88-670: Heysel ( French: [ɛzɛl] ) or Heizel ( Dutch: [ˈɦɛizəl] ) is an area in Brussels and may in particular refer to: Heysel Plateau , a part of Brussels Heysel/Heizel metro station , one of the metro stations on line 6 (formerly 1A) of the Brussels Metro Heysel Stadium, see King Baudouin Stadium Heysel Stadium disaster of May 29, 1985 Topics referred to by
176-471: A hat-trick by Alfredo Di Stéfano. This was Real Madrid's fifth consecutive title, a record that still stands today. Real Madrid's reign ended in the 1960–61 season when bitter rivals Barcelona dethroned them in the first round. Barcelona were defeated in the final by Portuguese side Benfica 3–2 at the Wankdorf Stadium . Reinforced by Eusébio , Benfica defeated Real Madrid 5–3 at
264-932: A 3–2 friendly victory against Budapest Honvéd , Hanot finally managed to convince UEFA to put into practice such a tournament. It was conceived in Paris in 1955 as the European Champion Clubs' Cup. The first European Cup took place during the 1955–56 season. Sixteen teams participated (some by invitation): AC Milan (Italy), AGF Aarhus (Denmark), Anderlecht (Belgium), Djurgården (Sweden), Gwardia Warszawa (Poland), Hibernian (Scotland), Partizan ( Yugoslavia ), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Rapid Wien (Austria), Real Madrid (Spain), Rot-Weiss Essen ( West Germany ), Saarbrücken ( Saar ), Servette (Switzerland), Sporting CP (Portugal), Reims (France) and Vörös Lobogó (Hungary). The first European Cup match took place on 4 September 1955, and ended in
352-556: A 3–3 draw between Sporting CP and Partizan. The first goal in European Cup history was scored by João Baptista Martins of Sporting CP. The inaugural final took place at the Parc des Princes between Stade de Reims and Real Madrid on 13 June 1956. The Spanish squad came back from behind to win 4–3 thanks to goals from Alfredo Di Stéfano and Marquitos , as well as two goals from Héctor Rial . Real Madrid successfully defended
440-603: A Flemish neo-Renaissance style, according to the plans of the architect Jules-Jacques Van Ysendyck. The buildings are now made available by Belgium for the European School, Brussels IV . In 1905, the 75th anniversary of the country's independence was celebrated with great fanfare, among others in Laeken Park. Later, the Institute of Agricultural Home Economics, a girls' school for agriculture and domestic science,
528-643: A cup for national champion clubs of Europe, was played and organised by Swiss club Servette . Held in Geneva , it brought together ten champions from across the continent. The tournament was won by Újpest of Hungary. Latin European nations came together to form the Latin Cup in 1949. After receiving reports from his journalists over the highly successful South American Championship of Champions of 1948, Gabriel Hanot , editor of L'Équipe , began proposing
616-416: 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. From the 2012–13 knockout phase , UEFA used LED advertising hoardings installed in knockout participant stadiums, including the final. From the 2015–16 season onwards, UEFA has used such hoardings from the play-off round until
704-554: A direct subway line connecting it to Brussels' current European Quarter . The existing parking facilities, the biggest in Belgium, were also presented as a plus, as well as the planned new residential area and the proximity of parks and leisure facilities. The European Quarter would have remained the centre of the Commission's activities, but the body was also looking for "additional poles outside" this central area, in order to exert
792-542: A downward pressure on real estate prices, according to Siim Kallas , the EU's then- Commissioner for Administrative Affairs . In 2009, a new project called Neo was launched to renovate the Heysel. This new plan provides for the construction of 590 housing units, a new shopping centre called Mall of Europe and a new amusement park, as well as a new sports park. The total cost is estimated at €1 billion. The town planning permit
880-412: A draft entitled "Application file for the Heysel plain to host a new European quarter" was issued. According to the draft project, the Heysel was to host a new branch of the European School , where EU officials educate their children in their native tongues. This was made true in 2012 with the European School, Brussels IV 's move from Forest to its purpose built campus on the plateau. The area lies on
968-743: A few, particularly emblematic, such as the Philips Pavilion by Le Corbusier and the Flèche du Génie civil sculpture, dynamited in 1970. The Atomium remains the main vestige of this period. The Brussels Exhibition Centre ( Brussels Expo ) gradually expanded between 1977 and 1998 with the construction of the Palais/Paleis 11, the Palais/Paleis 12, and the Auditorium. It now has twelve halls, linked together by covered galleries, and currently occupies 22 ha (54 acres) of land, making it
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#17327659582551056-458: A logo, and the "starball". The starball was created by Design Bridge, a London-based firm selected by TEAM after a competition. TEAM gives particular attention to detail in how the colours and starball are depicted at matches. According to TEAM, "Irrespective of whether you are a spectator in Moscow or Milan, you will always see the same stadium dressing materials, the same opening ceremony featuring
1144-489: A play-off round, all played over two legs. The seven surviving teams enter the league phase, joining 29 teams qualified in advance. The 36 teams each play eight opponents, four home and four away. The 24 highest-ranked teams proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match in late May or early June. The winner of the Champions League automatically qualifies for the following year's Champions League,
1232-460: A result, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being played as single match knockout ties at neutral venues in Lisbon, Portugal in the summer with the final taking place on 23 August 2020. The following is the default access list. Changes will be made to the access list above if the Champions League or Europa League title holders qualify for the tournament via their domestic leagues. Each year,
1320-873: A small village, which, in the 18th century, also included a Speelhuys , a pavilion where the Archbishop of Mechelen stayed when visiting Brussels. Numerous quarries were also operated on the Heysel Plateau, which supplied the building material for, among other things, the Abbey Church of Affligem, the Church of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel, the Jesuit Church in Antwerp and the Church of Our Lady of Finisterrae in central Brussels. Quarrying ceased towards
1408-499: A version of the official trophy : Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Milan and Liverpool. Since 2008, the official trophy has remained with UEFA and the clubs are awarded a replica. The current trophy is 74 cm (29 in) tall and made of silver, weighing 11 kg (24 lb). It was designed by Jürg Stadelmann, a jeweller from Bern , Switzerland, after the original was given to Real Madrid in 1966 in recognition of their six titles to date, and cost 10,000 Swiss francs . As of
1496-568: Is a neighbourhood, park and exhibition space in Laeken , northern Brussels , Belgium, where the Brussels International Exposition of 1935 and the 1958 Brussels World's Fair ( Expo 58 ) took place. The Atomium , a symbolic 103-metre-tall (338 ft) modernist structure, originally built for Expo 58, is the most impressive monument on the Heysel Plateau and is now considered a landmark of Brussels. Opposite it,
1584-518: Is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their national associations. Introduced in 1955 as the Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens (French for European Champion Clubs' Cup ), and commonly known as the European Cup , it
1672-466: Is played from September to January, while the knockout phase begins in February, with matches predominantly played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. After the league phase, a two-legged knockout play-off round is played between teams finishing 9–16 (seeded) and 17–24 (unseeded) in the league phase. Teams finishing in the top eight of the league phase receive a bye to the round of 16 as seeded teams, while
1760-399: Is set to the exclamations 'Die Meister! Die Besten! Les Grandes Équipes! The Champions!'. The anthem's chorus is played before each UEFA Champions League game as the two teams are lined up, as well as at the beginning and end of television broadcasts of the matches. In addition to the anthem, there is also entrance music, which contains parts of the anthem itself, which is played as teams enter
1848-413: Is the only club to have won it five times in a row (the first five editions). Only one club has won all of their matches in a single tournament en route to the tournament victory: Bayern Munich in the 2019–20 season. Real Madrid is the current European champion, having beaten Borussia Dortmund 2–0 in the 2024 final for their fifteenth title. The first time the champions of two European leagues met
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#17327659582551936-602: The 1985 European Cup final due to the Heysel Stadium disaster . "Magic...it's magic above all else. When you hear the anthem it captivates you straight away." — Zinedine Zidane The UEFA Champions League anthem, officially titled simply as "Champions League", was written by Tony Britten , and is an adaptation of George Frideric Handel 's 1727 anthem Zadok the Priest (one of his Coronation Anthems ). UEFA commissioned Britten in 1992 to arrange an anthem, and
2024-548: The 2013 final at Wembley , the chorus was played twice. In the 2018 and 2019 finals, held in Kyiv and Madrid respectively, the instrumental version of the chorus was played, by 2Cellos (2018) and Asturia Girls (2019). In the 2023 final , held in Istanbul, Hungarian pianist Ádám György performed the piano version of the anthem. The anthem has been released commercially in its original version on iTunes and Spotify with
2112-571: The Ancienne chaussée de Meysse / Oude Meisesesteenweg and the Rue de la Cave / Kelderstraat (today's Rue Émile Wauters / Emile Wautersstraat ). The Villa Van der Borght was built in 1885 at the bottom of what is now the Boulevard du Centenaire / Eeuwfeestlaan , which was not yet laid out (the building will be razed in 1956), followed by the Church of St. Lambert around 1890. Upon ascending to
2200-486: The Atomium , a symbolic 103-metre-tall (338 ft) modernist structure by the architect André Waterkeyn . It consists of nine steel spheres connected by tubes, and forms a model of an iron crystal (specifically, a unit cell ), magnified 165 billion times. Originally devoted to science, it would become a landmark of Brussels. Following the fair, most of the exhibition pavilions were gradually demolished, including
2288-737: The Centenary Palace is one of the lasting remaining buildings of the 1935 World's Fair. It was also the venue for the 32nd Eurovision Song Contest in 1987. Currently, it is home to the Brussels Exhibition Centre ( Brussels Expo ), the city's most important event complex in Belgium and the largest exhibition space in the Benelux . The Heysel Plateau was also the location of the Heysel Stadium, Belgium's former national stadium , originally built in 1930. After
2376-685: The Ernst-Happel-Stadion to win the 1963–64 season and replicate their local-rival's success. The title stayed in Milan for the third year in a row after Inter beat Benfica 1–0 at their home ground, the San Siro . Under the leadership of Jock Stein , Scottish club Celtic beat Inter Milan 2–1 in the 1967 final to become the first British club to win the European Cup. The Celtic players that day, all of whom were born within 30 miles (48 km) of Glasgow, subsequently became known as
2464-582: The Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985, which claimed the lives of 39 spectators at the European Cup final, it was demolished and in its place was built the more modern and secure King Baudouin Stadium . The Bruparck entertainment park (with among others Mini-Europe miniature park and Kinepolis cinema) and the Planetarium of the Royal Observatory of Belgium are also located there, as is
2552-628: The Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam and kept the title for a second consecutive season . Benfica wanted to repeat Real Madrid's successful run of the 1950s after reaching the showpiece event of the 1962–63 European Cup , but a brace from Brazilian-Italian José Altafini at Wembley gave the spoils to Milan, making the trophy leave the Iberian Peninsula for the first time ever. Inter Milan beat an ageing Real Madrid 3–1 at
2640-784: The Palais 12/Paleis 12 , a large and modern multiuse indoor arena with a maximum capacity of 15,000 people. This site is served by Heysel/Heizel metro station on line 6 of the Brussels Metro . The name Heysel derives from the Dutch word heizel , meaning "meager pasture" or "hill". There is also evidence of a brook in the Middle Ages , the Heyselbeek, a tributary of the Molenbeek brook, formed from several sources on
2728-549: The UEFA Super Cup , and the FIFA Club World Cup . Spanish clubs have the most victories (20 wins), followed by England (15 wins) and Italy (12 wins). England has the most winning teams, with six clubs having won the title. The competition has been won by 23 clubs and 13 of them have won it more than once. Real Madrid is the most successful club in the tournament's history, having won it 15 times. Madrid
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2816-612: The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs . The competition begins with a round robin league phase to qualify for the double-legged knockout rounds, and a single-leg final. It is the most-watched club competition in the world and the third most-watched football competition overall, behind only the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup . It
2904-473: The " Lisbon Lions ". The 1967–68 season saw Manchester United become the first English team to win the European Cup, beating two-times winners Benfica 4–1 in the final. This final came ten years after the Munich air disaster , which had claimed the lives of eight United players and left their manager, Matt Busby , fighting for his life. In the 1968–69 season , Ajax became the first Dutch team to reach
2992-468: The 'starball' centre circle ceremony, and hear the same UEFA Champions League Anthem ". Based on research it conducted, TEAM concluded that by 1999, "the starball logo had achieved a recognition rate of 94 percent among fans". The UEFA Champions League used to begin with a double round-robin group stage of 32 teams until it evolved into a league phase of 36 teams, which is preceded by two qualification 'streams' for teams that do not receive direct entry to
3080-486: The 2012–13 season, 40 gold medals are presented to the Champions League winners, and 40 silver medals to the runners-up. Starting with the 2024–25 season, the distribution of the prize money is as follows. A large part of the distributed revenue from the UEFA Champions League is linked to the "market pool", the distribution of which is determined by the value of the television market in each nation. For
3168-424: The 2019–20 season, Paris Saint-Germain , who were the runners-up, earned nearly €126.8 million in total, of which €101.3 million was prize money, compared with the €125.46 million earned by Bayern Munich, who won the tournament and were awarded €112.96 million in prize money. Like the FIFA World Cup , the UEFA Champions League is sponsored by a group of multinational corporations, in contrast to
3256-410: The European Cup final, but they were beaten 4–1 by Milan, who claimed their second European Cup, with Pierino Prati scoring a hat-trick. The 1969–70 season saw the first Dutch winners of the competition. Feyenoord knocked out the defending champions, Milan in the second round, before beating Celtic in the final . In the 1970–71 season , Ajax won the title, beating Greek side Panathinaikos in
3344-592: The Phonos extension Pages with French IPA Pages with Dutch IPA Pages including recorded pronunciations Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Heysel Plateau The Heysel Plateau ( French : Plateau du Heysel ; Dutch : Heizelplateau ) or Heysel Park (French: Parc du Heysel ; Dutch: Heizelpark ), usually shortened to Heysel ( French: [ɛzɛl] ) or Heizel ( Dutch: [ˈɦɛizəl] ),
3432-536: The Premier League that season. UEFA gave special dispensation for Liverpool to enter the Champions League, giving England five qualifiers. UEFA subsequently ruled that the defending champions qualify for the competition the following year regardless of their domestic league placing. However, for those leagues with four entrants in the Champions League, this meant that, if the Champions League winner fell outside of its domestic league's top four, it would qualify at
3520-643: The beauty of the landscape motivated the construction of the Stuyvenberg Castle in 1725, the Palace of Schonenberg (today's Royal Palace of Laeken ) between 1782 and 1784, and the Belvédère Castle in 1788. The Ferraris map of 1777 does not show these first two castles but indicates the Osseghem farm, located a little south of the current King Baudouin Stadium. The Osseghem farm grew into
3608-413: The biggest domestic leagues qualified directly for the tournament group stage. Prior to this, three preliminary knockout qualifying rounds whittled down the remaining teams, with teams starting in different rounds. An exception to the usual European qualification system happened in 2005, after Liverpool won the Champions League the year before, but did not finish in a Champions League qualification place in
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3696-508: The chest and the left sleeve. Exceptions are made for non-profit organisations, which can feature on the front of the shirt, incorporated with the main sponsor or in place of it; or on the back, either below the squad number or on the collar area. If a club plays a match in a nation where the relevant sponsorship category is restricted (such as France's alcohol advertising restriction), then they must remove that logo from their jerseys. For example, when Rangers played French side Auxerre in
3784-453: The competition, the top 5 leagues by coefficient provide four teams each by default, with a possibility for additional spots based on performance during the previous season. Clubs that finish below the qualifying spots are eligible for the second-tier UEFA Europa League competition, and since 2021, for the third-tier UEFA Conference League . In its present format, the Champions League begins in early July with three qualifying rounds and
3872-625: The creation of a continent-wide tournament. In interviews, Jacques Ferran (one of the founders of the European Champions Cup, together with Gabriel Hanot), said that the South American Championship of Champions was the inspiration for the European Champions Cup. After Stan Cullis declared Wolverhampton Wanderers "Champions of the World" following a successful run of friendlies in the 1950s, in particular
3960-469: The eight winning teams from the knockout play-off round will enter the round of 16 draw as unseeded teams. Teams finishing 25th–36th place in the league phase and the eight losers of the knockout play-offs are eliminated from the competition and from European football since it is no longer possible to enter the Europa League from the league phase onwards. After the round of 16 the competition follows
4048-613: The end of the 17th century, though traces can still be seen on the slopes to the east, in the Kattenberg and the depressions in Osseghem Park. At the end of the 19th century, the Heysel still had a distinctly rural character, although there were already plans to develop it into a new urban area. In 1850, the Belgian Government authorised the construction of a new Church of Our Lady of Laeken , intended to replace
4136-429: The expense of the fourth-placed team in the league. Until 2015–16, no association could have more than four entrants in the Champions League. In May 2012, Tottenham Hotspur finished fourth in the 2011–12 Premier League , two places ahead of Chelsea, but failed to qualify for the 2012–13 Champions League , after Chelsea won the 2012 final . Tottenham were demoted to the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League . In May 2013, it
4224-544: The field. The complete anthem is about three minutes long, and has two short verses and the chorus. Special vocal versions have been performed live at the Champions League final with lyrics in other languages, changing over to the host nation's language for the chorus. These versions were performed by Andrea Bocelli (Italian; Rome 2009 , Milan 2016 and Cardiff 2017 ), Juan Diego Flores (Spanish; Madrid 2010 ), All Angels ( Wembley 2011 ), Jonas Kaufmann and David Garrett ( Munich 2012 ) and Mariza ( Lisbon 2014 ). In
4312-464: The final. Since 2021, the UEFA also used Virtual Board Replacement (VBR) technology to offer region-based advertising; regional sponsors are inserted into the hoardings as shown on the broadcast feed in specific regions along with the global sponsors. Individual clubs may wear jerseys with advertising. However, only two sponsorships are permitted per jersey in addition to that of the kit manufacturer, at
4400-790: The final. the season saw a number of changes, with penalty shoot-outs being introduced, and the away goals rule being changed so that it would be used in all rounds except the final. It was also the first time a Greek team reached the final, as well as the first season that Real Madrid failed to qualify, having finished sixth in La Liga the previous season. Ajax went on to win the competition three years in row (1971 to 1973), which Bayern Munich emulated from 1974 to 1976, before Liverpool won their first two titles in 1977 and 1978. The following seasons saw victories in 1978–79 and 1979–80 for Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest . The following year Liverpool won their third title before Aston Villa continued
4488-408: The first teams to reach the Champions League group stage after playing in all three qualifying rounds. Real Madrid and Barcelona hold the record for the most appearances in the group stage, having qualified 25 times, followed by Porto and Bayern Munich on 24. Between 1999 and 2008, no differentiation was made between champions and non-champions in qualification. The 16 top-ranked teams spread across
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#17327659582554576-403: The fourth-placed teams were eliminated from the competition. For the next stage – the last 16 – the winning team from one group played against the runners-up from another group, but teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other (see random two-sided matching ). From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw was entirely random, without association protection. The group stage
4664-489: The group stage in favour of an expanded league phase. The number of participating teams was increased from 32 to 36 teams. Teams are no longer divided into groups of four teams each but are ranked in a single table. Each team plays eight matches against eight different opponents. For the draw of the league phase, teams are divided into four seeding pots according to their UEFA coefficient . Each team will play against two teams from each pot, one home and one away. The league phase
4752-716: The heights of Osseghem. Heyssel is retained as a toponym on the Huvenne map of 1848 and in the Geographical Dictionary of Letter Posts of the Kingdom of Belgium of 1857. The terms Heysel in French and Heizel in Dutch have in fact gradually imposed themselves to fairly broadly designate this district of Laeken, to the detriment of two other toponyms, which designate more precise parts of it: Hossegem Dries to
4840-423: The international vocation of Brussels" and planned to erect a convention centre of "international dimensions" with a capacity of 3,500 seats and an "important commercial centre." In January 2009, the Commission's then-spokeswoman Valerie Rampi confirmed that the EU executive was considering several proposals for a new location, with some 100,000 m (1,100,000 sq ft) of office space. On 15 September 2008,
4928-464: The medieval building (destroyed except for its choir , which is still visible in the cemetery adjacent to the current church). King Leopold I himself laid the first stone in 1854, although the new church, much larger than the old one, was not completed until 1909. In 1869, a school was inaugurated in the hamlet, probably on the Rue du Heysel / Heizelstraat . The Rue du Heysel itself was attested in an official document in 1875, and stretched between
5016-490: The monument were completed in 1880, in time for the 50th anniversary of Belgian independence . The king acquired more land on the Heysel in 1899. Plans to enlarge the Royal Palace lead to the demolition of the barracks located on its right flank, where a detachment of grenadiers , responsible since 1840 for the surveillance of the royal palaces, had been stationed. A new barracks was constructed between 1899 and 1902, in
5104-558: The most important event complex in the city and the largest exhibition space in the Benelux . The year 1985 was marked by the Heysel Stadium disaster , a crowd disaster , which caused 39 deaths during the final of the European Cup . Since then, the stadium has been redeveloped and renamed the King Baudouin Stadium. That same year, the Heysel/Heizel metro station opened. In 1987, the 32nd Eurovision Song Contest
5192-572: The north-west, at the current location of Osseghem Park, and Kauwenberg to the south-east, around the Chapel of St. Anna. The Osseghem estate on the Heysel Plateau was first mentioned in the Early Middle Ages and may have been on the site of a former Roman villa . In 1152, a sale of the Hof van Ossegem by the heirs of Meinard van Brussel to Affligem Abbey is documented, which also included
5280-573: The old Church of Our Lady of Laeken. This church, whose origins date back to the 8th century, was located nearby, as was the Chapel of St. Anna with its miraculous spring, which attracted many pilgrims . During the Ancien Régime , the Heysel Plateau was still largely owned by the Affligem fathers, and the area belonged to the parish of Laeken . At the height of the plateau were two other hamlets: Vleurgat (or Verregat) and Osseghem. The latter
5368-521: The piece was performed by London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields . Stating that "the anthem is now almost as iconic as the trophy", UEFA's official website adds it is "known to set the hearts of many of the world's top footballers aflutter". The chorus contains the three official languages used by UEFA: English, German, and French. The climactic moment
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#17327659582555456-562: The previous five Champions League, Europa League and Conference League seasons. The higher an association's coefficient, the more teams represent the association in the Champions League, and the fewer qualification rounds the association's teams must compete in. Five of the remaining seven qualifying places are granted to the winners of a four-round qualifying tournament between the remaining 43 or 44 national champions, within which those champions from associations with higher coefficients receive byes to later rounds. The other two are granted to
5544-403: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Heysel . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heysel&oldid=1243393631 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Pages using
5632-475: The sense of English dominance in 1982 . In 1982–83, Hamburger SV broke the English dominance. Liverpool regained it in 1983–84 before losing to Juventus (1984–85); Steaua București then won in 1985–86, Porto in 1986–87, PSV Eindhoven in 1987–88; Milan (2), Red Star Belgrade and Barcelona became champions before the competition was re-formulated as the UEFA Champions League . All English clubs were banned for five years (Liverpool for six years) following
5720-431: The single main sponsor typically found in national top-flight leagues. 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
5808-417: The throne, in 1865, King Leopold II was concerned with the construction of a memorial to his father in the perspective of the Royal Palace of Laeken. The development of a surrounding public park was approved in 1867. Laeken Park was gradually developed between 1876 and 1880 based on plans by the German landscape architect Édouard Keilig, associated with the civil engineer Louis Van Schoubroeck. The park and
5896-408: The time, participated in the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz , thus being dubbed as the "club championship of the continent" by the local newspapers. The Mitropa Cup , a competition modelled after the Challenge Cup, was created in 1927, an idea of Austrian Hugo Meisl , and played between Central European clubs. In 1930, the Coupe des Nations (French: Nations Cup ), the first attempt to create
5984-476: The title for the third consecutive season. In a rematch of the first final, Real Madrid faced Stade Reims at the Neckarstadion for the 1959 final , and won 2–0. West German side Eintracht Frankfurt became the first team not to compete in the Latin cup to reach the European Cup final. The 1960 final holds the record for the most goals scored, with Real Madrid beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7–3 at Hampden Park , courtesy of four goals by Ferenc Puskás and
6072-415: The title of Champions League Theme. In 2018, composer Hans Zimmer remixed the anthem with rapper Vince Staples for EA Sports ' video game FIFA 19 , with it also featuring in the game's reveal trailer. In 1991, UEFA asked its commercial partner, Television Event and Media Marketing (TEAM), to help brand the Champions League. This resulted in the anthem, "house colours" of black and white or silver and
6160-452: The tournament proper. The two streams are divided between teams qualified by virtue of being league champions, and those qualified by virtue of finishing second, third or fourth in their national championship. The number of teams that each association enters into the UEFA Champions League is based upon the UEFA coefficients of the member associations. These coefficients are generated by the results of clubs representing each association during
6248-415: The traditional knockout format with quarter-finals, semi-finals (both two legged and without association draw protection) and then the final at a venue chosen prior to the season. The final is typically held in late May or early June. Prior to the 2024–25 season, the tournament proper began with a group stage of 32 teams, divided into eight groups of four. The draw to determine which teams entered each group
6336-572: The trophy next season in their home stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu , against Fiorentina . After a scoreless first half, Real Madrid scored twice in six minutes to defeat the Italians. In 1958 , Milan failed to capitalise after going ahead on the scoreline twice, only for Real Madrid to equalise. The final, held in Heysel Stadium , went to extra time where Francisco Gento scored the game-winning goal to allow Real Madrid to retain
6424-514: The winners of a three-round qualifying tournament between ten and eleven clubs from the associations ranked 5–6 through 15, which have qualified based upon finishing second, third or fourth in their respective national league. In addition to sporting criteria, any club must be licensed by its national association to participate in the Champions League. To obtain a license, the club must meet certain stadium, infrastructure and finance requirements. In 2005–06 , Liverpool and Artmedia Bratislava became
6512-424: The winning team is presented with the European Champion Clubs' Cup, the current version of which has been awarded since 1967. From the 1968–69 season and prior to the 2008–09 season any team that won the Champions League three years in a row or five times overall was awarded the official trophy permanently. Each time a club achieved this, a new official trophy had to be forged for the following season. Five clubs own
6600-406: Was seeded based on each team's UEFA coefficient , and no group could contain more than one club from each association. Each team played six group stage games, meeting the other three teams in its group home and away in a round-robin format. The first place team and the runners-up from each group then progressed to the next round. The third-placed teams entered the Europa League's knockout round and
6688-663: Was also set up in Osseghem. After the municipality of Laeken was annexed by the City of Brussels in 1921, the Belgian State transferred some of Leopold II's former land to the city. Since the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark had become too cramped, Brussels' authorities wished to develop the Heysel into a new exhibition and conference location of international stature for the Belgian capital. The Centenary Palace complex (French: Palais du Centenaire , Dutch: Eeuwfeestpaleis )
6776-438: Was decided that, starting from the 2015–16 season (and continuing at least for the three-year cycle until the 2017–18 season ), the winners of the previous season's UEFA Europa League would qualify for the UEFA Champions League, entering at least the play-off round, and entering the group stage if the berth reserved for the Champions League title holders was not used. The previous limit of a maximum of four teams per association
6864-638: Was designed by the architect Joseph Van Neck to house the 1935 World's Fair . The Jubilee Stadium on the Heysel was completed in 1930 as part of the centenary celebrations of the Belgian Revolution . It was renamed the Heysel Stadium after the Second World War , and then the King Baudouin Stadium in 1995. In the 1950s, the Heysel underwent another major change in preparation for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair ( Expo 58 ). On that occasion, 58 additional buildings were constructed, as well as
6952-653: Was found just south of today's King Baudouin Stadium and gave its name to today's Osseghem Park, while Vleurgat was further north, near the Chaussée Romaine / Romeinse Steenweg , where the Vleurgat residential area is today. In the 16th century, the Coensborgh Castle occupied an island on a pond formed by the Molenbeek. It was the property of the Meeûs family in the 17th century. In the 18th century,
7040-554: Was in what was nicknamed the 1895 World Championship , when English champions Sunderland beat Scottish champions Heart of Midlothian 5–3. The first pan-European tournament was the Challenge Cup , a competition between clubs in the Austro-Hungarian Empire . Three years later, in 1900, the champions of Belgium , Netherlands and Switzerland , which were the only existing leagues in continental Europe at
7128-482: Was increased to five, meaning that a fourth-placed team from one of the top three ranked associations would only have to be moved to the Europa League if both the Champions League and Europa League winners came from that association and both finished outside the top four of their domestic league. In 2007, Michel Platini , the UEFA president, had proposed taking one place from the three leagues with four entrants and allocating it to that nation's cup winners. This proposal
7216-399: Was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to the champions of Europe's domestic leagues, with its winner reckoned as the European club champion. The competition took on its current name in 1992, adding a round-robin group stage in 1991 and allowing multiple entrants from certain countries since the 1997–98 season. While only the winners of many of Europe's national leagues can enter
7304-553: Was issued and the project is scheduled for completion by 2030. On 16 October 2020, the then- mayor of the City of Brussels , Philippe Close, announced the definitive abandonment of part of the project, in particular the Congress Centre, but part of it, such as the mall, will remain. UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL ) is an annual club association football competition organised by
7392-600: Was organised in the Centenary Palace. The Heysel Project was a potential European Union (EU) "quarter" development in the Heysel. As part of that project, the area surrounding the Atomium would have become, on the long term, a location for some of the European Commission 's buildings, according to a draft project developed by the City of Brussels . The City of Brussels had previously decided to allocate this area to "infrastructures dedicated to
7480-483: Was part of Platini's plan to increase the number of teams qualifying directly into the group stage, while simultaneously increasing the number of teams from lower-ranked nations in the group stage. In 2012, Arsène Wenger referred to qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in the top four places in the Premier League as the "4th Place Trophy". The phrase was coined after a pre-match conference when he
7568-461: Was played from September to December, whilst the knockout stage began in February, with matches usually played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The knockout ties were played in a two-legged format, with the exception of the final. In the 2019–20 season , due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was suspended for five months. The format of the remainder of the tournament was temporarily amended as
7656-482: Was questioned about Arsenal's lack of a trophy after exiting the FA Cup . He said "The first trophy is to finish in the top four". At Arsenal's 2012 AGM, Wenger was also quoted as saying: "For me there are five trophies every season: Premier League, Champions League, the third is to qualify for the Champions League..." Beginning with the 2024–25 season, UEFA changed the format of their three club competitions, abandoning
7744-469: Was rejected in a vote at a UEFA Strategy Council meeting. In the same meeting, however, it was agreed that the third-placed team in the top three leagues would receive automatic qualification for the group stage, rather than entry into the third qualifying round, while the fourth-placed team would enter the play-off round for non-champions, guaranteeing an opponent from one of the top 15 leagues in Europe. This
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