this is what the Champions League was like almost a century ago and this is what it looks like today so how did we get here well it all started in 1954 when the English Club Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Hungarian team honved in a competition known as the metropa cup this Victory led the English press to hail Wolverhampton as the champions of the world but this just wasn't the case this metropa cup wasn't a serious competition with few games being played and a small selection of teams in the tournament after seeing these headlines Hungarian reporter Gabriel Hannah
just had enough and he called for a europe-wide competition to really figure out who was the best team he brought this idea to UEFA and just like that the Champions League was bored now the story of the champions league has 10 parts to it like the saddest day in champions league history that saw all English clubs get banned for 6 years were even going to talk about the future of the Champions League because they want to remove the group stages and turn the Champions League into a super league but let's start from the first season
16 teams each champion of their own respective nations came together to take part in the first edition of the Champions League the format of this competition was very different to the Champions League we know today there were no group stages meaning it was a straight knockout tournament extra time and penalties didn't exist so matches would have to be replayed in case of a draw prize money wasn't even a thing so clubs just played for passion and prestige last of all it wouldn't be called champions league for a couple more decades so for now it was
known as the European Cup now let's talk football who won the first edition Real Madrid but they didn't stop there because they won the second the third the fourth and the fifth seasons of it this Real Madrid dominance was spearheaded by two legendary players fence pkos who scored a hattrick in the 1960 final and Alfredo D Stefano who scored two final hattricks in in 1958 and also in 1960 this 1960 final saw Real Madrid defeat Frankfurt 7-3 which to this day Still Remains the highest scoring final ever but Real Madrid weren't the only super team
in this period because there were a couple more clubs who were ready to write their names in history the next two titles went to Benfica with the help of usabo as they defeated Barcelona and Real Madrid in backto back finals but they would soon find out what Italian football had to offer because AC Milan and intermilan would take home the next three titles this intermilan team led by manager heleno Herrera was famous for its defensive katano tactics which literally means to bolt the door shut as this era came to an end Real Madrid would get
one last hurrah defeating partisan in the 1966 final marking the end of this Real Madrid domination with puskas retiring at D Stefano having retired a couple Seasons earlier but the Champions League was changing ing fast with new rules in place and new teams who were ready to conquer Europe 1967 was an important year for the European Cup as extra time and penalty shootouts were introduced just adding to the drama of it all this meant that replays were removed and the away goal rule was introduced so if a match ended in a draw after both legs
the team with the most away goals would go through this AA saw new team rise to the top Celtic took home the trophy in 1967 making the the first British club to achieve European Glory the year after that Manchester United beat usabo Benfica 4 to1 in the final this man united Victory meant more than just a trophy because 10 years earlier this same team was involved in a plane crash killing eight of their players meaning in just a decade they rebuilt and fought their way to the top of football once again thanks to players like
George best and Bobby Charlton the next two years would see both AC Milan and fyord lift the trophy but the world was about to witness the start of two European powerhouses Ajax and Bayern Munich in 1970 there was a 24-year-old Dutchman playing in Ajax who was ready to take over football and his name was Johan K he led this ax team to three Champions League victories in a row where the world got to witness a new style of play called total football this was sexy football with Dynamic positions and a fluid play style that focused
on attack and high pressing in the third year of their three year in a row they beat out Juventus 1 n in the final and this was significant for Juventus as it was the start of a tradition they still hold today this was the tradition of bottling the final as they have the most final defeats in the competition history they're like a European Tottenham Hotspur now after seeing ajax's hattrick of Champions Leagues by Munich got jealous so they just went and did the same thing with the Colossal France beckan Bower at the back and the
lethal gar Muer up front Bayern defeated Atletico Madrid leads United and San Tien to complete their own three Pat but unlike aax Bayern Munich's success was built on a rock solid defense as they barely conceded any goals and would often catch teams out on the counter attack but at the same time English clubs were cooking as they were ready to put an end to the German d dominence of Bayern Munich and we're about to take over European football now we still have seven chapters left in the story of the champions league and Juventus have a
lot more finals to lose but before we get to that I need your help I'm trying to get to 100K Subs this year so I'd really appreciate if you would subscribe and help take top bins to the top of football YouTube all right now that that's out of the way let's get into the insane rise and the tragic fall of English clubs in the Champions League in 1977 Le Liverpool would kick off this era by winning their first champions league and then their second the year after that under iconic manager Bob Paisley in the two
seasons after that Nottingham Forest would somehow win it back to back which was a real Underdog Story and a true Testament to the Excellence of manager Brian Koff in 1981 Liverpool would return once again by beating Real Madrid in the final to win their third Champions League in 5 years this was followed by an Aston Villa triumph over Bayern Munich 1982 which meant that for 6 years in a row the European Cup went to an English club which to this day Remains the longest one nation winning streak in the tournament's history but all streaks must
come to an end sooner or later as Hamburg would break up the English party beating out our beloved Juventus in the 1983 final Liverpool would get one last hurrah in the Champions League beating Roma on penalties in 1984 making it their fourth victory in just 8 years I mean this Liverpool team was Unreal Ian Rush Kenny dogleash and Graham sunis really wrote their names in the history of football but within one season Liverpool would go from the top of Europe to getting banned for 6 years because of the tragedy that was about to unfold the
next season's final would see Liverpool come up against Juventus now during this time hooliganism was becoming a big problem in England with lots of violence and fights between fans but this game would see this violence go to a whole new level the game was taking place in the Hazel stadium in Brussels and fans arrived excited to see their teams play as they were led into the stadium the opposing fans were sectioned in opposite sides of the stadium except for one group of Juventus fans which were placed right next to the Liverpool supporters before the game
could even kick off the Liverpool fans started throwing objects and flares at the Juventus fans some fans also jumped the fence that was separating the supporters and started fighting these juuv fans tried to escape this section with the fear of what might happen to them but with all the fans rushing to the bottom of the stand to get away the stadium couldn't withstand all that pressure and the wall collapsed just like that 39 people lost their lives with the youngest victim being just an 11-year-old boy 600 other fans suffered injuries but managed to recover from
them now despite all this happening the officials decided to allow the final to be played out with the fear that canceling it would just make the situ situation worse Juventus beat Liverpool 1 n in a game that was surrounded in tragedy this was the last straw for UEFA as they banned all English clubs from the competition for 5 years Liverpool were banned for 6 years and this era of English dominance came to a tragic end now following the Hazel disaster UEFA had to make some changes and up their safety standards big time by ensuring all
stadiums were fit to host football matches safely the ban on all English clubs meant there was room for new teams to rise to the top of Europe and that's exactly what happened with the most unlikely of winners in Romanian Club fcsb beating Barcelona on penalties in 1985 Porto and then PSV took home the next two titles making for some great Underdog stories but AC Milan were ready to take over Europe once again they won back-to- back Champions League titles with one of Europe's greatest ever teams m reichart van basted and gullet meant nothing could stop
the Italian Giants Belgrade actually managed to win it the year that followed which was yet another Underdog Story in this period but to end the era off Johan C returned to Europe but this time he came as a manager with Barcelona beating Sor in the 1992 final this Barca team had a couple of icons like Ronald kman Michael LR and Pep Guardiola but you're going to hear a lot more about Guardiola pretty soon now this year was a turning point in European football because in 1993 the European Cup was finally going to transform and become
the Champions [Applause] League so besides the name what changed well the Rebrand was done with the focus of generating more Revenue as UEFA turned the Champions League into a commercialized product they added group stages meaning more games would be played they made it so that all matches on the same day would kick off at the same time and the best part of it all the English clubs were back but they wouldn't really do much in the Champions League because the Italians were taking over for 7 years straight the final would contain at least one Italian
team 1993 saw Marse Edge out AC Milan to the trophy but Milan would be back just one year later to thrash Barcelona 40 in the final after that aax would put a stop to the Milan dominance as they won it in 1995 1996 actually saw Juventus win a final but things would go back to normal in 1997 as Juventus lost yet another final and this time against barusa Dortmund with this Juventus team the world got to see Zinedine zon light the champions league on fire as he was a key player in the team now up
until this point in history the Champions League was actually a Champions League with only the champions of each Nation taking part but in 1998 the this would all change there were talks of a European Super League forming amongst Europe's biggest clubs which caused UEFA to respond by increasing the number of Champions League spots to 32 meaning that multiple teams from one nation would be allowed to take part this meant more games more drama more goals and this is the format that we still see today and we're going to see for one more year because in
2025 the Champions League will completely change but we'll get to that soon now this era kicked off with the return of European royalty Real Madrid would win the Champions League in three out of the next six years with a ridiculous team I'm talking rul Roberto Carlos Luis Figo and zidon who had just made the move from Juventus because he actually wanted to win a final for once and he wouldn't just win he won in style with probably the greatest final goal in the comp competitions history in 1999 we also saw Manchester United return by scoring
two 90th minute goals against Bayern Munich to win Sir Alex Ferguson his first Champions League trophy in the most dramatic way possible cleared geks with a shot sheringham Beckham into sheringham and so s f despite this Bayern bounced back a couple years later thanks to the heroics of goke ER Oliver Khan as they beat Valencia to the trophy in a penalty shootout Cino deny by KH AC Milan won yet another title as Juventus lost yet another final in 2003 poor juuv fans this was followed by the arrival of the special one in Europe Mourinho announced
himself as one of the greats by managing Porto to a Champions League Victory against all the odds making for one of Europe's great Underdog stories but what was even more unlike likely than that is what Liverpool did the year after in the 2005 final they were three goals down going into halftime against AC Milan the game was over there was no chance of a comeback especially against this Milan team but in the 54th minute Gerard bagged a header just 2 minutes later schmitzer made it 3-2 and just six more minutes passed till Gerard won a
penalty and Liverpool made it three all the game went to extra time and it eventually came down to a penalty shootout which Liverpool managed to win completing the greatest comeback in the history of the Champions League now roll on 2006 and the mighty Arsenal came up against Barcelona in the final an early red card to Layon posed a challenge that Arsenal just couldn't overcome the Brilliance of Ronaldinho and Samuel etto awesome and bti he squeezed it in now this Barcelona victory meant a certain lonel Messi would pick up his first Champions League winnner medal even
though he wasn't a part of the final he was still a part of the squad throughout the tournament meaning it counts as a win for him then 2007 saw Milan get their revenge on Liverpool as they sunk the scousers winning two goals to one thanks to a brace from inagi P toit deflected an in it's a oh wonderful disguise on the pass inagi has his second this Milan team was quite special to say the least with purlo and guso in the Midfield Maldini at the back and zorf who had just won his fourth Champions League
with his third Club as he formed part of the ax winners of 95 and the Real Madrid team of 98 too and not to mention the Brilliance of kaka who finished top score in the Champions League also picking up a Balon door now this was significant because this would be the last time for the next 12 years that a player besides lonel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo finished as the top scor of the Champions League or won the Balon door because in the next season this Messy Ronaldo domination would finally kick off but before that there
were a couple of greats in this era who just missed out on the Champions League trophy but still deserve a shout out rud van nistroy Franchesco toti nnan Crespo Fabio canavaro Dennis bamp and the greatest of the lot Ronaldo Nazario all played for great teams in this period but all just missed out on lifting the trophy okay now the Messi and Ronaldo era finally kicks off in 2008 it was an all English final between Manchester United and Chelsea Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal [Applause] Ronaldo head but Lampard soon equalized break to Lampard after after the
90 minutes it was still one all the game went to penalties where Ronaldo stepped up and missed Ronaldo shoot out stut and a save from P but by A Stroke of Luck John Terry missed the penalty that would have sealed it for Chelsea meaning Manchester United would lift the third Champions League in their club's history and Ronaldo would lift his first one this United Team wasn't all Ronaldo though the likes of Rooney skulls gigs ferdinant and vintage all helped make this United Team great but just one year later Ronaldo and United would go from Champions
to Runners up as lonel Messi with the help of some greats like HRI Iniesta and Chavi would sink United two goals to nil under the management of Pep Guardiola but I have to highlight a specific game at this year's champions league and that's the second leg of the maner the Chelsea players just couldn't believe what was happening trouble a dis but that's foot sometimes these things happen I guess now the next season would' see Messi and Ronaldo take a break from the final as Jose morinho was back in the headlines with Inter Milan beating Bayern
Munich thanks to a brace from molito again roll on 2011 and it's deja vu with Barcelona against United once again and Lionel Messi scoring to S man united once again lonel Messi Chelsea finally got their trophy into 2012 beating Bayern Munich on penalties against no a new name on the trophy okay now 2014 was a crazy year in the Champions League Ronaldo scored 17 goals this year breaking the record for the most goals scored in a single Champions League season which used to be 14 by Messi and this final was dramatic to say the least
a Madrid Derby where Atletico Madrid scored early on and held the lead all the way until the 93rd minute but Sergio Ramos stamped up scoring ah header to send the game to extra time Ramos Real Madrid went on to obliterate atleti with three extra time goals from Bale it's [Applause] Marcelo and Ronaldo bringing the title back to the Los Blancos Cristiano Ronaldo delivers but the year after after that Messi along with his new friends Suarez and Neymar would win Barcelona yet another Champions League making this mess's fourth and last trophy in the competition and this
final was against our beloved Juventus which has basically become a free hit at this point now the year is 2016 and Zinedine zidan is back in the Champions League but this time as the manager of Real Madrid and he was about to lead Madrid to an iconic three peat a penalty shootout win against Atletico madri Madrid a 4-1 throbbing of Juventus and a 3-1 Victory against Liverpool would cement this Real Madrid team as one of the greatest the competition has ever seen now in 2018 which is the last year of the three Pat we got
to see Ronaldo score probably the most iconic Champions League goal ever in the quarterfinals against Juventus and then ronal what a goal by Cristiano Ronaldo sensation and in this year's final we also saw Ramos take dirty play to a whole new level as he took Mo salak down this coupled with a Calamity of Errors from Loris caras meant heartbreak for Liverpool fans straight forward to this would Mark the end of an era of dominance from Messi and Ronaldo as 2018 would be the last time either of them would lift the Champions League trophy as Ronaldo
ended with five and Messi with four but now there were some new stars in town that were ready to take Europe by store now 2018 saw the introduction of V into the Champions League which would be a controversial topic to say the least this year saw Liverpool come back from their 2017 heartbreak to beat Spurs comfortably in the final but the real drama of this season came in the semifinals Barcelona thrashed Liverpool 3 n in the first leg with Messi looking like he was on track to win another Champions League so a comeback then in
the second half win aldam scored two goals in 3 minutes to make it three all and then with 10 minutes left on the clock Liverpool had a corner and Trent Alexander Arnold caught the Barcelona def the next year we saw Kian mbappe make his way to a champ I League final but get his dreams crushed by this insane Bayern Munich team with Robert levandowski in the form of his life because of the pandemic this year The Knockout stages were only one leg but that didn't stop Bayern Munich from absolutely humiliating Barcelona and lonel Messi in
the quarterfinals with an 82 demolition 2021 saw an unlikely Chelsea victory over Manchester City thanks to the brilliant Thomas TL 2022 saw Real Madrid back on top of Europe defeating Liverpool yet again in the final as Benzema and venicius Jr combined to make the deadliest attack in Europe and as I'm sure you know Manchester City completed the treble in 2023 beating inter in the final thanks to their 12thman Lukaku oh Bernardo Silva is not going to get Lukaku stra after they score DeMarco oh against the bar and then DeMarco and suddenly off the line Holland
was on fire this year as he's chasing down Ronaldo's goalscoring record of 140 goals Holland already has 40 and he's only 23 years old and this will become even more likely when you look at the future of the champions league and the way its structure is going to change in 2025 UEFA have announced that they'll be increasing the number of teams from 32 to 36 and also remove the group stage format entirely by adding a league where the top eight teams will qualify for The Knockout stages and the rest will give a playoff match against
each other now what does this mean for the clubs well this is being done with money in mind because more games will be played meaning more money for the big clubs the extra spots will not be given to the smaller European leagues instead they'll be given to the so-called top performers in Europe which will most likely be a Premier League club and another one from the top of Italy Spain or Germany this helps to keep the big clubs in the competition which just seems a bit too much like the Super League that was in tox
a comple of years ago with the future of the competition uncertain what is for sure is that the next generation of football players is bright with the likes of Holland Bellingham mbappe and venicius taking over football and looking to break all records except one that would be uv's unbreakable record of seven final defeats maybe they'll make it eight soon but if you want your Club to win the Champions League you should really watch the video on screen now I'm serious it's a good one
