I.

INTRODUCTION
Any soccer fan must be aware of the UEFA
Champions League. Arguably the most competitive club
competition in the world, teams all around Europe strive
every year to participate in this prestigious tournament.
Qualification in the Champions League depends on each
country, but it is rigorous and difficult nonetheless. Since
it is such a challenging competition, performing well in it
comes with great results. The UEFA Champions League
can be compared most closely to the Super Bowl, in its organization, attention, and
competitiveness.
The UEFA Champions League is an annual continental club football competition
organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested
by top-division European clubs. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the
world and the most prestigious club competition in European football, played by the
national league champion (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of each
UEFA national association.

II. HISTORY
The first edition of the European Cup took place during the 195556 season.
Sixteen teams participated: Milan (Italy), AGF Aarhus (Denmark), Anderlecht
(Belgium), Djurgrden (Sweden), Gwardia Warszawa (Poland), Hibernian
(Scotland), Partizan (Yugoslavia), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Rapid Wien
(Austria), Real Madrid (Spain), Rot-Weiss Essen (West Germany), Saarbrcken
(Saar), Servette (Switzerland), Sporting CP (Portugal), Stade de Reims (France),
and Vrs Lobog (Hungary).
The first European Cup match took place on 4 September 1955, and ended in a
33 draw between Sporting CP and Partizan.
The first goal in European Cup history was scored by Joo Baptista Martins of
Sporting CP.
The inaugural final took place at the Parc des Princes between Stade de Reims
and Real Madrid. The Spanish squad came back from behind to win 43 thanks

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 to goals from Alfredo Di Stfano and Marquitos, as well as two goals from Hctor
Rial.
All-time top scorers
The table below does not include goals scored in the qualification stage of the competition.
Bold indicates players active in the competition in the 201516 season and their current club.

Player Nation Goals Years Clubs

Cristiano
Portugal 93 2003 Manchester United, Real Madrid
Ronaldo

Lionel
Argentina 83 2005 Barcelona
Messi

1995
Ral Spain 71 Real Madrid, Schalke 04
2011

Ruud van 1998

Netherlands 56 PSV, Manchester United, Real Madrid
Nistelrooy 2009

Thierry 1997
France 50 Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona
Henry 2010

Alfredo Di
Argentina 49 195564 Real Madrid
Stfano

Andriy 1994
Ukraine 48 Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea
Shevchenko 2012

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Player Nation Goals Years Clubs

Zlatan Ajax, Juventus, Internazionale, Barcelona, Milan, Paris

Sweden 48 2001
Ibrahimovi Saint-Germain

Eusbio Portugal 46 196174 Benfica

Karim
France 46 2006 Lyon, Real Madrid
Benzema

Filippo 1997
Italy 46 Juventus, Milan
Inzaghi 2012

Real Madrid successfully defended the trophy next season in their home
stadium, the Santiago Bernabu, 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 the title for the third consecutive season.
In a rematch of the first final, Real Madrid faced Stade Reims at the
Neckarstadion for the 195859 season final, easily winning 20. West German side
Eintracht Frankfurt became the first non-Latin team to reach the European Cup final.
The 195960 season finale still holds the record for the most goals scored, but the
record is overshadowed by the 73 thrashing Eintracht Frankfurt received in
Hampden Park, courtesy of four goals by Ferenc Pusks and a hat-trick by Alfredo
Di Stfano. This was Real Madrid's fifth consecutive title, a record that still stands
today.

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 Los Merengues reign ended in the 196061 season when bitter rivals
Barcelona dethroned them in the quarter-finals. Barcelona themselves, however,
would be defeated in the final by Portuguese side Benfica 32 at Wankdorf Stadium.
Reinforced by Eusbio, Benfica defeated Real Madrid 53 at 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 196263 European Cup, but a brace from Brazilian-Italian
Jos Altafini at the Wembley Stadium gave the spoils to Milan, making the trophy
leave the Iberian Peninsula for the first time ever. Internazionale beat an ageing-Real
Madrid 31 in the Ernst-Happel-Stadion to win the 196364 season and replicate
their local-rival's success. The title stayed in the city of Milan for the third year in a
row after Inter beat Benfica 10 at their home ground, the San Siro.

III. FORMAT
Qualification
As of 2009, the UEFA Champions League begins with a double round-robin
group stage of 32 teams, which is preceded by two qualification 'streams' for teams
that do not receive direct entry to the tournament proper. The two streams are
divided between teams qualified by virtue of being league champions, and those
qualified by virtue of finishing 2nd4th 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 the previous five Champions League and UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup
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 ten qualifying places are granted to the winners of a
four round qualifying tournament between the remaining 40 or 39 national
champions, within which those champions from associations with higher
coefficients receive byes to later rounds. The other five are granted to the winners
of a two round qualifying tournament between the 15 clubs from the associations
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ranked 1 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.
Tournament
The tournament proper begins with a group stage of 32 teams, divided into
eight groups. Seeding is used whilst making the draw for this stage, whilst teams
from the same country may not be drawn into groups together. Each team meets the
others in its group home and away in a round-robin format. The winning team and
the runners-up from each group then progress to the next round. The third-placed
team enters the UEFA Europa League.
For this stage, the winning team from one group plays against the runners-up
from another group, and teams from the same association may not be drawn against
each other. From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw is entirely random, without
association protection. The tournament uses the away goals rule: if the aggregate
score of the two games is tied, then the team who scored more goals at their
opponent's stadium advances.
The group stage is played from September to December, whilst the knock-out
stage starts in February. The knock-out ties are played in a two-legged format, with
the exception of the final. This is typically held in the final two weeks of May.
IV. PRIZES
Trophy and medals
Each year, the winning team is presented with the European Champion Clubs'
Cup, the current version of which has been awarded since 1967. Any team that wins
the Champions League three years in a row or five times overall wins the right to
retain a full-sized replica of the trophy (UEFA retains the original at all times). Six
clubs have earned this honour: Real Madrid, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Milan,
Liverpool, and Barcelona.
The current trophy is 74 cm (29 in) tall and made of silver, weighing 11 kg
(24 lb). It was designed by Jrg Stadelmann, a jeweller from Bern, Switzerland, after
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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 the 201213 season, 40 gold medals are
presented to the Champions League winners, and 40 silver medals to the runners-up.
Prize money
As of 201516, UEFA awards 2 million to the play-offs winners and 3
million to the eliminated clubs in the play-off round. For reaching the group stage,
UEFA awards a base fee of 12 million. A win in the groups is awarded with 1.5
million and a draw is worth 500,000. In addition, UEFA pays teams reaching the
first knockout round 5.5 million, each quarter-finalist 6 million, 7 million for
each semi-finalist, 10.5 million for the runners-up and 15 million for the winners.
o First Qualifying Round: 200,000
o Second Qualifying Round: 300,000
o Third Qualifying Round: 400,000
o Play-offs Eliminated: 3,000,000
o Play-offs Winners: 2,000,000
o Base fee for group stage: 12,000,000
o Group match victory: 1,500,000
o Group match draw: 500,000
o Round of 16: 5,500,000
o Quarter-finals: 6,000,000
o Semi-finals: 7,000,000
o Losing finalist: 10,500,000
o Winning the Final: 15,000,000

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 country.
For the 201415 season, Juventus, who were the runners-up, earned nearly
89.1 million in total, of which 30.9 million was prize money, compared with the
61.0 million earned by Barcelona, who won the tournament and were awarded
36.4 million in prize money.

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 GLOSSARY

tournament= football competition

runners-up= second placed competitor

inaugural final= relating to the first final of the tournament

scoreline= intermediate or final score

rematch= repeat contest

rivals= adversaries, opponents

rounds= stages of competition

license= the permission to participate into the tournament

trophy= the final prize of the tournament

play-offs= game or series of games played to break a tie

knockout round= the eliminatory round of the competition

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 BIBLIOGRAFY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Champions_League

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/index.html

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/history/photos/index.ht

ml

http://sportsblogger1563.blogspot.ro/2013/04/expository-essay-

uefa-champions-league.html

http://case-coffee.com/education/champions-league.html

http://www.studymode.com/essays/Uefa-Champions-Cup-

413773.html