid=630602.html |publisher=UEFA |date=[[2007-12-01]] |accessdate=2007-12-01 }}</ref> [[Wembley Stadium]] in [[London]] was looking likely to host the event that year, only a week after the [[FA Cup]] Final would be played there. This caused some criticism and it was later announced that the 2010 final would be played at the [[Santiago Bernabéu Stadium]] in Madrid.<ref>{{cite news |title=Madrid and Hamburg awarded 2010 finals |url=http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=64/newsid=676743.html |publisher=UEFA |date=[[2008-03-28]] |accessdate=2008-03-28}}</ref> ==Sponsorship== Like the [[FIFA World Cup]], the UEFA Champions League is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to the single main sponsor of either the [[Premier League|Barclays Premier League]], the [[Copa Libertadores de América|Copa Santander Libertadores]] or [[Serie A|Serie A TIM]]. When the Champions League was created in 1992, it was decided that a maximum of eight companies should be allowed to sponsor the event, with each corporation being allocated four advertising boards around the perimeter of the pitch, as well as logo placement at pre- and post-match interviews and a certain number of tickets to each match. This, combined with a deal to ensure tournament sponsors were given priority on television advertisements during matches, ensured that each of the tournament's main sponsors was given maximum exposure.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Thompson |first=Craig |coauthors=Magnus, Ems |year=2003 |month=February |title=The Uefa Champions League Marketing |journal=Fiba Assist Magazine |pages=pp.49–50 |url=http://www.ekospor.com/Sports-Marketing/Sport%20Marketing%20uefa.pdf |accessdate=2008-05-19 }}</ref> The tournament's current main sponsors are: *[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] *[[Heineken Pilsner|Heineken]] *[[MasterCard]] *[[Sony]] **The [[PlayStation (series)|PlayStation series]] also sponsors the tournament as one of Sony's brands *[[Vodafone]] ==Media coverage== {{main|List of UEFA Champions League broadcasters}} The competition attracts a huge television audience, not just in Europe, but throughout the world. The matches are broadcast in over 70 countries in more than 40 languages each year, and some important matches can attract over 200 million TV audience, often considered as one of the most watched sports events on TV.<ref>{{cite news | title = World’s most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report| publisher = Initiative | date = 2007-01-19 | url = http://initiative.com/static/prDec2006.html|accessdate = 2007-05-26}} </ref> ==European Cup and Champions League finals== {{main|List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League champions}} {{Champions league finals}} ''aet = after [[extra time]]; asdet = after [[golden goal|sudden death]] extra time'' ==Records and statistics== {{main|European Cup and Champions League records and statistics}} ====By nation==== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !width=3%| Nation !width=1%| Wins !width=1%| Runs Up !width=9%| Winning Clubs !width=9%| Runners-Up |- | {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Italy]] |align=center| 11 |align=center| 14 | [[A.C. Milan|AC Milan]] (7), [[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]] (2), [[F.C. Internazionale Milano|Internazionale]] (2) | [[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]] (5), [[A.C. Milan|AC Milan]] (4), [[F.C. Internazionale Milano|Internazionale]] (2), [[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]] (1), [[A.S. Roma|Roma]] (1), [[U.C. Sampdoria|Sampdoria]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Spain]] |align=center| 11 |align=center| 9 | [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] (9), [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] (2) | [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] (3), [[FC Barcelona|Barcelona]] (3), [[Valencia CF|Valencia]] (2), [[Atlético Madrid]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|England}} [[England]] |align=center| 11 |align=center| 5 | [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] (5), [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] (3), [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]] (2), [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] (1) | [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] (2), [[Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United]] (1), [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] (1), [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]] |align=center| 6 |align=center| 7 | [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]] (4), [[Borussia Dortmund]] (1), [[Hamburger SV|Hamburg]] (1) | [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]] (3), [[Bayer 04 Leverkusen|Bayer Leverkusen]] (1), [[Borussia VfL 1900|Borussia Mönchengladbach]] (1), [[Eintracht Frankfurt]] (1), [[Hamburger SV|Hamburg]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]] |align=center| 6 |align=center| 2 | [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]] (4), [[PSV Eindhoven|PSV]] (1), [[Feyenoord]] (1) | [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]] (2) |- | {{flagicon|Portugal}} [[Portugal]] |align=center| 4 |align=center| 5 | [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] (2), [[F.C. Porto|Porto]] (2) | [[S.L. Benfica|Benfica]] (5) |- | {{flagicon|France}} [[France]] |align=center| 1 |align=center| 5 | [[Olympique de Marseille|Marseille]] (1) | [[Stade Reims]] (2), [[AS Saint-Étienne|Saint-Étienne]] (1), [[Olympique de Marseille|Marseille]] (1), [[AS Monaco FC|Monaco]] (1), |- | {{flagicon|Romania}} [[Romania]] |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1 | [[FC Steaua Bucureşti|Steaua]] (1) | [[FC Steaua Bucureşti|Steaua]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|Serbia}} [[Serbia]] |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1 | [[Red Star Belgrade]] (1) | [[FK Partizan]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|Scotland}} [[Scotland]] |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1 | [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]] (1) | [[Celtic F.C.|Celtic]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Sweden]] |align=center| 0 |align=center| 1 | | [[Malmö FF]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|Greece}} [[Greece]] |align=center| 0 |align=center| 1 | | [[Panathinaikos FC|Panathinaikos]] (1) |- | {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Belgium]] |align=center| 0 |align=center| 1 | | [[Club Brugge K.V.|Club Brugge]] (1) |- |} ====All-time top goalscorers==== <small>Including qualifying games</small> <br>''Players in '''Bold''' are still active.'' {| class="wikitable" |- !width=2%|Rank !width=4%|Nation !width=10%|Player !width=5%|Goals !width=5%|Games !width=8%|Debut in Europe !width=13%|Clubs |- |align=center|1 |align=center|{{flagicon|Spain}} |'''[[Raúl González|Raúl González]]''' |align=center|61 |align=center|118 |align=center|1996 |[[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] |- |align=center|2 |align=center|{{flagicon|Ukraine}} |'''[[Andriy Shevchenko]]''' |align=center|59 |align=center|103 |align=center|1994 |[[Dynamo Kyiv]], [[AC Milan|Milan]], [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] |- |align=center|3 |align=center|{{flagicon|Netherlands}} |'''[[Ruud van Nistelrooy]]''' |align=center|57 |align=center|76 |align=center|1997 |[[PSV Eindhoven|PSV]], [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]], [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] |- |align=center|4 |align=center|{{flagicon|France}} |'''[[Thierry Henry]]''' |align=center|53 |align=center|115 |align=center|1996 |[[AS Monaco|Monaco]], [[Arsenal FC|Arsenal]], [[FC Barcelona]] |- |align=center|5 |align=center|{{flagicon|Argentina}} {{flagicon|Spain}} |[[Alfredo di Stefano]] |align=center|49 |align=center|58 |align=center|1955 |[[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] |- |} ====All-time top appearances==== {| class="wikitable" |- !width=5%|Rank !width=5%|Nation !!width=8%|Player !width=5%|Games !width=30%|Club |- |align=center|1 |align=center|{{flagicon|Spain}} |'''[[Raúl González|Raúl González]]''' |align=center|118 |[[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]] |- |align=center|2 |align=center|{{flagicon|Brazil}} |'''[[Roberto Carlos (footballer)|Roberto Carlos]]''' |align=center|117 |[[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]], [[Fenerbahçe S.K.|Fenerbahçe]] |- |align=center|3 |align=center|{{flagicon|France}} |'''[[Thierry Henry]]''' |align=center|115 |[[A.S. Monaco|Monaco]], [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], [[Barcelona C.F.|FC Barcelona]] |- |align=center|4 |align=center|{{flagicon|Italy}} |'''[[Paolo Maldini]]''' |align=center|107 |[[A.C. Milan|Milan]] |- |align=center|5 |align=center|{{flagicon|Wales}} |'''[[Ryan Giggs]]''' |align=center|104 |[[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] |- |} ==See also== *[[European football records]] *[[International club competition records]] *[[UEFA competition records]] *[[European Cup and Champions League history]] *[[European Cup and Champions League finals]] *[[European Cup and Champions League records and statistics]] *[[The Double#European Double|European Double]] *[[The Treble|European Treble]] *[[List of European Cup and UEFA Champions League winning managers]] *[[Intercontinental Cup (football)|Intercontinental Cup]] / [[FIFA Club World Cup]] *[[UEFA Super Cup]] *[[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]] *[[UEFA Cup]] *[[UEFA Intertoto Cup]] *[[UEFA Club Football Awards]] *[[UEFA Team of the Year]] *[[Sport in Europe]] *[[UEFA Champions League Hymn]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commonscat}} {{external links}} * [http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/UCL/ UEFA Official Site] * [http://www.corederoma.net/download/miscellanea/CL_theme.mp3 MP3 of the ''UEFA Champions League Music''] * [http://www.rsssf.com/ec/ecomp.html RSSSF European Cups Archive] * [http://www.teamvalenciaonline.com Football Teams] * [http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/ UEFA European Cup Football] - independent site with regularly updated statistics including club and country rankings, tournament seedings, and match results. * [http://www.europeancuphistory.com European Cup History] *{{it}} [http://www.enricosiboni.altervista.org/club/champions_league.htm Enrico Siboni Web Site - Winners of UEFA Champions League] * [http://www.the-sports.org/football-soccer-uefa-champions-league-presentation-medal-winners-s1-c0-b0-g8-t21.html All time statistics with link to all results] {{fb start}} {{European Cup Seasons}} {{UEFA Champions League Seasons}} {{Champions League Final}} {{International Club Football}} {{fb end}} [[Category:UEFA Champions League| ]] [[Category:UEFA competitions|Champions League]] [[Category:International club football (soccer) competitions|Champions League, UEFA]] [[Category:European football (soccer) competitions|1]] [[Category:1955 establishments]] [[ar:دوري أبطال أوروبا]] [[ast:Copa d'Europa]] [[az:UEFA Çempionlar Liqası]] [[bn:উয়েফা চ্যাম্পিয়নস লীগ]] [[be-x-old:Ліга чэмпіёнаў УЭФА]] [[bar:Champions League]] [[bs:UEFA Liga Prvaka]] [[bg:Шампионска лига на УЕФА]] [[ca:Lliga de Campions de la UEFA]] [[cs:Liga mistrů UEFA]] [[da:UEFA Champions League]] [[de:UEFA Champions League]] [[et:UEFA Meistrite Liiga]] [[el:Κύπελλο Πρωταθλητριών Ομάδων Ευρώπης]] [[es:Liga de Campeones de la UEFA]] [[eo:Ligo de Ĉampionoj de UEFA]] [[eu:UEFAko Txapeldunen Liga]] [[fr:Ligue des Champions de l'UEFA]] [[gl:Liga de Campións da UEFA]] [[ko:UEFA 챔피언스리그]] [[hr:UEFA Liga prvaka]] [[id:Liga Champions UEFA]] [[is:Meistaradeild Evrópu]] [[it:UEFA Champions League]] [[he:ליגת האלופות]] [[ka:უეფას ჩემპიონთა ლიგა]] [[lv:UEFA Čempionu Līga]] [[lb:UEFA Champions League]] [[lt:UEFA Čempionų lyga]] [[hu:UEFA Bajnokok Ligája]] [[mt:UEFA Champions League]] [[mr:युएफा चँपियन्स लीग]] [[ms:Liga Juara-Juara UEFA]] [[mn:УЕФА Аваргуудын Лиг]] [[nl:UEFA Champions League]] [[ja:UEFAチャンピオンズリーグ]] [[nap:UEFA Champions League]] [[no:Mesterligaen]] [[nn:Champions League]] [[oc:Liga dels Campions de l'UEFA]] [[pl:Liga Mistrzów UEFA]] [[pt:Liga dos Campeões da UEFA]] [[ro:Liga Campionilor UEFA]] [[ru:Лига чемпионов УЕФА]] [[sq:UEFA Liga e Kampionëve]] [[scn:Champions League]] [[simple:UEFA Champions League]] [[sk:Liga majstrov UEFA]] [[sl:Liga prvakov]] [[sr:УЕФА Лига шампиона]] [[sh:UEFA Liga prvaka]] [[fi:Mestarien liiga]] [[sv:UEFA Champions League]] [[th:ยูฟ่าแชมเปียนส์ลีก]] [[vi:Cúp các đội vô địch bóng đá quốc gia châu Âu]] [[tr:UEFA Şampiyonlar Ligi]] [[uk:Ліга чемпіонів УЄФА]] [[vec:UEFA Champions League]] [[wuu:欧洲杯足球赛]] [[zh:欧洲冠军联赛]]