Fun Facts About the UEFA Champions League

Largest Finals Attendance

The Champions League finals have been played at some of the biggest stadiums in the world, especially in recent times with the large expansions and new stadiums that are being built to facilitate tens of thousands of fans. It may come as a surprise to learn however, that the biggest attendance at a Champions League final was in 1960. The final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt, was held at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland and a whopping 127,621 fans turned up to watch the game, and they were not disappointed. What followed was a game in which the scoring went into double figures, with Real Madrid beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3, with 3 goals from Alberto di Stefano and 4 goals from Ferenc Puskas.

Incidentally, the second largest attendance was at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain in 1957. 124,000 people turned up to watch Real Madrid beat AC Milan at home 2-0. The final with the largest attendance in the 21st century was in 2011, when Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley, but it is only the 9th largest attendance of a European trophy final.

Unlikely Finals Winners

Celtic FC

Celtic were the first British team to claim European glory when they won the European Cup in 1967. The Scottish team now plays in the 9th ranked league, meaning they do not even receive an automatic berth if they win their league, but will have to climb through the qualification rounds to play in the competition again.

Feyenoord

Dutch outfit Feyenoord was the first team from the Netherlands to win the European Cup in 1970. This was followed by Ajax Amsterdam winning three back to back titles, putting Dutch football on a whole new level.

Aston Villa

One of five English teams to have won the European trophy to date, Aston Villa won the European Cup in 1982, when they beat the heavy favourites Bayern Munich 1-0. The victory was a surprising one, as Bayern Munich was a far more established club in the European tournament. Bayern Munich had won the competition three times from 1974-1976, though from 1977 to 1981, only English teams won the title. When Aston Villa won it in 1982, they increased the English winning streak to 6 years.

Hamburger SV

A year later, in 1983, Hamburger SV came to the finals where they beat Juventus after scoring an early goal. Though they were not among the biggest in teams in Europe at the time, this was Hamburger SV's second final. They reached the finals for the first time in 1980, when they were beaten by Nottingham Forest. The German outfit returned to the final three years later and managed to go all the way, becoming the second German team to win the title.

Steaua București

In Romania, many will remember when Steaua București won the European Cup in 1986, after a goalless final against Barcelona they went into penalties. Helmuth Duckadam, the goalkeeper of Steaua București, saved all of Barcelona's penalties, winning the game for the Romanian side, who became the first Romanian team to win the competition.

Red Star Belgrade

In 1991, the final was played between two teams who had never been in the finals before, namely, Red Star Belgrade and Marseille. Both teams had beaten formidable sides to reach the finals, Belgrade beating Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, and Marseille beating AC Milan in the quarter finals. The finals were goalless after full time, and the game went to penalties after neither team could score during extra time. Marseilles first kicker missed his penalty, and it proved to be costly and Belgrade held on to score all of theirs. Red Star Belgrade became the first and only Yugoslavian team to win a European Cup.

Best Players to Never Play in the Champions League Finals

The Champions League has been the playing ground of some of the world's best players. Some of these players have gone down in history as legends of the game, but there are a number of players who it is surprising to learn have never played in a Champions League final.

Diego Maradona

The late Argentina World Cup and Napoli legend Diego Maradona won just about everything in the game. He is regarded as one of the top players of his generation, but surprisingly the legend never even reached the finals with Napoli. The furthest Napoli got with Maradona was the second round in 1991, before they were knocked out by Spartak Moskow.

Ronaldo Nazario

The Brazilian legend also never reached a Champions League final. Though he won the Ballon d'Or twice, and netted 352 goals in his club career with 62 goals for Brazil, he only scored 14 goals in the Champions League. El Fenomeno never clinched his own European glory, though he did join Real Madrid just after they won the trophy in 2002, and when he joined AC Milan in 2007, they were also on the back of a Champions League win.

Eric Cantona

Manchester United’s number 7 in the 90s, Eric Cantona, is also one of the greats who never won the Champions League. He became a club legend in Manchester United, but hung up his boots in 1997 at the age of 30. In his final season, Manchester United managed to make it all the way to the semi-finals but were knocked out by Borussia Dortmund after two legs that finished 2-0 on aggregate. Two years after Cantona retired, Manchester United won the Champions League.

Players Who Have Reached the Final but Never Won

Romario

One player who can feel hard done by is Romario, a player who won the World Cup and Player of the Year award. He was one of the stars of Barcelona, and came heartbreakingly close to winning the competition in 1994, only to lose in the final to AC Milan. He had been crowned the top goalscorer in the 1989-90 and 1992-93 competitions, scoring 6 and 7 goals respectively, though it was not to be.

Gianluigi Buffon

Longevity in career did not help long-time Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in his efforts to win the Champions League. Six goalkeepers have made more than 100 appearances in the competition and Buffon is the only one to never win the trophy. Three defeats in the final have stopped Buffon from taking home his own medal. Perhaps the most painful final was in 2003, when Juventus lost to AC Milan on penalties, despite Buffon saving two.

Lothar Matthaus

Matthaus is one of the great German players who has won the World Cup with his country. He had the exceptional bad luck of losing two finals under similar circumstances. In 1987 Bayern Munich was up 1-0 against Porto, and with 13 minutes on the clock to go, they conceded two goals and lost. Twelve years later, Bayern Munich played Manchester United in the 1999 finals, and after being 1-0 up for the entire 90 minutes, United put in two goals in injury time.

Arsenal’s Invincibles

It's hard to believe that the invincible Arsenal team never won the Champions League, with quality players like Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vierra. Although Henry won the trophy with Barcelona in 2009, the other Arsenal players never won it. Arsenal came to the finals in 2006 against Barcelona, but lost 2-1.

Conclusion

The Champions League finals are a memorable event that is watched by an ever increasing number of football fans. Many fans place bets on the finals, as the clash between the two best European teams of the season is one of the most enthralling games in the season.

When placing bets on the Champions League finals, it is important to remember to gamble responsibly. Should you, or someone you know need more information on the subject, there are websites such as gambleaware.co.uk where guidance is available.