The Champions League is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world of football. The tournament is played by the champions and, in some cases, runners-up of each nation’s national leagues (as well as a few clubs from lower ranked leagues who qualify through association coefficients).
The competition began in 1955 with French club Marseille winning Europe’s first club championship. The event was initially called the European Cup or simply the European Championship, but in 1994 UEFA decided to revamp the tournament and change its name to the Champions League.
From that point on, the Champions League became the premier European club competition. Real Madrid won the inaugural edition and has won the tournament a record 15 times, the most of any team. Other notable winners include Barcelona, Ajax, Manchester United and Liverpool.
In the knockout phase teams fight it out to progress through to the quarter-finals, semi-finals (both two legged games) and a one-off final. This is what really makes the tournament interesting as huge clubs such as Real Madrid or Manchester United can suddenly exit in the last 16 if they have a bad night.
The Champions League trophy is arguably the most iconic piece of sporting silverware in the world. It is kept permanently by the club that wins the tournament and is cherished almost as much as the FIFA World Cup trophy. The last time an English club won the competition was in 1980 when Nottingham Forest beat Bayern Munich in the final at Wembley to win the first of their two titles.