The Campions League

The Champions league was finaly inaugurated in 1955 after a French sports journalist and editor of L'Equipe Gabriel Hanot suggested it. It was rebaranded and reformated to become the tourniment we know today in 1992 . The Champions league is a competition for all the winners of the national football leagues of Europe, therfore has all the most succefull team competing in one tournimanet. The uropen Cup or European Champion Clubs Cup is the prize awarded to the winners of the Champions league. The Leauge is made up in serveral stages, it start with three knock out qualifying rounds in mid- july. 16 teams make it through this round and join 16 seeded teams in the griup stage. Eight group winners and eight runners up then join the final knockout rounds. The final match is help in May. 1997 was the last time only the winners of the leagues were allowed to paticipate, since then the rules have been relaxed, and now the runners up from the stronger leagues are also allowed. This has proved very popular with the Fans and also add more variety to the League. Manchester United currently hold the cup after beating helsea 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Moscow.

Champions League Facts

The Champions league title has been help by 21 different clubs all together. 12 club have won the cup more than once. Real Madrid has won the most times with nine wins. Because the Cup consist of so many teams from and are so spread out, it draws in many fans from across the world. Matched are shown in more than 7 countries and more than 40 languages with some of them matched attracting as much as quarter of a million viewers. The cup has been sponsored by many companies and has been under the brands of Ford, Master card, Heineken, Sony, Vodphone. Adidas is currently there secondary sponsor.

Champions League Scorers

Real Madrid currently holds the record for start player, Raul Gonzalez has scored 63 goals since his debut in 1996. Andriy Shevchenko has scored 59 goals, Machester United star Ruud Van Nistelrooy has scored the next number with 54 goals and third is Thierry Henry with 53 goals.