Each year, an elite club that outsmarts the other strong European clubs is crowned the season’s UEFA Champions League winner.
The title has been contended for 59 seasons and a number of teams have gained prominence in that time. Real Madrid is the most successful team having won ten times, followed by AC Milan with seven victories and five titles for both Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Here is the complete UEFA Champions League winners list.
1955-1960
Winner: Real Madrid (SPAIN)
Runners-up: Stade de Reims (1956, 1959), Fiorentina (1957), Milan (1958), Eintracht Frankfurt (1960)
Final scores: Real 4-3 Reims; Real 2-0 Fiorentina; Real 3-2 AC Milan (Extra Time); Real 2-0 Reims (1959); Real 7-3 Eintracht
Host countries: France (1956); Spain (1957); Belgium (1958); Germany (1959); Scotland (1960)
Real Madrid was the strongest team at the time. They won five consecutive tournaments a record that has not been matched. Though they encountered some resistance, the brilliance of their star players Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento, Alfredo Di Stefano and Jose Santamaria helped them conquer. In 1958, the final game was decided by an extra time goal scored by Francisco Gento. The 1960 European Cup final was a thrilling match as Madrid humiliated Eintracht to a 7-3 loss in Glasgow. This match recorded the largest attendance ever with over 135000 fans at the stadium.
1960-1962
Winner: Benfica (PORTUGAL)
Runners-up: Barcelona (1961); Real Madrid (1962)
Final scores: Benfica 3-2 Barcelona; Benfica 5-3 Real Madrid
Host countries: Switzerland (1961); Netherlands (1962)
Barcelona ended Real Madrid’s supremacy by beating them in the 1961 competition in the quarters. They made it to the finals only to lose to Benfica. Benfica boldly went on to lift the trophy a second time the following season by beating Real Madrid by 5-3.
1962-1965
Winners: AC Milan (1963); Inter Milan (1964, 1965) (ITALY)
Runners-up: Benfica (1963); Real Madrid (1964); Benfica (1965)
Final scores: AC Milan 2-1 Benfica; Inter Milan 3-1 Real; Inter Milan 1-0 Benfica
Host countries: England (1963); Austria (1964); Italy (1965)
AC Milan denied Benfica a chance to make it a hat-trick by beating them in the 1963 final. Their city rivals Internazionale Milan ensured the trophy stayed in Italy in the subsequent two seasons. With a wonderful combination of star players, namely Faketti, Mazzola, Sarti, Burnjic, Suares and Jaire the Inter squad marked an era that many Italians expected to match the earlier Real Madrid’s success.
1965-1966
Winner: Real Madrid (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Partisan Belgrade
Final score: Real 2-1 Partisan Belgrade
Host country: Belgium
This historic football game was played at Heysel Stadium in Belgium on May 11, 1966, the final score was 2 for Real Madrid and 1 for the Yugoslavian team Partizan from Serbia now.
Inter Milan were knocked out of the 1966 competition in the semi-final by Real Madrid. Real won the final for their sixth European Cup with a Spanish-dominated squad. This showed how good the Real Madrid football squad was.
1966-1967
Winner: Celtic (SCOTLAND)
Runner-up: Inter Milan
Final score: Celtic 2-1 Inter
Host country: Portugal
The Scottish club had a successful season, winning all the tournaments it participated in. The Italians Inter Milan were their next victims as they beat them 2-1 to win the final. Celtic emerged the first British side to win the trophy.
1967-1968
Winner: Manchester United (ENGLAND)
Runner-up: Benfica
Final score: Manchester United 4-1 Benfica (Extra Time)
Host country: England
Two goals from Bobby Charlton and others from George Best and Brian Kidd granted Manchester united a win to become the first English Cup winner. The final match was played at Wembley Stadium, London with attendance of 92,225. Concetto Lo Bello from Italy was the referee of the match.
1968-1969
Winner: AC Milan (ITALY)
Runner-up: Ajax
Final score: AC Milan 4-1 Ajax
Host country: Spain
AC Milan won the trophy after defeating Ajax in Madrid. This would later turn out to be the last success for Latin Clubs as a 17-year draught followed. Germany, English and Dutch teams took over from them.
1969-1973
Winners: Feyenord Rotterdam (1970) ; Ajax (1971, 1972, 1973) (NETHERLANDS)
Runner-up: Celtic (1970); Panathinaikos(1971); Internazionale Milan (1972); Juventus(1973)
Final score: Rotterdam 2-1 Celtic (Extra time); Ajax 2-0 Panathinaikos; Ajax 2-0 Inter; Ajax 1-0 Juventus
Host countrys: Italy (1970); England (1971); Netherlands (1972); Serbia (1973)
The Dutch got a taste of the trophy when Rotterdam beat Celtic 2-1 after extra time in the finals of 1970 in Milan. The following season, Ajax ensured the trophy found its way back to the country by overpowering the Greek team Panathinaikos to a 2-0 defeat. Ajax maintained two more consecutive victories against Internazionale and Juventus by utilizing “the total football”.
1973-1976
Winner: Bayern Munich (GERMANY)
Runner-up: Atletico Madrid (1974); Leeds United (1975); Saint-Etienne (1976)
Final score: Bayern 4-0 Atletico (Rematch); Bayern 2-0 Leeds United; Bayern 1-0 Saint-Etienne
Host country: Belgium (1974); France (1975); Scotland (1976)
The Bayern Munich team was extremely successful with the squad consisting of a number of the German national squad, which won the European Championship in 1972 then the World Cup in 1974. The first victory came through a 4-0 rematch against Atletico Madrid after the first game ended in a 1-1 draw. The following season, Bayern won the match against Paris Leeds United with a 2-0 score line and resulted in the English crowd causing havoc at the stadium. The third victory came against Saint-Etienne who they outscored 1-0.
1976-1982
Winner: Liverpool (1977, 1978, 1981); Nottingham Forest (1979, 1980) Aston Villa (1982) (ENGLAND)
Runner-up: Borussia Monchengladbach (1977); Club Brugge (1978); Malmo FF (1979); Hamburg (1980); Real Madrid (1981); Bayern Munich (1982)
Final score: Liverpool 3-1 Monchengladbach; Liverpool 1-0 Club Brugge; Nottingham 1-0 Malmo; Nottingham 1-0 Hamburg; Liverpool 1-0 Real; Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich
Host country: Italy (1977); England (1978); Germany (1979); Spain (1980); France (1981); Netherlands (1982)
Liverpool started the English dominance by triumphing over Borussia Monchengladbach, scoring three goals to their opponent’s one goal. It enjoyed another success the following year by beating Club Brugge, the Belgian champions. However they fell to their English counterparts Nottingham Forest the next season as Forest made a sensational campaign to win the trophy. In addition, Forest defended the trophy in 1980 by beating Hamburg.
In 1981, Liverpool secured their third victory by defeating Real Madrid by 1-0. Being the era for English teams to dominate, Aston Villa managed to win 1-0 against Bayern Munich in the 1982 final in Rotterdam.
1982-1983
Winner: Hamburg (GERMANY)
Runner-up: Juventus
Final score: Hamburg 1-0 Juventus
Host country: Greece
The trophy went to Hamburg the next season after defating Juventus by 1-0. This brought a break to the English dominance as no English side featured in the final unlike in the previous seven years.
1983-1984
Winner: Liverpool (ENGLAND)
Runner-up: Roma
Final score: Liverpool 1-1 Roma (4-2 pen)
Host country: Italy
The game had to be determined by a penalty shoot-out after Liverpool and Roma drew 1-1. Liverpool took the trophy for a forth time and it is the actions of the Liverpool goalkeeper during the shoot-out that makes it a memorable game. Grobbelaar bit the back of the net before Bruno Conti and Francesco Graziani took their kicks and both went on to miss the penalties.
1984-1985
Winner: Juventus (ITALY)
Runner-up: Liverpool
Final score: Juventus 1-0 Liverpool
Host country: Belgium
The defending champions lost 1-0 to Juventus in the next final. The Juventus excitement was eclipsed by the actions of Liverpool crowd that led to the demise of 39 Juventus fans. This was a dark cloud over English success as a ban of five years was imposed on the English teams and a six-year ban for Liverpool. It marked a big challenge for English cups to contest for the title even upon the end of the ban.
1985-1988
Winners: Steaua Bucuresti (1986) (ROMANIA) ; Porto (1987) (PORTUGAL) ; PSV Eindhoven (1988) (NETHERLANDS)
Runners-up: Barcelona (1986); Bayern Munich (1987); Benfica (1988)
Final scores: Steaua Bucuresti 0-0 Barcelona (2-0 pen); Porto 2-1 Bayern; PSV 0-0 Benfica (6-5 pen)
Host countries: Spain (1986); Austria (1987); West Germany (1988)
With the English teams missing out after the Heysel Disaster, the trophy was first lifted by Steaua Bucuresti from Romania after defeating Barcelona through penalties. Helmuth Duckadam, the Steaua keeper, saved four penalties to aid his team to a 2-0 win. Next Porto outweighed Bayern Munich in a thrilling final when Algeria’s Rabah Madjer scored a spectacular back-heel for Porto.
1988-1990
Winner: AC Milan (ITALY)
Runner-up: Steaua Bucuresti (1989); Benfica (1990)
Final score: AC Milan 4-0 Bucuresti; AC Milan 1-0 Benfica
Host country: Spain (1989); Austria (1990)
Two decades after their first and only win, AC Milan routed Steaua Bucuresti to a 4-0 win to take the trophy. They defended the trophy a year later and won the final against Benfica by 1-0. The efforts of Arrigo Sacchi were proving to be fruitful for the club as he put up arguably the best defense in the tournament.
1990-1991
Winner: Red Star Belgrade (YUGOSLAVIA)
Runner-up: Marseille
Final score: Red Star Belgrade 0-0 Marseille (5-3 pen)
Host country: Italy
Red Star Belgrade, Champions of the Yugoslav League, held Marseille to a goalless draw and went on to beat them on penalties. At this time, the 5 year ban on English teams was lifted.
1991-1992
Winner: Barcelona (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Sampdoria
Final score: Barcelona 1-0 Sampdoria (Extra Time)
Host country: England
This competition’s quarter finals had some changes as it was altered to two groups’ league format. Barcelona beat Sampdoria 1-0 after extra time at Wembley stadium.
1992-1993
Winner: Marseille (FRANCE)
Runner-up: AC Milan
Final score: Marseille 1-0 AC Milan
Host country: Germany
The competition was no longer referred to as the European Cup as it was renamed the UEFA Champions League starting from 1992-93 season. Marseille became the first winners under the new title after defeating Milan in the final. They were faced with issues relating to match fixing leading to their ban from taking part in the next Champions League. Nonetheless, they are still the only French team to lift the Champions League trophy.
1993-1994
Winner: AC Milan (ITALY)
Runner-up: Barcelona
Final score: AC Milan 4-0 Barcelona
Host country: Greece
AC Milan were back to challenge for the title once more. They were unshaken and headed to humiliate an impressive Barcelona team to a 4-0 defeat. Marcel Desailly, AC Milan defender, became the first player to win the cup consecutively with different clubs, having played for Marseille the previous season. Fabio Capello inspired the Italian team to glory in 1994 and the final of the following year.
1994-1995
Winner: Ajax (NETHERLANDS)
Runner-up: AC Milan
Final score: Ajax 1-0 AC Milan
Host country: Austria
Ajax won the trophy again since their hat-trick in 1973. The team was greatly composed of youthful players and went won to reach the next final. The game took place at the Ernst- Happel Stadion in Vienna, Austria on May 24, 1995.
1995-1996
Winner: Juventus (ITALY)
Runner-up: Ajax
Final score: Juventus 1-1 Ajax (4-2 pen)
Host country: Italy
This championship game was played at Stadio Olimpico in Italy. Juventus won the 1996 final against Ajax after a penalty shout-out.
Earlier they had knocked out Real Madrid at the quarter finals and Nantes, France, at the semi-final.
1996-1997
Winner: Borussia Dortmund (GERMANY)
Runner-up: Juventus
Final score: Dortmund 3-1 Juventus
Host country: Germany
Two spectacular goals from Karl-Heinz Riedle gave Dortmund a 2-0 lead by half time. In the second half, Alessandro Del Piero pulled one back for the Italians but the 20 year old Lars Ricken came on as a substitute to seal a 3-1 Dortmund victory.
1997-1998
Winner: Real Madrid (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Juventus
Final score: Real Madrid 1–0 Juventus
Host country: Netherlands
The 1997-98 season saw the inclusion of top European Leagues runners-up in the Champions League. Still, Real Madrid bounced back to win their seventh trophy meaning Juventus had fallen to another semi-final loss, a 1-0 defeat by Real Madrid.
1998-1999
Winner: Manchester United (ENGLAND)
Runner-up: Bayern Munich
Final score: United 2-1 Bayern Munich
Host country: Spain
The final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich is obviously one memorable match among the past Champions League finals. Both teams were on the hunt for a treble and Manchester had won the FA Cup and Premier League prior to the final. Bayern took the lead in the sixth minute through a stunning free kick and the Manchester United team struggled to find the net even in the second half. Into the three minutes of stoppage time, United was awarded a corner kick and all the players went forward, including the keeper. Teddy Sheringham got the equalizer in that moment and a second corner, still taken by David Beckham, resulted into the winning goal scored by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
1999-2000
Winner: Real Madrid (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Valencia
Final score: Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia
Host country: France
UEFA changed the requirements in the 1999-2000 season. Four teams from the top three leagues and three teams from the next three ranked leagues could take part in the competition. Spanish Clubs performed well and it was Real Madrid versus Valencia in the finals. Real Madrid won 3-0 marking a well-deserved win after eliminating the previous year’s finalists on their way to the finals.
2000-2001
Winner: Bayern Munich (GERMANY)
Runner-up: Valencia
Final score: Bayern 1-1 Valencia (5-4 pen)
Host country: Italy
Valencia was once again in a successive final in 2001. They tied with Bayern Munich at 1-1 after normal and extra time only to lose the shoot-out by 5-4. Ottmar Hitzfeld, the Bayern Munich coach, had now won the Champions League with two Different teams with the first honor coming while at Borussia Dortmund in 1997.
2001-2002
Winner: Real Madrid (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Bayer Leverkusen
Final score: Real Madrid 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Host country: Scotland
The legendary Zinedine Zidane was now at Real Madrid, while they played Bayer Leverkusen in the final. He showed his exceptional quality by securing a win for Real through the second goal in a 2-1 win over the German team. After that win, Real was boasting of being victors for the ninth time.
2002-2003
Winner: AC Milan (ITALY)
Runner-up: Juventus
Final score: AC Milan 0-0 Juventus (3-2 pen)
Host country: England
Italy had not performed well in the previous season of the competition but they came back much improved, three Italian teams making it to the semi finals. The 2003 final was AC Milan against Juventus. After a 0-0 tie, Juventus lost 3-2 to AC Milan on penalties. This was an important one for the Milan captain, Paolo Maldini, as he lifted the trophy exactly forty years after his father had done the same for Milan. In addition, Clarence Seedorf had won the Champions League three times with three different teams, after Ajax (1995) and Real Madrid (1998).
2003-2004
Winner: Porto (PORTUGAL)
Runner-up: AS Monaco
Final score: Porto 3-0 AS Monaco
Host country: Germany
The 2004 final was between two of the competitions underdogs, Porto and AS Monaco. They had overcome the favorites in the ranks of Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United. Under their manager Jose Mourinho, the Porto team cruised to a 3-0 win through a firm defense and a skilled front line.
2004-2005
Winner: Liverpool (ENGLAND)
Runner-up: AC Milan
Final score: Liverpool 3-3 Milan (3-2 pen)
Host country: Turkey
The 2005 final was a clash between prominent teams, Milan playing against Liverpool. Milan found the net after 52 seconds, which stands as the fastest goal in Champions league history. Another two goals from Hernan Crespo before half time provided Milan with a comfortable lead. This was later to be ruined by goals from Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and Xabi Alonso before the sixtieth minute to bring the game to an even 3-3 score line. This is one outstanding comeback in a major and deciding match. The game proceeded to the penalty shootout and Liverpool conquered 3-2 to be victorious for the fifth time.
2005-2006
Winner: Barcelona (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Arsenal
Final score: Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal
Host country: France
Barcelona and Arsenal qualified for the finals after eliminating Villarreal and Milan in the semis. Arsenal went ahead in the 37th minute through a Sol Campbell header but Eto’o equalized in the 76th minute. Earlier, Jens Lehmann, the arsenal goal keeper, had been sent off after fouling Samuel Eto’o outside the penalty area. Within five minutes after the first goal, Barca scored the winning goal to lift the trophy.
2006-2007
Winner: AC Milan (ITALY)
Runner-up: Liverpool
Final score: AC Milan 2-1 Liverpool
Host country: Greece
In 2007, Milan thrashed Manchester United 3-0 in the second leg of the semi final to secure them a place in the finals. Liverpool eliminated Chelsea from the competition through a shoot-out. The pair met at the finals and Liverpool was denied a sixth win as Milan won by 2-1 to become champions a seventh time.
2007-2008
Winner: Manchester United (ENGLAND)
Runner-up: Chelsea
Final score: Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 Pen)
Host country: Russia
This was the first all-English club final in Champions League history as Chelsea faced Manchester United. Manchester United took the lead in the first half but Frank Lampard equalized for Chelsea in the dying minutes of the half. The score line did not change even after the extra time and both teams went to a shootout. A penalty kick by Nicolas Anelka was saved by Edwin van der Sar to grant United the victory.
2008-2009
Winner: Barcelona (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Manchester United
Final score: Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United
Host country: Italy
Manchester United advanced to yet another final after beating Arsenal in both legs of the semi-final. In the other semi final, Barcelona knocked out Chelsea. Goals from the brilliant Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o assured Barcelona of a 2-0 triumph, making it a treble for the Spanish team. Josep Guardiola became the youngest coach to win the trophy at 38 years.
2009-2010
Winner: Inter Milan (ITALY)
Runner-up: Bayern
Final score: Inter Milan 2-0 Bayern
Host country: Spain
Inter Milan, under Jose Mourinho, triumphed over Barcelona in the semi-final to reach the final. They faced Bayern who they beat 2-0 to another successful battle in the competition. The championship event was played at Santiago Bernabeu in Spain.
2010-2011
Winner: Barcelona (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Manchester United
Final score: Barcelona 3-1 Manchester united
Host country: England
Barcelona faced Manchester United at the final held at Wembley stadium. Pedro, Messi and David Villa all scored to make a 3-1 win over the United. Barcelona had cruised to their fourth title.
2011-2012
Winner: Chelsea (ENGLAND)
Runner-up: Bayern Munich
Final score: Chelsea 1-1 Bayern Munich (4-3 penalties)
Host country: Germany
The final match between Chelsea and Bayern Munich ended 1-1 after extra time. Thomas Muller gave Bayern the lead only for Didier Drogba to equalize for his team. Two saves from Petr Cech during the shoot-out led Chelsea to win by 4-3, with Drogba scoring the decisive kick.
2012-2013
Winner: Bayern Munich (GERMANY)
Runner-up: Borussia Dortmund
Final score: Bayern 2-1 Dortmund
Host country: England
This was a German affair as Borussia Dortmund faced Bayern Munich, having knocked out Real Madrid and Barcelona in the semi finals. Arjen Robben inspired Bayern to win the game 2-1, scoring the winning goal in the 89th minute. This granted Bayern their fifth title.
2013-2014
Winner: Real Madrid (SPAIN)
Runner-up: Atletico Madrid
Final score: Real 4-1 Atletico (Extra Time)
Host country: Portugal
Real Madrid made it to the finals by defeating titleholders by 5-0 aggregate. Real got their 10th title by beating Atletico. The match was one of a kind as both opponents come from the same city. Atletico Madrid scored in the early minutes of the first half and held to the lead until the 93rd minute when Real equalized. The game went into extra time and Real sealed the win with three more goals.