By Robbie Butler
The European Cup in football (now known as the UEFA Champions League) started in the 1955–56 season. The competition was created by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) to determine the best club team in Europe. The first-ever European Cup match was played between Sporting CP and Partizan Belgrade on 4 September 1955. The match took place at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon and ended in a 3–3 draw. Sporting’s João Baptista Martins had the honour of scoring the first goal in European Cup history.
The inaugural tournament was won by Real Madrid, who defeated Stade de Reims 4–3 in the final. Real Madrid went on to dominate the early years of the competition, winning the first five editions of the European Cup. The Spanish giants could rightly claim to be the “Champions” of Europe – or Champion of Champions, so to speak.
For more than 40 years, the tournament remained closed to teams other than national champions. Second place in any European league – even the biggest leagues of England, Spain, and Germany – did not qualify, while first place in weaker leagues like Iceland, Wales, or Luxembourg did. It truely was a "'league of champions".
This all changed at the start of the 1997–98 season when UEFA expanded the competition to include league runners-up from stronger footballing nations such as Spain, Italy, Germany, and England. The Champions League was no longer just for “champions.” The motivations were largely economic. More games meant more money from matchday operations, merchandising, and broadcasting. This translated into higher revenues and, most likely, higher profits. Whether these teams were “champions” or not didn’t really matter.
As the years have rolled by, the competition has been expanded further. The most dramatic recent change has been the addition of a 36-team league format. Much of this change was driven by the threat of the so-called European Super League. The UEFA Champions League is now a de facto Super League. The same clubs regularly compete from the top European leagues. And an interesting dynamic has now emerged via the UEFA Europa League.
Until 2024–25, teams finishing 3rd in the Champions League Group Stage would drop into the Europa League after being eliminated from the premier competition. This is no longer the case. Under the old system, the eventual Europa League winners most likely came from one of the top European leagues. The last time a team outside of England, Spain, Germany, or Italy won the Europa League was in 2010–11, when Porto lifted the cup. I was at the game in Dublin. In fact, over the past twenty seasons, only three teams outside of the “big” leagues have won the competition.
There is an important dynamic to this. The Europa League winners began to automatically qualify for the UEFA Champions League starting with the 2015–16 season. The first beneficiaries of this were Sevilla. Since then, it has been used by other clubs in England, Spain, Germany, and Italy. While some might argue this rule increases the prestige of the Europa League and encourages teams to take it more seriously, I see it as creating an additional place for the top leagues.
The 2024–25 rule change goes even further. The Europa League is essentially “closed” from the start, as the 3rd-place route from the Champions League Group Stage no longer exists. The strongest clubs in the competition come from the top leagues. As this season proves – the final will see Manchester United play Tottenham Hotspur – the Europa League will become a de facto extra Champions League place for England or Spain. Italy or Germany might spoil this duopoly from time to time.
The likelihood of a club crowned champions from another European league, arriving from the Champions League that could challenge these clubs is now removed. Therefore, a Porto, Benfica, Monaco, Celtic, Rangers, etc. can no longer threaten the 'big league' clubs and I suspect the Europa League will not leave England, Spain Italy or Germany for sometime.
With the addition of a 5th Champions League spot for some top leagues and the Europa League winners’ spot, England and Spain will effectively have six teams in the Champions League each season on a regular basis. There were to be six English clubs in the proposed European Super League.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
The European Cup in football (now known as the UEFA Champions League) started in the 1955–56 season. The competition was created by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) to determine the best club team in Europe. The first-ever European Cup match was played between Sporting CP and Partizan Belgrade on 4 September 1955. The match took place at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon and ended in a 3–3 draw. Sporting’s João Baptista Martins had the honour of scoring the first goal in European Cup history.
The inaugural tournament was won by Real Madrid, who defeated Stade de Reims 4–3 in the final. Real Madrid went on to dominate the early years of the competition, winning the first five editions of the European Cup. The Spanish giants could rightly claim to be the “Champions” of Europe – or Champion of Champions, so to speak.
For more than 40 years, the tournament remained closed to teams other than national champions. Second place in any European league – even the biggest leagues of England, Spain, and Germany – did not qualify, while first place in weaker leagues like Iceland, Wales, or Luxembourg did. It truely was a "'league of champions".
This all changed at the start of the 1997–98 season when UEFA expanded the competition to include league runners-up from stronger footballing nations such as Spain, Italy, Germany, and England. The Champions League was no longer just for “champions.” The motivations were largely economic. More games meant more money from matchday operations, merchandising, and broadcasting. This translated into higher revenues and, most likely, higher profits. Whether these teams were “champions” or not didn’t really matter.
As the years have rolled by, the competition has been expanded further. The most dramatic recent change has been the addition of a 36-team league format. Much of this change was driven by the threat of the so-called European Super League. The UEFA Champions League is now a de facto Super League. The same clubs regularly compete from the top European leagues. And an interesting dynamic has now emerged via the UEFA Europa League.
Until 2024–25, teams finishing 3rd in the Champions League Group Stage would drop into the Europa League after being eliminated from the premier competition. This is no longer the case. Under the old system, the eventual Europa League winners most likely came from one of the top European leagues. The last time a team outside of England, Spain, Germany, or Italy won the Europa League was in 2010–11, when Porto lifted the cup. I was at the game in Dublin. In fact, over the past twenty seasons, only three teams outside of the “big” leagues have won the competition.
There is an important dynamic to this. The Europa League winners began to automatically qualify for the UEFA Champions League starting with the 2015–16 season. The first beneficiaries of this were Sevilla. Since then, it has been used by other clubs in England, Spain, Germany, and Italy. While some might argue this rule increases the prestige of the Europa League and encourages teams to take it more seriously, I see it as creating an additional place for the top leagues.
The 2024–25 rule change goes even further. The Europa League is essentially “closed” from the start, as the 3rd-place route from the Champions League Group Stage no longer exists. The strongest clubs in the competition come from the top leagues. As this season proves – the final will see Manchester United play Tottenham Hotspur – the Europa League will become a de facto extra Champions League place for England or Spain. Italy or Germany might spoil this duopoly from time to time.
The likelihood of a club crowned champions from another European league, arriving from the Champions League that could challenge these clubs is now removed. Therefore, a Porto, Benfica, Monaco, Celtic, Rangers, etc. can no longer threaten the 'big league' clubs and I suspect the Europa League will not leave England, Spain Italy or Germany for sometime.
With the addition of a 5th Champions League spot for some top leagues and the Europa League winners’ spot, England and Spain will effectively have six teams in the Champions League each season on a regular basis. There were to be six English clubs in the proposed European Super League.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
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